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FYI - I'm reposting this from the other thread so that it doesn't get lost because of all the "wysmania". This will be my final word on Drew for awhile. :)
NE39 has watched him as a Pats fan and I think his post sums it up perfectly. If you couple his post with the other stats...
* 4INTs for every 5TDs
* 15-to-1 attempts-to-sacks ratio
* 57% career completion (only 3 times over 60% in 11 years)
....you get the entire picture on Drew.
So in conclusion I will say:
Drew is not the answer and needs to go, especially at his ridiculous salary. He will not "magically" turnaround a career that has been consistently in-consistent and hopelessly average for 11 years, regardless of what people "hope" a rookie HC and rookie OC "might" be able to do. He is done. Time to rebuild.
And I'm done on Drew for awhile as well. Drew supporters have never and will never see the truth about him so it really pointless to continue, especially when you read a post like NE's which nails it so well and they still don't get it.
Originally posted by NE39
BTW Drew is not 2-2 in his last 4 playoff games. He is 1-3, if you give him the win for the AFC Champship game in 2001 where he came off the bench.
It was 3-0 Pats, and there were a few minutes left in the half. On the play Brady was injured, he completed a pass down to the Pittsburgh 40. Drew came off the bench and hit 3 straight passes to score a TD, then wasn't really effective the rest of the game, other than a big 3rd-down pass to Troy Brown late in the game when it got close.
In Bledsoe's defense, he hadn't played in a game since week 2, and had only been practicing about a month-and-a-half. However, that AFC Championship was a very erratic performance. He threw a couple of passes right to Pittsburgh defenders, which they dropped, and wasn't very accurate after his initial series.
His final numbers for that game:
10-for-21 (47.6%), 102 Yards (4.86 Yds/Att), 1 TD, 0 Int, 77.9 QB Rating.
Now, people are going to jump all over me and say I'm a Bledsoe-basher, and that is not true. I like Drew, and hope he turns things around this season. I also think people are many misconceptions about him. For instance:
- Drew is far from stupid, he is a very bright football player and understands the game. It is one of his strengths.
- Drew reads defenses well. Parcells and Belichick both said that Drew is good at making the proper pre-snap reads, and is so experience he is hard to fool. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't that Bledsoe gets confused about what the defense is trying to do against him that causes him problems, it is countering it.
- Drew is a good leader, and players like to play with him. As bad as he has played recently, his teammates still believe in him. He rarely calls out a teammate publicly, and is a respected lockerroom guy for the way he carries himself professionally. That is leadership.
- Drew absolutely hits the deep out pattern better than any QB in football.
- He is tough as nails. Nobody can say he isn't tough.
That said, Bledsoe has very identifiable weaknesses (IMO):
- He is about as mobile as a birdbath, and doesn't always sense the rush quickly enough.
- His focus downfield is so intent that he is slow to hit his checkoffs at times. Because he has stubbornly held onto the "gunslinger" mentality, he refuses to give up on deeper patterns and holds the ball too long.
- Though Drew has good work ethic and prepares like a Pro, he doesn't live, breath and eat football like some players. Football is important to him, but he values his time away from the game as well. He will attend the offseason program, but he also will disappear to Montana for long stretches. One of the big criticisms the Patriots coaching staff reportedly had of him was that he didn't do a lot beyond what he was expected. He was less likely to take extra film home with him and do extra preparation. That was the biggest reason the team went with Brady, who is always doing extra preparation and work.
- Drew has never been a good player in big games. Against good teams, his weaknesses are more apparent, so he tends to fade late in the season and in the playoffs.
I think that Drew can bounce back and be an effective QB again, but I can't say I ever see him being a good player against good teams. He hasn't played well against good teams in the past, and his playoff numbers are stunningly bad. Sure, he went to the Super Bowl in 1996, but the Pats got there on Curtis Martin's legs and solid defense. In only 1 playoff game has he completed 60% of his passes (60.6%, in 1996 against Jax). In only 3 playoff games has he thrown for 200 yards (235 Yds on 50 attempts in 1994 against Cle; 253 Yds in 48 attempts against Green Bay in the Super Bowl in 1996 and 264 Yds in 44 attempts against Pittsburgh in 1997 - all losses). He has never had a passer rating as high as 80 in a playoff game.
His career playoff numbers:
129-for-252 (51.2%), 1,335 Yds (5.3 Yds/Att), 6 TD, 10 Int, 58.2 QB Rating.
Those numbers speak for themselves. Can Drew turn it around and lead Buffalo to the playoffs if they have a strong running game and play good defense? Sure. Is he going to play well against good competition once he gets there? History says it is unlikely.
BTW Drew is not 2-2 in his last 4 playoff games. He is 1-3, if you give him the win for the AFC Champship game in 2001 where he came off the bench.
It was 3-0 Pats, and there were a few minutes left in the half. On the play Brady was injured, he completed a pass down to the Pittsburgh 40. Drew came off the bench and hit 3 straight passes to score a TD, then wasn't really effective the rest of the game, other than a big 3rd-down pass to Troy Brown late in the game when it got close.
In Bledsoe's defense, he hadn't played in a game since week 2, and had only been practicing about a month-and-a-half. However, that AFC Championship was a very erratic performance. He threw a couple of passes right to Pittsburgh defenders, which they dropped, and wasn't very accurate after his initial series.
His final numbers for that game:
10-for-21 (47.6%), 102 Yards (4.86 Yds/Att), 1 TD, 0 Int, 77.9 QB Rating.
Now, people are going to jump all over me and say I'm a Bledsoe-basher, and that is not true. I like Drew, and hope he turns things around this season. I also think people are many misconceptions about him. For instance:
- Drew is far from stupid, he is a very bright football player and understands the game. It is one of his strengths.
- Drew reads defenses well. Parcells and Belichick both said that Drew is good at making the proper pre-snap reads, and is so experience he is hard to fool. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't that Bledsoe gets confused about what the defense is trying to do against him that causes him problems, it is countering it.
- Drew is a good leader, and players like to play with him. As bad as he has played recently, his teammates still believe in him. He rarely calls out a teammate publicly, and is a respected lockerroom guy for the way he carries himself professionally. That is leadership.
- Drew absolutely hits the deep out pattern better than any QB in football.
- He is tough as nails. Nobody can say he isn't tough.
That said, Bledsoe has very identifiable weaknesses (IMO):
- He is about as mobile as a birdbath, and doesn't always sense the rush quickly enough.
- His focus downfield is so intent that he is slow to hit his checkoffs at times. Because he has stubbornly held onto the "gunslinger" mentality, he refuses to give up on deeper patterns and holds the ball too long.
- Though Drew has good work ethic and prepares like a Pro, he doesn't live, breath and eat football like some players. Football is important to him, but he values his time away from the game as well. He will attend the offseason program, but he also will disappear to Montana for long stretches. One of the big criticisms the Patriots coaching staff reportedly had of him was that he didn't do a lot beyond what he was expected. He was less likely to take extra film home with him and do extra preparation. That was the biggest reason the team went with Brady, who is always doing extra preparation and work.
- Drew has never been a good player in big games. Against good teams, his weaknesses are more apparent, so he tends to fade late in the season and in the playoffs.
I think that Drew can bounce back and be an effective QB again, but I can't say I ever see him being a good player against good teams. He hasn't played well against good teams in the past, and his playoff numbers are stunningly bad. Sure, he went to the Super Bowl in 1996, but the Pats got there on Curtis Martin's legs and solid defense. In only 1 playoff game has he completed 60% of his passes (60.6%, in 1996 against Jax). In only 3 playoff games has he thrown for 200 yards (235 Yds on 50 attempts in 1994 against Cle; 253 Yds in 48 attempts against Green Bay in the Super Bowl in 1996 and 264 Yds in 44 attempts against Pittsburgh in 1997 - all losses). He has never had a passer rating as high as 80 in a playoff game.
His career playoff numbers:
129-for-252 (51.2%), 1,335 Yds (5.3 Yds/Att), 6 TD, 10 Int, 58.2 QB Rating.
Those numbers speak for themselves. Can Drew turn it around and lead Buffalo to the playoffs if they have a strong running game and play good defense? Sure. Is he going to play well against good competition once he gets there? History says it is unlikely.
NE39 has watched him as a Pats fan and I think his post sums it up perfectly. If you couple his post with the other stats...
* 4INTs for every 5TDs
* 15-to-1 attempts-to-sacks ratio
* 57% career completion (only 3 times over 60% in 11 years)
....you get the entire picture on Drew.
So in conclusion I will say:
Drew is not the answer and needs to go, especially at his ridiculous salary. He will not "magically" turnaround a career that has been consistently in-consistent and hopelessly average for 11 years, regardless of what people "hope" a rookie HC and rookie OC "might" be able to do. He is done. Time to rebuild.
And I'm done on Drew for awhile as well. Drew supporters have never and will never see the truth about him so it really pointless to continue, especially when you read a post like NE's which nails it so well and they still don't get it.
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