Thanks, Drew

[ChileMass]

Drew Bledsoe is retiring - seems like it can't be possible. We Boston fans owe him a debt of gratitude for a few things -

1 - Thanks for the 1993 season when the Pats won their last 4 games in a row and saved football in Boston. I remember a very young Drew and the Tuna hugging as they ran off the field in Miami at the end of the last game.

2 - Thanks for the 1996-7 season when they almost won the Super Bowl against the much better Packers. They kept it close and got valuable experience for the future.

3 - Thanks for getting hit by Mo Lewis in 2001. I'm glad you didn't die and I'm glad you let Brady take over.

4 - Thanks for winning the 2001 AFC champsionship game in Pittsburgh, but you nearly gave me a heart attack with the falling-down, over-the-shoulder flip/pass that was almost picked off in the 4th quarter. Thanks for winning and thanks for taking your seat back on the bench, also.

5 - Thanks for agreeing to go to Buffalo in 2002. That was a classy move.

Drew holds 2 NFL records - the highest average number of passes per game of any quarterback in history (34.6, which is 0.1 higher than Marino), and perhaps the best record of all - Drew Bledsoe made more contract money than any single player in NFL history - $62 million.

Damn, I'd trade places with him.......

 

[kickstand]

most importantly, thanks for the new stadium!

I think the respectability he brought to the team helped the Kraft's get that place built. When the team started winning, season ticket sales started rolling in, merchandise sales picked up - Foxboro was the place to be. While he had a ton of flaws as a QB, he won enough games to fill the seats and the Kraft's pockets.

 

[Vortex]

I watched him win a game with a pin sticking out of his finger when they said he had no chance of playing. Many Drew bashers, but he was tough as nails. Always did the right thing for the Pats and the Kraft family. I will always remember him as a Patriot.

 

[Paul]

Patriots fans should owe him a debt of gratitude especially because of the way they turned on him when he left. Drew went out with a full-page ad in the Globe (or was it the Herald? whatever) thanking the fans for their support during his time in Boston. He was gracious in victory and defeat and stayed that way through to the end of his career. Despite what the morons on WEEI may say (Yes, Jerry Callahan, that means YOU, and you John Dennis, and YOU Ordway....)



...and I'm not even a Patsies fan....