A tough drop for Bledsoe
February 20, 2005
The Buffalo Bills asked Drew Bledsoe last week to accept a backup role behind untested J.P. Losman -- a request that led to Bledsoe's impending release -- because coach Mike Mularkey decided he needed to shift away from the drop-back, downfield passing that Bledsoe represented to the more quick-striking offense the Patriots have turned into an art form.
But Mularkey also was concerned about how his offense produced under Bledsoe in the most important games last season: the two with New England, the game with Baltimore, and the season-ending loss to the Steelers.
The Bills hoped Bledsoe would remain to be a mentor to Losman and a reliable backup capable of still winning in the NFL. But he rejected that idea, even after general manager Tom Donahoe spent a lengthy period of time trying to talk him and his agent into seeing the wisdom of the move, much the way Rams running back Marshall Faulk and the Steelers' Jerome Bettis accepted reduced roles in their teams' offenses.
Just last week, Faulk agreed to stay with the Rams even though the starting job will go to Steven Jackson next season. Bettis agreed to sit behind Duce Staley this past year, working only in short-yardage situations. But when Staley was injured, Bettis took over and rushed for nearly 1,000 yards, showing that his skills were not as diminished as some had suggested.
But Bledsoe argued that his situation was not comparable because there is only one quarterback. Bledsoe was reminded that injuries can change the landscape quickly at quarterback, and that Losman remains an untested commodity, but that didn't change his mind.
In the end, like most players when this moment comes, Bledsoe was shocked and disappointed.
"If you're looking for life or football to be fair, you're going to be disappointed a lot," said Bledsoe. "Do I think this is fair? No, I don't think this is fair. But I'm also aware that that's how it works. When I had the conversation with Mike and first found out the direction they were going to go was with J.P., I was beside myself. It was a shock to me, no question. I was very disappointed. Very angry. All those things.
"But since then, I've gotten around to where I'm excited about finding out what the future holds and moving on to the next challenge. I don't know where I'm going to land but I'm going to land someplace and you'll see me on the field next year playing for somebody and going forward with my career with that same intention in mind of winning a world championship. That's the one and only goal I have. To win a world championship in the NFL."
Dallas coach Bill Parcells is interested in Bledsoe, but only if the price is right. He will not break his salary cap to land him, nor will he be lured into a bidding war with another team.
What Bledsoe faces now is much the same situation Jim Plunkett faced after he was driven out of San Francisco in disgrace. He went to Oakland shellshocked and sat on the bench for nearly two years before his chance came. When it did, he went on to win two Super Bowls. But Bledsoe is unwilling to sit, and the game is different today.
A player like Plunkett would find things more difficult, as Bledsoe now has, because the day of the drop-back passer seems to have faded.
"It's just a lot harder to do it today with the way defenses come after you," said Donahoe. "It's harder to protect that kind of pocket quarterback. It would be tougher for even a [Johnny] Unitas today.
"The biggest change in football in the last seven or eight years has been the defenses and what they do to you. The way they attack a quarterback is much more varied than it was 15 or 20 years ago, and that's made it tougher for the classic drop-back quarterbacks. Offensive linemen now are big, strong guys who are not as athletic as the guys we find on defense. The guys rushing the passer today are generally better athletes. They're faster and quicker and that's made it unrealistic to ask an offensive line to hold its pass protection for five seconds the way the Raiders did when Plunkett was playing."
Bledsoe continues to believe otherwise and he is willing to gamble his legacy on it. If he experiences the same kind of problems he suffered through with the Bills for much of his time there, all the numbers he's posted and all the games he's won will be overshadowed by a false perception that he was more journeyman than Pro Bowler despite his four appearances in that game.
