Tweet
Bill Parcells has a problem with quarterbacks. He doesn’t trust them, especially young ones. It’s worked pretty well for him during a career that’s taking him straight to Canton. But it could also end up being the glaring blot on his record.
There’s no question that Parcells wants Drew Bledsoe, due to become a free agent Wednesday when the Bills are expected to release him to clear the way for sophomore J.P. Losman to take over the team. And if Cowboys owner Jerry Jones agrees — and he has indicated he does — it could be both the best thing and the worst thing that’s happened to the Cowboys since America’s Team began to go into decline after the 1995 season and 1996 Super Bowl.
It will be the best thing to happen because with a healthy Julius Jones, ample cap room, and two first-round draft picks coming aboard, the Cowboys figure to rebound next year — if they can get a reliable quarterback.
It will be the worst thing because Parcells is in the third year of a four-year deal, and he’s not looking to rebuild the young Cowboys; he’s looking to win it all now, even if that isn’t possible. So he’ll go with a veteran, as he always does, and make Drew Henson so invisible you’ll wonder if he’s still on the team.
And in one or two years, when Parcells leaves yet another job, the Cowboys will have an old man at quarterback and a prospect who’s never had a chance to develop.
There’s no way around it. If Bledsoe is available and amenable to playing for Parcells, who took Bledsoe and the Patriots to the Super Bowl in 1996, he’ll be the starting Cowboy quarterback next year.
Bledsoe fits the Parcells’ mode. Like Vinny Testaverde, Bledsoe can’t outrun a glacier and tends to throw to the wrong-colored jerseys at the worst possible moments. But also like Testaverde, Parcells has worked with him before, back when both were considerably younger in New England. Also like Testaverde, Bledsoe can probably have decent success in an offense that’s build around a running game and doesn’t ask the quarterback to throw three of every four plays.
But Testaverde never got Parcells back to a Super Bowl, not with the Jets, who lost to Denver in an AFC championship game thanks to a Testaverde meltdown, and not in Dallas, where Vinny gave it his best, but was too old and slow to carry the team by himself.
Bledsoe isn’t going to be any different. It’s nine years since he took the Bills to the Super Bowl, and his stats are starting the inevitable slide into oblivion.
There’s no question that Parcells wants Drew Bledsoe, due to become a free agent Wednesday when the Bills are expected to release him to clear the way for sophomore J.P. Losman to take over the team. And if Cowboys owner Jerry Jones agrees — and he has indicated he does — it could be both the best thing and the worst thing that’s happened to the Cowboys since America’s Team began to go into decline after the 1995 season and 1996 Super Bowl.
It will be the best thing to happen because with a healthy Julius Jones, ample cap room, and two first-round draft picks coming aboard, the Cowboys figure to rebound next year — if they can get a reliable quarterback.
It will be the worst thing because Parcells is in the third year of a four-year deal, and he’s not looking to rebuild the young Cowboys; he’s looking to win it all now, even if that isn’t possible. So he’ll go with a veteran, as he always does, and make Drew Henson so invisible you’ll wonder if he’s still on the team.
And in one or two years, when Parcells leaves yet another job, the Cowboys will have an old man at quarterback and a prospect who’s never had a chance to develop.
There’s no way around it. If Bledsoe is available and amenable to playing for Parcells, who took Bledsoe and the Patriots to the Super Bowl in 1996, he’ll be the starting Cowboy quarterback next year.
Bledsoe fits the Parcells’ mode. Like Vinny Testaverde, Bledsoe can’t outrun a glacier and tends to throw to the wrong-colored jerseys at the worst possible moments. But also like Testaverde, Parcells has worked with him before, back when both were considerably younger in New England. Also like Testaverde, Bledsoe can probably have decent success in an offense that’s build around a running game and doesn’t ask the quarterback to throw three of every four plays.
But Testaverde never got Parcells back to a Super Bowl, not with the Jets, who lost to Denver in an AFC championship game thanks to a Testaverde meltdown, and not in Dallas, where Vinny gave it his best, but was too old and slow to carry the team by himself.
Bledsoe isn’t going to be any different. It’s nine years since he took the Bills to the Super Bowl, and his stats are starting the inevitable slide into oblivion.
Comment