Hmmm........Would a Decent Coach be Enough to Lift Bledsoe Higher?

[RedEyE]

Statistics rarely tell the whole story, but these statistics really made me stop and think.

http://espn.go.com/i/media/nfl/2003/1106/photo/bledsoe_sc_gr.jpg

[Jeff1220]

W-L is a lot better. That's pretty important.

[BillsFever]

This shows that he has been mediocre no matter who the coach was.

[RedEyE]

Originally posted by Jeff1220
W-L is a lot better. That's pretty important.

Is it though? + 5 out of 59 games. I'd hardly call that A LOT better.

[socalfan]

Wow, it looks like Drew hit a wall a long time ago....although you can't say even half of all NFL QBs have a career rating over 80.

[WG]

What is shows is that NE's success was NOT due to their passing game. That's what it shows.

[User Manuel]

I agree, New england has always been able to run when they have been good. Maybe not 120+ yard games, but they have always been able to get the tough yard.

The biggest thing about Parcells, Belichek, Johnson all the top coaches of the last 20 years is this:

In the modern NFL turnovers and DUMB penalties hurt you more than just about anyones natural ability. They are the greatest equalizer.

The best coaches teams don't make the critical mistakes. Bledsoe, while full of talent, brimming with it, makes mistakes at extremely crucial times.

Poor coaching allows that, it might not cause it, but it does allow it.

Great coaching recognizes these flaws and either teaches a way to improve on these flaws or figures a strategy to avoid them.

Williams can't do that.

What I wonder is this. Why doesn't anyone question Bledsoes football sense more. I get the feel his real problems come when he needs to adjust?

Just a thought.

[WG]

Well, they will be "questioning his football sense more", I can guarantee you that. If you thought his first half was bad, then close your eyes for the second half. It ain't gonna get any prettier.

As to coaching, the primary culprit is Gilbride, who as you say not only does not "coach around" Dredsoe's flaws, he actually "coaches into them" if you can believe that.

That's why when everyone was raving last year that "the Bills best chances are when the ball is in Drew's hands" I thought it was ridiculous and the facts supported that the more attempts he had the worse the team did. It's the complete opposite as you suggested. Gilbride isn't made of what it takes and one of these days when he finally passes on, perhaps they can do an autopsy and find out what's actually inside of his head.

I'm curious myself!

Rocks, sand, crabs, fruit bats, Farina, donuts, solid waste, ...who knows, but it ain't brains!

[ajsdx]

no

[IHateTheDullphins]

I'm gonna go out on a whim and say...........no frickin way.

[justasportsfan]

Originally posted by Wys Guy


That's why when everyone was raving last year that "the Bills best chances are when the ball is in Drew's hands"

everyone? :scratch:

[mybills]

No, but an eye doctor might. ;)

[caveboy]

Doubt it is just the coach that would make that happen. As several have mentioned, OC plays a big part. What gets me is that more and more, Gilbride seems to have him living off a steady diet of 5-7 step drop patterns for plays with long routes.

Drew has made the short, quick slants or screens this season, so it's not that he physically can't make the throws, but it seems like they don't want him to do that. The glamerous 'big plays downfield' for 50 yards are nice, but if they ain't making them, nothing wrong with a dump-off for 5-10 yards.

A lot of teams seem to have no problem throwing short. Watch how many times he looks off open receivers, (Henry, Gash), coming out of the backfield in favor of someone doubled up downfield.

[Voltron]

I am still 100% behind Drew but I am getting annoyed with his John Madden approach to interviews. You ask him a question and he becomes Mr. obvious "We need to become more consistent in the red zone" GEE YA THINK!

I mean come on Drew stop playing Joe PR and say what you think instead of the old OBD "Talking points" that are handed out like at a politicol convention.

[zone]

How about a decent line.

[BuffaloRanger]

Wow Drew is only 3 games above .500 for his career. I hope that improves drastically.

[WG]

zone,

He had a decent line last year and didn't play much better. Sure, the end-of-year stats were better, but who cares. Three of his best games came against Minnesota, Houston, and Chicago for 9 TDs/0 INTs. Plenty of other teams w/ "worse" QBs and poorer talent otherwise beat those same teams. After that he was an extremely average and un-$6M-like 15 TDs/15 INTs. Is that what we're paying that kind of money for?

Everyone always says "they need to correct the O around Drew" or get players at 5 or 6 other positions. Here's a thought, how about getting a QB w/ some mobility first of all, and then one who can do some of the things that Drew does poorly, better? What's wrong w/ that approach instead of the endless effort to continually find the exact permutation of the collection of talent around him?

It doesn't make sense to me. What it's showing is that everyone realizes there's an issue, yet, instead of addressing the issue, we're gonna make this thing work come hell or high water w/ him in there and if it means smashing a square peg through a round hole, then that's what we're gonna do. It's a waste of years of the other talent on the team.

Why is it that so many fans simply cannot let go of the notion that Drew is no longer any good?

He had what, 2 good seasons prior to coming to Buffalo? I don't see anymore than that. If I'm missing one, please, someone tell me which one. I count his 27/15 and 28/15 seasons as having been good. After that, average at best, often worse than average.

Many of you will start bringing up his "pro bowl" appearances, but big deal. He made two of them in replacement for injured starters. Wow! That's impressive. And the third he was the last alternate.

Then everyone insists that there are few other QBs in the league who can toss 0 TDs and 2 INTs for us and do little else. I just don't get it.

His biggest asset is his arm strength, and I don't know about everyone else, after watching this season I think he's lost some of that. His accuracy on the deep balls, even beginning to be evident last season, is not good! Ironically on ESPN yesterday Salsbury said "Drew still had it" regarding arm-strength. Not sure what he's watching, but Drew appears to have lost a lot of it b/c many of his deep balls are underthrown these days. If they're not under, then their wide or behind.


Voltron,

I'm "behind" Drew. But at some point when your field commander keeps leading you into battle and keeps costing you troops w/o achieving the objectives and without good battlefield common sense and performance himself, it's only natural that at some point you lose faith, confidence, and start to question.

If we want to see this team move forward in the future, then it's gonna have to be minus Drew. For those of you who are so hung up on Drew, you'll need to come to that realization. Drew's done absolutely nothing impressive in this league since 1997. Isn't it possible that he is washed up!

How much longer are we gonna try to turn a so-so QB incapable of playing well v. decent teams into a Super Bowl caliber QB while wasting all the other elements on the team thru age?

And if this post still manages to fall short, consider his salary! At $6M, is this kind of play even worth a third of that? Heck, for $6M we ought to be getting a LOT better than this.

Whatever tho. As long as the fans wanna see Drew, I suppose the chances are that he'll be around. I still say he plays so miserably over the next 8 games that at least half of you remaining on the "keep Dredsoe" bandwagon jump off long before the season ends.

This notion that Drew is a Super Bowl QB has little basis. He played miserably in the playoffs on a regular basis in N.E., and he's playing exactly the same way here in Buffalo v. the types of teams on our schedule that are over .500 and do make the playoffs. If his miserable performances v. those teams from here on out are not enough to convince all of you Dredsoe die-hards, then nothing will.

:idunno:

[WG]

BTW, there's no coach in the world that can mold a lump of clay into a bronze statue!

[WG]

At least the "statue" part is done...

:D

[Novacane]

Originally posted by BuffaloRanger
Wow Drew is only 3 games above .500 for his career. I hope that improves drastically.


I did not realize he had such an average winning % either. That does not bode well for the Bills future under him IMHO. He's been a 500 QB for 10 years. Why should that change now?

[TigerJ]

It is interesting to note that Parcells was quoted this week as saying he would love to have Bledsoe as QB no matter where he was coaching. Presumably with the success he's had as a coach he has a pretty good eye for ability. If so, then he's either blowing smoke or he really thinks Bledsoe can produce.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by TigerJ
If so, then he's either blowing smoke or he really thinks Bledsoe can produce.

I think it's the latter. With the right coaching, Drew can still be a big-time performer. Sure he'll make mistakes, but who doesn't? I think we as Bills fans get to thinking that every QB who plays in Buffalo should be a clone of Jim Kelly and it just isn't going to happen.

[HenryRules]

Yeah ... and Marcel Dionne was a crappy hockey player cuz the Kings never won. There's 22 players on the field ... yet only one gets the blame for winning or losing? Get real.