All About AMERICAN FOOTBALL

[EZRA]

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Bledsoe was an exceptional QB ... he may not have a ring or broke any records but hell, he's one of the best in his time. Key word is, IN HIS TIME. I'd even put him in par with FAVRE in his heyday, he was even closely compared to Dan Marino at one time... but Bledsoe did his stuff without major support all throughout his career.... hardly no superstar support at all in the offensive line. But now, Bledsoe is past his prime, yet he's still playing. If anyone should quit (amongst aging QB's) it should be him.

T.O. is no whacko... close to being one, but not entirely. He's a loud-mouthed, tactless superstar who wants attention... but thing is, he can back it up. All the talk and the antics, he can back it up on the court. Would I take his word seriously? NOT ALL ... but would I take it into consideration? YES... he wasn't trying to glorify FAVRE in the process when he made that comment.. he was trying to make a comparison between FAVRE and MCNABB even with Favre on a winless streak last season (0-5 at the time of that interview I think).

[EZRA]

By the way... Rothlisberger is in trouble... driving with a suspended bike -learners permit... surgeries on his face.... broken nose and cheekbones I think it was.

[omad]

Bledsoe was compared to Marino? maybe because of their numbers.. but I don't think so.. their numbers are close right now but Bledsoe's number has been accumulated all these years unlike Marino where you can see why he had those numbers and witnessed them when those happened. Drew on the other hand had had spurts, a great game against the Vikings more than ten years ago. he led the Patriots to their first trip to the Super Bowl but was unable to play because of injury so there goes this guy named Tom Brady.. and the rest is history. as far as how they (Favre/ Marino) play the game, Bledsoe is not in their league, not even close.

naturally T.O. would use Favre's name that time 'coz nobody (who's still playing QB) in the NFL compares to the mystique Favre has. most QB's are still up and comers except for Brady, I guess, that's why T.O. threw that name out. it's for media consumption is what I think it was. just T.O. being T.O... stirring the pot of controversy.

[omad]

re Roethlisberger: really bad news. not only for Steelers fans but the whole NFL as well. his coach (Cowher) talked to him as well as Terry Bradshaw about him not wearing a helmet when riding his bike a year ago. it was when news broke out about Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr's bike accident and a couple of years prior, Chicago Bulls guard Jason Williams had a crash, again, - with a bike -.

this is a very complicated issue for the players and the owners on how they'll deal with it as far as contracts go. expect stipulations on rookie contracts this year to specifically include " No Bike Rides". most NFL contratcs have the "significant risk of personal injury" outside of playing football clause but time and time again, athletes don't heed this agreements. and Big Ben is one of the biggest-named athlete on that list... they'll never learn..

[EZRA]

He could've threw in Brady's name in there... or maybe Manning and Vick (QB's who's on their way to greatness). Â*But I agree, T.O. was stirring controversy but his words still has a little amount of merit in them.

Bledsoe was compared to Marino I think that was when the Pats faced the Dolphins on an AFC championship game. Â*Bledsoe will never be in Favre's or Marino's league since like I said, he never had the chance to be in a real good team with good teammates, yet he led decent teammates to the playoffs which is an achievement in itself. Â*During his time, he was great... heck, he was probably one of the top 5 in the league... a league who had Elway, Marino, Favre, etc,.. Â*

He had the potential of being one of the best, I'd put him along with Doug Flutie as potential greats but never got the chance to prove it. .... and I guess Parcells still thinks that Drew have something left in him, Personally, I don't.... but maybe with OWENS as target, it may be possible, Drew never had a receiver as good as T.O.

[EZRA]

By the way.... Bledsoe got to the Superbowl and lost facing Favre and the Packers. The 2nd Superbowl season, Drew was on the injured list early on the season before Tom Brady stepped in.

[EZRA]

It's a wonder how someone can be so smart on the field yet so dumb in real life. He had a suspended learner's permit.... and not wearing a helmet. The "superstar" Ego got the best of him I guess.

[omad]

By the way.... Bledsoe got to the Superbowl and lost facing Favre and the Packers. The 2nd Superbowl season, Drew was on the injured list early on the season before Tom Brady stepped in. I stand corrected on both counts 'coz Bledsoe did face Favre in Superbowl XXXI and had comparable stats with him but with 4 interceptions (his achilles heel). and Bledsoe was out after 2 games then Brady took over the team and led them to a Super Bowl win in 2001 right after he signed a 10 year contract.

BTW, Bledsoe is one of those "smart guys on the field" but dumb off of it, he spends his spare time riding his big bikes.

[omad]

Bledsoe / Doug Flutie: that's fair enough.. but Elway, Marino, Favre.. those are proven commodities. "legends" if I may say.

"has potential" is still debatable. a lot of stuff needs to be considered. not only teammates but also performance under pressure.

that's why I won't mention Bledsoe's name next to Favre's.. maybe that's just me.

[EZRA]

Maybe Bledsoe's performance this year might surprise everyone. I think his time has passed but who am I to argue Bill Parcells, and with Terrel Owens as the receiver, there's a lot of possibilities (and the possibility of T.O. being T.O. in Dallas).
As far as Bledsoe having potential, I think he did... he was the same type of QB as Marino was (pocket QB's) and actually, Bledsoe is more mobile than Marino. He racked up a lot of numbers with the Pats back then and they were always in the playoffs. Like I said, during his glory days, Bledsoe was probably one of the top 5 QB's on the league.

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By the way.... where did Keyshawn go??