Alright Cowboy fans, its that time to get our hopes up again! Well, he is younger than Vinnie, right? Cowboys to sign Bledsoe February 22, 2005 IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Drew Bledsoe was released by the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday and within hours, according to several reports, agreed to a deal with the Dallas Cowboys. Bledsoe's reunion with coach Bill Parcells, who drafted the quarterback No. 1 overall and guided him to the Super Bowl in New England, was first reported by Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT and later by ESPN.com, The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All cited sources. Bledsoe, agent David Dunn and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not immediately return phone calls to The Associated Press. The Bills announced plans to release him last week and the Cowboys were prepared with an offer right away. Bledsoe was ready for it, too, even saying last week that ``Dallas is intriguing for obvious reasons.'' ``Playing for my old coach and then looking at the weapons they have offensively, that's intriguing,'' Bledsoe said in a conference call with reporters. ``But there are a number of teams that are possibilities and Dalllas is one of those.'' Bledsoe also indicated then that he'd rather retire than not be a starter, so there's little doubt he'll be taking over the Dallas offense, especially considering Parcells' affinity for his former players. Among his receivers will be receiver Terry Glenn, who caught passes from Bledsoe from 1996-2001 in New England. The Cowboys have said all along they wanted to go with a veteran quarterback rather than turn to one of their youngsters, Drew Henson or Tony Romo. Henson threw just 18 passes as a rookie and Romo has never thrown a pass in his two NFL seasons. Bledsoe's arrival also means that Vinny Testaverde won't return. Although Bledsoe is eight years younger than Testaverde, he's still considered on the downside of his career. His statistics last season in guiding Buffalo to a 9-7 record were comparable to what Testaverde did in Dallas' 6-10 season. Bledsoe had 20 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, while Testaverde had 17 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. The Bills went into the final Sunday of the season with a chance to make the playoffs after an 0-4 start. Bledsoe has thrown for more than 300 yards only once in the last two seasons. He made the Pro Bowl the year before that, his first with Buffalo after losing his job in New England to Tom Brady. He was 23-25 over three seasons with the Bills, never reaching the postseason.
Bill Parcells without Bill Belichick equals Bill Peterson. Somebody shoot Jerry Jones and save the Cowboys!
That's nice, Cowboys still suck. Bledsoe threw more then 19 interceptions last year. They haven't been good for 10 years.
Bledsoe's pretty clearly an upgrade to Vinny, so it seems like a good move to me. He's the type of big, immobile, strong-armed pocket QB that Parcells seems to love.
I want to see what the deal is before I say good/bad move. Personally I think he is an upgrade to Vinny but if it's at the cost of a long term deal and large signing bonus then I will question it. I'm more concerend about what they do defensively. If they do switch to the 3-4 they need a NT, decide what to do with Glover (can he play DE or does he get traded), is Ellis big enough to play DE or does he become the pass rushing OLB even though he doesn't have the ability to cover (my guess is DE, but could be OLB in definite passing situations where he can move around and blitz), what about Coakley does he move to ILB, and most importantly address the CB position. So I hope Dallas trades Glover (and possibly a pick) and gets a stud OLB, gets a NT via free agency, signs 1 stud CB (like a Rolle who was just released) and picks up another CB. They then should be able to get a DE via the draft, possibly even get an OLB with the other #1 (Roth from Iowa who may be a tweener but always finds a way to get to the QB would be good with the 20th pick). DE - Ellis, #11 pick DT - Free Agent OLB - Singleton, OLB for Glover (then have a Roth as a pass rusher) ILB - Dat, Coakley (not sure if I want two small ILB) CB - FA (Rolle), FS - Free agent SS - I think with Woody gone Ray Williams may move here That's alot of changes. Replacing 5 starters, switching schemes to a 3-4, moving Williams to SS and Coakley to ILB is overhauling almost the entire D.
Well, the Bills were thinking the exact same thing when they signed Bledsoe. I think it's a waste of time myself. He can hold the fort down but that is all.
I'm honestly not sure if this is the right way to go...bringing in aging quarterbacks. I guess their saying Henson is a ways off from being ready and their not willing to throw him in to see what happens but they were willing with Quincy Carter? I guess Henson isn't nearly as old as Teste so that's a good thing as he could be playing for a while longer. I'm not clear if this is Parcells just thinking short-term while he is still coach or this was made with our longer term interests at heart. It's obvious he wants to win at any cost while he is here. I mean...Bledsoe barely was better than Teste last season. Parcells seems to be trying to rebuild from old players he used to coach versus trying to find new talent. We all know Jones doesn't know what the hell is up and he might as well flip a coin. I hope it works out...I really do. If it doesn't, then Bill is going to have a forgettable last season or two as head coach. Now, maybe we can focus on our other glaring holes everywhere else and get away from the constant qb debate.
NO report yet on how much $, but initially said to be a 3 year deal... Most likely translates to a "one year plus" deal... 1 yr. good money, plus options /incentives for 2nd, at least for 3rd year...
I heard (and very likely wrong) 2 years $4M signing bonus, with club options for teh 3rd and 4th years (no word on yearly salary). That I can live with. Henson wouldn't be ready this year so if he's ready in 2006 then the Boys will have a good backup in Bledsoe and if henson nver becomes a start we have Bledsoe for upto 4 years.