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Drew Bledsoe Q&A

Email|Link|Comments (27) Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff May 8, 2008 08:50 PM

FOXBOROUGH – Here is part of today’s media Q&A session with Drew Bledsoe after he toured the team’s Hall of Fame construction

What were your thoughts going through there?
“It’s very impressive. I’ll be really excited to come back and check it out when it’s done. It will be fun to bring my family back. My kids will absolutely dig it.”

What have you been up to?
“I’ve been busy. Retirement is hard work. I need to go get a job so I can be less busy. I’m having a lot of fun. I have four young kids and have been able to spend a ton of time with them, and did a bunch of snow-skiing this winter. I have a little wine project going on out in Walla Walla [Washington] and have a few other endeavors too – a little coffee biz. We’re moving and shaking and it’s really fun. It’s been a great education. I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Can you put it into perspective from when you first got here, what it was like, to now?
“I had a chance to sit down for lunch with Robert Kraft and then talked to Jonathan [Kraft] and Danny [Kraft] a little bit. It’s pretty funny to think about where we came from, and where we were when we started here. We had portable [toilets] out front, and it rained in the training room. We were getting a good chuckle that we would put on our pads and drive over to the old mental hospital for practice and drive back all dirty, sweaty and muddy. You look at that and compare it to where this is now, obviously setting a new benchmark for entertainment in the sports world. It’s pretty amazing.”

Do you take some pride in the fact you were, in some ways, responsible for the turnaround of the franchise?
“Yeah, I am proud of what we did when I was here. When I got here, and obviously there are a ton of facets to that, this was the fourth sports franchise in town and almost forgotten about. To see where it is now, and to know I was, at least in some small way a part of that transition, yeah it feels great, it really does.”

Any chance of you moving back? Your house [in Medfield] is for sale.
“Maybe he’ll actually make some money on it, because I sure didn’t [laughter] We’re settling out there in the Northwest, and loving life. We have the kids in school out there. They all ride their bikes to school each day, which is a great scenario. We’re having a great time, but it does feel good to come back here and visit.”

When was the last time you were here?
“The last time I was here, the last couple times, was when I was playing for Buffalo (2002-2004). Those aren’t really warm, fuzzy memories. Outside of that, it’s been quite a while. A lot has changed. The Big Dig is done. I didn’t think that would ever happen. It was cool to see that and kind of drive around and see some of the old spots. To be able to come down and see this is outstanding.”

What was it like last July and the reality set in that you weren’t playing?
“In July, it was awesome. That’s when everybody is going to training camp. I think every football player looks forward to the day when training camp starts and they don’t have to do that. That was different when the regular season started and the other games started being played. I did miss it, and I do miss it, and I always will miss playing ball. I think anybody who has ever played at whatever level misses it to a certain extent. It was a really big part of my life for a long time, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I do miss it, but at the same time, I don’t have any regrets about the decision. It was the right time to hang them up.”

There was no feeling about coming back during the season?
“No. There were some calls that came in, a couple of them where I took the all-important step of talking to my wife about the scenarios. I thought about it, spent some time on some of the different opportunities, and ultimately woke up the next morning and said ‘I’m done, I’m ready to be done.’ It’s a really good feeling to know that.”

What are some of your favorite Patriots memories?
“There are so many, it’s hard to pick a few. If I had to, there are a few games that would obviously stand out. The game against the Vikings in 94 that we won in overtime was a special one. The year before that, my rookie year, when we were so awful but we came back and won our last four games and beat the Dolphins and knocked them out of the playoffs. That was great, going way back. The Steelers game in the playoffs, here in the fog, and obviously that AFC Championship game when the lights went out. There are tons of great memories. The nice thing about being retired is they are the only ones I have to [think about], so I don’t have to re-live any of the other stuff now. It’s fun to come back. You certainly get nostalgic, particularly spending time with Willie [McGinest] and [Todd] Rucci, and I saw Tedy Bruschi for a while today. And [Scott] Zolak. There is some nostalgia, it’s all very good stuff.”

Have you followed the story about the team’s videotaping procedures? What are your thoughts?
“My take now is the same as it’s always been – every team in the league is trying to do everything they can to get ahead, and I’m sure most, if not all of them, are bending the rules in some way, shape or form. This just happened to be one that was very public and obviously the organization has been reprimanded for it. As a player here, I never did see anything other than what has already been reported."

27 comments so far...

Time will judge Bledsoe well in New England. At the end of the day, there is no shame in being beaten out by one of the 5 greatest quarterbacks of all time and Bledsoe was a good to very good quarterback. He wasn't prolific like Brady and didn't have a set of rocks like Grogan. But he steadied that position here for years. When you see teams talking about starting Joey Harrington, Tavaris Jackson, Cade McNown among others, it wasn't a bad thing having Bledsoe around.

Posted by Tommy Points May 8, 08 09:30 PM

Drew Bledsoe Q&A

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