THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110680
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 124 lines
If recent history is any barometer, the New England Patriots have stopped trying to make Drew Bledsoe something he's not.
Conservative.
It was the old, or rather, young, Bledsoe who winged his team past the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday, 46-38, the Patriots' third straight win. The fourth-year pro from Washington State completed 25 of 39 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns. Better still, he did not have an interception for just the ninth time in his career, but the third time this season.
In the third quarter alone, Bledsoe hit 12 of 13 attempts for 149 yards and two touchdowns. That's just 52 yards less than Sunday's opponent, the Washington Redskins, have averaged per game this season.
``It seemed like he was just out there having fun, tossing the ball left, right, to whoever was open,'' offered tight end Ben Coates, who was open enough to catch seven passes.
It was shades of Bledsoe's first two NFL seasons. There was the 1994 season-opener against Miami, when Bledsoe threw four touchdown passes.
Or that brilliant, bizarre effort against Minnesota two years ago. The Vikings led 20-0 before Bledsoe got hot. He wound up completing 45 of 70 passes - NFL records both - for 426 yards and three touchdowns in rallying the Patriots to a 26-20 overtime win.
``He's way down the road, light years ahead of where he was two years ago,'' crowed Patriots coach Bill Parcells, the man most accused of holding Bledsoe back. ``This guy has been playing for four years; he's no rookie. He's played in 60 pro games, that's a career for a lot of people.''
Some wondered last season if Bledsoe might not be among them. Once heralded as New England's next great sports superstar, Bledsoe suffered a separated shoulder against San Francisco in the third game of last season. When he came back, he never passed the ball up to the standards expected of him.
Although the Patriots finally uncovered the running back Parcells longed to find in Curtis Martin, they struggled along with their quarterback, finishing 6-10.
``It's hard to put a finger on exactly what happened,'' Bledsoe said. ``There was speculation that I came back too soon. I don't know. I'm not thinking of last year. I'm thinking about this year. We've got to get some things going so we can get to the playoffs.''
New England started 0-2, with losses at Miami and Buffalo. Since then, they've walloped Arizona (31-0), outlasted Jacksonville in overtime (28-25) and held off the Ravens.
``We had quite a few injuries at receiver in camp,'' Parcells said. ``We weren't able to get everybody together until the third game of the season. We're getting more continuity as we go and the results have been a little better.''
During the offseason, Parcells realized he had to get help for Coates, the Pro Bowl tight end who so clearly was Bledsoe's favorite - and only - target that teams started double-teaming him in '95. He signed free agent Shawn Jefferson from San Diego, then yielded to reported pressure from owner Bob Kraft and drafted Ohio State wideout Terry Glenn in the first round.
Bledsoe hasn't had any trouble keeping this diverse group happy. Last week, Coates caught seven, Glenn caught six, Jefferson had four and two touchdowns, fullback Sam Gash caught four, Martin grabbed two and Dave Meggett and Mike Bartrum caught one each.
For the season, 11 Patriots have at least one catch. Parcells, who pounded opponents into submission when he coached the powerhouse New York Giants teams on the 1980s, admits his team could have five receivers with at least 50 receptions.
``I'm gaining confidence in these guys,'' Bledsoe said. ``I feel that, if I put the ball up and give these guys and opportunity, they're going to catch the ball and make plays.''
Parcells still insists that, in the long run, the Patriots won't make much noise in the league until they learn to control the ball on the ground. But his ground game is the league's 22nd, averaging 96.6 yards a game. Behind Bledsoe, the passing attack is second, averaging 228 yards.
``In New York, the talent was offensive line and defense,'' Bledsoe said. ``He ran the ball and shut people down. The strength of our team lots of times is with our passing game. He's tended to open that up a bit, adjusted his style of coaching to fit this team. Ideally, though, he'd still like to see us run first and throw second.''
What Parcells likes best is winning, the main reason he answers a question about Bledsoe's impact on his once-unalterable conservative philosophy by saying, ``I'm adapting.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Drew Bledsoe completed 25 of 39 passes for 310 yards and four TDs in
leading the Patriots to a 46-38 win last Sunday.
REDSKINS at PATRIOTS
When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Where: Foxboro Stadium
TV: WTVZ
Radio: WTAR, AM 790
Favorite: Patriots by 4 1/2
Last week: Washington (4-1) had a bye. The Patriots (3-2) won
46-38 at Baltimore.
Series stat: Washington leads 4-1. The Redskins won the last
meeting 25-10 in Foxboro in 1990. New England hasn't won a
regular-season game vs. Skins since '72, when Stanford alums Jim
Plunkett and Randy Vataha teamed up for a 24-23 victory.
Redskins news flash: RB Terry Allen is third in the NFC, fourth
in the NFL, in rushing with 519 yards. ... WR Michael Westbrook, who
was thought to need another month to recover from a knee-ligament
injury, has practiced twice this week and says he will play Sunday.
The team still lists him as doubtful. ... Washington leads the
league in scoring defense, allowing just 11.2 points per game. The
last time the Redskins held opponents to fewer points after five
games was 1973.
Patriots news flash: QB Drew Bledsoe threw for more than 300
yards last week for the first time this season, the 10th time in his
career. The Patriots are just 6-4 when Bledsoe surpasses the
300-yard mark. ... Bledsoe is among the AFC leaders in every passing
category this season - fourth in attempts, completions and net
yards, second in touchdowns with 10. He is the AFC player of the
week for his performance against Baltimore. ... New England scored
on seven of its first nine possessions last week, including six
straight. ... TE Ben Coates has caught at least one pass in 55
straight games, a club record. ... At his current pace, long-time
Redskins nemesis Dave Meggett will shatter his personel record for
punt-return yards. Meggett has 275 on just 19 punts. His best was
582 yards in 1989.
That's odd: Meggett has attempted five halfback-option passes
since joining the NFL in 1989. He has completed two, both against
the Redskins, both for touchdowns, both as a New York Giant in 1993.
... The Redskins have a 1-6 record the week after a bye.
JIM DUCIBELLA by CNB