Honorable Mention

This week it was announced that Drew Bledose will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame this summer and it led to me receiving a few emails suggesting that it won't be the last Hall of Fame that he gets inducted into. Obviously they were talking about Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. My initial reaction was that there was no way. He was undeserving of such an honor. Then an email with stats and all-time rankings was passed along and I had to think a little harder. Was Drew Bledsoe really an all-time great?

Drew does have some impressive statistics, but the longevity certainly helps. It's not the only reason he's ranked as high as he is in passing yards (6th) and passing touchdowns (14), but you have to admit, you wouldn't put Drew in your Top 10, or 15, or even 25. He was one of the most important draft picks in Patriots history and when you think about the success of the past 10 years, Drew Bledsoe should come to mind. Not because he was injured and made it possible for Tom Brady to take the field, but for the success he had in getting the Patriots on the map. This was a team that was an NFL laughingstock when Drew was drafted and within two years they were in the playoffs and two years later they were in the Super Bowl. He was larger than life at that point. The Dreeeewwwwwww chants could be heard every Sunday at Foxboro Stadium. Drew went to the Pro Bowl in 3 of his first 5 seasons. Impressive stuff. The only thing is, he was never the top quarterback in the league. He was good, but not great. I feel you have to be GREAT at some point in your career to get to Canton. I think he was a Top 10 quarterback for his first 8 seasons, but that's not enough for me. Another thing that bothers me about Drew is that he didn't necessarily make the players around him better. I know it's not fair to compare him to Tom Brady, but since we get to see him each week it's hard not to. Tom Brady is excellent at making the players around him better. It doesn't matter if it's David Patten, or David Givens, or Randy Moss catching passes, he's going to get the best out of these guys and move the chains. I think it's safe to say that Drew Bledsoe was not able to do that in his career. He also didn't help his offensive line as he took way too many sacks as he tentatively tapped the ball with his left hand. To be fair, most quarterbacks can't raise the level of play for all the players around them. It's not a knock on Drew, it just makes me hesitate when people talk about him being Hall of Fame bound.

The thing I'll always remember about Drew was his professionalism. When he was injured in 2001 it would have been very easy for him to rehab, collect his paycheck, and worry about HIMSElF. Drew didn't do that though. By all accounts, Drew took young Tom Brady under his wing and helped him in any way that he could. Drew could even be seen on the sidelines during the games with a headset on to keep himself involved. He wasn't up in the press box with the Kraft's like Wes Welker a couple years ago (hey, it happened). He was on the field and he wanted to win. Of course he wanted to play as well, but he was able to put the team's goals first and that's a very refreshing thing. It was just last year that we saw Jay Cutler get hurt in a playoff game and at no point did he talk to his backup or his backup's backup (yup, he had to play too). Can you imagine Drew doing that? No way. To me, that's more important than passing yards or touchdowns. He was a TEAM guy and a fierce competitor. I think that's why when he's inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame that will be enough for him. He was one of the most important and valuable Patriots of all-time and I say he belongs in Foxboro as opposed to Canton.