Bishop earns promotion: Bledsoe collars Grogan

by Michael Felger

The Boston Herald - Monday, October 2, 2000

DENVER - Michael Bishop finally moved up the depth chart yesterday as coach Bill Belichick listed him as the No. 2 quarterback behind Drew Bledsoe in the Patriots' 28-19 win over the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium.  Veteran John Friesz was the third - or emergency - quarterback.

The Pats entered the game ranked second-to-last in the AFC in red zone efficiency, converting just 3-of-14 opportunities into touchdowns.  Presumably, Bishop was moved up to help. With Bledsoe clicking and the Pats scoring touchdowns on all three of their trips inside the Denver 20, however, Bishop was relegated to a pair of quarterback keepers on third-and-short situations near midfield.

Bishop came up short on the first one, as Denver had two defenders waiting for his run around right end in the first quarter. His second attempt, which came in the fourth quarter, ended in a 2-yard gain and a first down.

``I felt OK,'' said Bishop. ``The first one they came out in a defense we really didn't expect and I had to get around two guys. I thought I did a good job just getting back (near) the line of scrimmage. The second one I was just trying to help ice the game.''

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