Drew Bledsoe
| Drew Bledsoe | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Position(s): Quarterback |
Jersey #(s): 11 |
| Born: February 14 1972 | |
| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1993-2006 | |
| NFL Draft: 1993 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 | |
| College: Washington State | |
| Professional Teams | |
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| Career Stats | |
| TD-INT | 244-198 |
| Yards | 43,447 |
| QB Rating | 84.7 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the NFL known best for his almost eight years of starting for the New England Patriots. During the 1990s and early 2000s, he was perceived to be the face of the Patriots franchise. Bledsoe, an All-American for the Washington State Cougars and former #1 overall draft pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, announced his retirement from the sport on April 11, 2007. In recent years the former Patriot has played for the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys.
High school years
Bledsoe attended Walla Walla High School in Walla Walla, Washington and was a letterman in football and basketball. In football, he was named a first team All-State selection by the Tacoma News Tribune.
College years
Bledsoe started 28 games for Washington State University. He threw for 7,373 yards, 44 touchdowns and 33 interceptions. During his junior season he broke multiple school records including: Most yards passing in a single game (476), most pass completions in a season (241), and most passing yards in a season (3,246). He was named Pac-10 offensive player of the year after his junior season.[1]He decided to skip his senior year to enter the NFL draft.
New England Patriots: 1993-2001
Bledsoe was drafted 1st overall in the 1993 draft by the New England Patriots. Bledsoe started for the Patriots in his rookie season, as the Patriots improved from 2 wins to 5 wins. The 1994 season was arguably Bledsoe's best. On Nov. 13 the Patriots had won just 3 of their first 9 games and were down 20 to 3 at half time against the Minnesota Vikings. Bledsoe led a comeback victory in which the Patriots won 26 - 20 in overtime, as he set single game records in pass completions (45) and attempts (70).[2] The Patriots did not lose a game the rest of the season and made their first postseason appearance in eight years.[3]. Bledsoe set an NFL record pass attempts (691), became the second NFL quarterback to ever complete 400 or more passes in a season (400), and led the NFL in passing yards (4555).[4] During the 1996 season, the Patriots won the AFC championship against the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-6. This led to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI, where they lost 35-21 against the Green Bay Packers, with Bledsoe completing 25 of 48 passes for 253 yards, 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Accessed 20 August 2007.</ref> During the 1997 season, Bledsoe helped the Patriots win 5 of their final 7 games to once again qualify for the playoffs, the fourth time in eight years as a Patriots starter he would lead the team to a post-season run. The Patriots lost the in the second round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Accessed 20 August 2007.</ref> Despite this loss, Bledsoe had arguably his best season, with a career high 87.7 passer rating, 2nd most passing yards in the NFL, and was rewarded with his third Pro Bowl invitation. Bledsoe had another stellar season in 1998, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to complete game-winning touchdown passes in the final 30 seconds of two consecutive games.[5] He accomplished the feat with wins over the Miami Dolphins (11/23/98) and Buffalo Bills (11/29/98) and in doing so he propelled New England into the postseason for the third straight year. Remarkably, he completed these heroic come-from-behind efforts while playing with a broken index finger on his throwing hand. This injury would later sideline him for the postseason. Bledsoe started the 1999 season very strong, with 13 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions as the Patriots held a 6-2 record halfway through the year. However, in the 2nd half, Bledsoe threw only 6 touchdowns and 17 interceptions as the team finished with an 8-8 record. The slide continued in 2000 with a 5-11 season. Bledsoe threw a career low 13 interceptions, but was also sacked 45 times.
In March 2001, Bledsoe was signed to a "then-record" ten-year, $103 million contract.[6] Bledsoe did not, however, finish his career with the Patriots, nor even see the opening of the new Gillette Stadium. During the second game of the 2001 season, Bledsoe was hit by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis as he ran upright trying to make it out of bounds. The injury gave Tom Brady a chance to take over at quarterback and Brady led the Patriots on a Super Bowl run. Bledsoe never regained his starting role. However, Bledsoe did play in the AFC Championship Game after Brady left the game with an ankle injury. Bledsoe, starting from the Steelers 40 yard line, led the Patriots on a scoring drive, capped by an 11 yard touchdown pass to David Patten. In the game, Bledsoe completed 10 of 21 passes for 102 yards and 1 touchdown, with no interceptions. The Patriots defeated the Steelers 24-17 and qualified for Super Bowl XXXVI. [7] He was cheered by Patriots fans in his three returns to Foxborough, Massachusetts as a visiting player.
Buffalo Bills: 2002-2004
A change of scenery to Bledsoe's former division rival Buffalo seemed to give him a bit of rejuvenation in 2002. He had one of his best seasons ever, passing for 4,359 yards and making his fourth trip to the Pro Bowl. With Bledsoe under center, the Bills failed to score a touchdown in 3 consecutive games en route to a 6-10 season. During his final year with the Bills, they fell one game short of making the playoffs, after Bledsoe failed to perform well against the Steeler's 2nd and 3rd stringers. A switch to J.P. Losman at the beginning of the next season led to Bledsoe's release.
Dallas Cowboys: 2005-2006
Bledsoe was once again reunited with former coach Bill Parcells in Dallas. During this time he threw for over 3,000 yards for the 9th time in his career, tying Warren Moon for fourth in NFL history. In 2005, Bledsoe led five 4th quarter/OT game-winning drives to keep the Cowboys’ playoff hopes alive until the final day of the season.[8] Six games through his second season with the Cowboys, Bledsoe was replaced by Tony Romo. Shortly after the 2006 season, Bledsoe was released by the second team in his career. In the months following the 2006 season, Bledsoe's NFL career came to an end as he announced his retirement from the NFL.
Family
Drew and his wife Maura (née Healy) have four children: sons Stuart McQueen, John Stack and Henry Healy, and daughter Healy Elizabeth. He coaches his sons', Stuart and John, little league football team named the Patriots.[9]
After football
Since his retirement in 2006, Drew has opened a vineyard, the Flying B Vineyard outside Walla Walla, Washington and owns a coffee roasting company as well. He also works with many philanthropic organizations.[10]
Statistics
Career Stats
| Year | Team | Att | Comp | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | QB rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | New England Patriots | 429 | 214 | 49.9 | 2494 | 15 | 15 | 65.0 |
| 1994 | New England Patriots | 691 | 400 | 57.9 | 4555 | 25 | 27 | 73.6 |
| 1995 | New England Patriots | 636 | 323 | 50.8 | 3507 | 13 | 16 | 63.7 |
| 1996 | New England Patriots | 623 | 373 | 59.9 | 4086 | 27 | 15 | 83.7 |
| 1997 | New England Patriots | 522 | 314 | 60.2 | 3706 | 28 | 15 | 87.7 |
| 1998 | New England Patriots | 481 | 263 | 54.7 | 2633 | 20 | 14 | 80.9 |
| 1999 | New England Patriots | 539 | 305 | 56.6 | 3985 | 19 | 21 | 75.6 |
| 2000 | New England Patriots | 531 | 312 | 58.8 | 3291 | 17 | 13 | 77.3 |
| 2001 | New England Patriots | 66 | 40 | 60.6 | 400 | 2 | 2 | 75.3 |
| 2002 | Buffalo Bills | 610 | 375 | 61.5 | 4359 | 24 | 15 | 86.0 |
| 2003 | Buffalo Bills | 471 | 274 | 58.2 | 2860 | 11 | 12 | 73.0 |
| 2004 | Buffalo Bills | 450 | 256 | 56.9 | 2932 | 20 | 16 | 76.6 |
| 2005 | Dallas Cowboys | 499 | 300 | 60.1 | 3639 | 23 | 17 | 83.7 |
| 2006 | Dallas Cowboys | 169 | 90 | 53.3 | 1164 | 7 | 8 | 69.2 |
| Totals | 6717 | 3839 | 57.2 | 44611 | 251 | 206 | 77.1 | |
Career totals
- 98-96 as a starter
- 6,717 passes attempted
- 3,839 passes completed (57.2 Completion percentage)
- 44,611 passing yards (6.64 yards/attempt)
- 251 passing touchdowns (0.037 TD/attempt)
- 10 rushing TDs
- 206 passes intercepted (0.031 INT/attempt)
- 258 Total Turn-overs
- 26.76 passing attempts per touchdown
- 32.60 passing attempts per interception
- 123 fumbles (56 lost)
- Ranked 180th (All-Time) in turning yards into points
Post-season records and statistics
- 3-3 in the post-season as a starter (3-0 at home)
- 252 passes attempted
- 129 passes completed
- 51.1 Completion Percentage
- 54.9 QB Rating
- 1335 passing yards
- 6 passing touchdowns
- 12 passes intercepted
- 21 passing attempts per interception in the post-season
- 42 passing attempts per TD in the post-season
- 1 Super Bowl Championship (2001, New England Patriots - Did not play)
Accomplishments
From Patriots.com:
- His 4,452 pass attempts in his first eight seasons rank second to Brett Favre whose 4,456 attempts are the most by a quarterback during any eight-year period in NFL history
- Bledsoe currently owns the Patriots’ franchise career passing records for attempts, completions, and yards, and is second to Steve Grogan in touchdowns
- He passed for 3,291 yards in 2000, his seventh consecutive season with at least 3,000 yards passing.
- Bledsoe had been durable throughout his first eight years with the Patriots, having played in 126 of 132 possible games since entering the league in 1993.
- In 1998, he directed the Patriots to the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons.
- In 1994, he set Patriots franchise single-season passing records for attempts (691), completions (400) but only a 57.8 completion percentage and yards passing (4,555), just 6.59 yards per completion.
- In 1995, he set a franchise record by attempting 179 consecutive passes without an interception (10/23/95 to 11/26/95).
- At the age of 23, he became the youngest player in NFL history to surpass the 10,000-yard passing plateau when he connected with Ben Coates on a 6-yard completion just before the half vs. the Jets (12/10/95).
- Prior to 1994, the Patriot's single-season record for passing yards was 3,465 yards. Bledsoe eclipsed that mark six consecutive seasons.
- At the age of 22, he became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to play in the Pro Bowl.
From JT-SW.com:
- Has 32 career 4th quarter/OT game winning scores
While Bledsoe's raw statistics are somewhat impressive, a frequent criticism is that they are based on volume (attempts, completions, yards) rather than efficiency (passer rating, TD-to-INT ratio, yards per attempt) proving only that he has thrown a great number of times, not that he has thrown well[11]. According to Don Banks of Sports Illustrated, Bledsoe's large career totals "reveal more about his longevity than about his excellence"[12].
Bledsoe's poor post-season statistics (see above) have also caused a good deal of criticism to be leveled against him.
Notes and references
- ^ Washington State Scout
- ^ Patriots Official Website.Accessed 20 August 2007.
- ^ Patriots Playoff History. Accessed 20 August 2007.
- ^ 1994 NFL Leaders. Accessed 26 August 2007.
- ^ Patriots Official Website Accessed 20 August 2007
- ^ Bledsoe Signs Record Contract Chicago Sun-Times. Accessed 20 August 2007.
- ^ Bledsoe Heads to Buffalo for 2003 PickESPN.com. Accessed 20 August 2007.
- ^ JT-SW.com Accessed 20 August 2007.
- ^ No sour grapes from retired Bledsoe Dallas Morning News. Accessed 14 October 2007.
- ^ No sour grapes from retired Bledsoe Dallas Morning News. Accessed 14 October 2007.
- ^ CHFF classic: The last word on Bledsoe ColdHardFootballFacts.com. Accessed 30 June 2007.
- ^ No Hall call for Bledsoe SportsIllustrated.com. Accessed 30 June 2007.
External links
- Official web site
- Drew Bledsoe at ESPN.com
- Pro-Football-Reference.com - career statistics.
- Humanitarian Bio
- Drew Bledsoe at The Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Steve Emtman |
1st Overall Pick in NFL Draft 1993 |
Succeeded by Dan Wilkinson |
| Preceded by Alex Van Pelt |
Buffalo Bills Starting Quarterback 2002-2004 |
Succeeded by J.P. Losman Kelly Holcomb |
| Preceded by Vinny Testaverde |
Dallas Cowboys Starting Quarterback 2005-2006 |
Succeeded by Tony Romo |
| Preceded by Tony Romo |
Dallas Cowboys Backup Quarterback 2003-2006 |
Succeeded by Brad Johnson |
| National Football League number one overall Draft picks |
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