Bledsoe humbled by honor;Quarterback helped resurrect franch

Despite all that Tom Brady has achieved for the Patriots, New England football fansnever forgot his predecessor, Drew Bledsoe.Bledsoe, who played nine seasons for the Patriots and helped resurrect thefranchise in the mid-1990s, was voted by fans as the 18th member ofthe Patriots Hall of Fame yesterday.Since the new process for induction was instituted in 2007,Bledsoe earned the highest percentage of votes by any candidate,and became the first player to be selected by fans into the hall inhis first year of eligibility."Obviously, this is a tremendous honor," Bledsoe said during aconference call. "It means a lot to me and a lot to my family."Bledsoe got the news of his induction from Patriots owner Robert Kraft, andBledsoe said their phone conversation was pretty emotional."He had some words that he shared with me that just wereexpressing gratitude for my time there that were really touching,"Bledsoe said.The 39-year-old Bledsoe and former Holy Cross two-way star JonMorris, who was selected to the Patriots Hall of Fame by the seniorselection committee, will be inducted during a public ceremonySept. 17 at the hall at Patriot Place.Bledsoe was the first overall pick in the 1993 NFL draft out ofWashington State and started at quarterback for the Patriots until early in the 2001season. He finished his New England career with 29,657 passingyards - a team record until Brady broke it in 2009 - and 166touchdowns.He still holds Patriots single-season passingrecords for attempts (691) and completions (400), both set in1994.Bledsoe's list of his best Patriots memories is a long one,but it includes the '94 victory over the Vikings, in which hecompleted 45 of 70 passes to spark the start of a seven-gamewinning streak that got the Pats to the playoffs for the first timesince 1986.Bledsoe also mentioned New England's two home playoff gamesduring the 1996 Super Bowl season, including "Fog Bowl II" againstthe Steelers."The crowd was as loud as Foxboro ever was in my recollection,"he said.And, of course, there was the AFC Championship game of the 2001season in Pittsburgh, where Bledsoe, who hadn't played in 126 days,bounded onto the field to relieve an injured Brady, threw atouchdown pass to David Patten, and helped the Patriots get to Super BowlXXXVI."That game is a memory that stands out very clearly,maplestory RMT," Bledsoesaid.It was Bledsoe's last game in a Patriots uniform. He was traded tothe Bills on draft day a couple of months later. Bledsoe played forBuffalo from 2002-04 and for the Cowboys, where he was reunitedwith his former Patriots coach, Bill Parcells, from2005-06.Bledsoe announced his retirement on April 11, 2007.One New England moment Bledsoe would probably prefer to forgetwas the infamous hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis during thesecond game of the 2001 season. Bledsoe was knocked out andsuffered a sheared blood vessel in his chest. The play opened thedoor for Brady and changed the course of Patriots history forever.Bledsoe and Brady actually have remained pretty close. Bledsoesaid they continue to exchange messages. He is also still in touchwith former teammates Todd Rucci, Scott Zolak, Max Lane and LawyerMilloy,ro RMT.Bledsoe said he hasn't talked to Parcells since leaving theCowboys in 2006. Parcells and former defensive tackle HoustonAntwine were the other Patriots Hall of Fame finaliststhis year."Just to be considered in the company of Bill Parcells andHouston Antwine was a great honor in and of itself," Bledsoesaid.Bledsoe is now in the wine business. He co-founded DoublebackWinery; the first Doubleback bottling was in 2007. Grapes for thewines are harvested in and around Walla Walla, Wash., Bledsoe'shometown. Bledsoe and his wife, Maura, were last in New Englandlast year, selling wine and catching up with old friends.Not surprisingly, Bledsoe planned to celebrate his upcominginduction with a special glass last night."I mean, shoot," Bledsoe said, "that's kind of what we do. We'rein the wine business now, and we're pretty proud of our ownproduct, so we'll probably crack one of those."Drew Bledsoe's career statisticsYear Team Att Comp Pct Yds TD Int Rating1993 New England 429 214 49.9 2494 15 15 65.01994 New England 691 400 57.9 4555 25 27 73,アラド戦記 RMT.61995 New England 636 323 50.8 3507 13 16 63.71996 New England 623 373 59.9 4086 27 15 83.71997 New England 522 314 60.2 3706 28 15 87.71998 New England 481 263 54.7 3633 20 14 80.91999 New England 539 305 56.6 3985 19 21 75.62000 New England 531 312 58.8 3291 17 13 77.32001 New England 66 40 60.6 400 2 2 75.32002 Buffalo 610 375 61.5 4359 24 15 86.02003 Buffalo 471 274 58.2 2860 11 12 73.02004 Buffalo 450 256 56.9 2932 20 16 76.62005 Dallas 499 300 60.1 3639 23 17 83.72006 Dallas 170 90 53.3 1164 7 8 69.2Totals 6,717 3,839 57.2 44,611 251 206 77.1