Drew Drive

Cowboys quarterback of the future closer to being out on the street

Comments (0) Thursday, Sep 8 2005

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In other words, the most coveted position in professional sports has never seen darker days.

The long-term light might be another 3-13 nightmare. The one in '88 brought Aikman.

Drew Henson might never start for the Cowboys, but that doesn't mean there won't be a Drew Henson Lane on city maps someday.

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Bledsoe won't be 3-win bad. Although, at 33, he is in obvious decline, suffering descending completion percentages and 140 sacks the last three seasons in Buffalo. Too often he bails out and throws off his back foot. He's as mobile as your mailbox and was beat out by somebody named J.P. Losman. But the desperate Cowboys treasured Buffalo's trash, making Bledsoe a sort of Michael Finley in shoulder pads.

Which all means Dallas will head into Sunday's opener at San Diego with an almost has-been backed up by a probable never-was. And behind them both, a surefire should-be who just plain isn't. Yet.

As one NFL scout put it after the Jacksonville game, "Drew's development stage is about a college senior. He's a talented athlete still learning to be a football player. Most of us think he's worth the wait."

But at this rate, Henson's place in Cowboys history won't be measured in touchdowns and trophies alongside Aikman, but rather in ZIP codes, addresses and 3-2 1/2-2s, just down the street from Carano.