Doesn't it seem odd

[BillsFever]

How all kinds of teams are interested in Mark Brunell, but only a couple were interested in Bledsoe. Hmm, maybe it could be because everybody else knew he was washed up?

Brunell is 4 years older then Bledsoe when he hit the market, yet plenty of teams wanna trade for him. Bledsoe was only 29 years old at the time and we were the only ones willing to give anything up for him. You would think people would've been breaking down the door to have a shot at Drew.

Most of the league knew Bledsoe was washed up then. Too bad Tom Donahoe was one of the GM's who didn't think he was.

[The Spaz]

Yep should have known this would be another Bledsoe thread.

[CWOUSARET]

you mean another STUPID db-bashing thread!!!!!

[ryjam282]

The HUUUUUGE difference is the fact that Jax is only looking to get a 3rd rounder for Brunell and NE wanted a first. That is the obvious thing.

[The Spaz]

Also another things was Bledsoe came a with a huge contract.

[Tatonka]

Originally posted by ryjam282
The HUUUUUGE difference is the fact that Jax is only looking to get a 3rd rounder for Brunell and NE wanted a first. That is the obvious thing.

Originally posted by The Spaz
Also another things was Bledsoe came a with a huge contract.

exactly

[fabolouspaul]

He was washed up but still made it to the Pro Bowl last year?

[helmetguy]

NE needed to trade Bledsoe to dump salary, just the way they needed to cut Malloy. It just happened that, as Bledsoe came available, we had QB issues with hair on 'em. We had the cap room to acquire Malloy. Seems everytime the Bledsoe acqisition is brought up, hindsight requires that the attendant circumstances get altered to fit the "TD was duped" conspiracy theories. YEE-HEEESH!

[pats-were-right]

He was washed up but still made it to the Pro Bowl last year?

Yeah and he's got lots of passing yards too!!!!!

ROFLMAO

doesn't Brunell have a big contract too?

[BillsFever]

Originally posted by The Spaz
Also another things was Bledsoe came a with a huge contract.

Whoever trades for Brunell would have a 6.5 million dollar cap figure this year. Nope, that's not it.

Originally posted by helmetguy
NE needed to trade Bledsoe to dump salary, just the way they needed to cut Malloy. It just happened that, as Bledsoe came available, we had QB issues with hair on 'em. We had the cap room to acquire Malloy. Seems everytime the Bledsoe acqisition is brought up, hindsight requires that the attendant circumstances get altered to fit the "TD was duped" conspiracy theories. YEE-HEEESH!

Yeah, they needed to dump salary so bad, right after they traded Bledsoe they signed Brady to a big contract. The same season they had to eat millions of Bledsoe's signing bonus. Nope, that's not it.

They traded because he was junk, and Brady was a good QB.

[Dozerdog]

There were a number of teams interested (at least reported in Boston at the time) - Oakland, Denver come to mind off the top of my head- but cap space was a big part of the puzzle.

Plus, NE was looking for more than a #1 for starters. Since an unproven Rob Johnson commanded a #1 and a #4, and a relatively unknown backup Tim Hassleback fetched a #1 , the Pats (at lest the media reported) that they wanted 2 #1s, or a #1 and #2. Part of the reason the Pats waited until day 2 of the draft was they really pushed hard to get the #4 overall.

[Dozerdog]

Brunell is coming really cheap because his cap number has Jacksonville up against the wall. Trade or cut him. That drives the value down. Also driving value down is the strength of this year's draft (2nd rounders this year are just as if not more talented then the second half of the 1st round last year) - so teams aren't willing to part with picks htis year. Look at Henson- the Texans are already resigned to getting a pick next year instead of this year.

A deep QB draft also drives Brunell's price down




Meanwhile Brady was making under $300,000 so if the Pats were stuck with Bledsoe, they could definately afford it. As a matter of fact, it cost them more in cap space (over $7 million in accelerated bonus money) to trade him than keep him.

And while unhappy in his new role, Bledsoe was no where near being an issue in the Pats locker room.

[thenry20]

Re: Doesn't it seem odd

Originally posted by BillsFever
How all kinds of teams are interested in Mark Brunell, but only a couple were interested in Bledsoe. Hmm, maybe it could be because everybody else knew he was washed up?

Brunell is 4 years older then Bledsoe when he hit the market, yet plenty of teams wanna trade for him. Bledsoe was only 29 years old at the time and we were the only ones willing to give anything up for him. You would think people would've been breaking down the door to have a shot at Drew.

Most of the league knew Bledsoe was washed up then. Too bad Tom Donahoe was one of the GM's who didn't think he was.

What if Drew made the Pro Bowl a couple more times and takes us deep into the playoffs this year or next?

What then??

Would you rescind your comments?

[HenryRules]

Re: Doesn't it seem odd

Originally posted by BillsFever
Most of the league knew Bledsoe was washed up then. Too bad Tom Donahoe was one of the GM's who didn't think he was.

Aside from the "most of the league" part, what is there really to argue with?

Almost everyone on this board, Philster included (I know he hasn't posted yet, but where DD appears, Philster is sure to folllow), have stated, at a minimum, that if Bledsoe has another year like last year than he needs to be cut. 1 first rounder for one pro bowl season and approx. 18 mil in cap costs over 3 seasons (as an approximation on what DB will make this season). Is there really anyone right now that thinks this deal is looking good?

Look, I like Bledsoe and think he can end up being a solid starter assuming we bring in a few more people on offense, however, as it stands now, I really think we overpaid for him.

If there's any sort of bias on these boards, it's a pro-TD bias. If I have to hear, once more, "well, at the time everyone thought it was a good move" or "well, in hindsight, yes, it was something we could take back, but you can't judge someone by hindsight" I'm gonna puke. TD isn't paid to make popular decisions, he's paid to make correct decisions and have foresight. If popular decisions were what mattered, he could be replaced by an on-line poll. No, we have to judge TD's moves by the amount of foresight that he applies. And the only fair way to judge such actions is a few years down the road in hindsight.

I don't think the DB trade is a reason to condemn TD because I think a move-by-move evaluation is a horrible way to evaluate someone. However, to say that this trade cannot be judged in hindsight, or to say that this is a trade that worked out for the Bills, well, that's a bias if I've ever heard one. Who cares what other teams might have been willing to pay at the time?? We're the ones that coughed it up, so we're the only ones that could be judged that way.

Oh, and for all of those that think you cannot judge in hindsight ... how can you justify giving Drew one more season (which I think he deserves)? If you're judging him after the upcoming season, you are judging him in hindsight.

And also, as some people on this board like to toss around, changing your opinion on a move is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with changing one's opinion. No, hypocrisy involves saying one thing and doing another. An example of hypocrisy involving the DB trade would be:
At the time of the trade, professing that you were against the trade and saying that DB sucks, while at the same time, going out and purchasing more tickets than you usually would based on the belief that the DB trade is going to bring results.

Changing your mind on the trade after seeing the results is not hypocrisy, it is "changing your mind".

Sorry I went off on a rant and I realize that only a fraction of what was posted in this thread applies to what I wrote. However, some of the unreasonableness of a few posters on either side of these arguments in the last little while has basically made it impossible for a worthwhile discussion to take place.

[BillsFever]

Originally posted by thenry20
What if Drew made the Pro Bowl a couple more times and takes us deep into the playoffs this year or next?

What then??

Would you rescind your comments?

I sure would. And I would be more then happy to. I can only pray that time comes very shortly.