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| Friday, August 9 Updated: August 13, 9:01 AM ET Bledsoe not perfect, but pretty good in Bills debut By Greg Garber ESPN.com |
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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- It would be nice to report that Drew Bledsoe's first play in a Buffalo Bills uniform was a touchdown pass, a lovely little 31-yard laser to, say, Eric Moulds. But it wasn't -- that result didn't come until his seventh play.
No, Bledsoe's pre-season debut began with an ignominious sack, as the Cincinnati Bengals' Justin Smith bent, folded and modestly mutilated Bledsoe for a five-yard loss when tackle Jonas Jennings lost his man. It was only a temporary step backward. The ex-Patriot from New England proceeded to complete his first five passes for 78 yards, punctuated by that 31-yard strike to Moulds less than four minutes into the game. He was sailing along in an unconscious haze -- Bledsoe completed the first pass of Buffalo's second drive for another 20 yards to make him 6-for-6 out of the box -- when reality intruded. His would-be 36-yard touchdown pass, intended for Peerless Price but a tad lazy, was snatched away by Bengals cornerback Jeff Burris. It was that kind of yin and yang Friday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium for Bledsoe in a game in which Cincinnati prevailed, 24-17. If you'd like to see the glass as half full, consider Bledsoe's perfect opening drive and his 9-for-11, 136-yard, 2-touchdown evening. If you're the glass-half-empty sort, you'll dwell on that interception and the two sacks of Bledsoe, who can still be described as statuesque. "I'll be honest with you, I had a little bit of the pre-game jitters going on," Bledsoe said. "I was a little nervous, a little anxious and was just real excited to get out there and get it done and get a game under our belt. Hopefully, we can build on it." The recent Hall of Fame coronation of Jim Kelly in Canton merely underlined how slim the pickings at quarterback have been in Buffalo since Kelly exited after the 1996 season. The signal-callers, in order: Todd Collins, Doug Flutie, Rob Johnson and Alex Van Pelt. As a result, Western New York has been aching for a quality quarterback. And now they have one to rival Kelly, at the very least. A year ago, with Bledsoe carrying a freshly-minted 10-year, $100 million contract, it couldn't have been imagined. But when a savage hit from the Jets' Mo Lewis sheared a blood vessel in Bledsoe's chest in the second game of the season, the Tom Brady era had begun. As Brady drove the Patriots to the Super Bowl, Bledsoe was permitted only a cameo performance in the AFC Championship game at Pittsburgh. He suffered in noble silence and ultimately was rewarded with a trade to Buffalo. It was a deal that, he acknowledges now, was good for everyone concerned. Brady is free to operate without fear of losing his job to Bledsoe, while Bledsoe gets a team that desperately wants him and the Bills get a Hall of Fame-caliber player fueled by some unnatural motivation. Along with head coach Tony Dungy's move to Indianapolis from Tampa Bay and the trade that sent running back Ricky Williams to Miami from New Orleans, this is the transaction that promises to have a profound effect within the league. By the standards of an elite NFL quarterback, Bledsoe remains an exceedingly young man. He turned 30 last Valentine's Day and with some luck and longevity could be slinging passes for another seven or eight seasons. That would cause some serious damage in the NFL record book. Did you know?
Certainly, he came out firing against the Bengals. After the wake-up call courtesy of Smith, Bledsoe found Price with a 9-yard slant. On third-and-6, Bledsoe beat an all-out blitz and hit Moulds with a 7-yard completion. Then there was a gorgeous 25-yard flare to Larry Centers and another blitz-defusing completion to Moulds, good for six yards. On third-and-2, Bledsoe read another blitz and correctly surmised that Moulds would draw single coverage. Kevin Kaesviharn was easily abused for the 31-yard score. After that little hiccup of an interception, Bledsoe went back to work from the Bengals' 43-yard-line. Thirteen-yarders to Centers and Josh Reed (both on third down) set up Bledsoe's finest moment of the night. Price was surrounded by three Bengals' defensive backs, but Bledsoe dropped in an exquisite pass, a piece requiring touch that brought the sparse crowd to its feet. It was Bledsoe's second touchdown drive in less than four minutes and it gave the Bills a (shortlived, as it turned out) 14-7 lead. At which point Bledsoe -- who overshot projections by playing two minutes and 37 seconds into the second quarter -- retired for the evening. Mark the dates in your calendar, Nov. 3 here at The Ralph and Dec. 8 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. That's when the Patriots are likely to be reminded why teams don't do deals with divisional rivals. "It felt good to go down and get in the end zone, to put points on the board," Bledsoe said. "That was our objective. Overall, I thought our protection was very good against a blitzing front and I thought we did some good things in the passing game. I missed some throws. I should have had Peerless for a touchdown on the interception. "In general, though, I'm encouraged." Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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