THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 23, 1995 TAG: 9505230021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
"Playing for (Bill Parcells) is, uh, a unique experience.
He's a fiery guy; loud, yells and all that stuff. . . . I'm kind of quiet and calm, but I'm learning to deal with it."
- New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe is galloping through life in the NFL with blinders on his ego.
``There's definitely a lot left for me to improve on,'' the New England Patriots' rifle-armed quarterback said Monday while warming up for the Bruce Smith charity golf classic at Hell's Point. ``Last year, I was able to have a good season because we threw the ball a lot. We were reasonably successful with it.''
Reasonably successful?
In just his second pro season out of Washington State, Bledsoe paced the NFL in attempts, completions and passing yards. His 400 completions, in 691 attempts, was the second-highest total in NFL history, surpassed only by Warren Moon's 404 in 1991.
Bledsoe, at 22 the youngest quarterback ever selected to the Pro Bowl, was the eighth quarterback picked first in the draft since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
He is the only one among them who has surpassed 1,000 attempts, 500 completions, 7,000 yards or 40 touchdowns just 29 games into his career. And a couple of them can throw a little - John Elway, Jeff George, Troy Aikman, Jim Plunkett and Terry Bradshaw.
Yeah, reasonably successful.
``This year, if we're going to be successful, I've got to eliminate a lot of the turnovers,'' he continued. ``That's the thing that really held us back last year, the interceptions and turnovers. If I can eliminate a lot of them, I think we'll be in pretty good shape.''
He's got a point. The Patriots won their last seven games and made the playoffs even though Bledsoe finished the season with two more interceptions, 27, than TD passes. The same holds true for his career - 40 touchdowns, 42 interceptions.
And in their 20-13 postseason loss to Cleveland, Bledsoe was picked off three times, while completing just 21 of 50 attempts.
Normally, that would be enough to send coach Bill Parcells into a volcanic eruption. And there have been times television cameras have captured Mt. Parcells spewing testily while a stoic Bledsoe stands absorbing his wrath.
``Playing for him is, uh, a unique experience,'' Bledsoe says, choosing his words carefully. ``He's a fiery guy; loud, yells, and all that stuff. We have different personalities. I'm kind of quiet and calm, but I'm learning to deal with it. We have a relationship now that's more a two-way relationship, as opposed to the one-way relationship we had while I was a rookie. But it's volatile, like any you have with a coach.''
Bledsoe apparently has had a profound impact on Parcells in one fundamental area - New England's offense. As the Giants' coach, Parcells was a ground-it-out, meat-and-potatoes strategist. But he hasn't done nearly as much as predicted to shore up New England's running attack. He signed ex-Giant Dave Meggett, whose strength is as a pass receiver and kick returner.
After a '94 season in which Bledsoe threw for 4,555 yards - eighth-best in NFL history - he has drawn comparisons to the game's best passers ever.
And he's become a precious commodity on the charity-golf circuit. Bruce Smith had Bledsoe listed at the top of his guest list for this past weekend's event.
Bledsoe is totally unimpressed with all of it.
``It's flattering to have Bruce say something like that, but I've got to continue to improve my play and let people make those comparisons 10 years down the road. Right now, they don't mean a lot.
``I've only played two years, and if I were to fade away right now, just become one of those little blips that got hyped for a while. ... But, if I can continue to improve for a long time, then we'll see what happens.''
It should be worth the wait. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Steve Earley, Staff
``I've got to continue to improve my play and let people make . . .
comparisons 10 years down the road,'' said Drew Bledsoe, who
completed 400 passes in 1994.
by CNB