Mr. Bill: Drew Bledsoe's arrival has engendered unbridled optimism in Buffalo. But Bills fans may be overlooking some red flags—such as Bledsoe's declining performance in recent years and the team's porous run defense

Sporting News, The, June 10, 2002 by Scott Pitoniak

It is only a practice--a non-contact minicamp practice--but Eric Moulds couldn't hide his enthusiasm. As the Bills' wide receiver walks off the field after a series of passing drills at the team's training complex, his eyes are as big as footballs, his smile radiant enough to illuminate Ralph Wilson Stadium.

"I believe Drew Bledsoe is going to do wonders for me and for this football team," Moulds says. "He's got a presence about him. He's a take-charge guy. At times, when I'm in the huddle, I feel like I did when I was a rookie and Jim Kelly was the guy. After all this time, we've found a leader. Drew makes us legit."

Moulds' giddiness over the dawn of the Drew Era in Buffalo is understandable. After all, this is a two-time Pro Bowl wideout who has endured the twilight of Kelly's Hall of Fame career, the Todd Collins error, the nasty Doug Flutie-Rob Johnson soap opera and Alex Van Pelt's game-but-futile attempt to resuscitate a moribund team during the second half of last season.

"I've been through so many quarterbacks I've lost count," Moulds says. "But they say that good things come to he who waits. We've waited and I think we've found the guy who is going to lead us to the Promised Land."

The Promised Land.

The Super Bowl.

Perhaps as soon as this season.

That's what Moulds is thinking. And that's what many citizens of Bills Nation have deluded themselves into thinking, too. Still smarting from a 3-13 season and the failed four-year experiment that was Rob Johnson, Buffalo fans hope Bledsoe, 30, will be the savior. There has been a huge quarterback void in Buffalo since Kelly retired after the 1996 season--a void not filled by Johnson, who wound up becoming the err apparent to the greatest player in Bills history. Bledsoe is enjoying a wondrous honeymoon, in part, because he is the anti-Johnson--a natural, decisive leader with both success and durability on his resume.

With Bledsoe and several other key offseason acquisitions, most notably rookie offensive tackle Mike Williams, Bills fans believe their team can replicate the feats of the 1999 Rams and last year's Patriots by going from worst in the AFC East to first in the National Parity League--this year.

Of course, those fans, blinded by unbridled optimism, overlook these facts: No team faces a tougher schedule than the Bills, each of the team's division opponents made the playoffs last year and could be even better in 2002; the Bills' porous defense allowed eight individual 100-yard rushing performance last season, and Buffalo has turned over nearly three-quarters of its roster since general manager Tom Donahoe came to town in January 2001 facing a salary-cap mess.

They also assume they are getting the Bledsoe who made three trips to the Pro Bowl and twice threw for more than 4,000 yards in a season early in his career and not the Bledsoe who became an interception-prone sack magnet his last few years in New England.

"The skepticism in some circles doesn't bother me. I'll answer my critics with my play rather than my words," Bledsoe says. "It also doesn't bother me that some fans have great expectations. The way teams flip-flop from season to season, and I believe this Bills teams is better on paper than last year's. I'm going into this season feeling optimistic. I'm also feeling a sense of urgency to win immediately because that window of opportunity may not be open next year. Let's go for it now."

Bledsoe's audition for the Bills began, unbeknownst to him, when the Patriots visited Buffalo last December 16. Donahoe and some of his scout arrived at the press box early that raw, wintry day so they could scrutinize Bledsoe.

"We obviously were aware of how Tom Brady had replace Drew as the starter and we thought that Drew probably would be available after the season, so we wanted to take a closer look at him," recalls Donahoe.

He came away impressed with Bledsoe's arm and attitude. Though Bledsoe believed Patriots coach Bill Belichick had misled him about giving him his job back when he returned after recovering from a sheared blood vessel in his chest, Bledsoe was not a divisive presence. It was evident during that game against the Bills, and in other games, that he was a high-character guy, a team player. He frequently offered Brady tactical advice and encouragement. There was none of the pettiness and back-stabbing that characterized the Flutie-Johnson rivalry in Buffalo.

"We saw a player that day who we would love to have as our quarterback, but at that point we thought it was wishful thinking to believe the Patriots might consider trading player of that caliber to a division rival," Donahoe says. "It wasn't until after the Super Bowl that we made the decision that we needed to pursue this, and pursue it hard."

The deal was consummated April 21, the second day of the draft, when the Bills agreed to part with a first-round pick in 2003. Given the dearth of quality quarterbacks in the NFL, it's surprising that more teams than the Bills and Bengals didn't pursue a 6-5 passer with a laser-beam arm who has 29,657 passing yards and 166 touchdown passes on his resume.