Let the real games begin

Page 6 of 19 -- A:Good points, Ed. I think if you had a quarterback who was appreciably different in style from Brady, I'd say go for it, but Huard is very similar and Davey isn't really as mobile as people think. If they had a Michael Bishop who could really play, do it, but a defense isn't going to change for Huard. As for Bledsoe, proponents of the Bledsoe deal to a divisional rival defend the move as you have. I still say the Patriots added five wins to the Bills' win total last season. Your theory works as long as the Patriots beat the Bills twice a season and as long as they finish ahead of them in the standings. There was only a one-game difference last season, and if not for a miracle win over Miami, the Patriots and Bills would have tied at 8-8.

ADVERTISEMENT

So let me get this straight, Nick. It was only OK to talk about the Bledsoe vs. Brady situation for the first year? And even then the debate was "getting old"? If I'm not mistaken, Drew was the Patriot's "savior" in that his acquisition resurrected interest in this team. I totally accept that as a fair assessment of his past value to this franchise. Due to that fact, The debate is,and will always be, a legitimate one. For you to attempt to dismiss my continued discussion of this issue, which is nothing more than a new twist on a "QB contoversy", by saying in the last mailbag that "I guess we have to rehash this again" just shows your fear (as a Bledsoe supporter and hater of the trade) that you in fact were,and are wrong! You tried to project that fear onto me by saying in that same mailbag reply "aren't you a little worried about the Bills?" No, Nick, I'm not. I'm actually loving the rivalry between these two teams even more. Which is exactly why my discussing the Drew vs. Tom angle is not only not "rehashing", as you dismissively put it, but instead an aggressive display of confidence on my part that the Patriots DID THE RIGHT THING! Brady vs Bledsoe? No contest. I'll take Tom any day of the week!
-- Paul DeSalvo, Derry, N.H.

A:Paul, it was manyny months ago that I wrote that Brady is the better choice for the Patriots than Bledsoe. Where have you been? Maybe I'm old fashioned but I agree with the old school philosophy that many GMs in all sports subscribe to, you don't trade a star player, particularly an All Pro quarterback within the division. I don't think anything good will come of that in the long run. I also agree that the rivalry is a lot of fun, but if things continue like last year where you beat Bledsoe twice but don't make the playoffs, what good is that? That becomes like the Red Sox-Yankees legacy --- beat the Yankees in the season series, but the Yankes win the championship!   Continued...