Drew Fights Back!

[Earthquake Enyart]

There's a lot of truth to what he says.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20041028/1065499.asp

"I will tell you that in looking at my own play, here is the situation, being completely honest with you," Bledsoe said. "I am the quarterback of a team that's a power-running team. Yet we have not run for a touchdown through six games.

"I'm in a situation where we've made a great emphasis to get back and get the ball off more quickly, yet I've still been hit as much as anybody in the league.

"Going back and looking at it, I've got seven interceptions for the year. Five of those were tipped balls - one of them on a Hail Mary and one on a poor officiating call.

"Going forward from here, I'm trying to do everything I can. To this point, based on what I've been given, in some instances I feel like I've done what I can."

Bledsoe is 22nd in passing efficiency, with a rating of 73.6. He has six touchdown throws to go with his seven interceptions.

Bledsoe rarely offers excuses in assessing the team week after week. However, with criticism of him mounting with each Bills loss, it was clear he was determined to more strongly defend himself.

"To have basically two interceptions for the year that are basically my fault while I'm still taking some shots, it is what it is," Bledsoe said. "I'm certainly not asking for a free pass or anybody's sympathy. I live a blessed life. But at the same time, when I look at it, I also have to be honest with myself and say, "Hey listen, in this last game did I do everything that I could?' No. I certainly didn't. Has that been the case all year? No, it hasn't.

[Jayhawk]

ah so he's using the "offical sucks" excuse

[Buckets]

I noticed he didn't mention any of the bad passes he threw that wern't intercepted.

[TedMock]

It's about time. I like the guy, but my biggest complaint has been that he's too nice. He's the QB, he makes his share of mistakes, but we all know that he shoulders the blame for the rest them too. He needs to hold the others accountable, and he needs to do it loudly. I'm not giving him a free pass on his mistakes (lord knows they're plentiful), but I'd like to know more how the others have screwed up. Not the obvious stuff, but the stuff that we as fans can't possibly know just from watching the game. Did the guard pull the wrong way? Did the RB block to the wrong side? Did the TE run a route instead of blocking down? Things that big Jim used to call these guys out on.

[justasportsfan]

"Hey listen, in this last game did I do everything that I could?' No. I certainly didn't. Has that been the case all year? No, it hasn't.

that scares me. The minute he tries to do everything he can do, he usually screws up. We need him to be Dilfer like. Just like the first 5 games.

The thing is and I agree w/ him, if we had a running game like we did against Miami, we would've won more games.

[superbills]

Look. While Drew deserves the criticism that he gets for some of the bad play that we've seen, he's certainly not the main problem and people need to realize that even JP would be in trouble behind our sorry excuse for an O-line. I want to see JP in there as much as the next guy, but I'm afraid of putting him in there too soon to get the tar beat out of him from blind-side rushes. There is nobody on our line that I would trust with protecting my QB. That's pretty sad. Usually, even the worst lines in the league have one or two guys that you can say will hold their own during the course of a game and be someone you can run behind, or roll out toward to buy some time. We have turnstiles at every position, no one is exempt from that moniker. While Drew creates many of his own problems by holding on to the ball and not being able to throw short passes accurately, the line and the poor play of the receivers has to be factored in. It's actually refreshing to hear someone on the team talk about a collective failure on offense, rather than deliver the same old "We're working hard, getting better...blah blah.." crap we hear all the time.

[justasportsfan]

It's about time. I like the guy, but my biggest complaint has been that he's too nice.

So is the coach

[The King]

The first time in his career i have seen him defend himself like that.

[Jan Reimers]

Drew makes a lot of sense. While he certainly is part of the problem, anyone who thinks that we will improve dramatically when he finally sits down is delusional.

Our much ballyhooed power running game is something like 28th in rushing, without one single touchdown. Our O line can neither run block nor pass block. We commit enough stupid penalties to make the Pope curse. The team utterly fails to execute at the most critical moments.

And the coaching is mediocre at best.

I can't wait to see Losman at QB, just like most of the rest of you. But I don't think the reincarnation of Johnny Unitas, or Joe Montana in his prime, could help this particular team very much. There is an awfully lot to fix before we will be respectable again.

[don137]

I only buy a very small part of what Bledsoe is saying. How many of those tipped balls were great throws? Not many. He still does hang on to the ball too long even though it is better than years past.

He is forgetting with his lack of mobility teams are just stacking the line and blitzing knowing if it is a run the box is stacked to stop it and if is a pass taems know exactly where Bledsoe will be. If Bledsoe was mobile it would open up the run because teams wouldn't stack the box and people wouldn't have to just zero in on one spot on the field to get to the quarterback.

To sum it up a pocket passer without a quick release and a knack for when to get rid of the ball is a lame duck in this league.

[LtBillsFan66]

Good point don.

[The King]

His key point is about the run. Teams dont fear it. So they can afford to sit back and watch the pass and taking advantage of a poor offense line when you know they are going to pass is like taking candy from a snail.

[Hemlepp53]

The first time in his career i have seen him defend himself like that.

Agreed, But I'm glad he is doing it. I for one want to see him sit one ot to see the difference between him and Shane until JP is ready... But I'm glad the old guy has enough HEART to voice himself to the media and us questioning fans...

[DraftBoy]

wow! this took a long time but Im glad he said it. I do have a small problem with him not saying that tipped balls are his fault bc they are to some extent. I love that he called out the playcalling stratgey maybe Sunday we will finally see 30 carries for Willis

[don137]

His key point is about the run. Teams dont fear it. So they can afford to sit back and watch the pass and taking advantage of a poor offense line when you know they are going to pass is like taking candy from a snail.

Yes the OL is a weakness but Drew's lack of mobility, bad sense of knowing when to get rid of the ball and his inability to hold onto the ball compounds the problem. Due to all of his weaknesses it hurts the running game because defenses figure if they stack the line and it's a run they are in good position to stop it and if it is a pass we know where to go because Bledsoe has no mobility. A bad offensive line is even worse when a QB has all of Drew's weaknesses. Defenses continually expose this weakness and it doesn't take much to gameplan against the Bills offense.