Commanders Post at The Warpath - Can Bledsoe Remain Standing On His Feet

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Can Bledsoe Remain Standing On His Feet

I thought this was an interesting article, and gives us optimism as we go against the Cowboys this season....if anyone knows and can figure out how to beat Bledsoe, Coach Williams, not just Parcells, can do the necessary things too to BEAT BLEDSOE and I'm confident our Redskin defense can get the job done...........

FROM THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
BLEDSOE MUST STAND HIS GROUND BY RICHARD OLIVER

When it comes to quarterbacks, there are some rules that if ignored can prove costly. Always wear a helmet. Establish a rapport with the center. Grip the football by the threads. And, for goodness sake stay away from the cheerleaders. For newly crowned Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe, there is one piece of advise that ranks higher than suggestion. It's about survival. Simply, Bledsoe must be kept on his feet. When he isn't, trouble always seems to follow.

Off the field, the mesaage was pounded home in 1997, when Bledsoe and teammate Max Lane dove off a Boston stage and into a mosh pit during a rock concert. The leap cost the quarterback $500,000 when a fan claimed the falling players injured her neck.

On the field, the message was pounded home in the second game of the 2001 season when Jets LB Mo Lewis drove Bledsoe off the turf and into the emergency room with a crushing hit. The impact fractured a rib and shredded an artery that pumped four liters of blood into his chest cavity.
Family members though he was going to die. Doctors compared the injury to that found at a major auto accident. Beledsoe is still standing and Parcells the veteran coach knows better than anyone else how important that will be in coming months. Literally.

Since coming into the league as Parcell's top draft pick in New England in 1993, Bledsoe established a reputation as a supreme gunner in the pocket, strong-armed and accurate, with solid instincts and a knack for late game excellence. Yet, he has occassionally withered under pressure, whether from Parcell's hot verbal blasts, or the swarming defensed educated by his glacial inability to escape the pocket. Bledsoe became the target of the World War Tuna showdowns between the Jets and Patriots over the next 3 years. Parcells, after defecting to New York, brought with him a keen perspective as to how to defeat his former quarterback, and it worked handsomely. Jets safety Victor Green and teammates coached by Parcells and defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, pricked at Bledsoe in print leading up to the game, and barked at him during the game.

"He would hold unto the ball too long", Jets CB Ray Mickens said. "He would be to slow in his checkdowns, not getting the ball away to his dump-off receiver. He was there too long." "Just hit him, Greens said of the coaches instructions regarding Bledsoe. "Put some hard hits on him. Get him frustrated with his offensive line." Two seasons ago Parcells employed a similar game plan in Dallas' 10-6 victory over the Bills. Bledsoe under immense blitz pressure throughout, completed only half his 34 passes, was sacked 3 times and lost two fumbles. He fell to 2-4 against his former coach.

Today, Parcells and Bledsoe are back together, each knows how to beat the player, and how to protect him. As a result, Bledsoe operated at minicamp last week under a revamped line, complimented by a nimble runningback, mended receiving corps, and argubably the league's finest tight ends. He'll
enter the coming season with a weaponry, a pocket of protection, even a corps of checkdown options. In other words, right where Parcells and the Cowboys need him to be. And to remain. Safely on his feet.