Last week voters were unable to decide between Randy Moss and Ben Coates, with Wednesday’s Challenge ending in a tie for just the third time. As a result there was no movement on The RBSF Ladder. This week voters chose to make Drew Bledsoe the challenger, making his the first person to be a part of 3 challenges. This week his opponent is Patriot great Stanley Morgan as Bledsoe attempts to win his first challenge and move up from #73 to #65. A look at this week’s contestants…
MORGAN: Played 13 seasons for the Pats (1977-89). Drafted in 1st Round (#25 overall) in ’77 NFL Draft. Won 1985 AFC Championship before losing Super Bowl XX to Chicago. Patriot career totals: 534 receptions for 10, 352 yards (19.4 average) and 67 TD. Also had 2 kickoff returns and 1 punt return for TD with Pats. Had over 1,000 yards receiving in a season 3 times. Led league in yards per reception 3 times and receiving touchdowns once. Selected to 4 Pro Bowls. Named 2nd Team All-Pro twice (1980, 1986). Held franchise records for yards receiving and TD receptions in a season until both were broken by Randy Moss in 2007. Team’s all-time leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and 2nd in both games (for a wide receiver) and receptions to Troy Brown. Member of Patriots Hall of Fame.
BLEDSOE: Played 9 seasons for the Pats (1993-2001). Drafted #1 overall by Pats in '93 NFL Draft. Member of 2001 Super Bowl Champions. Won 1996 AFC Championship before losing Super Bowl XXXI to Green Bay. Patriot career totals: 2,544-4,518 for 29,657 yards and 166 TD. In his 2nd season he broke the NFL record for pass attempts, became 2nd QB ever to complete 400+ passes in a season and led the league in passing yards with 4,555. Passed for 3,000+ yards 7 years in a row. Was youngest passer to ever reach 10,000 career passing yards and the youngest QB to play in the Pro Bowl. Selected to 3 Pro Bowls with Pats. Holds franchise records for both completions and attemps in a season. Team's all-time leader in completions, attempts, and passing yards.
VERDICT: While Stanley Morgan is one of my favorite players of all-time, and perhaps the greatest wide receiver in Patriots history, my vote this week goes to Bledsoe who helped to turn a laughingstock of a franchise into a team that became relevant under his watch. While Bledsoe was far from perfect, he was also one heck of a passer, and the signature player for the franchise for nearly a decade.
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7 comments:
I feel like Morgan shouldn't be this far ahead of Troy Brown anyway (if at all)...though maybe that means we need to work on bringing Troy up instead of knocking Morgan backward. Tough call since QB and WR are tough to compare, and both ended their careers elsewhere, but Drew gets my vote just because of how lousy the national perception of the Pats was before he got here and how much better he left the Pats than when he arrived (and yes I know he's not 100% responsible for that, but that is why he's fighting to get in the 60's, not the Top 10)
Bledsoe gets my vote. DK pretty much covered all my reasons already.
Oh yeah in case you missed my Challenge idea.
In the event of a tie a winner would be determined by which ever contestant had more people speak for them rather than just vote. Maybe more people will post a reason for voting for someone if the guy they vote for doesnt win by vote alone.
My hatred for the most overrated player in NFL history and perhaps all of team sports is well documented.
I vote for #86. Morgan may well be the anti-Bledsoe. The most overlooked and under appreciated Pats player ever.
This from SI's Dr. Z who is putting Morgan on his HOF ballot
"For the first six years of his career in New England he averaged 22.6 yards per reception. In every one of those six, the number was at 20.9 or better. No receiver since then has come close.
To put it in perspective, Jerry Rice's first six seasons produced a 17.6 average. James Lofton, king of the recent long ballers, averaged ... well, I didn't take his first six. I took his best six, which contained a few 20-plussers ... 18.9. The best single year that Randy Moss, today's top deep threat, had was his rookie season ... 19.0. Marvin Harrison's best was 14.5."
i dont remember morgan much to be honest but i hate bledsoe so an easy vote for me
Looks like Drew is going to be the first to go 0-3 in Challenges.
With 4 hours left to vote looks like we're gonna have another tie. Based on my tie breaker idea it would still be a tie.
Bledsoe- DK and GMAC
Morgan-BB and WJ
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