Back to main page
Back to genre page
The Kid Can Play
by Andrew Beaulieu
����The Kid takes the ball on the sideline, whips it to the receiver, shakes his hand, and tries to bend the numb finger. It won't even budge. It's November 22, 1998, and the
Patriots trail the Miami Dolphins 31-26 with 3:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. The return throw goes to the receiver next to him, who hands it to the Kid. By then, his coach,
Pete Carroll walks up to him and asks, "Drew, how's it doing?"
�����"It's doing good. I'm having trouble putting touch on the ball, and there's a little pain, but I'm fine."
�����"We got Zo [backup quarterback Scott Zolak] warming up. Want me to put him in?" The Kid looks down at his bulging finger, again tries to bend it, but can't. He once again fires to the receiver to test it.
�����"No, I'm all right"
�����"Are you sure?" persists Carroll. The Kid hears the whistle signifying that the timeout is over, looks up at the clock, and then back at his coach.
�����"Yeah, I'm sure."
The Kid runs back onto the field. He gathers his troops in the huddle, looks every single one in the eye, and calls the play. There is a jump in the steps of the players as they approach the line, each getting set and holding still as they wait for the bark of the Kid to signal them to go. The ball is snapped, the Kid steps back, fires a ball towards the end zone, and raises his arms in victory as the Patriots take the lead over the Miami Dolphins.
�����This play changed Drew Bledsoe's career forever. No longer is he referred to as "The Kid," a boy with a wonderful arm that couldn't win the big game. Now, he's known as "the Man," the leader of the Patriots and one of the best quarterbacks in football. He's definitely one of the best signal-callers to pass through the Patriots organization, and the reason why the Patriots are 4-0 going into next week's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. And you know what? I'm damn proud of him.
����Sure, in 1993, when he was a rookie, he had a rocky start. What can you expect from a kid who is younger than the owner's son? He was on a team that was coming off a 1-15 season, and he had a coach that barked at him like a dog. The team finished 5-11. In 1994, he had marvelous victories, including a ten game winning streak at the end of the season to bring the Patriots into the playoffs. The Patriots were in the playoffs because of Bledsoe's arm, but it faltered in the playoff game against the Browns. But hey, for a second year player, that's one great year. In 1995, there was a collapse, and the Patriots finished 6-10. Don't worry, the Kid's coming along fine. And what about the 6-10 record? The great part about finishing poorly in the NFL is that you get a high draft pick. And the Patriots selected wisely when they picked Ohio State University's Terry Glenn. The next year, the team finished 11-5, and galloped through the playoffs. The Patriots headed to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1985. Their opponent was the Green Bay Packers.
����There is a little something most professional athletes have but can't explain. It is simply known as "it." You either have "it" or you don't. It's a special tick in your brain that decides whether you're a winner or a loser. In Bledsoe's first four years, people questioned whether or not "it" inside of him, and it hurt the team. Now, in the Super Bowl, Bledsoe needed it more than ever. But he didn't have it. The other quarterback, Brett Favre, did. The Patriots lost, 35-21. After this game, the barking dog left the team for greener pastures (and uniforms) to coach the New York Jets. Pete Carroll, a former player with a shaky coaching resume, took over at the helm: he finished 10-6 in his first year. The Patriots eventually lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they were also depleted by injury. The next year, the same thing happened in the regular season, but fans started scrutinizing Carroll, saying that the players were getting injured because they were out of shape. He needed Bledsoe now more than ever, and Drew made a statement to him when the Patriots met the Dolphins on November 22, 1998 at Foxboro Stadium.
����The game was even throughout the entire first and second half, but the Dolphins jumped to an early fourth quarter lead with a 10-yard Kareem-Abdul Jabbar run. The score was now 31-26, and the Patriots needed lo score a touchdown to win. After their first attempt failed, fans got disheartened and left. But the Patriots stopped the Dolphins, and got the ball back at about their own 40-yard line with a little more than five minutes to play. Bledsoe, along with bursts through the line from Robert Edwards, completed passes that brought them to the Dolphins 35-yard line. On the next play, he threw a bullet to Ben Coates to bring them up to the thirty yard line with about three minutes remaining. But there was something wrong with Drew. He was wiggling his hand. The instant replay showed that he had banged his hand on an opponent's helmet. He went to the sidelines, threw the ball a few times, and came back on. Right then and there, that's when Drew got "it". The next play was a pass to Shawn Jefferson that lifted 60,000 screaming fans to their feet.
����Of course, all good things come to an end. In the end, Bledsoe's finger got the best of him, and the team played with backup quarterback Scott Zolak in the first round of the playoffs. They lost, and the season was over. "It's okay," everyone said. "Drew's finger will heal in the off season and everyone will come back healthy." Little did they know. First, disaster struck. In a flag football game at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, Robert Edwards suffered an injury that could've been much serious than it was. I know that probably never playing in another football game again is bad, but Edwards might have needed bis leg amputated if the staff in Honolulu hadn't done such a terrific job in emergency surgery. Now, instead of a solid running game that Patriots had established, all they had were confused looks and no featured back. You think this would hurt Drew's spirits? Not a bit. Then, his favorite lineman, Dave Woblabaugh, departed for the expansion Cleveland Browns. Tilis must've been the killer for the Patriots, right? No way. Then, in an inter-squad scrimmage, Ted Johnson tore his bicep muscle and is probably out till November. Is Drew nervous about the team's fortunes after this injury? Not a chance. Drew's kept his hopes up all off-season, and he isn't about to let them slide away. Many football magazines picked the Patriots to finish either in fourth or last place in the AFC East Division. But I guess they didn't think Bledsoe had "it" in him. He does.
����In the first game of the season, the Patriots were leading 27-22 about mid-way through the fourth quarter. Patriots fans are all joyous about beating the New York Jets, the team's hated rivals. But wait, what's this? Drew steps back, throws the ball, and Bryan Cox, the linebacker for the New York Jets, steps in front of it. He intercepts the ball, sprints it into the end zone, and all of a sudden the Jets are up 28-27. Now, "the Kid" would've gotten all upset over the play. When he would come out for another shot, he would probably try to do too much, and lose the game for his team. But "the Man"? He's cool as a cucumber. With ice water in his veins, "the Man" came out, completed clutch passes, drove the team down the field, and set them up for the game-winning field goal. Patriots win, 30-28.
����Or how about the next week, when the Patriots trailed the Indianapolis Colts by 21 points, only to come all the way back riding Bledsoe's shoulders to win 31-28? Or how about when Bledsoe bombed the ball 40 yards into the hands of Terry Glenn, who was tackled at the one, setting up Terry Alien's one yard touchdown plunge to lead the Patriots to victory 16-13? Or when Bledsoe again hooked up with Glenn for a forty-yard score? Did you see "the Kid" then? Of course not Because you were watching "the Man." Don't look now folks, but the Patriots are 4-0 and atop the AFC East.
����Yeah, Bledsoe sure has got it. He's got an arm that throws footballs faster than a bullet coming out of a gun. And he can read defenses like pages in a book. But does he have "it"? That mystical presence in the mind of winners who allow them to get it done, no matter what the costs? You bet he does.
�2000 John Holbrook