Numbers Game

Paging through the Sunday edition of the Boston Herald, there’s a small story about quarterback-turned-receiver/runningback Julian Edelman, when I noticed something about him.

Like a lot of receivers today, he’s wearing a low number. But he’s not wearing just any low number. I wasn’t sure looking at the jersey because Edelman had the ball tucked over the second number. But on the shorts, I was able to confirm my hunch: he had “11.”

I couldn’t help but think, “11? Come on, that’s Drew Bledsoe’s number that should be retired!”

So Bledsoe’s retirement won’t happen this year, but it should happen sometime down the road. But the decision to pass Bledsoe’s number to another player instead of holding it vacant until the team honors the franchise leader in passing yards and winner of two AFC Championships irks me a little.

I guess it boils down to Drew was never one of Bill Belichick’s guys. LB Willie McGinest’s “55” wouldn’t had been assigned to anybody if it wasn’t for the signing of Junior Seau, the reason McGinest wore the number at USC. As of right now, no one dons the nickels jersey and I don’t expect that to change.

Another example is “50,” worn last year by OLB Mike Vrabel. No one has that on and it will probably stay that way.

It just goes to show that players are quickly forgotten in the NFL. With 12 rookies drafted and several rookie free agent added, there are not enough numbers to pay respect to former players, whether productive or just departed. A few more new names to associate to old numbers:

27: Darius Butler - Drafted in the second round, he must had been handed the jersey by Ellis Hobbs as he was traded to Philadelphia on the second day. Hobbs won’t be missed, and I hope Butler will give us better memories of 27 making plays instead of giving up plays.

53: Tyrone McKenzie – The ILB from South Florida was having a good rookie camp by all accounts, but it was cut short when he injured his knee covering a running back during a pass coverage drill. He might not get much time in the regular rotation early, but will have to make a mark on special teams like his predecessor, Larry Izzo. Those will be big shoes to fill for the rookie. But he has a better chance of sharing time with Jerod Mayo and Gary Guyton after Tedy Bruschi retires than Izzo ever would.

91: Myron Pryor – Before Pryor, every player wore the number in the form of a sticker on the back of their helmet in honor of Marquis Hill. The former LSU Tiger drowned in 2007 while rescuing his girlfriend during a Jet Ski accident. The loss of Hill remains a sore spot for some players, especially DE Jarvis Green, but everyone must move on at some point.

25: Patrick Chung – The number became infamous after Fernando Bryant was too scared to tackle a New York Giants tight end in a preseason game and was pushed into the endzone. Chung will make the number look heroic with just one tackle.

For extra credit, here are the names and numbers for the other Patriot draft picks:

60 Ron Brace

76 Sebastian Vollmer

19 Brandon Tate

62 Rich Ohmberger

75 George Bussey

47 Jake Ingram

69 Darryl Richard