Bledsoe Truth: 1

[4thAndLong]

Games Bledsoe's passed over 300 yards.

@Minn W (400 yds, 45 pts)
Chi W (33 pts)
Oakland L (400 yds, 31 pts)
Detroit W (24 pts)
NE L (7 pts, played from behind most game)
MIA W (in blizzard conditons, 38 pts)
@NE L (17 pts, 4 INTs)

Thats 1 or 2 bad games where he's passed over 300 yards, and we're 4-3 when he does pass over 300 yards. @Minn, run shut down. Chi, Henry fumble for TD. Oakland, run shut down. Detroit, late Henry fumble almost costs game. NE, defense couldn't stop a 500 lbs guy taking a screen pass that day. Miami, snowy conditions. @NE, just a bad game. No one is perfect.

I'm totally fine when you bash Gilbride, but when you bash Bledsoe, look what he's accomplished.

[itsandthings]

Yardage isn't a good judge, especially in games the team loses since a QB can get garbage-time stats late in the game when the defense plays prevent.

How has Drew been when the running game isn't there? In games where Buffalo has rushed for less than 100 yards as a team, the Bills are 2-5 and Bledsoe has thrown 11 TD to 10 Int.

[WG]

its,

In games where Henry's had less than 100 yards, the Bills have been 3-5.

4th,

In games in which Henry has rushed for over 100 the Bills are 5-2. What's interesting is that the 2 games that he's rushed for over 100 yards, one we were criticized, not only by the media, but by most of us here, for not running Henry more. That was the K.C. game. We lost that game b/c we only ran Henry 8 times in the 2nd half. In the other game, it was the first Jets game. Henry was stellar and at least part of the reason we lost is b/c Drew threw an INT setting up the Jets at our 19 YL allowing them to take the lead.

[4thAndLong]

Wys, you know how I feel about Henry.

The only thing I'm arguing is how your bashing Bledsoe.

[WG]

Where am I bashing Bledsoe?

I've said quite often that he would be awesome if we only made Henry the focus of the O.

If by "bashing Bledsoe" you mean simply calling him average or ony slightly better than that, then yes, I'm guilty. But I've gotta tell ya, his performances as the season has gone on have sure supported that notion than the current party-line one that says he's a superstar and wins games by himself. I think that it should be perfectly clear by now that it simply isn't the case.

I've never suggested that we cut him. I've even stated that he's here at least thru the next two seasons and that I'm content with that as long as the coaching staff doesn't put him in the spot of trying to be the hero when he's never succeeded in that role, including this season. But honestly, at the level he's playing, we'd have to be nuts to sign him w/o some serious restructuring of his option or to pay him a cent more than what he's making now, next year and the year after that. We can do better for less over the long haul.

How do you construe that as bashing Bledsoe? The only way is if you think he's the best QB in the league, or among the top 3, and don't want to hear anything to the contrary. But again, the facts of his performances over well more than the last half of games played suggest otherwise quite strongly.

So again, I'm not sure what you mean by bashing Bledsoe. I think it's certainly unfair to Henry who hasn't complained about hardly being used in half of our games and his achieving to the level of 4th leading NFL rusher nonetheless. Someone who's surpassed Thomas' best season rushing TD wise as well as total TD wise and perhaps even yardage wise, close if not beaten. And someone who may break OJ's all-time Bills rushing TD mark, and if he doesn't break it, then comes close. I guess by the same token, I could say that everyone who thinks Drew does it all, as many do, are Henry bashers. Right?

I'm simply of the opinion here, and am trying to put forth corrections to some very faulty perceptions while trying to highlight some other truths that are apparently being voluntarily overlooked b/c they don't align w/ the "party-line." Again, if that's bashing, then so be it!

I don't think it is however. I think it's merely calling a spade a spade and viewing things objectively and supporting someone for team MVP who I think, based on results and overall team performances, is far more deserving of the MVP than Bledsoe is.

[4thAndLong]

I took that the wrong way, wys.

I took what you were doing as bashing him with all the threads started about him.

KG, IMO, is to blame for his piss-poor performance. No one player is going to be a teams offense.