Thanks, Drew

Well, I can't say I am massively surprised. Turns out Drew Bledsoe, aged 35, retired from pro-football last night. Bledsoe said, simply;

"I feel so fortunate, so honored, to have played this game that I love for so long, with so many great players, and in front of so many wonderful fans,"

And with that, one of the major catalysts in the rejuvenation of a stagnant franchise, leaves the game. Make no mistake, without Drew Bledsoe, it is doubtful the Patriots would be where they stand today. He dragged the Patriots kicking and screaming from a little more than a joke to a perennial Superbowl possibility. He even pushed New England those last few yards into the Superbowl, throwing two vital TD passes in relief of an injured Brady in 2001 against Pittsburgh.

Check out his wonderful '96 and '97 seasons in particular below.

Drew Bledsoe's New England passing stats

Year Com Att Yds TD Int
1993 214 429 2494 15 15
1994 400 691 4555 25 27
1995 323 636 3507 13 16
1996 373 623 4086 27 15
1997 314 522 3706 28 15
1998 263 481 3633 20 14
1999 305 539 3985 19 21
2000 312 531 3291 17 13

Drew Bledsoe leaves the game having amassed a terrific 44,611 passing yards and 251 touchdowns with the Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and, finally, the Dallas Cowboys. Bledsoe was always a class act with New England, and Patriots fans should never forget how he almost single handedly (hopefully Ben Coates never reads this!) changed the direction of Patriots football for good.

Are you ready for some football?
No, seriously, are you?

The Patriots 2007 schedule is out. Have to say, first impression is that if the Patriots are going to make the playoffs they are really going to have to earn it. There are hardly any 'easy' games on there.

ESPN lists ten stand out games and the Patriots are part of three of those. The games against the Colts, the Jets and the Ravens are all noted as being stand out games.

Brady in the heee-ouse

''Pats QB Tom Brady was also rumored to be at the game in Bob Kraft's box, no less but we couldn't see Gisele Bundchen's boyfriend from our vantage.''

Both the Globe and the Herald are reporting that Tom Brady was at Tuesday night's game between the Sox and the Mariners. I for one think the way Brady supports the Red Sox is pretty cool. In this day and age of free agency, mercenary like behaviour and 'me first' clowns like T.O. and Randy Moss, it's refreshing to see a player who just 'gets' what it means to New England fans that he say, wears a Red Sox hat at training.

This, though, coming from the guy that once wrote a huge email to EA Sports with a detailed suggestion for a new playstation game. One where you are a billionaire who runs the NFL, NBA and MLB franchises of a certain city/region. For example if you were a New York fan you would own the Mets, Jets and Nets, or whatever. Point is, I wanted a game where I could run the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics. Features of the game would include two-way players. I always had Willie McGinnest tabbed as a pretty decent home run hitter. Derek Lowe would star for the Celtics while pitching for the Sox, and you are telling me Al Jefferson wouldn't be an awesome tight end? Needless to say, I never heard back from EA Sports.

You could run a pretty decent caption-competition with this picture!

Maybe it's nothing, but, to me, there's something cool about the Patriots QB showing such an interest in the Red Sox.