I definitely wouldn't call Bledsoe a good qb. I'd call him an average QB with a very good arm. The guy's ridiculously imobile. And who the hell knows if Brady's good? His job was really "not to screw it up." Trent Dilfer II. Incidentally, Troy Brown isn't a great receiver... and David Patten is one of hundreds of NFL receivers with great speed. Troy Brown had easily his best year ever. Will he ever have a similar year? He might, but I doubt it. One good year out of 9 does not a "great receiver" make. I would agree that they're not dink and dunk. But it's not just that their offense is conservative compared to the Rams. It's also conservative compared to the Packers, 49ers, Cardinals... hell, any team with a QB that the coach has faith in.
And so is Kurt Warner. In terms of arm strength, defense reading ability, timing, and ability to make throws with power or touch--Bledsoe is among the top players. In fact Bledsoe may very well be the next closest thing to Kurt Warner and could run the Rams offense better than anyone outside of Kurt. Of course I am speculating, but I don't think people realize how good Bledsoe is. He was the Pats offense for years (including a superbowl he lead them to), I still think he is one of the 10 best QBs. It is just an equal, younger, cheaper, and healthier QB is also on the same team--at one time Joe Montana was the odd man out too (I don't want to draw comparisons between players but show the larger point of a pro-bowler QB about to be shipped out because of other good players ready to take the reins). Brady is probably the best overall QB in the AFC, he is going to the pro bowl after all. Further, we saw Kordell can't throw when he has to, and though Gannon is good, he doesn't have the arm strength to stretch the field and has a penchant for big mistakes in the playoffs. Troy Brown was the best receiver on the field <i> yesterday </i>. He in general is probably inferior to Bruce--though I do think he is better than Holt, but he was better than both in the game that mattered. He also does things neither of those guys do, make an impact on special teams. If you don't think Brown is a great player after what he did in the playoffs (catching, route running, YAC, returning) I think we have different terms for great. Patten doesn't just have speed (e.g., James Jett), he made fine catches and runs too. There are a hand full of teams Patten would not be a heavy contributer for--maybe only the Rams--and it is his emergence that is why the Pats realized they can ignore Teresa Glen's whining. Um, the Pat's threw the ball two-thirds of the time during their playoff run and threw it over 50 times in a friggen blizzard. I don't see the conservative or lack of QB confidence in that. If the Rams had a little more conservation (read balance) in their plan yesterday (rode Faulk more) they might not have lost.
Some of those Patriots teams had quite a bit of talent. Terry Glenn was certainly a playmaker. Bledsoe never does make reads as well as he should. He's got a great arm, and good enough instincts not to be Ryan Leaf. But that's it, imo. On the basis of one year, you're ready to declare him the best QB in the AFC? If we're doing that, then a couple of years ago, Brian Griese was. The AFC is, I'll acknowledge, currently bereft of quality QB's. So what? Many receivers have great games. Jerry Rice has been outperformed by lesser receivers many times in his career. A few years ago, there was a Super Bowl MVP RB who never even played a game again. Troy Brown is a decent WR. But if the Rams called and said that they wanted to trade Torry Holt for him, the Patriots would have trouble to keep from laughing when they accepted. I think he's on par with Az-Zahir Hakim. If he's so good, why was he never productive before? It's always possible that he's like Warner, and just needed to "blossom." But when I see a single season that's far more productive than a player has ever performed before, I think "fluke." Think Brady Anderson. If he proves me wrong in the next two years, hell... more power to him. But more often than not, such players disappear, never to be heard from again. Sometime, look at a chart of Brady's throws. He isn't asked to make many difficult ones. You should read some old issues of the Boston Globe. Dilfer, imo, is the most accurate comparison to Brady. Brady's more talented, but he was asked to do the same thing in that offense.
I think Bledsoe does everthing pretty well to exceptionally well except move in the pocket. The Pats relied on chuck and duck an awefull lot, especially after Curtis Martin left. Bledsoe kept them in many games Farve and only a few others could have similarly done. Myabe we will see for sure next year if he plays elsewhere. Agreed the AFC is weak in QBs, but yes I think Brady had the best year and Bledsoe is among the top 5 as well. Griese cannot make the throws Bardy or Bledsoe can, talk a about a guy a product of an offense that inflates stats. I hosetly believe Manning may still be the best in the AFC, but like Bledsoe many of his recent years, Manning got no help last year. Surely you jest with the Hakim comparison. Further Brown is a better football player than Holt IMO. I'll give you Bruce (who really opens it up for Holt) is the better receiver. Dilfer to Brady or Bledsoe is another pretty funny one. Dilfer was just asked to not throw it to the other team, not to make plays.
