Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe is an American football quarterback who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League. Bledsoe is best known as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots from 1993 to 2001. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys. During the 1990s, he was considered the face of the Patriots franchise...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth14 February 1972
CityEllensburg, WA
CountryUnited States of America
It's a really interesting and diverse business. You're a farmer first, then a winemaker, then you're onto marketing and distribution. So it's multi-faceted and really engaging. I've learned more in the last couple years than in the ten prior to that, so it's been pretty interesting.
I played eight years without really being hurt seriously and hadn't had to deal with that part of the game. So, to get hurt and to have to miss games, that part of it was very hard. And so when I came back and somebody else had my job and I couldn't get it back. You know that was hard.
The game against the Vikings back in my second year stands out. It was kind of a turnaround for us. It allowed us to make a run at the playoffs for the first time in quite a while. The memories are so many it's hard to pin one down.
Finally you saw the guy that I expected him to be all the time. He battled through this injury, and it's been hard on him. I know that this year hasn't gone the way that he wanted anybody to envision for him. But when everything was on the line, he stepped up.
Really what they played was a similar style of defense to what they played last year when they went on the run. They gave up some yards here and there, but they tightened up when we got into scoring territory.
I think both of us appreciate more now than we did the first time around the opportunity we have to be a part of this league. To be in my 13th year and still have a chance to go out and compete is certainly something I don't take for granted. I think Bill's kind of in the same boat. He really enjoys being around the players and enjoys the process of getting ready for games. That part has changed a little as well.
I don't really get a sense from him at all. I have said all along his energy throughout the season and his energy level at the end of the year does not lead me to believe that he's too tired or too old or whatever to continue to do this.
When you get a little older, you understand that there's something there.
When you have that rivalry and you have that history that goes with it certainly is good for the game and for the sport. I think it adds a little level of excitement for the players and the fans.
Without Troy Brown, I don't know what our record would be this year, but we would certainly not be standing where we are right now. I would say he's by far the most valuable player on our team, and has been all year.
When you look at facing retirement in your mid-30s, and all of a sudden the outlet for that passion and work ethic goes away, you can't just sit back in a rocking chair and be retired at 35. I'm not a good enough golfer to play golf every day.
We're phenomenally blessed in the Walla Walla Valley. We have great, complex soil that's nutrient-rich but fairly porous.
I had a great career and I enjoyed all of it, with the exception of losing.
The positives of retiring outweighed the positives of returning and my desire to still play.