Contents of Original Post:

Hey, fans. Welcome to the Thread of the Week. Comment on any and all that you wish. Just remember to abide by normal BBS conduct rules.

* Please keep in mind, this thread will be seen by the players, coaches, and Patriot's staff members. Please keep your responses proper, thoughtful and specific. Crude remarks within a post will cause that post to be deleted.*

TOTW: Doug Flutie is coming back home this week. He was the source of much controversy in his days as a Pat, being the fan choice who sat on the bench. In a way, that is not unlike the situation we currently have with Drew and Bishop. Bishop, like Flutie, is a fiery guy with a knack for making plays. He also does not fit the typical mold of an NFL QB, which appeals to the "Rudy" sentimentality we share. What, in your opinion, is the best course of action in a situation such as this? Flutie, after leaving the NFL, went on to have a great career in the CFL, before returning to work his magic in the NFL once again. He reminded us of what could have been. Do we lose that same potential we have in Bishop, or do we use him to go in another direction?

I believe that the Pats have absolutely the best QB group in the total NFL. Two have experience and two have great future potential. We can expect to go a long way with this foursome ... the only question is deployment. Drew is the top of this list for now, and that's fine. But great teams always develop their next great QB while their present star is runing the show. I feel that the Bishop question should be restated as .... How much game experience can we give him during the season? or How can we incorporate him in ways that can give a defense (prepared for Drew) fits?

I hope that Bishop gets a lot of plays, and maybe series of plays during this season. I would even like to see him used in Drew's backfield for decoy potential and the good-ol half back option pass. If the coaching staff wants to be a little creative, Bishop could provide a lot of entertainment in the second half of this hard luck season -- in ways fun for team and fans alike. Bishop is a remarkable talent. He should be used in ways that complement Drew while he develops for the future.

Okay, here's a thought that I've had. And I've been waiting for the right moment to mention it. I say keep Bishop and develop a new look but an old style of football on the Pats team. Perhaps two of them. Here goes, you ready for this? The Wing T and the Wishbone offense! Huh, whatta ya think? We have all these running backs who catch the ball well out of the backfield. Who could the defense key on? I'm thinking a Faulk, Redmond, and maybe Patrick Pass combo. Throw Bishop in the mix and there's another variable thrown in. Run that in a two tight end set with maybe Rutledge and Eitzmann and who knows what could happen? The opposing defense would merely have to key on the ball and not any one certain player. No one runs the T or Wishbone anymore in the NFL. Go back to the very beginning of football and use Bishop in that scenario. I say Bishop because he could throw or run and thats two things defenses would need to key on immediately. Any one of the backs could run the ball or catch it out of the back field. Also perhaps a tight end pop pass. It'd be nice to see and Bishop would be more utilized rather then the option or deep throw. Go Pats!!!

....Like this thread....Personally, I think having Drew take the team to within yards of 1st down, pulling him for Bishop is a huge mistake....Takes away from Drew's momentum. He is a gentleman in commending Bishop and saying whatever is gonna get us the win...But taking a person out of their game isn't the answer..though it may throw opposing defenses off...It also can throw the momentum of the offense team off as well....Keep Drew in for all of it....Keep Bishop as backup...He is going to be great , in his time...but IT'S STILL DREW'S TIME AND DREW'S TEAM!!!!

This is Drew's team, end of discussion. But since you want opinions, here's mine.

STOP PULLING DREW ON 3rd AND SHORT!!!!!! If Drew is in a funk (haven't seen it lately)then maybe use Bishop to get things going, but when Drew's hot, LET HIM STAY! The Indy game is a prime example of how NOT to play Bishop. When he came in, the opposing D knew what to expect from Bishop and he become almost useless. Either develop him more so he is more useful in those situations(and have them be more infrequent, not every freakin' 3rd and short)or use him for trade bait in the next couple of years. No knock on Bishop, but Drew stays.

USE him, don't lose him! I agree that we should use him in another capacity, but only to hang onto him until Drew retires. During this time, we should groom him to eventually take over for Drew. You've stated that (and I'm paraphrasing here) that QBs like Bishop and Flutie are un-orthodox. I disagree. In fact, I think that they are becoming less and less the exception and more the rule. The game is changing in that it is faster and the era of the pocket-passer is almost over. Look at the top teams in college football today. Among them, how many are pocket-passers? EXACTLY! Well, that's what we'll be soon looking at in the NFL. Besides,how many teams are lucky enough to possess both the present AND the future of pro football quarterbacks? That's one less draft pick we'd have to make, also. We all know that decent QBs don't grow on trees and as such they fetch a pretty price. Supply and demand. Having said that, I think we'd be crazy to give up Bishop.

Go to the Bulletin Board and post away!

Over the years I've seen QB's leave the Patriots only to have rather great careers, ie. Jim Plunket, Doug Flutie, Ray Lucas....well ok, not yet. Now we have Michael Bishop and as stated in some of the replies, he could very well be the QB of the future. Drew has been hit hard and often this season thus far thanks to the holes of the currnet OL. The fact Drew's been able to withstand the punishment proves his durability. Bishop is currently 3rd in line, but I feel he could very well be used in special situations. Even in not so special situations, consider mixing it up and keeping the Defense on it's toes. No other team is able to do that, can the Pats? Considering this season pretty well on the road to being a repeat of last (8-8), let's mix it up a bit and see what works. Start grooming for next season. Drew will not last forever, but I can see him staying as long as Marino did in Miami. I say we keep both and develope a system that can utilize both talents at any given time on the field. Use the weapons you have and use the weapons the enemy doesn't know about.

Till next week........

Fan Since '64