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Reactions Bledsoe trade: Good or Bad? Users are split.Posted: Thursday October 31, 2002 9:48 AMSI's Peter King and Don Banks went Head2Head, asking, "Did the Patriots blow it with Drew Bledsoe?" when they traded him to Buffalo, opting to keep Tom Brady. Here are what users had to say:
Both King and Banks are right. Regardless of who is at the helm, the Patriots still would be where they are today. Keeping Bledsoe, who already was disgruntled after the Super Bowl, would have been a political problem. It would have been divisive to a team with all of the problems that Banks enumerates. One more problem, on top of the others. In all probability, Brady has a greater number of productive years ahead of him than does Bledsoe, even though Bledsoe may still continue to be good for a while. The only drawback was having to deal Bledsoe to the Bills.
The Patriots blew it! They acted far too soon based on a fluke year by Brady. Bledsoe is the best passer in the game today! I wake up every morning wondering why the Jets passed him up, life is just cruel to jets fans.
Drew wouldn't be setting the world on fire if he was in New England for two reasons: Eric Moulds and Peerless Price. Drew has never had that kind of talent at receiver, and now that he does he is realizing his true potential. New England would be in the same situation they are in now if they had kept Bledsoe. They thought they had it made having a good player to trade, but it didn't turn out that way. It's just bad luck.
Replacing Bledsoe with Brady is the equivalent to dumping your wife of 10 years who raised your kids and supported you through thick and thin for your big-boobed blonde secretary. No this was not business, this was a case of getting all giddy about a new toy you found. Let's all hope the Pats lose every remaining game this year. While owners blast players for lack of layalty, they ought to look in the mirror.
As a Pats season-ticket holder for the past 20 years I have been witness to every game that Bledsoe played. Quite frankly, he was unfairly blamed for the lack of success the past two years. Those teams were so lacking in talent both offensively and defensively. As to Bradys success last year, Pats scored seven touchdowns via defense and special teams. The Pats caught every break; these were the factors to the team's success. Bledsoe can play for any team and any system and make a team better. Can you say that about Brady?
Absolutely, New England made the right decision, and thank God for them. Without Bledsoe, football fans in Western New York would have been doomed to years of grabbing at the Trent Dilfers and Jeff Georges of the world and all the while wondering if Todd Collins has a number where he could be reached. I hated Bledsoe, now I love him. That magical transition is thanks to the New England brass and their move that has sparked the most intriguing division battles in football.
Don Banks has it exactly right. Brady isn't a bad quarterback, but he was far from the reason the Patriots won last year. He isn't the reason they're losing this year, either, at least not alone, but I was never convinced that he was as talented as people said. Three touchdowns in three games in the playoffs aren't exactly numbers that will make anybody recall Joe Montana. New England was too quick to throw blame on Bledsoe, and now they're sufffering, because they never solved the problems that caused people to get down on him in the first place.
New England absolutely made the right decision. The story's so old it barely bothers repeating. Would you have benched your Super Bowl MVP this season? The Pats were fortunate to have incredible depth of talent, but they weren't getting the most from their resources. When you don't use it, it goes to waste. The trade brought value to everyone: Brady gets to settle into his sophomore starting role, Bledsoe gets to have another run at the good times. Not bad if you ask me. Same case with Ricky Williams: Great numbers, productive season, best ever, yadda yadda. Sometimes, it's all about the chemistry and the timing. Bledsoe's happy for the Bills, we're happy cause we get to see a good guy play good football. Brady's with the Pats, OK, so the last couple of weeks they've tanked, but the Pats were kicking ass in the beginning. Brady's got a long future in the NFL. Net result: To each his own. The league is big enough for old starters and new surprises. You have to move the pieces around, try something new, make some hard choices, in order to make something happen. Just ask Tommy Maddox.
The Pats did what they had to do -- they had to make the bad move. Bledsoe is a better quarterback than Brady, but what else was there to do? It was Brady, not Bledsoe, who had just carried the Pats to a tremendous season and a great Super Bowl win. The same exact question came up with whom to start in the Super Bowl and they really had no choice -- it had to be Brady. Can their early failures this year be blamed on Brady or even on choosing Brady over Bledsoe? Of course not. The fact is they simply aren't talented enough to win the Super Bowl, or the conference, or even their division. They weren't last year either. It's no wonder they are playing the way they are; it would be a wonder if they had back-to-ack miracle years. The problem obviously is not Tom Brady; he is the best player on the team. The Pats need to surround him with some real weapons on offense and only then will they have a chance to win.
New England did the only thing it could do. Brady was the Super Bowl MVP; the man who led this team through snow and all to the promised land. Bledsoe -- high pick, great talent and huge salary -- had never won it all. The only way to avoid a major headache was to trade away one of them. So they sent Bledsoe to the only team that wanted him: Buffalo. It's easy to say they shouldn't have, but there's no way the Pats could have foreseen this. If they had, then Brady would have been traded and Bledsoe would be in the hot seat.
I think that given the situation the Patriots were in last year they made the only move they could. There was no way you could keep both QBs, and by being named the MVP of The Super Bowl, Brady's fate was sealed as a Patriot. As an ardent Bledsoe backer I am more than ecstatic to see him playing so well up in Buffalo. Bledsoe's trade to Buffalo can be compared to Roger Clemens leaving the Red Sox in order to sign with the Blue Jays. Like Clemens, Bledsoe has been rejuvenated by his new surroundings and is learning to love football again. However, unlike Clemens, Bledsoe is a class guy that now makes it easy to root for a one time bitter division rival. I look forward to this weekend's matchup as it will surely be an entertaining game.
I think both writers make good cases to support their opinions. Ultimately I believe this is the same win-win situation as Ricky Williams being traded to Miami. I'm sure as soon as Deuce McAllistar stutters then we'll start hearing "Did New Orleans blow it?" No one was complaining while the Pats were winning. Brady will be good, maybe even great, but he needs more support in the key position areas. Bledsoe was given the chance he needed to revive his career and has more skilled players in Buffalo. It's someone else's turn to step up and motivate the Patriots. Maybe this time a veteran will take that task. The Patriots' losing streak is not Brady's fault, the same as it wasn't Bledsoe's fault when the Pats failed after their '96 Super Bowl appearance. There just isn't enough talent in New England. And I doubt Bledsoe would have much more luck in New England than Brady is now.
New England made the worst trade possible. It is true that Bledsoe was a pricey backup, but that is a small price to pay for not playing against him. Belichick should have held on to Bledsoe a bit longer. With the Patriots struggling right now, Bledsoe could have started and turned the team around. Therefore it is just stupid to trade Bledsoe to Buffalo, especially knowing that the Bills have two of the best receiving corp in Moulds and Price. Belichick underestimated Bledsoe and overestimated his own team. In this upcoming week, Bledsoe will make the Patriots feel regretful. With Bledsoe, you are guaranteed a playoff oportunity; with Brady, you have a fluke year.
Pats did what they had to. Whose to blame: Dolphins, Bears, Bengals, Cowboys, Panthers, Cardinals, and specially Seahawks. Could you imagine Bledsoe with Bears wide receivers? What about running Holmgren's offense in Drew's home state? How about them Cowboys? The funny thing is, they were scared to give away a first-round pick. Huge mistake. Huge. It looks like the Bills would improve 10-15 spots at least from last year, hence giving the division rival a lot less than they were expecting. Would you give a 20-25 pick for Bledsoe right now? I bet some teams would give the first overall pick. Just ask the Bengals.
They blew it. Brady was not the reason this team won the Super Bowl last year. Their defense and special teams brought them their championship. They were a weak offensive team last year and they're a weak offensive team this year. Last year Brady was asked "not to make mistakes," and let the defense lead the way. This year the defense has faltered and Brady is being asked to "win games." If they wanted a quarterback who could put points on the board to make up for a so-so defense, they chose the wrong guy, that guy's in Buffalo ... and so are many of the Pats' fans.
The problem is that Bledsoe came up big for New England against Pittsburgh. In that game he showed that he still had it in him. His production in Buffalo has a lot to do with a change in scenery, plus a very talented receiving corps. I don't think he would put up these kind of numbers with the good, but not game-breaking, receivers that New England has. However, I still feel Bledsoe has always gotten the short end of the stick in New England. He was a warrior. He always battled for the team, and the way he was treated was not professional.
I agree for the most part with Peter King's assessment that New England had no choice in trading Bledsoe. I mean, how would it have reflected on the team to trade Brady, the guy who just won the Super Bowl MVP? It would look worse than what Buffalo did to Doug Flutie by putting Rob Johnson in at QB after Flutie played the first 15 games of the season and led them to the playoffs. Was it the "right" move? I'm not sure. I think Brady has potential, but I agree with Don Banks when he says that New England overestimated that potential because they were masked by "winning," when it was really the defense that was winning games for them. Personally, I think Bledsoe is the better QB of the two, and like Wayne Gretzky was for hockey, one of the classiest athletes in the game. |
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