Is it just me ????

[Đ²]

Or has anyone noticed that Bledsoe rockets the ball on short passes high & hard, basically leaving receivers streched out, exposed to a big hit (if they can catch it) with little or no leverage to absorb a hit.

A good example was the interception that went through Henry's hands yesterday. There was no reason whatsoever to rocket that high, above his head. You'll see the QB's that understand the short yardage game will place the ball to a receiver in the flats at his knees or sslightly below, so the receiver catches the ball and can get 2-3 more yards, because he catches it in a good football (i.e. leverage) position. Kelly, Thurm & Reed were masters of that kind of passing game.

If Blesoe keeps that up, the Bills receivers are going to be walking around looking like this with a helmet on by the end of the season...

http://www.christopherreeve.org/images/client/BrainSpinalCordlabld.gif

[The_Philster]

nope..it's not just you. Drew doesn't have a lot of touch on his short passes. Don't remember if he ever has. :idunno:

[HenryRules]

High passes in the flats are dangerous too ... anyone remember Flutie to Thurman?

[FTG]

nope..it's not just you. Drew doesn't have a lot of touch on his short passes. Don't remember if he ever has. :idunno:

Which leads us to the question of why are they trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?

[The_Philster]

Got a better option?

High passes in the flats are dangerous too ... anyone remember Flutie to Thurman?all too well...another reason I'm not fond of the midget :mad:

[BAM]

Pride, Cory and I were talking about that yesterday at the bar while we were watching the game. He threw at least 3 very high, quick passes into the flat, that I noticed anyways. You're right, he's gonna kill somebody if he doesn't cut that out...

[Đ²]

Which leads us to the question of why are they trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?


Hey, what you do in the privacy of your own bedroom is your business, but I'm sure nobody else wants to hear about it....

[hwc]

nope..it's not just you. Drew doesn't have a lot of touch on his short passes. Don't remember if he ever has.

As someone who watched every game Drew Bledsoe played in a Pats uniform, I can assure you that he never had particularly good touch on short passes. It was always noticeable on those screen passes out in the flat that depend on the receiver catching the ball in stride to make the first tackler miss. Drew routinely threw those a little too high, a little too low, or just enough out of sync that the receiver had to adjust to catch the ball, giving the defender a split second to react and make a play.

Bill Walsh pointed out the biggest flaw in Bledsoe's game, way back in the Pete Carroll era. Walsh said that he had studied a lot of film on Bledsoe and that he was consistently a half second late with his throws. Again, that half second is what the receiver needs to avoid the first tackler and turn a short pass into a longer gain. Walsh said that what Bledsoe needed to do was spend hours and hours every day during the offseason, working with his receivers to deliver the ball on time on short slants and crossing patterns. That never happened. Bledsoe's flaws became immediately obvious when Brady took over (quick release, accurate touch passes).

Bledsoe is one of the last of a dying breed -- the classic drop-back Marino-style riflemen. He made it work early in career because he would scramble around, improvise, and kill you with the occasional downfield completion, mostly in the two-minute offense. But, defenses in the NFL these days don't give QBs the time for that stuff.

I knew you guys were in trouble this year when all the talk was about teaching Bledsoe to run quick timing patterns and get rid of the ball. That's what Zampesi tried in the Carroll years and Bledsoe simply cannot do it. Bledsoe can stand there until a receiver is open and then rifle the ball to him. But, how often do you get that much time against modern NFL defenses?

Honestly, I think the only offense that would work for Drew these days is an offense that can pound the ball on the ground, picking up first down after first down. That is the only thing that will slow the pass rush and bring eight guys up in the box. Then, Drew can stand there and torch you on the occasional deep ball. But, a modern quick passing game? He can't do it and, at this stage in his career, he can't be taught. The guy has been taking an absolute beating in the pocket for too many years. He not only has a late release, he's shell-shocked. He's also way to stubborn to ever admit that he can't single-handedly win football games. Not like Kellen Winslow, of course, but in his own mind Bledsoe has always been "the chosen one".

Of course, nobody wanted to hear any of this when Donohoe was trying to convince the fine fans of Buffalo that he had pulled the wool over Belichick's eyes getting Bledsoe for just a first round draft choice. Belichick knew. He had seen Drew up close and personal since Bledsoe came into the league.