Feb. 16, 2005
By Clark Judge
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Unemployed quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and Jeff Garcia shouldn't be free agents for long. If Dallas is smart, it should sign Bledsoe; if Detroit is willing, it should sign Garcia.
Both moves make sense because both fill needs.
Ultimately, Drew Bledsoe did not seize his opportunity as a Bill. (AP)
The Cowboys have been looking for a reliable starter for years, and while Bledsoe won't be confused with Troy Aikman, he's an upgrade from Vinny Testaverde. OK, so that that's not saying much when you're comparing the guy to a 41-year-old passer, but Bledsoe offers Dallas a chance to do what it couldn't last year:
Improve itself at the most important position on the field.
The Lions, meanwhile, need a veteran backup for the inconsistent Joey Harrington, and Garcia is an ideal choice. He not only played for coach Steve Mariucci when the two were in San Francisco, he went to three Pro Bowls and two playoffs with him. It's a perfect match except for one thing.
Injuries.
Garcia had a strained shoulder that bothered him last year, then finished the season on injured reserve with a torn knee ligament. The Lions understandably are concerned about that, especially with Garcia turning 35 next week, and want to investigate further before making an evaluation. But if he's OK -- and his agent insists he is -- he seems perfect for the club.
Bledsoe and Garcia are two of what could be several veteran quarterbacks to crowd this year's free-agent market. The Giants' Kurt Warner will join them. So should Brad Johnson of Tampa Bay. Then there's Mike McMahon of Detroit, who becomes an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires in March.
And I haven't even mentioned Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck, whose contract also expires in March. But the feeling there is the Seahawks will re-sign him before he hits the streets.
When you rank the 30-something veterans with personnel directors and pro scouts, Bledsoe and Garcia are the overwhelming favorites, with Bledsoe first and Garcia second. Bledsoe went to two Super Bowls, had success early in his career and is at his best when he has protection and a decent rushing game -- two things that escaped him in his final few seasons in New England.
In his first season with the Bills, he set 10 franchise passing records but floundered down the stretch, losing five of his final eight. He never seemed to recover until the middle of last year when, with the addition of running back Willis McGahee, the Bills perked up and won eight of their final 10, including six in a row.
Now, look what happened to Bledsoe. Over his final 10 games he completed 57 percent of his passes, with 14 TDs and nine interceptions. Once he threw for four touchdowns; twice he threw for three. And only twice did he produce more than one interception in a game.
But here's the number I like most: Over the final 10 games he was sacked only 14 times; in his first six starts he was sacked 23 times. The results speak for themselves: Buffalo started 1-5 and finished 9-7.
Those numbers should appeal to Dallas coach Bill Parcells, though you shouldn't have to sell him on Bledsoe. It was Bledsoe who took him and the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl in 1996, one of four seasons he and Parcells spent together.
Parcells won't tolerate quarterbacks who make mistakes, and while Bledsoe makes more than he should, he doesn't make as many as Quincy Carter, the quarterback who led Dallas to the playoffs in 2003, or Testaverde. Carter had 21 interceptions and 10 fumbles in 2003; Testaverde had a league-high 20 interceptions a year later.
More important, Dallas was 6-10 under Vinny.
So sign Bledsoe. The right side of the Cowboys' line needs surgical repair, but that's what free agency and the draft are for. The Cowboys have plenty of cap room and two first-round choices. They have a budding star in running back Julius Jones, a Pro Bowl tight end and a stable of wide receivers now that Terry Glenn returns.
Oh, and did I happen to mention that in the two best years of Glenn's career, it was Drew Bledsoe delivering him the ball?
Bledsoe's departure was driven not so much by his failures in Buffalo as it was the arrival of J.P. Losman, whom coaches and club officials want to promote to the starter's job this year. Coincidentally, Losman was drafted last year after Buffalo swung a deal to acquire an additional first-round pick ... from Dallas.
Now the Cowboys can sign the quarterback they helped force out.
"You'd have to be concerned about the hits he's taken," one NFC general manager said of Bledsoe. "Because the more he gets hit the more his eye level drops from the field to the defensive line in front of him. That causes him to drop his hands and hold the ball, and when he holds the ball he gets hit -- and, yeah, he loses it.
"Occasionally, he'll throw the ball in areas where he has no business throwing it, too, and you wonder: What in the world is going on? But if you give him some protection, you're able to run and you have a tight end like a Ben Coates, the guy gets comfortable. He still has something left, and, to me, he's a better option than Testaverde."
I thought Drew Henson was, too, but he wasn't ready. In fact, he was so unprepared that Parcells wouldn't use him in a meaningless season finale against the New York Giants. I haven't heard anyone in Dallas talk about him as "the quarterback of the future," which means there are reservations -- and, perhaps, serious reservations.
All the more reason to move to Bledsoe.
In Detroit's situation, the club has been searching for a quarterback since Bobby Layne in the 1950s, and thought it found one in Harrington. After three years, the Lions aren't sure what to make of Harrington, but they still seem willing to give him a chance -- provided they have a safety net.
Garcia is that net, if he passes a physical.
He did for Mariucci in San Francisco what Bledsoe did for Parcells in New England, which is to win and make it to the playoffs. I'm not saying he does the same thing in Detroit, but he provides an attractive option that wasn't there a year ago.
OK, so Garcia didn't have a great year in Cleveland. Name me someone who did. His age, injuries and some public comments in Cleveland will conspire against him, but let's be honest here: He was on a bad team that had an atrocious offensive line, a feeble rushing attack, an unpopular head coach who was fired in midseason, a receiving corps that was always in flux and an offensive weapon -- tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. -- who disappeared two games into the year.
"I watched Garcia against Philadelphia," said an AFC scout of Cleveland's 34-31 overtime loss to the Eagles last season, "and he was always on the move, was a playmaking machine and kept drives alive. Sure, the injuries would concern you, but this guy's won a lot of NFL games."
A year ago Garcia was interested in moving to Atlanta, even though he knew he would sit behind Michael Vick. The reason: He liked the coaching staff and the offensive system. Well, Detroit should be more attractive: There's a void at the No. 2 spot with McMahon leaving, and Harrington hasn't played well as the starter.
"The primary thing we're looking for," said Stephen Baker, Garcia's agent, "is the best possible situation."
I think we just found it.
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