Indy festival

Page 7 of 28 -- -- David Berg, NY, NY

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A: Listen Dave, it doesn't matter whether I like and respect them. If they're not playing well or coaching well, I'll say it. Bledsoe has been horrendous. Donahoe hasn't done a good job this year. Milloy has lost a step. Parcells fulfilled his contract with the Patriots. After the Super Bowl, the contract was over. We all took sides in the media back then. It was Parcells or Kraft and I took Kraft's side of it. I thought it was horrible Parcells didn't fly back with the team, but in the end he walked away. It's not like he left with his contract. He had reduced it from five to four years earlier that season.

Nick, thanks for faithfully responding to your readers. I really enjoy the weekly mailbag. Peter Gammons has nothing on you.

My question: which NFL quarterback of the last twenty years does Tom Brady most remind you of?

-- Chris Watson, S Portland, Maine

A: Going back a little farther than 20 years, he reminds me a lot of Bob Griese. Poised, smart, doesn't make too many mistakes and wins. Has some Jim Kelley in him. Maybe some Phil Simms. I don't want to say Joe Montana just yet because he hasn't achieved what Montana did. He's got a little Terry Bradshaw in him. He's definitely not Marino. He has the flair for the big ending like Elway, but nowhere near as strong.

In response to a post by Ken Macek about where to watch the Pats/Colts game while he's in Miami. Tell him to check out Finnegans on Ocean Drive in south beach. It may not be a pro Pats bar, but they will show all the games, and the food is good. If he wants to watch it with some true Pats fans, my father and I are both from Boston and would gladly share the big screen and our beer with a fellow Patriots fan. Pass on my info. Thanks.

-- Michael Leonard, Miami Beach Fl

A: Thanks.

Thanks for the Mailbag... It's a great forum and I appreciate all of the work you put into it. I'd like to start by saying that your response to Patrick Murray from Chelmsford was classic. It's great that you know when to bow down to an obvious superior! That really did make my week. I have a few questions that maybe you could help me with. First, why is it that the teams that play on Thanksgiving don't have their bye week right before the Thanksgiving day games? Not only do I feel it would benefit the teams, but I think that the they would be better rested and prepared, and that the games would be more exciting as a result. Another question: Would the Pats be able to switch to the new field turf if they wanted to? I was asking because I know that they share the field with the Revolution and I don't follow soccer, so I don't know if they allow for different kinds of fields. It just seems more economical to have an artificial turf with all of the wear and weather conditions in New England, but I could be wrong.. who knows? Finally: Drew Bledsoe isn't really that bad, is he? I've always liked him and thought of him as one of the tougher QB's around. It seems that the fates have decided that he will never have a great offensive line to thrive behind. I truly believe that if he had a line like KC's, he would have incredible stats, but maybe I'm wrong. I was a little heartbroken to see him go to Buffalo, but how could you argue, given how Brady played? Actually, another question... Do you think that Tom Brady will be consistently good? Sometimes, watching the games, I forget that he's barely older than me and that he's only been a starter for just about two whole seasons. I get a little nervous that he'll drop a little and then rebound, like a lot of young QB's do, but he just seems to get better as time goes on, and as a friend pointed out recently, he already has the biggest game experience available, being Super Bowl MVP. Thanks for all of your hard work. It does NOT go unappreciated around here.
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