The Next Great Quarterback

[sheajets]

Bengals went Ken Anderson -> Boomer Esiason. Not bad

[sluggermatt15]

I don't consider Bledsoe as a "great franchise" QB. He had four winning seasons in his nine years with New England where he was the starter.

[conace21]

I don't consider Bledsoe as a "great franchise" QB. He had four winning seasons in his nine years with New England where he was the starter.

Bledsoe was very good, spectacular at times, but he was too inconsistent to be great. I think he was better than Conerly, or Rote, and maybe Lamonica. But he helped keep the Patriots in New England, and the only better AFC in the second half of the 90's was John Elway.

[sluggermatt15]

I don't consider Bledsoe as a "great franchise" QB. He had four winning seasons in his nine years with New England where he was the starter.

Bledsoe was very good, spectacular at times, but he was too inconsistent to be great. I think he was better than Conerly, or Rote, and maybe Lamonica. But he helped keep the Patriots in New England, and the only better AFC in the second half of the 90's was John Elway.

I agree with that point.

Well, what are you grading on Bledsoe versus the rest of the AFC? Passing? From 1995-1999 (second half of the '90s I guess?), Bledsoe was ranked in the Top 3 in passing only once (1996). In terms of wins, New England won 44 games during that span, ranking #8 of all AFC teams. Denver was first with 53, KC second with 51, and Jacksonville (expansion team) had 49. So I am not sure.

[conace21]

Elway's Broncos were #1. Kansas City won their games with Bono, Grbac and Gannon. None were better than Bledsoe (in the 90's.) Mark Brunell is probably his most serious competition for #2 AFC QB in the half decade.

[Bryan]

Bledsoe was very good, spectacular at times, but he was too inconsistent to be great. I think he was better than Conerly, or Rote, and maybe Lamonica. But he helped keep the Patriots in New England, and the only better AFC in the second half of the 90's was John Elway.

Give me any of those 3 guys over Bledsoe, especially Lamonica. Bledsoe was the equivalent of an "innings eater" MLB pitcher. Bill Parcells had him throw an absurd amount of passes in 1994, it may have been the single-season record at the time with 691 attempts, yet Bledsoe's Rate+ that year was a below-average 94! I don't know who that reflects worse on...Bledsoe or Parcells. Bledsoe played 14 years and posted below 100 (league average) Rate+ seasons 9 times, which is incredibly underwhelming.

I mentioned his 1994 season, but Bledsoe's 1995 season might be even more absurd. HOF RB Curtis Martin has 1487 yards, Bledsoe's Rate+ is a mind-bogglingly low 79 with an actual passer rating of 63.7...YET BILL PARCELLS HAS BLEDSOE ATTEMPT 636 PASSES, WHICH LED THE LEAGUE!! It would be like an MLB pitcher having the highest ERA in baseball yet also throwing the most innings.

I think a case can be made for Drew Bledsoe being the most overrated QB in NFL history (and a sidebar would be Bill Parcells being the most overrated coach in NFL history). Bledsoe was also terribly inefficient in the postseason, with a high number of attempts (252) and a low passer rating (54.9).

Lamonica had 6 years as a starter in Oakland before being replaced by Stabler in 73, and he almost always had great Rate+ seasons: 115, 119, 116, 111, 102, 116. Nothing like Bledsoe at all.

[rhickok1109]

After the 2001 season, Channel 5 in Boston ran several minutes of film, which had to have been put together by the Patriots, alternating between Bledsoe and Brady running similar passing plays. The tape very clearly revealed that Bledsoe was fine as long as his primary receiver was open; his throws were very accurate. But, if the primary receiver was not happen, Bledsoe was very slow in finding another receiver and even slower in finally delivering the ball. Brady, OTOH, was very quick to find a secondary or even a tertiary receiver and getting the ball to him.

To anyone who saw that segment, hosted by Bob Lobel, it was pretty clear that Bledsoe's tenure with the Patriots was as good as over. Incidentally, that show ran before the playoffs began.

[JohnH19]

I would also rank Lamonica, Conerly and Rote over Bledsoe. I don’t think he is all that close to any of them.

How about Conerly, Tittle, Morrall, Tarkenton...and one excellent season from Snead?

[sluggermatt15]

I would also rank Lamonica, Conerly and Rote over Bledsoe. I don’t think he is all that close to any of them.

How about Conerly, Tittle, Morrall, Tarkenton...and one excellent season from Snead?

I think all those QBs are better than Bledsoe... except maybe Conerly. Tittle and Tarkenton are HOFers & Morrall is a member of the PFRA HOVG.

[Bryan]

I think all those QBs are better than Bledsoe... except maybe Conerly.

Rate+ isn't the be-all end-all stat, but I think its the best way to compare QBs from different eras. Aside from a bad season in 1953, Conerly was almost always an above average QB, and at times outstanding. Here is how his Rate+ seasons compare with Bledsoe's:

Conerly: 121, 107, 112, 93, 115, 87 (1953), 117, 105, 117, 116, 102, 135, 104, 83

Bledsoe: 84, 94, 79, 109, 113, 104, 97, 99, 95, 110, 90, 95, 103, 84