Drew Bledsoe for the HOF? (1 Viewer)

[Benimaru]

Hey guys, I know this may be somewhat removed from Saints talk, but it may have a loose relationship with the Saints since Bledsoe is at least rumored to be interested in playing for the Saints.

The question posed is this: At the end of his career and when he is eligible, will Drew Bledsoe be inducted to the Hall of Fame at all? (this means not first ballot but at any time).

The reason I ask this question is not because it came off the top of my head but during my first year in law school, my friend and I had a heated debate that lasted for the duration of the school year on whether or not Bledsoe would ultimately wind up in the hall of fame.

My friend pointed out that Bledsoe has had stellar numbers throughout his career and is part of only a handful of QBs that has thrown for over 40,000 yards. I countered w/ the fact that he didn't possess a Super Bowl ring and that when I thought about Hall of Famers, the name of "Drew Bledsoe" just doesn't sound right to me.

His main reason for dismissing my argument was that he felt I was focusing too much into what he had done lately for the Cowboys instead of looking at his career as a whole. Personally, I don't feel I did this, but that's what he said. Opinions?

 

[Professor]

I doubt he will make the Hall. I say this because he was replaced rather quickly by younger players at every stop in his career. Injury and exceptional play by Brady caused him to be quickly traded to the Bills, where he had a few lackluster years. This lack of overall production, especially in the W-L column, caused him to be replaced before he moved on to Dallas. The first chance the coach who originally drafted him gets, he's out there too. He was a solid player, with some good early years, but he did not have a HOF career.

 

[LSSpam]

He'll have to wait a long time for induction.

He was never a dominate QB. I don't think there was ever a time where if you listed the top 3 or 4 QBs in the NFL, he'd make anyones list. He was very good for a long time though.

Honestly I think Steve McNair probably will end up with a better shot then Bledsoe.

 

[REALCHRISM]

Drew Bledsoe does possess a Superbowl ring.

 

[Benimaru]

oh right, the one that the patriots got that year

well i guess that undercuts my argument a bit

but the question still remains, will he get there? i don't think he will

 

[TheBigEasy99]

I think he’ll get in eventually, though I think it will take a while. If you go by the numbers Bledsoe is a top 10 QB of all time [of course so is Vinny Testeverte (sic)]. Sooner or later the voters will look at his stats, remember how highly touted he was in his younger days, decide that the memories of him in a Bills and Cowboys uniform was clouding their judgment and vote him in.

But I agree that the words Drew Bledsoe “Hall of Famer” doesn’t really sit well. He went from "young and talented up and comer" to "aging and fading veteran" almost overnight and never really had a period of dominance that made you think you were seeing one of the greats to ever play the game.

 

[bclemms]

Bledsoe is about like Jim Everett. Both had a few spectacular years, both were not very mobile and took too many sacks, both were good enough to get teams to 8-8 or slightly better, both had a 57% career completion percentage, both threw a lot of TD's and picks, both never won a Super Bowl (as a starter) and both will never be in the hall of fame.

 

[jlam]

Bledsoe is about like Jim Everett. Both had a few spectacular years, both were not very mobile and took too many sacks, both were good enough to get teams to 8-8 or slightly better, both had a 57% career completion percentage, both threw a lot of TD's and picks, both never won a Super Bowl (as a starter) and both will never be in the hall of fame.

Yeah, but there's not nearly as many chick tennis players with a last name that sounds like "Bledsoe".

 

[kooldak]

Drew Bledsoe does possess a Superbowl ring.

True. But so does Trent Dilfer. Not comparing the 2 otherwise, just saying that a ring isn't the end-all, be-all of getting into the HOF.

Personally, I don't think Bledsoe has the cred to get in. It is a VERY limited selection. Here are the current "modern-era" members at the QB position:

Troy Aikman 1989-2000
George Blanda (Also PK) 1949-1958, 1960-1975
Terry Bradshaw 1970-1983
Len Dawson 1957-1975
John Elway 1983-1998
Dan Fouts 1973-1987
Otto Graham 1946-1955
Bob Griese 1967-1980
Sonny Jurgensen 1957-1974
Jim Kelly 1986-1996
Bobby Layne 1948-1962
Dan Marino 1983-1999
Joe Montana 1979-1994
Warren Moon 1984-2000
Joe Namath 1965-1977
Bart Starr 1956-1971
Roger Staubach 1969-1979
Fran Tarkenton 1961-1978
Y.A. Tittle 1948-1964
Johnny Unitas 1956-1973
Norm Van Brocklin 1949-1960
Bob Waterfield 1945-1952
Steve Young 1985-1999

http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/positions.html

Only 8 (if I counted right ) of those played in the last 20 year span. Again, VERY limited selection.

There are A LOT of meaningful QBs with equal or better careers than Bledsoe that are not in the HOF. For a QB to make it in, they need to be special or dominant at their position. Bledsoe was a good QB, with some significant problems who was never dominant or spectacular. While he made the record books for most passes attempted and completed back in the mid-90's that was a product of his offense, not his talent and was only for a span of a couple of years. He was simply a good QB with a decent career. Not HOF caliber, IMHO.

JMO.

 

[Mamba]

He's not a Hall-of-Famer, imo. Very solid player early in his career and had a couple good seasons with the Bills. I don't even think his stats are Hall-of-Fame material. I'm not talking about his career yds and career TDs which are both very high. But when you look at his career comp. % and TD-INT ratio, they don't even compare to many other Hall-of-Fame QBs. He's definitely one of the better second-tier QBs though (along with guys like Ken O'Brien, Bernie Kosar, and Jim Everett).

 

[DMaestro]

Gotta side with the "No" crowd. Bledsoe did not make his mark on the league in any meaningful way, and that's what the Hall of Fame is generally supposed to be about. He was one of the better QBs of his era, but that in itself is no kind of endorsement for being considered an all-time great.

 

[SaintJ]

Even at his peak, Bledsoe was the epitome of the difference between very good and great.

I think the Everett analogy is an apt one.

And how freaking great is the name "Y.A. Tittle"? That name is just money.

 

[LSSpam]

As kooldak's post indirectly demonstrates, Bledsoe's "era" was pretty weak as well.

QBs, for a variety of reasons, seem to come in "waves".

Obviously the late-80s/early-90s was probably the golden age of QBs, with Marino, Kelly, Elway, Young, Montana, Moon, etc all peers of each other.

By the late-90s QBing in the NFL had rapidly declined and many people were talking doom and gloom for the league because of the decline in quarterback play. Favre was really the only great "transitional" QB. Bledsoe and McNair were both good but lacking. And you had a ton of flash-in-the-pans like Gannon and Warner.

We seem to be clearly in another wave of great quarterbacking with guys like Palmer, Brees, Brady, Manning, etc all contemporary to each other and fairly young. It seems likely they'll at least approach Elway/Marino/etc heights.

So you take Bledsoe in his prime, and put him in the NFL in 1989, or put him in the NFL in 2007, and he's not even in the top 5. I think he was just a good quarterback in a weak era.

 

[Mamba]

As kooldak's post indirectly demonstrates, Bledsoe's "era" was pretty weak as well.

QBs, for a variety of reasons, seem to come in "waves".

Obviously the late-80s/early-90s was probably the golden age of QBs, with Marino, Kelly, Elway, Young, Montana, Moon, etc all peers of each other.

By the late-90s QBing in the NFL had rapidly declined and many people were talking doom and gloom for the league because of the decline in quarterback play. Favre was really the only great "transitional" QB. Bledsoe and McNair were both good but lacking. And you had a ton of flash-in-the-pans like Gannon and Warner.

We seem to be clearly in another wave of great quarterbacking with guys like Palmer, Brees, Brady, Manning, etc all contemporary to each other and fairly young. It seems likely they'll at least approach Elway/Marino/etc heights.

So you take Bledsoe in his prime, and put him in the NFL in 1989, or put him in the NFL in 2007, and he's not even in the top 5. I think he was just a good quarterback in a weak era.

I don't mean to be "nit-picky" but I would classify Favre, Aikman, and Young as solid 90's guys. All were drafted in the late 80's, however they really didn't "come into their own" until the 90's (and both Young and Favre were still playing extremely well as the decade came to a close, and Aikman was playing well when healthy). I can't remember a season in the 90's or 00's when there weren't at least 2-4 HOF (or future HOF) QB's in the league. No doubt, the 80's were the golden era, but I think there always has been an "upper echelon."

 

[keepoursaints]

No but he could do a great impersonation of a HOF statue.

/I don't even know if they have statues for the players.