Honestly never thought Bledsoe was that good. Got happy feet under pressure, had lead feet, and threw into coverage a lot. Was fortunate at both WSU and in New England that he had very good receivers.
Who me? You were the one who suggested it.
I think I'm in the minority on this, but I didn't think Bledsoe had "happy feet". I thought he held onto the ball too long and relied on his arm to "throw receivers open". That resulted in unnecessary hits, but he didn't stay down long.
Well my fellow Coug, take it up with Cougsocal. He is quite outspoken on how shitty Bledsoe was.
www.cougcenter.com
Preach!
He came out of high school throwing for 300 yds a game before that was even a thing. Guess he had D1 WR at Walla Walla propping him up there too, right?
Swogger is a different category. He’s more of a “overrated recruit,” because he never even became a consistent starter. There was lots of hype around him, but as notes he just didn’t have “it.”
Bledsoe wasn’t even the best QB in his conference in high school. The guy at Richland was. He went to Michigan to play linebacker and I don’t think ever cracked the starting lineup. As I recall, that kid was today’s prototype - he was a runner who could throw. Bledsoe was the 80s/90s prototype pocket passer with a cannon for an arm.
Have you ever bothered to actually look at Bledsoe's passing stats compared to his fellow "Jack Elway" based spread offense QBs at WSU, on bowl teams (apples vs apples)? Of course not! Put the rose color glasses down and explain how his numbers demonstrate great QB play. They weren't in the same zip code as the big 3, and were only marginally better than generally considered one of the worst QBs in WSU history.
i think a little bit of both can be true. You can’t compare Bledsoe stats to leaf or Gesser stats. Game evolved. The Davis comparison is fair. Bledsoes stats and performances weren’t as overwhelming as his potential. Overrated is an interesting label to put on a guy who was a number one pick and had a long successful nfl career.
Another overrated recruit type was the kid out of Puget Sound area that was promoting how he and his two buddies were going to come in and tear it up. Called themselves the "Three Scorpions" or something like that. Think he was a DB, but not sure on that. Turns out the other two ended up committing elsewhere and he he never amounted to much. He actually came to one of the Recruiting dinners we put on (PCCC), I think it was at Emerald Downs. I wish I could remember his name or the nickname of the group, but Oldtimer's Disease is hitting me up today. Maybe Ed remembers, he used to make those functions.
Because he stopped playing like an average joe, the first 10 games of the year, and started to live up to all that potential, lighting it up big time against the UW and Utah to end the year. Fortunately for him, those two games are the only ones people remember. That is why people think you are crazy when you point out that he didn't play well, as two games do not a great career make. Against Utah his PER was 175.8. 143 against the UW, in utterly appalling conditions.
Shelton Danzy.. he wasn’t overrated . He was position-less and the one position coaches thought he might be able to play was SS. He and family had a much higher opinion than those who watch and make money off recruiting .
Shelton Danzy?
Bingo! Thanks Ed, and Loyal also. I have always been rather good at forgetting names, and I seem to be improving as time goes on. LOL
Oh Gawd what was his name - tip of my tongue. Ed will have to apply his photographic memory
Arkelon Hall. He went to Memphis and spent a couple seasons in & out of their starting lineup. Think he made it to the arena league for a while. Couldn’t find the field consistently, probably because all of the coaches were racist. Nothing to do with his weed habit, bad grades, & poor work ethic.
The bottom line is Drew could make all the throw, and that is what everyone remembers -- talent galore. They forget that he seldom actually made those throws during games (until the last two). Like Rypien before him, he was supposed to take us to the promised land, the Rose Bowl, but didn't. However, he played at a time when many Cougs were convinced that the Rose Bowl wasn't attainable. Had Drew played after Leaf, people wouldn't be defending him and his mediocre play. Gesser is proof. Maligned constantly (because he didn't play at Leaf's level) he was still a much better college QB than Bledsoe was.
Ok now you are talking stupid talk, dishing on Matt Kegel. He was hurt all year, barely played in the 3 games before the Holiday Bowl due to his injuries. Forget who boffed the ND game away but it wasn't Kegel. We all know the 2002 Apple Cup ended on a travesty of a call. As a Freshman he beat USC at USC for the first time in a gazillion years.
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My memory doesn't go back that far. I only remember Dubi Lufi (gymnastics) because he had a funny name.
Hey! He was a frat bro. and a great guy.
Dubi Lufi was a real stud! I remember him, went to a few meets back then. Another gymnast I recall was Jim Holt. Very memorable guy because he only had one leg! That's right, only one leg. That guy sure had one heck of a strong upper body, that's for sure. He was a friend of one of my roommates, think he was in the honors program with Jim. I remember having beers with him at the Down Under bar. For you youngsters on the board, it was "down under the main campus entrance/Thunderbird Motel/Sellas, basically a converted warehouse. Had good Happy Hours there, and a kick ass jukebox with a bunch of great oldies like Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Beach Boys, and so on, great stuff. Anyway, Jim Holt could tell you the name of every song, the artist, the record label, and the year it was released. He was amazing.
Injured or not, it is damn near impossible to win a championship when your QB's PER is in the 120's. What was Bledsoe's excuse for actually playing a little worse than a banged up Kegel? That said, Gesser played his entire career injured, beat UCLA on the road on one leg, hardly able to walk let alone run, that's just what "greats" are expected to do.Ok now you are talking stupid talk, dishing on Matt Kegel. He was hurt all year, barely played in the 3 games before the Holiday Bowl due to his injuries. Forget who boffed the ND game away but it wasn't Kegel. We all know the 2002 Apple Cup ended on a travesty of a call. As a Freshman he beat USC at USC for the first time in a gazillion years.
Get off your stat sheets. They only tell part of the story. Grit, leadership, playing through pain and injury. The don't show up on a piece of paper.
Matt Kegel used Apple Cup calamity to fuel a magical WSU season
Bill Buckner-like game ate constantly at old Coug QB; says he uses it as reminder to stay positive and see best in people
Ahhh - Dime Beers at the Down Under. I think it was Tuesday nights. Might have been after your time. Live music too. Oh and the frequent walk throughs by the cops.
Geezus - the Palouse Posse was 1994, not '02 or '03 - whichever Apple Cup you are trying to recreate.
So what you are saying is Rosie and Ryan not only kicked arse, they did it despite super tough schedules, and Chad Davis had it even tougher, while Bledsoe had it the easiest schedule of the three, but his PER still was 40 pts lower than Ryan and Rosie and Chad's PER was only 5 pts lower than Drew. Wow!
Oops! You are right regarding the Posse, 1992- 1994. Screwed that up royal. But Matt wet the bed from the get go, he wasn't simply the victim of one bad call to end the game, it just put him out of his misery. You can't sugar coat that.
