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... is that this team ended up in it in the first place. They were forced to choose between a washed-up, mistake-prone veteran who can't win the big game and a raw 2nd-year QB with no starts or significant NFL experience. This never should have happened. What could have been done?
1. Never trade for Bledsoe- I think this would have been the wrong move. We desperately needed a QB and TD got back the first round pick that we traded for him (Peerless Price for Willis McGahee? That's like a Madden trade).
2. Cut Bledsoe after the '03 season. At this point, Bledsoe had struggled for a year and a half. But all the QB's available would have been Bledsoe with a different name (Warner, Brunnel, Henson- these guys couldn't have done any better). Also, Gilbride's system was so bad that it was difficult to evaluate Drew. Looking back on it, this may not have been such a bad idea.
3. Bench Bledsoe during the '03 season. Looking back, I think this would have been our best option. Mularkey was in a tough position- I'm sure he didn't want to make the same mistake the Giants did with Eli Manning and ruin a shot at the playoffs. Plus it's tough to pull a QB when the team's winning. But putting Losman in would have given him some more meaningful experience and this season would start smoother. As much as I enjoyed the late-season winning streak and playoff run, it may have cost us the '05 season. We ended up with the worst of both worlds- no playoffs and no playing time for Losman.
But I digress. I'm not a GM or a football coach, so I'm not entirely sure what all the options were. But the point is that we ended up in a QB situation where they were forced to choose the lesser of two evils (the coaches decided it was Losman and I think they're right). With better planning, this never would have happened in the first place- either choice would have put the upcoming season at risk for different reasons, and I resent that.
1. Never trade for Bledsoe- I think this would have been the wrong move. We desperately needed a QB and TD got back the first round pick that we traded for him (Peerless Price for Willis McGahee? That's like a Madden trade).
2. Cut Bledsoe after the '03 season. At this point, Bledsoe had struggled for a year and a half. But all the QB's available would have been Bledsoe with a different name (Warner, Brunnel, Henson- these guys couldn't have done any better). Also, Gilbride's system was so bad that it was difficult to evaluate Drew. Looking back on it, this may not have been such a bad idea.
3. Bench Bledsoe during the '03 season. Looking back, I think this would have been our best option. Mularkey was in a tough position- I'm sure he didn't want to make the same mistake the Giants did with Eli Manning and ruin a shot at the playoffs. Plus it's tough to pull a QB when the team's winning. But putting Losman in would have given him some more meaningful experience and this season would start smoother. As much as I enjoyed the late-season winning streak and playoff run, it may have cost us the '05 season. We ended up with the worst of both worlds- no playoffs and no playing time for Losman.
But I digress. I'm not a GM or a football coach, so I'm not entirely sure what all the options were. But the point is that we ended up in a QB situation where they were forced to choose the lesser of two evils (the coaches decided it was Losman and I think they're right). With better planning, this never would have happened in the first place- either choice would have put the upcoming season at risk for different reasons, and I resent that.
Bledsoe was the starter in '04 not the back up...Warner and Garcia panned out really well in NY and Cleveland didn't they...one is already on the street and the other could still be released...again, give me an alternative to Bledsoe for the '04 season. We had this debate last year...and the year before that...everybody *****es but nobody has a solution...
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