Quotes from Drew Bledsoe

The positives of retiring outweighed the positives of returning and my desire to still play.

It is the best feeling in the world to have a close game come down to just a couple of plays and you are able to do it.

I feel pretty good when I get out of bed in the morning. I don't feel all beat up, which is nice.

That's the only reason I'm here. I don't need to play the game for any other reason than to win a championship.

I played football, I made a decision I knew right away if it was a good decision or a bad decision. If our guys caught it, that was a good decision. If the other guys caught it, that was a bad decision. In the wine business, a lot of the time, it'll be a decade before you know the true implications of decision you make.

Tommy and I are friends. When he took my job, it was tough. I didn't like that. But it never had anything to do with Tom. He always conducted himself with class. When I see people come out and accuse him of being a cheater and a liar, I've got to stand up and say something. It's just not true. It's not who he is. It's not what he's about.

I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but I'm not there yet. I want to win that final game of the year.

I played eight years without really being hurt seriously and hadn't had to deal with that part of the game. So, to get hurt and to have to miss games, that part of it was very hard. And so when I came back and somebody else had my job and I couldn't get it back. You know that was hard.

I had a great time in Buffalo. I really did. The fans in Buffalo are ultra-loyal. Having that rivalry for a bunch of years where they didn't like me and I didn't like them, going there and being welcomed like I was and playing there for a few years, I really enjoyed it. I have some great affection for that organization and particularly for the fans of Buffalo. I wish them all the best.

The 2001 season, you couldn't go write that script because nobody would believe you.

I've been really fortunate, man, I got out of the game after 14 years and ... I certainly got hit plenty, but everything, so far, functions fairly well.

To be mentioned alongside guys like Marino and Elway, guys who were my heroes growing up, that's heady stuff.... These were the guys I pretended to be at recess.

Those first few plays of the game, you have a lot of adrenaline and excitement. It takes a little while to settle in and start playing football.

No, haven't seen him, haven't talked to him. You know, those relationships are always ... they're not always warm and fuzzy and it wasn't warm and fuzzy with Bill, but I'm glad I got a chance to play for him, particularly when I was a young player. But the end of the deal down there in Dallas, wasn't ... it wasn't super friendly.

You want hot days to get your fruit ripe but then you want it to cool off nicely at night so that the grapes stay on the vine longer and develop complexity.

I feel pretty good when I get out of bed in the morning. I don't feel all beat up, which is nice.

Playing in New England and the Boston area, the fans are so passionate about their sports if you don't play well, they'll let you know so I know it's not something that they take lightly.

I retire with a smile on my face, in good health, and ready to spend autumns at my kids' games instead of my own. I'm excited to start the next chapter of my life.

It's a really interesting and diverse business. You're a farmer first, then a winemaker, then you're onto marketing and distribution. So it's multi-faceted and really engaging. I've learned more in the last couple years than in the ten prior to that, so it's been pretty interesting.

Fairly early in my career, I had a passion for wine just as a consumer, and I started to learn about the whole process, starting with a piece of raw ground, and ending up with a work of art in a bottle.

Our very long-term prospective hinges on making the best possible wine we can.

I retire with a smile on my face, in good health, and ready to spend autumns at my kids' games instead of my own. I'm excited to start the next chapter of my life.

I feel so fortunate, so honored, to have played this game that I love for so long, with so many great players, and in front of so many wonderful fans. I fulfilled a childhood dream the first time I stepped on an NFL field, and the league did not let me down one time.

When you look at facing retirement in your mid-30s, and all of a sudden the outlet for that passion and work ethic goes away, you can't just sit back in a rocking chair and be retired at 35. I'm not a good enough golfer to play golf every day.