Dave Betancourt | Sports Section Manager

2/01/02

Quarterback controversies at the Super Bowl are very rare.  The New England Patriots are involved in one, and it couldn't be anymore weird if you wanted it to.  The story goes like this--Drew Bledsoe, whom the Patriots just rewarded with a 10 year $103 million dollar contract, got hurt bad inweek two after taking a vicious hit running out of bounds. When Tom Brady came in to replace him over the next month or so, everyone figured that once Bledsoe was healthy again that he would take over at the quarterback position.  But that didn't happen.

Brady led the Patriots to wins week after week after week.  All of a sudden the Patriots were in the playoff hunt and when Bledsoe was healthy and could have returned, Brady was on such a role that head coach Bill Belicheck had no choice but to keep Brady as his starting quarterback.  So the Patriots end up winning the AFC east, get a bye in the playoffs, beat the Raiders in a horrible call and wind up in the AFC championship game. All this while Brady is the starting quarterback.

No big deal right?  This has happened before.  Remember when Trent Green was the quarterback of the Rams and he went out with a busted up knee. Kurt Warner comes in and saves the day and the next thing you know Trent Green's got a one way ticket out of St. Louis.  It's not the first time a quarterback has had his job taken away by a backup.  But a funny thing happened in the AFC championship: Brady got hurt.  A Steelers defender came in, hit him hard and caused Brady to twist his ankle, so it was up to Bledsoe to come in and save the day.

Not only did Bledsoe show absolutely no signs of rust as he entered the game as a replacement quarterback, he showed all the signs of why he was the number one pick in the entire draft back in 1993 and why the Pats gave him the big money contract.  Bledsoe came in and made the throws that Tom Brady just can't make.  Brady has proved he's a solid QB, but he's no Bledsoe.

Yes the Patriots scored most of their points on special teams blunders but when Bledsoe came in he made things count.  He showed no fear in his throws, especially the laser he threw to David Patten for a touchdown. And then after thowing bullet after bullet Bledsoe showed that he had all the tools that make a great QB by throwing a ball with such perfect touch he probably wouldn't have been able to throw it that way if he wanted to. The Patriots only chance to beat the St. Louis Rams high powered offense is to get into a shoot out with them.  Bledsoe and his rocket arm are much better equipped for that kind of game than Brady.

Was Tom Brady the quarterback when the Patriots were winning all those games in Bledsoe's absence?  Yes.  But is he the reason for their great season?  No.  When a team is doing well more times than not the quarterback will get good press.  Brady played good, but he wasn't spectacular.  He made a few nice throws here and there and did a good job of not making key mistakes.  Not making mistakes however doesn't get you to the hall of fame.

Drew Bledsoe had already amassed 10,000 career passing yards after only 3 seasons in the NFL.  That's right--three seasons.  He's clearly on the path of shattering a lot of Dan Marino's passing records as his career goes on.

However, who knows if Bledsoe's career will even continue with the Patriots. Once the Pats starting winning with Brady, Bledsoe became expendable. Today's NFL is very much like the Janet Jackson song; "what have you done for me lately?"

Never mind that he is the New England Patriots franchise.  When you think of the Dolphins, you think of Dan Marino. When you think of the Broncos, you think of John Elway, and when you think of the Patriots, you think of Drew Bledsoe.  Bledsoe brought instant credibility to a franchise that used to be one of the more pathetic in all of professional sports.  But despite all this Bledsoe might not play in the Super Bowl and he might not be with the Patriots next year.

If Tom Brady is healthy he will more than likely play in the Super Bowl. And even if Drew Bledsoe does get to play, he'll more than likely be the subject of trade rumors so the Patriots can get rid of his big contract and give Brady a big money deal, although not nearly the size of Bledsoe's. This way they will get huge salary cap relief and if they can get a trade for Bledsoe, get a couple of first round draft picks in the process.

Bledsoe should be the man under center in the Super Bowl, but barring Brady's health, it may or may not happen. That's a real shame, because if the Patriots are dumb enough to screw over a guy that has meant so much to their franchise, then they don't deserve to win the Super Bowl.  But then again, throughout this whole article I've barely mentioned that in order to win the Super Bowl they'd have to beat the Rams.  And does anybody really think that's going to happen?