Mike irvin T Owens??
kuhlmann
Posts: 3,326 ✭✭
in Sports Talk
will this pesice of sh$t!! be playing for the cowboys next year? seems real he wants out! irvin lobbying him to play for the boys next year!!
id say it might happen!! and id welcome him aboard!! parcells and bledsoe will make it work! wins the big dance in dallas he will be very respected!!
id say it might happen!! and id welcome him aboard!! parcells and bledsoe will make it work! wins the big dance in dallas he will be very respected!!
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TO in Dallas sure, but who's going to throw to him?
Drew Bledsoe's critics are silenced
By CLARENCE E. HILL JR, .
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
IRVING - Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe doesn't know what the fuss is all about.
What is a surprise to many -- his play in the first eight games that has him ranked as the top quarterback in the NFC -- is what he has always expected of himself.
Nevermind what the critics were saying after Buffalo cut him in February.
Or the questions in Dallas -- in the wake of the three-year, $14 million contract he signed with the Cowboys -- about what he had left.
Bledsoe, a former No. 1 overall draft pick of the New England Patriots who has passed for more than 40,000 yards in the past 13 years, never doubted himself.
"None of the doubters were wearing No. 11," said Bledsoe, 33. "I have always believed in my ability to play this position, and with the way that this team is playing, I expect to perform at a fairly consistent level. Honestly, I expect to play better down the stretch."
Bledsoe (2,019 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions) has a 97.4 passer rating, which ranks fourth in the NFL and first in the NFC. He is also on pace to surpass Danny White's team record for yards passing in a season, 3,980 set in 1983.
Already the owner of single-season passing records in New England and Buffalo, Bledsoe would be the first player in NFL history, according to Elias Sports Bureau, to hold the mark for three teams.
In typical Bledsoe fashion, he said it's a distinction that will be a nice story to tell.
But he said he didn't come to Dallas for personal records, he came to win.
That the Cowboys, who finished 6-10 last season, are 5-3 at the halfway point and in the thick of the playoff chase heading into the second half the season has a lot do with the supposedly surprising play of Bledsoe.
He is easily the best quarterback the Cowboys have had since Troy Aikman retired following the 2000 season.
And considering Aikman's struggles with his health and a declining supporting cast late in his career, Bledsoe's play at quarterback has been the best the Cowboys have seen since well before that.
He has been so impressive through eight games that receiver Keyshawn Johnson said he is a legitimate candidate for the league's most valuable player award.
"Why not?" Johnson said. "Who has played better? I hear people talking about [Denver quarterback] Jake Plummer. His numbers are no different than Drew's. He has played well."
"He has been more than I hoped for," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "He has the talent to make the quarterback position more than not making bad plays. He has played above expectations."
Cowboys coach Bill Parcells never had any doubts about Bledsoe's ability.
The two spent four seasons together in New England after Parcells selected him with the first overall pick in 1993. He said Bledsoe had always kept himself in good condition, so he didn't worry about his health or arm strength.
Parcells said the key was protection and giving Bledsoe good players to work with.
After being sacked 140 times in three years in Buffalo, Bledsoe has stood tall in the pocket in Dallas, while making the most of a receiving corps that includes veteran standouts Terry Glenn and Johnson and Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten.
"I think you can see that if you can protect for the player and you have enough weapons around him that you can do a pretty good job with him," Parcells said. "That's pretty much what you're looking at."
Parcells said the only questions he had about Bledsoe was where his heart and head were after being away from him for so many years.
Parcells got his answer during a preseason game against the Seahawks.
"We went along for a few series and didn't move the ball too well, as I remember," Parcells said. "I remember him coming out there and saying to me, 'OK, we got to get this going here now.' And he wasn't just talking about it, he was determined about it. And then we drove down for a touchdown, and I kind of saw a little something there that I liked."
This season, Parcells and the Cowboys have seen a lot from Bledsoe that they like.
Bledsoe, who gives himself a "B" for his first-half grade, knows the critics are one bad game or one bad interception, like the one he had in the loss to the Seahawks, away from howling again.
He understands as much because he has very high expectations for himself.
He said none of it matters if he and the Cowboys don't follow their strong start with a solid second half of the season and make a run at the Super Bowl.
"I feel what I am doing is executing my job," Bledsoe said. "The chances to really be a competitive team and be a championship team are fleeting. You have to grab it while you got it."
<< <i>What is a surprise to many -- his play in the first eight games that has him ranked as the top quarterback in the NFC -- is what he has always expected of himself. >>
This just proves one thing.......the NFL's system for ranking QB's is flawed to the point of being totally meaningless.