He hasn't broke them already?

Bledsoe doesn't seem the type to get too upset over something like that.

At any rate, he still holds the Patriot's record for most times sacked (262) in a career. At 217, Brady has a ways to go.

Most incompletions too-- 1,974-- in a career still seems pretty safe over Brady's 1,484.

Bledsoe had a good career. He won a lot of games and racked up a lot of yards. He has nothing to get upset about.

OK, I get the snark, but in exchange for taking his jerb, Brady got Drew Bledsoe his championship ring.

And let this be a lesson to the drama queens: Bledsoe in turn helped Brady get there by NOT being an ass. Like any number of corporate wageslaves, he returns from the hospital to see he's been replaced by a younger guy. But instead of turning into a paper tornado or sobbing in front of the cameras, he speaks his mind, then shuts the fark up and rides the wave of success to the Patriots' first Super Bowl victory.

Bledsoe is the polar opposite of reality TV material. I say that as a high compliment.

i am quite surprised Bledsoe has patriots records Brady hasn't broken yet.

dragonchild: OK, I get the snark, but in exchange for taking his jerb, Brady got Drew Bledsoe his championship ring.


Well Bledsoe won the first AFCCG

People seem to forget that the Patriots wouldn't have gotten their first Super Bowl title without Bledsoe. Brady went out with a knee injury in the AFC championship game with the Patriots behind and Bledsoe stepped right up, had a great game and got the Patriots in.

MugzyBrown: Well Bledsoe won the first AFCCG

He helped, but if you're gonna give credit to one man:

Marisyana: People seem to forget that the Patriots wouldn't have gotten their first Super Bowl title without Bledsoe. Brady went out with a knee injury in the AFC championship game with the Patriots behind and Bledsoe stepped right up, had a great game and got the Patriots in.

First, Bledsoe replaced Brady in the 2nd quarter with the Patriots already up 7-3. Second, what got the Patriots in was a bend-don't-break defense, a healthy offensive line, a decent running game, a team-first attitude. . . and, yes, two Pro Bowl QBs. The key difference is that they finally stopped relying on QB heroics to win games. Only desperate teams do that.

Third, the AFC championship victory was largely won with huge plays by special teams and defense. Bledsoe, not to knock on his legacy or class, was a foolish boy in that game, taking huge unnecessary risks that luckily didn't drastically backfire. If special teams and defense give you a punt return for touchdown (Troy Brown FTW), a blocked field goal, fumble recovery, 44-yard field goal (Vinatieri FTW), 28-yard punt return and TWO fourth-quarter interceptions, well. . . if Bledsoe lost that game he would've left the stadium on a farkin' pike.

dragonchild: First, Bledsoe replaced Brady in the 2nd quarter with the Patriots already up 7-3. Second, what got the Patriots in was a bend-don't-break defense, a healthy offensive line, a decent running game, a team-first attitude. . . and, yes, two Pro Bowl QBs. The key difference is that they finally stopped relying on QB heroics to win games. Only desperate teams do that.

Third, the AFC championship victory was largely won with huge plays by special teams and defense. Bledsoe, not to knock on his legacy or class, was a foolish boy in that game, taking huge unnecessary risks that luckily didn't drastically backfire. If special teams and defense give you a punt return for touchdown (Troy Brown FTW), a blocked field goal, fumble recovery, 44-yard field goal (Vinatieri FTW), 28-yard punt return and TWO fourth-quarter interceptions, well. . . if Bledsoe lost that game he would've left the stadium on a farkin' pike.

Pretty much this. That game had a "Classic Bledsoe" moment, where Drew threw the ball backwards over his head while taking a sack. Thankfully it fell incomplete (may have been intentional grounding or in the grasp, I can't remember) but its not like Bledsoe won that game on his arm alone.

Now the 1993 season finale against the Dolphins (blacked out in the New England area, had to listen to it on the radio) was "Classic Bledsoe" in the good sense. I think he hit Michael Timpson for the game winning touchdown in overtime to knock the Phins out of the playoffs. One of the first games that they let Bledsoe air it out.

dragonchild: Second, what got the Patriots in was a bend-don't-break defense, a healthy offensive line, a decent running game, a team-first attitude. . .

Uh, I'm PRETTY sure a football victory is entirely due to the quarterback and never the defense or any other aspect. Do you even watch football?

tommyl66: That game had a "Classic Bledsoe" moment, where Drew threw the ball backwards over his head while taking a sack.

That's the moment that sticks out in my mind. It's as if a million New Englanders cried out "WTF", and were suddenly silenced by Epic Facepalm.

The Patriots are almost unrecognizeable now, but the 2001 Patriots were a team. It wasn't the Drew Bledsoe or Tom Brady Show. There was another name in the highlights every week until you felt you knew the whole roster. If there were any leaders at all, they'd be Troy Brown (yeah, fark you Terry Glenn) and Adam Vinatieri, not the QBs. The O-line and defense were such cohesive units it's hard to pick a single name out.

...And at the end of the day, they're both quadrazillionaires, so I'm not sure either has room to be upset about much of anything.

CalvinMorallis: ...And at the end of the day, they're both quadrazillionaires, so I'm not sure either has room to be upset about much of anything.

I remember reading a quote of Bledsoe's that amounted to, "Win or lose I still come home and my dogs jump all over me at the door."

tommyl66: That game had a "Classic Bledsoe" moment, where Drew threw the ball backwards over his head while taking a sack.

The one that sticks in my mind was him running out of bounds AGAIN and getting leveled AGAIN - all in pretty much the exact same manner that got him injured in the first place.

haplo53: The one that sticks in my mind was him running out of bounds AGAIN and getting leveled AGAIN - all in pretty much the exact same manner that got him injured in the first place.

Yeah, and that was on either his first or second snap of the game, too. The ultimate "who the hell is writing this script?" moment...

tdpatriots12: CalvinMorallis: ...And at the end of the day, they're both quadrazillionaires, so I'm not sure either has room to be upset about much of anything.

I remember reading a quote of Bledsoe's that amounted to, "Win or lose I still come home and my dogs jump all over me at the door."

That's actually kinda cool

dragonchild: The Patriots are almost unrecognizeable now, but the 2001 Patriots were a team


It's cute when fans think this. Chemistry is why teams win and lose! Team!

Um no, it's talent. Chemistry comes from winning, not the other way around.

MugzyBrown: It's cute when fans think this. Chemistry is why teams win and lose! Team!

The chemistry debate is usually reduced to a fallacy by people who don't understand it.

You can't create team chemistry in a vacuum. You can't suddenly get a bunch of guys to like each other. It's not to be confused with camaraderie, although that helps. If a bunch of people get along and they all suck, the team will still lose. This is the main argument the anti-chemistry crowd uses, and pretty much considers it a QED. What it really shows is that they have no farkin' clue what chemistry is.

The Patriots were a team in that, like every other team that won by chemistry, there was a professional, underlying understanding of what everyone was there for. It was not superstars nerfing themselves (a la Tim Duncan) to get dead weight involved; it meant any selfish action that detrimentally affected the team's chance of winning was not tolerated. Terry Glenn, by far the most talented receiver on that team, was BENCHED. Drew Bledsoe, a Pro Bowl QB, lost his starting job to a 2nd-year backup. These were politically tough decisions that teams with less "chemistry" would've wimped out on, with disastrous results. This started with Belichick, but Bledsoe set the pace by refusing to become a midseason distraction.

There wasn't much camaraderie in the first half of the season. They had a losing record for much of it. But unlike teams with less chemistry, the '01 Patriots basically swallowed any pride that was driving petty conflicts and focused on working together. As a result, a team with mediocre talent on paper got superstar results and went on to win the Super Bowl. Once everyone got the hand of it, they started playing way over their heads.

If some wishy-washy putz joins a team and shouts "chemistry", they won't get those results. The no-nonsense purge started during the preseason and didn't start paying off until the 2nd half when much of the fan base was calling for Belichick's head.

Marisyana: People seem to forget that the Patriots wouldn't have gotten their first Super Bowl title without Bledsoe. Brady went out with a knee injury in the AFC championship game with the Patriots behind and Bledsoe stepped right up, had a great game and got the Patriots in.

This is what always has been fascinating to me. It seems obvious to go with Brady in retrospect, but Tom Brady circa 2001 was not TOM BRADY yet. Bledsoe certainly had his ups and downs with the Pats, but he was still the guy that had put together 3200+ yards like every year he played for them, had taken them to not only the playoffs, but playoff wins, multiple times in the very recent past, and at only 29 years old in 2001, could have arguably still have been seen as "the QB" for the Pats. Brady lead the Pats to a lot of wins, especially down the stretch, but with 2800 yds, 18 TD's and 12 Int's wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire either.

Belichek's decision to go with Brady in the Superbowl, instead of giving the job back to Bledsoe, again in retrospect was genius, and honestly probably made his career, but the actual decision to do it was certainly a very gutsy call at the time. You know it has to kill Bledsoe to think what might have been, if he had been allowed to start and potentially win that Superbowl, given the Pats team that was put together at that time, and the run they made in the next 4 years.

Bledsoe looked like the second coming of Dan Marino back when he had Bruce Armstrong protecting him and Ben Coates as a safety valve.

He reached 30K on the same sort of pace but after Armstrong and Coates faded his weakness for holding on to the ball too long became exposed and the pace that set all those Patriot records slowed down dramatically.

He was always a class act in new England and I'll always remember him fondly.

Great job, Mo Lewis, bringing Tom Brady into this world!

tdpatriots12: MugzyBrown: Well Bledsoe won the first AFCCG

He helped, but if you're gonna give credit to one man:

That isn't a picture of the referee from the Snow Job, so you're wrong.

Bledsoe will always be remembered in my heart for burgers. (new window)

I don't remember the date, but I do remember a game vs the Vikings that was a typical Bledsoe game. Despite being within striking distance to take the lead and win the game, Bledsoe made stupid decision on consecutive series from what I remember. He's always had the brawn, but not the brains. And that was always Brady advantage, he was a good field general. If Bledsoe had played smarter I bet he would have won a couple of Super Bowls.

If teams have chemistry, then the Patriots' (complete lack of) secondary and O-line are strong acids, mixing together, with a bunsen burner nearby and a broken shards of rabies-infected glass directly behind the scientist mixing them.

skinink: Despite being within striking distance to take the lead and win the game, Bledsoe made stupid decision on consecutive series from what I remember. He's always had the brawn, but not the brains. And that was always Brady advantage, he was a good field general.

Bledsoe was encouraged to be the savior of a bad team and came damn close, but Elway and Marino could've told him you can't win a Super Bowl by yourself. The first refuge of a failing club is to expect the QB to do everything. Bledsoe went damn far with what he had, but he got too much into being the hero, keeping the team from realizing they don't need that mentality to win.

Belichick's promotion of 6th-round greenhorn Brady and 8th-round old guy Brown might've been the best thing to happen to New England, because their promotion over Bledsoe-Glenn killed the team's expectation of heroics once and for all. For all I know they hated each other, but they had -- yes -- chemistry in that they had excellent awareness of their own (and each other's) capabilities and limitations. Brady didn't have a power arm but he was accurate and careful, and a very quick thinker. Brown wasn't as athletic as Glenn but as a crafty veteran he could make reads and come down with the ball. If there was talent, it wasn't physical; it was mental -- they were the brainiest QB-WR duo in the league.

dragonchild: they were the brainiest QB-WR duo in the league.

You're saying this at the same time that Manning and Harrison were busy being the brainiest, most mentally in tune duo in the league.

bhcompy: You're saying this at the same time that Manning and Harrison were busy being the brainiest, most mentally in tune duo in the league.

No objections there, but the brainy side of Manning wasn't as apparent in '01 because A) Manning always had more physical talent than Brady and B) Brady-Brown was succeeding despite specifically lacking in physical talent. If Brady's the Greg Maddux of QBs, Manning's Pedro (in his prime).

Always liked Bledsoe, very class act.

/go Cougs
//was at the Snowbowl

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

*gaaaasp*


aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Bill Frist: dragonchild: Second, what got the Patriots in was a bend-don't-break defense, a healthy offensive line, a decent running game, a team-first attitude. . .

Uh, I'm PRETTY sure a football victory is entirely due to the quarterback and never the defense or any other aspect. Do you even watch footballESPN?

FTFY

Marisyana: People seem to forget that the Patriots wouldn't have gotten their first Super Bowl title without Bledsoe. Brady went out with a knee injury in the AFC championship game with the Patriots behind and Bledsoe stepped right up, had a great game and got the Patriots in.

I havn't forgotten that, but you're right, many people have.

//Cheers, Drew. (and thanks)

Whenever I think of Drew Bledsoe and what he thinks of Brady, I'm reminded of the face he made when the Patriots won the Superbowl.

I don't know if anyone remembers this (they even played a slow motion replay of it) but when the game was over, a boy-like Tom Brady slapped Bledsoe on the shoulder, and you could see him mouth the words "We farking won!" and Bledsoe just had like a "yea yea whatever" look on his face with his arms crossed.

I'll always remember it.

Bledsoe is showing some grace and class. Don't rip him for that - they are unfortunately rare among modern athletes and should be celebrated, not snarked.

InferiousX: Whenever I think of Drew Bledsoe and what he thinks of Brady, I'm reminded of the face he made when the Patriots won the Superbowl.

I don't know if anyone remembers this (they even played a slow motion replay of it) but when the game was over, a boy-like Tom Brady slapped Bledsoe on the shoulder, and you could see him mouth the words "We farking won!" and Bledsoe just had like a "yea yea whatever" look on his face with his arms crossed.

I'll always remember it.

"Course, Brady said in the "America's Game" show that right before the final drive the coaches told him to protect the football, and Bledsoe caught him before going on the field and told him something like "go out there and farking sling it!" Which is pretty cool. You get the sense from Brady that he thinks Bledsoe was a huge help to him that season.

A lot of folks only remember the late-career Drew Bledsoe, but until Brady surpassed him Bledsoe was the best QB in franchise history. He was key in turning around the franchise, got them to a Super Bowl, and basically is the single player who contributed most to making the current stadium happen. He also had a pretty decent 2nd half of his career as well - playing on mediocre Buffalo and Dallas teams.

What wound up changing the perception of him as a player more than anything else really was the change in the game away from the Marino-esque pocket passer. Right around 2001 defensive schemes started to take that away from teams, and it exposed what Bledsoe didn't do as well. Quarterbacks nowadays can't really get away with the 5-step drop and having time to see the whole field.

I think if Drew Bledsoe had come into the league about 5 years earlier he'd have wound up a HOF lock. 10 years later and he would have been Ryan Leaf without the personality issues (I mean just as a washout, not a douche). As it stands he had a good career, made his money, helped get to 2 Super Bowls, earned a ring, and retired happy, healthy, and fairly young. Plug he goes down in history as one of the Good Guys in the business. Nice.

jht: A lot of folks "Patriots fans" only remember the late-career Drew Bledsoe, but until Brady surpassed him Bledsoe was the best QB in franchise history. He was key in turning around the franchise, got them to a Super Bowl, and basically is the single player who contributed most to making the current stadium happen. He also had a pretty decent 2nd half of his career as well - playing on mediocre Buffalo and Dallas teams.

FTFY

And they only remember that because that's about when they started following football.

IAmRight: And they only remember that because that's about when they started following football.

When college football becomes as big as college hockey we'll start paying attention.

I'll always remember one of Drew's first press conferences after coming back from injury and learning he'd be backing up Brady. Many QBs -- MANY MANY MANY -- would be throwing a hissy fit. Bledsoe simply said, "I would like the opportunity to play for my job." That's all he would say about it.

Quiet and respectable. We need more players like him.