Monday, November 26, 2007

Pats - Eagles Postgame Notes

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

GAME NOTES—PATRIOTS vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Week 12 - November 25, 2007

PATRIOTS SET FRANCHISE RECORD WITH 442 POINTS IN 2007
With 31 points in their victory over the Eagles today, the Patriots have set a new franchise-record with 442 points this season. New England topped the old team mark of 441 points, which was set over a 16-game season in 1980.

WELKER TIES HIGHEST RECEPTION TOTAL IN TEAM HISTORY FOR NON-OVERTIME GAME
Wes Welker set career highs in receptions and receiving yards, totaling 13 receptions for 149 yards. Welker’s 13 receptions tie the second highest single-game total in franchise history and tie the highest single-game total in team annals for a non-overtime game. His 13 receptions trail only Troy Brown’s franchise record 16 receptions in an overtime win against Kansas City on Sept. 22, 2002. Welker joins two other Patriots with 13 catches in a game: Deion Branch at San Diego on Sept. 29, 2002 and Terry Glenn at Cleveland on Oct. 3, 1999. Welker topped his previous career-best reception total of 11 (10/14/07 at Dallas) and bested his previous career-high receiving yard total of 138 (10/21/07 at Miami). Welker finished the Philadelphia game with 81 receptions for 878 yards this season, recording the highest reception total by a Patriots player since Troy Brown totaled 97 catches in 2002. Welker’s 81 receptions in 2007 are the ninth-highest single-season total in team history. Welker’s 100-yard receiving game was his third of the season and was the third of his career.

TWO INTERCEPTIONS FOR SAMUEL
Asante Samuel had two interceptions, the first of which he returned 40 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and the second of which came in the end zone with 3:52 remaining in the game and the Patriots holding a 31-28 lead. Samuel’s interceptions against Philadelphia gave him a team-leading six on the season and 22 for his career. His 22 interceptions in a Patriots uniform rank 10th on the Patriots’ all-time list, passing Don Webb (21). The Eagles game was the fourth game of Samuel’s career in which he had two or more interceptions.

BRADY LEADS 26th CAREER FOURTH-QUARTER COMEBACK
Tom Brady led the Patriots to victory following a 28-24 fourth-quarter deficit, marking the 26th time in his career that he has led the Patriots to a win following a fourth-quarter deficit or tie. He accomplished the feat for the 20th time in the regular season and has also done it six times in the playoffs (including three times in the Super Bowl). Against Philadelphia, the Patriots entered the fourth quarter facing a 28-24 deficit. Brady led the Patriots on the game’s only fourth-quarter scoring drive, driving 69 yards in 10 plays to take a 31-28 leaf on a 4-yard touchdown run by Laurence Maroney with 7:20 left in the game. Brady completed 11-of-16 passes for 109 yards in the fourth quarter against the Eagles. The fourth-quarter comeback was the Patriots’ second of the season, joining a 24-20 victory in Indianapolis on Nov. 5 that came following a 20-10 deficit with 9:42 left in the game.

MOSS MOVES INTO TOP 25 ON NFL’S ALL-TIME RECEPTIONS LIST
Randy Moss recorded his 744th career reception tonight, moving into the top 25 on the NFL’s all-time receptions list. On a 7-yard reception in the second quarter - his second catch of the day - Moss passed Andre Rison’s career total of 743 receptions to move into 25th place. Moss entered tonight’s game with 117 career touchdown receptions, a total that ranks fifth in NFL history.

BRADY REACHES 25,000-YARD MILESTONE
Tom Brady eclipsed the 25,000-yard passing plateau for his career, reaching the milestone on his final completion of the night, a 16-yard pass to Jabar Gaffney in the fourth quarter. Brady finished the game with 25,003 passing yards in his 107-game regular-season NFL career. Brady joins Drew Bledsoe (29,657 yards) and Steve Grogan (26,886 yards) as the only players in Patriots history to total 25,000 or more passing yards with the franchise.

BRADY THROWS FOR 380 YARDS
Tom Brady completed 34-of-54 passes for 380 yards and a touchdown, recording his second highest yardage total of the season and the third highest yardage total of his career. Brady recorded his fifth 300-yard passing game of the season and the 20th 300-yard game of his career. His 34 completions were his highest total since recording 36 completions at San Diego on Sept. 29, 2002. His 54 pass attempts were his highest total since tying his career high with 55 attempts against Denver on Sept. 24, 2006.

SANDERS HAS FIRST INTERCEPTION OF THE SEASON
James Sanders iced the game with his first interception of the season, snaring an A.J. Feeley pass at the Eagles’ 39-yard line with 11 seconds left in the game. The interception was the third of Sanders’s three-year career. He recorded exactly one interception in each of his first two full NFL seasons. Sanders became the seventh player to intercept a pass for New England this season.

SAMUEL RECORDS THIRD CAREER REGULAR-SEASON INTERCEPTION RETURN FOR TOUCHDOWN
Asante Samuel intercepted an A.J. Feeley pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown on the Eagles’ second offensive play of the game. The interception return for a touchdown was Samuel’s first of the season and was the third of his regular-season career. Samuel’s three regular-season interception returns for touchdowns rank third in Patriots history, trailing only Ty Law (6) and Tedy Bruschi (4). Samuel has also returned three interceptions for touchdowns in 11 career playoff games and his three playoff interceptions returned for touchdowns in the playoffs are tied with Oakland’s Willie Brown for the most in NFL history. Samuel’s six combined interceptions returned for touchdowns (three in the regular-season and three in the playoffs) rank second in franchise history to Ty Law’s seven (six in the regular season and one in the playoffs).

SAMUEL BECOMES 20th PATRIOT TO SCORE TOUCHDOWN THIS SEASON
Asante Samuel became the 20th Patriots player to score a touchdown in 2007. Samuel returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The NFL record for most players scoring a touchdown in a single season is 21, achieved by the 2000 Denver Broncos and the 1987 Los Angeles Rams. The following players have scored touchdowns for the Patriots this season - Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Benjamin Watson, Sammy Morris, Donte Stallworth, Kyle Brady, Tom Brady, Kyle Eckel, Ellis Hobbs, Mike Vrabel, Willie Andrews, Matt Cassel, Rosevelt Colvin, Heath Evans, Kevin Faulk, Jabar Gaffney, Randall Gay, Laurence Maroney, Adalius Thomas and Samuel.

SEVEN RETURNS FOR TOUCHDOWNS TIE HIGHEST TOTAL FOR PATRIOTS SINCE 1961
Asante Samuel’s interception return for a touchdown was New England’s seventh return touchdown of the season, tying the second highest total in team history and trailing only the Patriots’ eight return touchdowns in 1961. In addition to this season, the Patriots also had seven touchdowns via returns in 2003 and 2001. The 2007 Patriots have two interception returns for touchdowns, three fumble returns for touchdowns and two kickoff returns for touchdowns. Last season, the Patriots had one touchdown via return - a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Ellis Hobbs on Dec. 17, 2006.

MARONEY SCORES
Laurence Maroney gave the Patriots a 31-28 lead with 7:20 remaining in the game on a 4-yard touchdown run. The touchdown was Maroney’s second rushing score of the season and his second in as many weeks. The touchdown was the ninth of his career (eight rushing, one receiving).

GAFFNEY SCORES
Jabar Gaffney caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with eight seconds left in the first half to give the Patriots a 24-21 halftime lead. The touchdown was the 10th scoring reception of his career and was Gaffney’s second scoring grab of the season. It was his first touchdown since scoring against Buffalo on Sept. 23.

EVANS SCORES
Heath Evans scored his second touchdown of the season and the third touchdown of his career on a 1-yard run in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 14-7 lead. Evans’s touchdown was the Patriots’ 11th rushing touchdown of the season, and his two rushing scores are tied for second on the team with Tom Brady and Kyle Eckel. Sammy Morris leads the Patriots with three rushing scores.

QUICK HITS
Ø    Tom Brady improved his career record as a starter (including playoffs) to… 28-5 in games decided by six points or fewer, 33-2 on artificial turf and 26-4 against the NFC.

Ø    Wes Welker hauled in a 42-yard pass from Tom Brady in the third quarter to give the Patriots a first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. The catch was Welker’s longest of the season and was the second longest of his career, trailing only a 47-yard reception while playing for the Miami Dolphins against the Patriots on Nov. 13, 2005.

Ø    Jabar Gaffney caught a 32-yard pass from Tom Brady in the first quarter. The catch was Gaffney’s longest of the season and his second longest since joining the Patriots in 2006, trailing only a 33-yard catch against the New York Jets on Dec. 12, 2006.

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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: 2007 AFC EAST CHAMPIONS

PATRIOTS IN THE PLAYOFFS
The Patriots clinched the 2007 AFC East title by virtue of Buffalo’s loss at Jacksonville this afternoon. The Patriots have now won five straight division titles and have won the division six times in seven seasons since 2001. The Patriots have set a record for the most consecutive division championships in AFC East Division history. New England has won eight division titles in the 14 seasons since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994.

PATRIOTS TIE EARLIEST DIVISION CLINCH SINCE 1978
The Patriots have clinched the AFC East during the weekend of their 11th game of the season, tying the earliest division clinch since the NFL established the 16-game schedule in 1978. Three other teams have clinched their division during the weekend of their 11th game since 1978 - the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 1997 San Francisco 49ers and the 2004 Philadelphia Eagles.

PATRIOTS IN THE PLAYOFFS
New England has now qualified for the playoffs 16 times in its 48-year history. The Patriots have earned 10 playoff berths in the 14 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, a dramatic contrast to the six total playoff berths that the team earned in its first 34 years of existence. New England has won 11 division crowns and has qualified as a Wild Card team on four occasions (1998, 1994, 1985 and 1976). The Patriots also qualified for the playoffs in 1982 as part of a 16-team tournament following a players’ strike.

PATRIOTS PLAYOFF SEASONS (16)
Year   How Qualified   Record Result
2007   Division Champions     ?-?    ?????
2006   Division Champions     2-1   AFC Championship Gm
2005   Division Champions     1-1   AFC Divisional Round
2004   Division Champions     3-0   Super Bowl Champions
2003   Division Champions     3-0   Super Bowl Champions
2001   Division Champions     3-0   Super Bowl Champions
1998   Wild Card     0-1   Wild Card Round
1997   Division Champions     1-1   AFC Divisional Round
1996   Division Champions     2-1   AFC Champions
1994   Wild Card     0-1   Wild Card Round
1986   Division Champions     0-1   AFC Divisional Round
1985   Wild Card     3-1   AFC Champions
1982*  16-Team Format 0-1   First Round
1978   Division Champions     0-1   AFC Divisional Round
1976   Wild Card     0-1   Wild Card Round
1963   Division Champions     1-1   AFL Finalists
*-Strike Year

PLAYOFF PERFORMERS
The Patriots are the only team in the NFL to have won at least one playoff game in each of the last four seasons.

CONSECUTIVE SEASONS W/ PLAYOFF WIN
New England Patriots   4
Seattle Seahawks     2
Four Teams     1

SUSTAINED PLAYOFF SUCCESS
The Patriots have won 12 playoff games since 2001, tying the NFL’s second highest playoff victory total over a six-year span.

MOST PLAYOFF VICTORIES IN A SIX-YEAR SPAN
Team   6-Year Span   Playoff Wins   SB Wins
Pittsburgh Steelers   1974-1979     13     4
New England Patriots   2001-2006     12     3
Dallas Cowboys 1991-1996     12     3
Pittsburgh Steelers*  1975-1980     12     3
Washington Redskins   1982-1987     11     2
Buffalo Bills   1988-1993     10     0
Dallas Cowboys 1977-1982     10     1
*-Note: Overlaps with the Steelers’ 6-year span from 1974-79

TITLE TOWN
The Patriots have won five straight AFC East titles, setting the all-time record for consecutive titles in that division. New England’s five straight AFC East crowns tops the four straight division titles by the Buffalo Bills from 1988-91 and by the Miami Dolphins on two occasions. The Patriots have won six of the last seven division crowns. The Patriots have won eight division titles in the 14 seasons since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994.

MOST CONSECUTIVE AFC EAST TITLES
Team   Streak Years
New England Patriots   5     2003-07
Buffalo Bills   4     1988-91
Miami Dolphins 4     1981, 1983-85*
Miami Dolphins 4     1971-74
Baltimore Colts 3     1975-77
Buffalo Bills   3     1964-66@
Houston Oilers 3     1960-62@
*-Due to 1982 strike, the NFL played just a 9-game season and the standings were not divided into divisions that season.                        @-AFL Eastern Division

CURRENT STREAKS OF CONSECUTIVE DIVISION TITLES
New England Patriots   5 (incl. 2007)
Indianapolis Colts     4 (through 2006)
Seattle Seahawks     3 (through 2006)

HOME SWEET HOME
The Patriots are 9-1 at home in the playoffs in their history and own a 9-game home winning streak in postseason play. By winning the 2007 AFC East division title, the Patriots are assured of hosting at least one home playoff game this season. New England has not lost at home in the playoffs in nearly 29 years, dating back to Dec. 31, 1978. Nine of the franchise’s 10 home playoff games have taken place since Robert Kraft purchased the team 13 years ago.

PATRIOTS AT HOME IN THE PLAYOFFS (9-1)
Date   Round   Opponent     W/L   Score
01/07/07     AFC Wild Card   New York Jets   W     37-16
01/07/06     AFC Wild Card   Jacksonville   W     28-3
01/16/05     AFC Divisional Indianapolis   W     20-3
01/18/04     AFC Championship     Indianapolis   W     24-14
01/10/04     AFC Divisional Tennessee     W     17-14
01/19/02     AFC Divisional Oakland W     16-13 ot
12/28/97     AFC Wild Card   Miami   W     17-3
01/12/97     AFC Championship     Jacksonville   W     20-6
01/05/97     AFC Divisional Pittsburgh     W     28-3
12/31/78     AFC Divisional Houston L     14-31

NFL LONGEST HOME PLAYOFF WINNING STREAKS
      CONSEC.
TEAM   WINS   SEASONS
Green Bay Packers     13     1939-2001
New England Patriots   9     1996-Pres.
Buffalo Bills   9     1988-1995
Washington Redskins   8     1942-1983

ALL-TIME BEST HOME WINNING PERCENTAGE
(Minimum three games)
TEAM   W     L     Pct.
New England Patriots   9     1     .900
Green Bay Packers     14     2     .875
Washington Redskins   13     2     .867
Detroit Lions   5     1     .833

 

WRAPPING IT UP
The Patriots clinched their 11th division title on Nov. 25. The Patriots have clinched the division title with games remaining on the schedule for the sixth time in team history and for the fifth consecutive season. Four of the Patriots’ division titles were clinched on the final day of the season, with a fifth being clinched in a tie-breaking playoff game in 1963.

PATRIOTS DIVISION-CLINCHING GAMES
      Date Clinched             Final   Final
Year   Division Title       Opp.  Score   Record 2nd Place
2007   11/25/07           PHI   31-28   ??-?  ?????
2006   12/24/06     at     JAX   24-21   12-4   NYJ (10-6)
2005   12/17/05           TB     28-0   10-6   MIA (9-7)
2004   12/12/04           CIN   35-28   14-2   NYJ (10-6)
2003   12/07/03           MIA   12-0   14-2   MIA (10-6)
2001   01/06/02^    at     CAR   38-6   11-5   MIA (11-5)
1997   12/22/97^    at     MIA   14-12   10-6   MIA (9-7)
1996   12/21/96^    at     NYG   23-22   11-5   BUF (10-6)
1986   12/22/86^    at     MIA   34-27   11-5   NYJ (10-6
1978   12/10/78           BUF   26-24   11-5   MIA (11-5)
1963   12/28/63*    at     BUF   26-8   7-6-1   BUF (7-6-1)
^—Season Finale
*—Division-deciding AFL playoff in Buffalo, N.Y.

 

PLAYOFF SEASONS SINCE 1994
(Including 2007)

New England Patriots   10
Green Bay Packers     9
Indianapolis Colts     9
Pittsburgh Steelers   8
Philadelphia Eagles   8
Five Teams     7

PLAYOFF VICTORIES SINCE 1994

New England Patriots   15
Pittsburgh Steelers   12
Green Bay Packers     10
Philadelphia Eagles   9
Indianapolis Colts     9
Denver Broncos 8

PLAYOFF GAMES PLAYED SINCE 1994

New England Patriots   21
Pittsburgh Steelers   19
Green Bay Packers     18
Philadelphia Eagles   17
Indianapolis Colts     17
Denver Broncos 13
San Francisco 49ers   13

SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS SINCE 1994

New England Patriots   3
Denver Broncos 2
8 Teams 1

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS SINCE 1994

New England Patriots   4
Denver Broncos 2
Green Bay Packers     2
Pittsburgh Steelers   2
St. Louis Rams 2
14 Teams     1

 

PLAYOFF WINNING PERCENTAGE SINCE 1994
Team   W     L     Pct.
New England Patriots   15     6     .714
Carolina Panthers     6     3     .667
Pittsburgh Steelers   12     7     .632
Baltimore Ravens     5     3     .625

ALL-TIME BEST NFL PLAYOFF RECORDS
(Minimum 10 Postseason Games)
TEAM   W     L     Pct.
Green Bay Packers     24     14     .632
New England Patriots   19     12     .613
Pittsburgh Steelers   28     18     .609
San Francisco 49ers   25     17     .595
________________________

Brady after the Eagles Win

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY
Postgame Press Conference
November 25, 2007

Q: Did you figure you would throw this much tonight?

TB: Yeah it was a bunch tonight. I thought they played really well and I thought they executed really well.  I think as a team, I wish we had played a little bit better, but I give those guys a lot of credit. They’ve been in a lot of games this year. I’m proud of the way we played in the fourth quarter and overcame a deficit and came from behind and scored when we needed to and made the plays when the clock…even to run it out there at the end to get the big first down to Jabar [Gaffney]. A lot to be happy about, but a lot to learn from, and a big one next week.

Q: Was that hit on the third snap the hardest hit you’ve taken?

TB: I’ve been hit pretty good before. He got me good. He got me good.

Q: Were you clear-headed after that?

TB: Usually, when I get hit—I’m very bony, so if they hit me on my bones it hurts. If they don’t hit me on my bones I’m usually fine. I’m like Gumby, I just dead-leg everything. That’s why I just fall down when people hit me. He hit me good, but I’m proud [that] we went down and scored on the drive, so that was good too.

Q: On that last scoring drive you had you were able to find Wes Welker a lot. Is that something you saw as the game went along?

TB: [I] found him a bunch. [I] found him a bunch. He made those [plays]. He did a great job of getting open in man-to-man coverage and they really got up and challenged our receivers. They had some good pressure packages and I knew we were going to get pressure and they did a good job of disguising things. [They have] a really athletic defense, smart defense with some playmakers and they made some nice plays. They made some really good plays. We’ve got to learn from it and try to do better next week.

Q: Tedy Bruschi said that the blowouts have been an aberration and by this time of year this is the way it’s going to be from here on out. Do you agree with that?

TB: We try to play as good as we can each week. The goal is to win the game and we did that. I think everyone wished we had played better and everybody could have played better, but we won. We clinched the AFC East Championship, we’ve won 11 straight games, and there’s a lot to be happy about.

Q: Do you see any similarities between Wes Welker and Troy Brown in the way they play?

TB: [They are] very similar type players: great quickness, great awareness, smart, great hands, they’re great leaders. They have a lot of similar qualities. They’re both 5’7’’ or 5’8’’ or whatever they are. They’re very nifty in the slot and they’re very comfortable in the slot. It’s a great matchup for us and hopefully it continues to be that way all year.

Pats Lockeroom quotes after Eagles Win

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

PATRIOTS LOCKER ROOM QUOTES
November 25, 2007

Asante Samuel, Cornerback
(On making plays when they needed to)
That’s what it’s about. Making plays in the NFL. You never know what kind of game you are gonna have. You try to help your team out, going out and playing hard for 60 minutes, and that’s what we did.

(On having multiple chances for interceptions in the last drive)
Yeah, I was kind of upset about that one. I dropped it. It [would have been] a touchdown, another touchdown. But I made up for it. They came at me again and we won the game.

(On his first interception)
[It was a] quick step, quick drop during the game. They tried to throw it out to [Brian] Westbrook and I just read it and broke on it, and I saw him behind me a little bit so I had to ease up a little bit and fortunately [the ball] came.

(On what Philadelphia did to move the ball)
It’s west coast offense. That’s all it is. They did a great job out there executing with the quarterback, the backup. He came in and we tried to blitz him and we couldn’t get to him and he was just lighting us up.

Wes Welker, Wide Receiver
(On why the Eagles were effective)
They gave us a lot of different looks, which was something different than we are used to seeing. We just need to make some adjustments and make sure we are all on the same page and seeing the same stuff out there.

(On his performance tonight)
I am excited but there are still some plays that I left out there. It’s something we can get better with and do a better job next time.

(On how this game was a good test for this team)
All the games are challenges but you have to hand it to the Eagles on the way they played tonight and they did a great job. You have to take your hats off to them and we need to go back to the drawing board and make sure we are on top of our stuff. They aren’t all easy and we realize that and sometimes you have to fight to the end.

(On how Brady reacted in the huddle after the big sack early in the game)
Tom never looses his poise and he is always on top of it. I’m sure he felt it but he sucked it up and got back in there and drove us down the field.

Junior Seau, Linebacker
(On the lessons that can be taken away from such a close game)
You never want to take a game for granted and they came out here and gave us some humble pie and we are definitely going to have to go to the chalkboard and look at what went wrong and how we can build on it. Something was accomplished here and we got free AFC East hats and t-shirts and that’s something we are proud of but we know we have a lot of things to work on.

(On if other teams will try to use unusual game plans)
That onside kick was a great call by them and for them to go out there and obviously have that happen was a testament to them, but we need to be ready for anything that comes our way. There is a lot of stuff about teams shooting for us but we need to change that around and start going after them and not sit and wait for them to come after us.

Jabar Gaffney, Wide Receiver
(On the hit that Brady took before the 32-yard pass play)
He (Brady) has taken some big shots before so we knew he doesn’t get rattled and he keeps a cool head and delivered and I was able to make the grab.

(On winning a game like this after blowing everyone out)
You have to win like this sometimes too. You’re not going to blow everyone out and coming in we weren’t expecting to blow everyone out and it was a perfect example today.

(On if it felt good to beat his old team)
It’s always good to beat the team that you were with, and being able to catch a touchdown and make some key grabs.

Rodney Harrison, Safety
(On clinching a playoff spot before the game)
We really weren’t thinking about that. It’s really all about the task at hand and they gave us enough, trust me. We’re proud of it. We’ll put that on the shelf and move forward.

(On trying to take away Brian Westbrook)
They made plays. I mean, we had opportunities to make plays on the ball [and] we just didn’t make them. We knock those balls down within inches and we probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking. They get paid too. They have very good players on their team. We expect them to make plays. We can’t make every play but the thing is we hung in there we were very resilient we showed a lot of character, a lot of heart and we stuck together as a team. That’s what this group of guys are, a great team.

(On how tough it is to play your best game week in and week out in the NFL)
You can’t. You’re not going to be able to play your best game every week. The thing that’s positive and the thing that is encouraging is that we were able to pull it out in spite of us not playing particularly well. Like I said, you can’t take away what they did. They came out and they handed it to us. They came into a hostile environment and they were able to make plays all over the field but at the end we were able to clinch and that’s the important thing.

Tedy Bruschi, Linebacker
(On A.J. Feeley’s play and whether he did anything unexpected)
What he did a great job of was [he] gave his receivers a chance to make plays. He put the ball up in places where it was either going to be the receiver or the defensive back and tonight their receivers made a lot of spectacular catches.

(On Feeley’s ability to make plays under pressure)
Even with pressure right in his face, off his back foot he made some throws and he put the ball in a position where it was going to be the receiver making the play or the defensive back making the play and their receivers made some great catches tonight.   

(On how Philadelphia played)
There are players on that team that we have a lot of respect for. We start with [Brian] Westbrook and we’ve known Feeley before. He defeated us when he was down there in Miami. That offensive line, [Shawn] Andrews is a good young lineman, [Jon] Runyan and a lot of guys that will fight you there in the trenches. We respected that team and knew it was going to be a tough battle. We want to win the game period. No matter how we do it, whether it’s one point or twenty as long as we get that victory at the end of the day, that’s all we care about.

Adalius Thomas, Linebacker
(On what it feels like to pull out a win in a close game)
It’s a win. They played very well, you have to tip your hat to those guys. They played good and we ended up making more plays at the end to top it off. Everything’s not going to be a blowout so we’re happy to get the win.

(On the Eagles game plan and what the Patriots expected to see)
They played football. They just played hard and they did a good job. We had some bad things here and there but you just have to tip your hat to those guys they came in here and played hard.

(On making adjustments in the second half)
You always make adjustments, no more than normal [tonight], like I said, the guys came in here and they played hard. They made a lot of big plays so we have a lot of improving to do.

(On what kind of humble pie Coach Belichick will serve this week)
It will probably be casserole but we’ll deserve it. Other than that we’ll enjoy this and just move forward to the next game.

Donte Stallworth, Wide Receiver
(On how it feels to have clinched the AFC East title)
It means that we accomplished something. It’s a long way to go still. We have a lot more games to play. It just shows, like I said, that we’ve accomplished something in the NFL and that’s always good.

(On Wes Welker’s performance)
Wes [Welker] played great. He played really good. I think that he’s a really good player, he knows how to play and having a guy like that on the team is fun. He’s always going to do his job and you can rely on him.

(On what he expected to see from the Eagles)
It’s never easy but I knew it wasn’t going to be one of those games that we’ve been fortunate enough to have in the past. They played really good, obviously in a hostile environment and they played well. They almost won the game.

(On the blowouts being the exception and games like this the rule)
It is, especially with the climate, not global warming but with the weather getting colder. Things are going to be a little tighter later in the season. Hopefully we can continue to play like we have been doing, which is well enough to win. We’ve got a big one coming up next week in Baltimore. Another hostile environment we have to go to. It seems like we’ve been on the road forever so this was a good time to be home. I know a lot of guys were looking around on Friday and Saturday thinking that we were going to pack our bags. Like I said, it was good to be home, the crowd was into it the whole game and we’re back on the road next week.

Belichick after the Eagles win

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
Postgame Press Conference
November 25, 2007

BB: That was about the way we expected it tonight. Philadelphia is a good football team. They played well. They did a good job. [It was a] hard-fought game [that] came down to a couple plays and I was glad we were able to make them. We won the division, which was one of our goals to start the season so that’s an accomplishment that the team should be proud of. As I told them in there, in the end they made enough plays to win the game and that’s something they should be happy about. [There are] certainly a lot of things we could do better. Philadelphia is a good football team and they gave us a number of problems in all three phases of the game. [It was a] real competitive game, but we had a couple of big stops defensively at the end and made a couple of key plays offensively when we needed to make them - [we] got the ball in the end zone and that’s what we needed to do. [We’re] moving on to Baltimore, but [it was a] tough game, hard-fought [and it was] good to win.

Q: Wes Welker was a key guy tonight. He had an outstanding game. Was the plan for him to be the one who was open?

BB: It just all depends on the coverages that they play. [You] try to get the ball to the open guy and sometimes it worked out that way, sometimes it worked out for other guys. But Tom [Brady] does a great job of that, trying to get the ball to the receiver that has the best chance, the best leverage on the coverage and sometimes that was Wes tonight. Wes did a good job.

Q: They had some success throwing the ball. Was that something you expected or the result of you guys keying off—

BB: They have a good passing attack. They have a real good offensive line. It’s hard to get pressure on them. [A.J.] Feeley did a good job, like we’ve seen him do against us before. [Brian] Westbrook is a tough guy to tackle. We missed him a few times and that’s not uncommon - so does everybody else. We have a lot of things we need to work on. There’s things we can do better, but they’re a good offensive football team. Andy [Reid] does a good job with their scheme. They present a lot of problems defensively trying to match up with them and they obviously made some plays.

Q: What specifically was it about their defense that led you to go with the passing attack, with the spread-formation hurry-up that you went with?

BB: We thought that was the best way to match up with them early in the game. I thought that was pretty productive in the first half. We had the ball three times and scored 17 points.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to stop them defensively and they got the on-side kick so we lost another possession on that, but I thought that we were able to move the ball pretty well. They made some good adjustments and started to do some things on our spread formations that were good adjustments on their part, so we kind of moved out of that at halftime and shifted into a little bit of a different mode in the second half.

Q: Could you talk about the game Asante Samuel had tonight?

BB: He came up with a couple big plays. He got us off to a good start and of course on the deep ball at the end there he just had good position on the receiver. Asante has great hands, good instincts and he doesn’t let too many get through his hands. That’s really what a good play-maker in the secondary does, is they catch the ball well and they’re able to turn those mistakes by the quarterback into turnovers instead of just foul balls and batted down [balls]. He’s been very good at that since he’s been here and obviously did a good job of it tonight. Those two big plays, I don’t know if we’d have won without them. Probably not.

Q: What was your message to the team at halftime?

BB: The same thing we talked about in the second quarter of the game. We need to do a better job in the pass defense on the defensive side of the ball. We need to do a better job offensively of finishing drives. As I said, [we] went into a little bit of a different mode there in the third quarter. And on special teams, we hurt ourselves with giving up the onsides kick, obviously, and [a] penalty on the return game. Those are all things that - We need to take care of business and do a better job on all three phases of the game. We had some mistakes and they forced us into some. I don’t want to sound like it was all us. That was a good football team out there. They did a lot of things that did cause some problems and we have to coach them better. We have to do a better job coaching.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Parking info for Pats Eagles Game

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

MEDIA ADVISORY

Gillette Stadium officials are requesting assistance from the media in communicating important parking and traffic information to fans planning to attend the Patriots vs. Eagles game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night at 8:15 p.m.

GAME PARKING:

For ease of entry and exit, fans are reminded of the following:

·    Parking lots open at 4 p.m.

·    From the North (from 95), fans are strongly encouraged to stay to the right and park in P10.

·    From the South (from 495), fans are strongly encouraged to stay to the left and park in P11 or P10.

DEDICATED RETAIL PARKING:

Patriot Place retail outlets will be open on Sunday, with parking available via the P9 entrance and Bass Pro Drive. There will be no game parking via P9.

Retail patrons will receive a parking ticket with stamped arrival time upon entry and will have at least two hours of free parking. These lots will be monitored closely and fines will be assessed to violators.

For more information, fans should visit http://www.patriots.com/stadium and click on “Parking Tips.”

Retail parking for Sunday, Nov. 25:

If you arrive prior to 7:30 PM: You may park your vehicle in retail parking until 9:30 PM

If you arrive between 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM: You may park your vehicle in retail parking for up to two hours after your stamped arrival time.

If you arrive after 9:30 PM: You may park your vehicle in retail parking until retail parking closes at 11 p.m. (one hour after the last store closes).

Patriot Place retail hours of operation on Sunday, Nov. 25:

Bass Pro Shops
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Bed Bath & Beyond
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Christmas Tree Shops
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Circuit City
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Moss named Player of the Week

Courtesy of the NFL

FOR USE AS DESIRED
AFC-POW-11     11/21/07

PATRIOTS WR RANDY MOSS, JETS DE SHAUN ELLIS &

BRONCOS WR-PR GLENN MARTINEZ NAMED

AFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 11

Wide receiver RANDY MOSS of the New England Patriots, New York Jets defensive end SHAUN ELLIS and Denver Broncos wide receiver-punt returner GLENN MARTINEZ are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the 11th week of the 2007 season (November 18-19), the NFL announced today.

OFFENSE: WR RANDY MOSS, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Moss played a prominent role as the Patriots defeated Buffalo 56-10 and improved to 10-0.  The veteran receiver hauled in 10 receptions for 128 yards (12.8 average) and set a franchise record with a career-high four touchdown receptions.  Moss’ four touchdown receptions in the first half tied an NFL record for the most touchdown catches before the half.  The last NFL player to accomplish the feat was ROY GREEN (11/13/83).  In the first quarter, Moss hauled in his 13th TD reception of the season and surpassed STANLEY MORGAN (12) for most touchdown receptions in a season in franchise history.  Moss leads the league with 1,052 receiving yards and became the first Patriot since TROY BROWN in 2001 to reach the mark.

In his 10th year from Marshall, this is Moss’ sixth Player of the Week Award and his second in back-to-back games.

DEFENSE: DE SHAUN ELLIS, NEW YORK JETS

·      Ellis recorded five tackles, 2.0 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in a 19-16 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh driving in Jets territory, Ellis registered his second sack of quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER, stripped the ball away and returned it six yards to thwart the Steelers’ drive.  The eighth-year veteran registered his eighth career game with at least two sacks.  Ellis also tied MO LEWIS for fifth place on the Jets’ all-time sacks list with 52.5.  The Jets registered seven sacks in the game, which was the team’s highest total since 2003 against Buffalo (10/12). 

In his eighth season from Tennessee, this is Ellis’ first Defensive Player of the Week Award.  Ellis is the first Jets’ player to win the award since DEWAYNE ROBERTSON in 2006 (Week 10). 

SPECIAL TEAMS: WR-PR GLENN MARTINEZ, DENVER BRONCOS

·      Martinez returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to give the Broncos a 14-0 lead en route to a 34-20 win over Tennessee on Monday night.  The second-year veteran’s touchdown return was the longest return for a touchdown by a Denver player since DELTHA O’NEAL in 2001 (86 yards) and was the first punt returned for a touchdown by a Bronco since ROD SMITH in 2003.  Martinez’s touchdown return was a career-first, and he has totaled six punt returns for 123 yards (20.5 avg.) this season.

In his second season from Saginaw Valley State, this is Martinez’s first Player of the Week Award.  He is the second Bronco to win Special Teams Player of the Week this season (JASON ELAM in Week 2).

2007 AFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense
Defense
Special Teams
Wk 1
RB Chris Brown, Tennessee
DE Mario Williams, Houston
KR-CB Ellis Hobbs, New England
Wk 2
QB Derek Anderson, Cleveland
S Bob Sanders, Indianapolis
K Jason Elam, Denver
Wk 3
QB Tom Brady, New England
LB Keith Bulluck, Tennessee
WR-KR Yamon Figurs, Baltimore
Wk 4
QB Daunte Culpepper, Oakland
CB Jabari Greer, Buffalo
K Dave Rayner, Kansas City
Wk 5
QB Philip Rivers, San Diego
CB Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh
K Kris Brown, Houston
Wk 6
QB Tom Brady, New England
DE Paul Spicer, Jacksonville
K Matt Stover, Baltimore
Wk 7
QB Tom Brady, New England
DE Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis
K Rob Bironas, Tennessee
Wk 8
RB Joseph Addai, Indianapolis
LB Mike Vrabel, New England
P Mike Scifres, San Diego
Wk 9
WR Randy Moss, New England
LB James Harrison, Pittsburgh
CB Antonio Cromartie, San Diego
Wk 10
QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh
CB Antonio Cromartie, San Diego
KR-PR Darren Sproles, San Diego
Wk 11
WR Randy Moss, New England
DE Shaun Ellis, New York Jets
WR-PR Glenn Martinez, Denver

Other nominees for AFC Offensive Player of Week 11 were:

·    Kansas City rookie wide receiver DWAYNE BOWE, who had seven catches for 64 yards and one touchdown in a 13-10 loss against the Colts.

·    Denver quarterback JAY CUTLER, who completed 16 of 21 passes (76.2 percent) for 200 yards with two touchdowns and a career-high 137.0 passer rating.

·    Houston wide receiver ANDRE JOHNSON, who had six receptions for 120 yards with one TD in a 23-10 win over the Saints.

·    New York Jets running back THOMAS JONES, who rushed for 117 yards on 30 carries.

Other nominees for AFC Defensive Player of Week 11 were:

·    Miami safety JASON ALLEN, who had five tackles and two interceptions in a 17-7 loss against Philadelphia.

·    Kansas City defensive end JARED ALLEN, who had five tackles.

·    Denver linebacker IAN GOLD, who had eight tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

·    New York Jets rookie linebacker DAVID HARRIS, who had 11 tackles with one sack.

·    Indianapolis defensive end ROBERT MATHIS, who had four tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in a 13-10 win over Kansas City.

·    New York Jets defensive tackle DEWAYNE ROBERTON, who had five tackles and 2.5 sacks.

·    Houston defensive end MARIO WILLIAMS, who had six tackles with one sack.

Other nominees for AFC Special Teams Player of Week 11 were:

·    Houston kicker KRIS BROWN, who made all three field goals and all two PATs.

·    Cleveland kick returner JOSHUA CRIBBS, who totaled 306 return yards on kickoff and punt returns in a 33-30 overtime victory over the Ravens.

·    Cleveland kicker PHIL DAWSON, who converted four of five field goals and all three PATs for 15 points.

·    Miami rookie punt-kick returner TED GINN JR., who returned three punt returns for 99 yards, including an 87-yard touchdown return.

FOR USE AS DESIRED

NFC-POW-11   11/21/07

COWBOYS WR TERRELL OWENS, CARDINALS CB ANTREL ROLLE &

PACKERS PR TRAMON WILLIAMS NAMED NFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 11

Wide receiver TERRELL OWENS of the Dallas Cowboys, cornerback ANTREL ROLLE of the Arizona Cardinals and punt returner TRAMON WILLIAMS of the Green Bay Packers are the NFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the 11th week of the 2007 season (November 18-19), the NFL announced today.

OFFENSE: WR TERRELL OWENS, DALLAS COWBOYS

Owens helped the Cowboys improve to 9-1 as the veteran wide receiver had eight catches for 173 yards (21.6 average) and tied the franchise record with a career-high four touchdown receptions (BOB HAYES, 12/20/70 vs. Houston) in the Cowboys’ 28-23 win over Washington.  Owens hauled in a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback TONY ROMO in the second quarter and added a 31-yard TD in the third.  In the fourth quarter, Owens scored twice, catching a 46-yard touchdown pass and a 52-yard TD strike.  For his career, Owens now has 126 touchdown receptions and ranks third all-time.  He needs four TD catches to tie CRIS CARTER (130) for the second-most in NFL history (JERRY RICE, 197). 

In his 12th season from Tennessee-Chattanooga, this is Owens’ second career Player of the Week Award.  He was honored in Week 16 of the 2000 season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.  Owens is the first Dallas wide receiver to be named the Offensive Player of the Week since ALVIN HARPER in 1994 (Week 9).

DEFENSE: CB ANTREL ROLLE, ARIZONA CARDINALS

·      Rolle had a career-high three interceptions and tied an NFL record with two interception-return touchdowns in the Cardinals’ 35-27 win at Cincinnati.  Rolle had 127 return yards on his three interceptions, passing Pro Football Hall of Famer LARRY WILSON’s mark of 115 yards (12/19/65) for the highest single-game total in franchise history.  In the first quarter, Rolle tied the game with a 55-yard interception-return touchdown.  In the third quarter, with the Cardinals clinging to a 28-27 lead, Rolle intercepted a pass and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown to extend Arizona’s lead.  Rolle sealed the game late in the fourth quarter with his third interception, allowing the Cardinals to run out the clock.  Rolle is the first Cardinal to record three interceptions in a game since ADRIAN WILSON (10/20/02). 

In his third year from Miami, this is Rolle’s first career Player of the Week Award.  This marks the first time that two Cardinals have been named Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks as linebacker KARLOS DANSBY won the award last week. 

SPECIAL TEAMS: PR TRAMON WILLIAMS, GREEN BAY PACKERS

·      Williams set the tone early with a 94-yard punt-return touchdown in the Packers’ 31-17 victory over Carolina to help Green Bay improve to 9-1.  In the first quarter of a scoreless game, the Panthers lined up for a field goal but instead executed a pooch punt.  Williams fielded the bouncing ball at his own six-yard line and sprinted up the right sideline for a 94-yard touchdown to give the Packers a lead they would not relinquish.  Williams’ return tied for the second-longest punt-return touchdown in franchise history, one yard shy of the team record (95 yards, STEVE ODOM, 11/10/74 vs. Chicago).

In his first season from Louisiana Tech, this is Williams’ first career Player of the Week Award.  He is the second Packer to be named Special Teams Player of the Week this season, joining rookie kicker MASON CROSBY (Week 1).

2007 NFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense
Defense
Special Teams
Wk 1
QB Tony Romo, Dallas
DE Dewayne White, Detroit
K Mason Crosby, Green Bay
Wk 2
QB Brett Favre, Green Bay
LB Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay
PR-KR Devin Hester, Chicago
Wk 3
RB Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia
CB Anthony Henry, Dallas
LB Lance Laury, Seattle
Wk 4
QB Brett Favre, Green Bay
DE Osi Umenyiora, NY Giants
PR-KR Steve Breaston, Arizona
Wk 5
QB Jason Campbell, Washington
CB Rod Hood, Arizona
K Nick Folk, Dallas
Wk 6
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
CB Charles Woodson, Green Bay
WR-PR-KR Devin Hester, Chicago
Wk 7
QB Brian Griese, Chicago
DE Osi Umenyiora, NY Giants
WR-PR-KR Nate Burleson, Seattle
Wk 8
QB Drew Brees, New Orleans
DE Trent Cole, Philadelphia
K Jason Hanson, Detroit
Wk 9
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
DT Shaun Rogers, Detroit
K Shaun Suisham, Washington
Wk 10
QB Marc Bulger, St. Louis
LB Karlos Dansby, Arizona
K Morten Andersen, Atlanta
Wk 11
WR Terrell Owens, Dallas
CB Antrel Rolle, Arizona
PR Tramon Williams, Green Bay

Other nominees for NFC Offensive Player of Week 11 were:

Tampa Bay running back EARNEST GRAHAM, who had 102 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers’ 31-7 win at Atlanta. 
Seattle wide receiver D.J. HACKETT, who had a career-high nine catches and 136 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown in the Seahawks’ 30-23 victory over Chicago. 
Seattle quarterback MATT HASSELBECK, who completed 30 of 44 passes (68.2 percent) for 337 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 106.0 passer rating. 
Green Bay DONALD LEE, who had five catches for 49 yards and a career-high two touchdowns.
Minnesota running back CHESTER TAYLOR, who rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ 29-22 win over Oakland.
Philadelphia running back BRIAN WESTBROOK, who rushed for a career-high 148 yards on 32 carries in the Eagles’ 17-7 victory against Miami. 

Other nominees for NFC Defensive Player of Week 11 were:

Tampa Bay cornerback RONDE BARBER, who had eight tackles, a pass defensed and returned a fumble 41 yards for a touchdown.
Minnesota linebacker CHAD GREENWAY, who had seven tackles, one interception and a fumble recovery.
Tampa Bay defensive tackle CHRIS HOVAN, who had eight tackles, one sack and an interception. 
Seattle defensive end PATRICK KERNEY, who had five tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. 
New York Giants defensive end MICHAEL STRAHAN, who had a season-high three sacks in the Giants’ 16-10 victory at Detroit. 
Tampa Bay defensive end GREG WHITE, who had four tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass defensed. 
Green Bay defensive tackle COREY WILLIAMS, who had four tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles. 

Other nominee for NFC Special Teams Player of Week 11 was:

Tampa Bay punter JOSH BIDWELL, who had a net average of 39.2 yards per punt and placed three of his five punts inside the 20-yard line. 

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Lowell returns to Sox

Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox

RED SOX AGREE TO TERMS WITH THIRD BASEMAN MIKE LOWELL

ON THREE-YEAR CONTRACT THROUGH 2010 SEASON

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today agreed to terms with third baseman Mike Lowell on a three-year contract extending through the 2010 season. No further terms were disclosed.

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

Lowell, who had been eligible for free agency, will return to the Red Sox after being originally acquired in a seven-player trade with the Florida Marlins on November 24, 2005. The 33-year-old third baseman batted .324 with 21 homers and 120 RBI in 154 games with Boston in 2007.

Lowell ranked fifth in the American League in RBI, had the seventh highest batting average and also ranked among the league leaders in hits (T7th, 191), sacrifice flies (T8th, 8), and total bases (11th, 295). He set career bests for batting average, hits, RBI, and on-base percentage (.378). His 120 RBI were the fifth most by an American League third baseman since 1950 and the most ever for a Red Sox third baseman.

The first Boston third baseman ever with consecutive 20-homer seasons, Lowell also had the third highest home batting average in the major leagues at .373. He was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the fourth time, first in the American League, and finished fifth overall in the 2007 A.L. BBWAA Most Valuable Player voting.

Lowell batted .353 (18-51) with two homers and 15 RBI in 14 post-season games in 2007. He was the selected as the World Series Most Valuable Player after hitting .400 (6-15) with a homer and four RBI in Boston’s four-game sweep of Colorado.

It was also announced today that Lowell has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 Thomas A. Yawkey Award as the Red Sox Most Valuable Player. Lowell becomes just the third Red Sox third baseman to ever capture the team’s MVP award, joining Frank Malzone (1957 and 1959) and Wade Boggs (1985). The award is selected in voting by the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Originally selected by the New York Yankees in the 1995 First Year Player Draft, Lowell has a career major league batting average of .280 with 184 homers and 778 RBI in 1,296 games with the Yankees (1998), Marlins (1999-2005), and Red Sox (2006-07). He has six seasons with at least 20 homers and has driven in at least 100 runs on three occasions.

He has a .976 (82 errors/3,349 total chances) fielding percentage in 1,253 games at third base, the highest fielding percentage in major league history among third basemen with at least 1,000 games.

 

Monday, November 19, 2007

Pats-Bills Postgame Notes

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

GAME NOTES—PATRIOTS at BUFFALO BILLS

Week 11 – November 18, 2007

PATRIOTS TIE FRANCHISE SINGLE-GAME SCORING RECORD

With 56 points against the Bills, the Patriots tied the highest single-game point total in franchise history, equaling the 56 points scored in a 56-3 victory over the New York Jets on Sept. 9, 1979. Of the 10 highest-scoring games in the Patriots franchise’s 718-game history, four have come this season – a 52-7 win over Washington (10/28/07), a 49-28 win over Miami (10/21/07) and a 48-27 win over Dallas (10/14/07), in addition to the 56-10 victory over Buffalo tonight. New England’s 46-point margin of victory over the Bills is the second largest in franchise history, trailing only their 53-point margin in their 56-3 win over the Jets in 1979.

 

PATRIOTS SET SINGLE-SEASON FRANCHISE TOUCHDOWN RECORD

With eight touchdowns against Buffalo, the Patriots raised their season total to 54 touchdowns, setting a new single-season team record. New England’s previous team record was 52 touchdowns, achieved in 1961 and in 1980. The NFL record for most touchdowns by a team in a single season is 70, achieved by the 1984 Miami Dolphins.

 

PATRIOTS BECOME 10th TEAM SINCE 1970 MERGER TO START 10-0

The Patriots improved to 10-0, extending the best start in franchise history and becoming the 10th team since the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger to begin a season with at least 10 consecutive victories. New England has won 13 straight regular season games dating back to last season, compiling the second longest regular-season winning streak in team history, trailing only their NFL record 18 straight regular-season wins from 2003-04. The Patriots are the first team since the 2005 Indianapolis Colts to start a season 10-0 and join the 1990 New York Giants, the 1990 San Francisco 49ers, the 1991 Washington Redskins, the 1998 Denver Broncos and the 2005 Colts as the only teams to accomplish the feat in the last 20 years.

 

510 TOTAL NET YARDS MOST SINCE 1979

The Patriots gained 510 total net yards, marking the franchise’s highest total in 28 years. The Patriots’ offensive output was the highest since New England gained a franchise-record 597 total net yards in a 56-3 win over the New York Jets on Sept. 9, 1979. The Patriots’ 510 total net yards against the Bills are the fourth highest total in franchise history, trailing only their 1979 total and also a 529-yard performance on Oct. 29, 1978 and a 526-yard output on Dec. 18, 1965.

 

411 POINTS IN 2007

Through 10 games, the Patriots have score a total of 411 points, marking the sixth highest single-season point total in franchise history. New England’s 411 points are the most since the Patriots scored 437 points in 2004. New England is averaging 41.1 points per game. The all-time NFL record for a full season is 38.8 points per game, achieved by the 1950 Los Angeles Rams. The post-merger record is 34.8 points per game, achieved by the 1998 Minnesota Vikings. Through 10 games, the Patriots have scored 411 points and have allowed 157 for a net differential of 254 points. That total already ranks ninth all-time in NFL history (since the league was founded in 1920). The NFL record for total point differential is 292, achieved by the 1942 Chicago Bears (376 points scored, 84 points allowed).

 

BRADY SETS FRANCHISE CAREER TOUCHDOWN PASS MARK

Tom Brady has passed Steve Grogan to become the Patriots’ career touchdown pass leader. With a 6-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss in the second quarter – Brady’s third of the night and the 183rd of his career – Brady passed Grogan’s old career record of 182 touchdown passes. With five touchdown passes tonight Brady has 185 touchdown passes in 106 career games (104 starts), while Grogan totaled his 182 scoring passes in 149 career games (131 starts). Brady’s 38 touchdowns in 2007 are a Patriots single-season record (Babe Parilli, 31, 1964).

 

MOSS SETS FRANCHISE SINGLE-SEASON TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION RECORD

Randy Moss set a new Patriots single-season record with his 13th touchdown reception of the season and his first touchdown of the night, a 43-yard scoring catch in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 14-0 lead. With three more touchdowns in the second quarter, Moss raised his season total to 16 touchdowns. Moss eclipsed the previous team record of 12 touchdown receptions, achieved by Stanley Morgan in 1979. Moss’s 16 touchdown catches are the third highest single-season total of his career, trailing only his career-high 17 scoring receptions in 1998 and 2003.

 

MOSS SETS FRANCHISE SINGLE-GAME TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION RECORD

With four touchdown receptions, Randy Moss has set the franchise’s single-game touchdown reception record, recording the first four-touchdown catch game in team history. Moss’s four scoring catches set a new single-game career high, topping his previous mark of three, achieved three previous times, most recently while playing for the Minnesota Vikings against San Francisco on Sept. 28, 2003. Moss is the first Patriot to catch at least three touchdown passes in a game since Ben Coates had three scoring grabs on Nov. 26, 1995. Coates’s performance also came in a game against the Bills in Buffalo.

 

MOSS BREAKS 1,000-YARD MARK FOR THE SEASON

With a 5-yard reception with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter, Randy Moss eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the year, becoming the first Patriots player to record 1,000 or more receiving yards since Troy Brown had 1,199 receiving yards in 2001. Moss’s 1,000-yard season is the 10th 1,000-yard receiving season in Patriots history and he joins Troy Brown (1), Terry Glenn (2), Ben Coates (1), Stanley Morgan (3), Irving Fryar (1) and Harold Jackson (1) as the only players in team history to achieve the feat. Morgan holds the team’s single-season record with 1,491 receiving yards in 1986. For Moss, the 1,000-yard season is the eighth of his 10-year career and his first since 2005, when he had 1,005 yards for the Oakland Raiders.

 

BRADY BREAKS 3,000-YARD MARK FOR THE SEASON

Tom Brady eclipsed the 3,000-yard passing plateau tonight, finishing the game with 3,056 yards while completing 250-of-338 passes (74.0 percent) for 38 touchdowns and four interceptions. Brady has broken the 3,000-yard mark for the sixth straight season. He threw for a career-high 4,110 yards in 2005.

 

MOSS TIES RECORD WITH FOUR TOUCHDOWN CATCHES IN FIRST HALF

Randy Moss’s four touchdown receptions in the first half tie an NFL record for the most touchdown catches before halftime. The last NFL player to achieve the feat was Roy Green of the St. Louis Cardinals, who did it against Seattle on Nov. 13, 1983. The other players to achieve the feat were Miami’s Paul Warfield (12/15/73), Harold Jackson of the L.A. Rams (10/14/73) and Green Bay’s Don Hutson (10/7/45).

 

BRADY: HIGH YARDAGE TOTAL, HIGH TD TOTAL

Tom Brady totaled 373 passing yards and had five touchdown passes tonight. His 373 passing yards are the third highest of his career, trailing only his 410 yards against Kansas City on Sept. 22, 2002 and his 388 yards at Dallas on Oct. 14, 2007. His five touchdown passes tie the second highest total of his career (also achieved at Dallas on Oct. 14, 2007) and trail only his franchise-record six scoring tosses at Miami on Oct. 21, 2007.

 

WATSON GRABS SIXTH TOUCHDOWN OF SEASON

Benjamin Watson caught his sixth touchdown pass of the season, a 3-yard scoring grab from Tom Brady to give the Patriots a 42-7 lead. The touchdown catch was Watson’s first since Oct. 7, when he had two scoring catches in a victory over Cleveland. Watson’s six touchdown receptions are a single-season career high, topping his four scoring grabs in 2005. Watson’s six touchdown catches are the most by a Patriots tight end since Daniel Graham had seven scoring grabs in 2005.

 

WELKER SETS SINGLE-SEASON CAREER HIGH

With his seventh catch of the night – a 24-yard reception in the third quarter – Wes Welker set a new single-season career high with his 68th reception of the season. Welker’s previous career high was 67 receptions, achieved in 2006 with the Miami Dolphins.

 

MARONEY REACHES END ZONE

Laurence Maroney scored his first touchdown of the season on a 6-yard run in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The touchdown was Maroney’s first since Dec. 31, 2006, when he scored on a 1-yard run at Tennessee in the 2006 regular-season finale. His touchdown against the Bills was the eighth touchdown of Maroney’s career (7 rush, 1 rec.).

 

HOBBS SCORES ON FUMBLE RECOVERY

Ellis Hobbs caught a loose ball forced by James Sanders in the fourth quarter and returned the fumble 35 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 56-10 lead. The touchdown was the third of Hobbs’s career, joining two kickoff returns for touchdowns – one in 2007 and one in 2006. Hobbs’s touchdown was the fourth defensive touchdown of the season for the Patriots, joining an interception return by Adalius Thomas (9/16), a fumble return by Randall Gay (10/7) and a fumble return by Rosevelt Colvin (10/28).

 

MARONEY BECOMES 19th PATRIOT TO SCORE A TOUCHDOWN IN 2007

Laurence Maroney became the 19th player to score a touchdown for the Patriots this season, scoring on a 6-yard run in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The NFL record for most players scoring a touchdown in a single season is 21, achieved by the 2000 Denver Broncos and the 1987 Los Angeles Rams.

 

QUICK HITS

Ø Tonight’s kickoff temperature was 36 degrees, making this the Patriots’ coldest game since Nov. 5, 2006, when the temperature was 31 degrees for a Sunday night game against Indianapolis at Gillette Stadium.

Ø Jabar Gaffney caught a 31-yard pass from Tom Brady in the catch was Gaffney’s second longest since joining the Patriots in 2006, trailing only his 33-yard catch against the New York Jets on Nov. 12, 2006.

Ø Wide receiver Chad Jackson and cornerback Eddie Jackson both played in their first game of the 2007 season. Both players spent the first nine games of the season on the reserve/PUP list.

 

100-YARD GAME FOR MOSS

With 128 receiving yards on 10 catches, Randy Moss has recorded his seventh 100-yard receiving game of the season and the 53rd 100-yard receiving game of his career. Moss’s 53 career 100-yard receiving games rank third all-time, trailing only Jerry Rice (76) and Marvin Harrison (59). Stanley Morgan holds the Patriots single-season record with nine 100-yard receiving games in 1986.

 

10 RECEPTIONS FOR MOSS

Randy Moss set a season high with 10 receptions against Buffalo. Moss’s 10 receptions mark the ninth game of his career with 10 or more receptions. The last time Moss had 10 or more receptions in a game was on Nov. 30, 2003, when he caught 10 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown for the Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis.

 

RANDALL GAY RECORDS THIRD INTERCEPTION OF THE SEASON

Randall Gay recorded his third interception of the season when he picked off a J.P. Losman pass on the Bills’ fourth offensive play of the game and returned it 21 yards to Buffalo’s 13-yard line. The interception set up a two-play touchdown drive that ended in a 6-yard scoring run by Laurence Maroney and a 7-0 Patriots lead. Gay’s three interceptions tie Junior Seau for the second highest total on the team, trailing only Asante Samuel’s team-high four interceptions. Gay’s three interceptions establish a new career high, topping his two interceptions as a rookie in 2004. Gay’s interception against Buffalo raised his career total to five interceptions.

 

VRABEL RAISES SEASON TOTAL TO 9.5 SACKS

Mike Vrabel was credited with a zero-yard sack of J.P. Losman in the first quarter. The sack raised Vrabel’s team-high season total to 9.5 sacks, tying his single-season career high, also achieved in 2003. Vrabel’s 9.5 sacks tie the highest total by a Patriots player since Willie McGinest had 11.0 sacks in 1995. Since then, a Patriot has totaled 9.5 sacks four times: Vrabel (2003, 2007), McGinest (1996, 2004).

 

THOMAS SETS SINGLE-GAME CAREER HIGH WITH 2.5 SACKS

Adalius Thomas recorded 2.5 sacks in the first half against the Bills, setting a new single-game career high and recording his fourth career game with at least two sacks. Thomas sacked J.P. Losman for a 9-yard loss in the first quarter and later dropped Losman for a 6-yard loss in the second quarter. He then teamed with Tedy Bruschi to drop Losman for a 7-yard loss in the second quarter. The sacks raised Thomas’s season total to 3.0 sacks and his career total to 41.5 sacks. Thomas is the fifth player to record 2.0 or more sacks in a game for the Patriots this season, joining Mike Vrabel (twice), Rosevelt Colvin, Tedy Bruschi and Jarvis Green.

 

 

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Bits and Pieces

by: Frank Carpano

Bits and pieces

• You may have read or seen one of the many story’s recently about the problems fans of a team or musical artists are having getting tickets to a particular event. Apparently ticket brokers or scalpers are scooping up a lot of the available inventory. They are doing it with some fancy software that allows them to process a lot of orders on-line (on ticketmaster for example). They then resell the tickets for an outrageous amount of money. It prices many hardcore fans out of the market for those tickets.
          At the World Series in Denver, I met a couple of Rockies fans who spent most        
          of the summer watching their team inside of Coor’s field. Unfortunately, they
          couldn’t get tickets to the World Series because of the price. Interestingly, I
          met plenty of Red Sox fans from all over the country who had tickets. I asked
          them how they got their tickets. Each said they were able to purchase them on-
          line. Apparently one of the few lucky ones to snatch up tickets before the
          brokers.
          It doesn’t seem that long ago that you had to lineup at the box office to get a
          ticket. Those days, for the most part, are gone. Thank the internet.
          But this problem of ticket brokers and scalpers getting most of the tickets is
          solvable. All the teams or concert promoters have to do is monitor which
          tickets become available on the brokers web site and cancel the bar code. That
          would make the ticket worthless. The teams or concert promoters could then
          issue a new ticket a face value.
          So why won’t they do it? I don’t know, but I can speculate. Perhaps the team
          owners and concert promoters use the web as a gauge for how much people are
          willing to pay for the tickets. For example, if it’s impossible to get a ticket to a
          Red Sox game at Fenway Park, but fans are willing to pay triple face value to a
          broker, the owners of the Red Sox can increase the price of their tickets because
          of the demand and the willingness to pay just about anything to get to see the
          Sox at Fenway.

• Kudo’s to the Kraft family for another nice gesture for soccer fans. They have offered a free bus ride to Revolution fans who want to see the team play in the MLS Championship Game. It took them less than a day to sellout the trip. I’ll be interested to see if the Kraft’s actually attend the game. The Pats play the Bills on the same day. Last year, the Rev’s played for the title on a Patriot Sunday. I remember seeing Robert Kraft at the Pats game.

• NABF cruiserweight Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (16-0, 9 KOs) moved into the No. 1 contender position in the World Boxing Council’s newest ratings. The WBC reportedly will order a title elimination match between Godfrey and No. 2 rated Rudolf Kraz (12-0, 9 KOs) to determine the mandatory contender for newly crowned champion David “Hayemaker” Haye (20-1, 19 KOs), who recently stopped WBC/WBA title-holder Jean Marc Mormeck (33-3) in the seventh round.

• I think it’s great that we have some very talented local boxers. And I respect the fact that someone like fight promoter Jimmy Burchfield is helping keep the sport alive. But there are too few stars to get the masses interested.

• Pats defensive lineman Jarvis Green has some up with a tee shirt that he plans to sell. Tired of all the complaints that the Pats are running up the score in blowout games, Green had a shirt produced that claims the Pats are “60-minute men”. A reference to the Pats claim that just because they may be winning big, it doesn’t mean they stop playing, until the final whistle. Partial proceeds to Green’s charitable foundation and to a scholarship fund for Patriot Marquise Hill’s 2 year old son. Hill, died this past summer in a drowning accident in New Orleans.

• Here’s my opinion of the top 3 sports fans are interested in here in Southern New England. In order; Red Sox, Patriots, PC Basketball. Not much else is even close. Feel free to disagree. Since there is never many comments posted on this blog, I am feeling a little neglected.

• Thanksgiving is coming! Hope you’ll tune in to see our annual Thanksgiving football feast. We have plans to cover every high school football game in Southern New England. The show airs on Thanksgiving day at 5:30pm and again at 11:15 on NBC 10.

That’s it for now, I.B.B.Y.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Pedroia named ROY

courtesy of the Boston Red Sox

DUSTIN PEDROIA WINS 2007 AMERICAN LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD

FROM BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

BOSTON, MA—Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has been selected as the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year, it was announced today by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Pedroia received 24 of the 28 first place votes in balloting conducted by two writers from each of the 14 American League cities. He also received four second place votes and 132 total points and was the only player named on all 28 ballots. Outfielder Delmon Young of Tampa Bay was second with 56 points (3 1sts, 12 2nds, 5 3rds) with Kansas City pitcher Brian Bannister third with 36 points (1 1st, 8 2nds, 7 3rds). Boston righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka finished fourth with two seconds and six thirds for 12 points while lefthander Hideki Okajima received three third place votes. Voting is 5 points for 1st, 3 for 2nd, and one for 3rd.

Pedroia is the sixth Red Sox player to be named as the A.L.’s top rookie by the BBWAA, the first since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997. He is just the fourth A.L. player to win the award while playing the majority of his games at second base, joining Minnesota’s Rod Carew in 1967, Detroit’s Lou Whitaker in 1978, and Minnesota’s Chuck Knoblauch in 1991.

Pedroia batted .317 with eight homers and 50 RBI in 139 games with the Red Sox in 2007. His batting average was tenth highest in the American League and the best ever for a qualifying major league second baseman. Pedroia led all big league rookies with 39 doubles, ranked second with a .380 on-base percentage, and was third with 86 runs scored. He was also second among A.L. rookies with 165 hits, 49 multi-hit games, and 230 total bases.

Overall, he finished second on the Red Sox in runs and doubles and ranked third in batting average and hits. Pedroia ranked fifth among A.L. second basemen with a .990 fielding percentage, and his 132 starts were the most by a Boston 2B since 1967. He was the A.L. Rookie of the Month in May and the league’s Player of the Week for May 28-June 3.

Pedroia batted .283 (17-60) with two homers and 10 RBI in Boston’s 14 post-season games, including a .345 (10-29) mark in the ALCS versus Cleveland.

The Boston second baseman was also selected as the A.L.’s top rookie in the Major League Players Choice Awards voting and by The Sporting News. Pedroia, who now makes his off-season home in Chandler, Arizona, was the Red Sox’ second round selection in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft after an outstanding three-year career at Arizona State University.

        RED SOX BBWAA A.L. ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

1950—Walt Dropo, 1B                       1975—Fred Lynn, CF

1961—Don Schwall, RHP                   1997—Nomar Garciaparra, SS

1972—Carlton Fisk, C                         2007—Dustin Pedroia, 2B

Thursday, November 08, 2007

PC to honor 3 former greats

courtesy of Providence College

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE TO HONOR JIMMY WALKER,

ERNIE DIGREGORIO AND MARVIN BARNES ON MARCH 7-8

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It was announced today that Providence College will honor three of its greatest men’s basketball players ever on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8, 2008.  On Saturday, March 8, Providence College will honor Jimmy Walker ‘67, Ernie DiGregorio ‘73 and Marvin Barnes ‘74, at halftime of the Friar men’s basketball game versus Villanova at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.  To acknowledge their accomplishments, the College will unveil banners with the names and numbers of the three legends.  On Friday, March 7, the College will tip off the weekend with a dinner at the Westin Hotel to recognize Walker, DiGregorio and Barnes.

To help the College honor Walker, DiGregorio and Barnes and recognize the tradition that they helped establish, all former Friar men’s basketball player will be invited to attend the game and participate in the ceremony.

Walker, who ranks second all-time in scoring at the College, recorded 2,045 points in just three seasons of action.  He was a three-time All-American, who still is the only player from a New England college to be selected No. 1 in the NBA Draft.  In 1967, Walker held the distinct honor of being the only Friar to ever lead the nation in scoirng as he averged 30.4 ppg.  He played nine seasons of professional basketball, averaging 16.7 ppg.  Walker, who passed away on July 2, will be represented by his family.

DiGregorio is the team’s all-time assist leader (267 assists) and one of the top scorers (eighth, 1760 points) in PC history.  He was a three-time All-American and a Lapchick Award winner as the nation’s most outstanding senior.  He also was the NCAA East Regional MVP and the only Providence player to be named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team when he led the Friars to the Final Four in 1973.  That same year, he was the third selection in the NBA Draft.  He went on to earn the NBA’s Rookie of the Year honor with the Buffalo Braves.

Barnes was the team MVP in the Friars’ 1973 Final Four season.  In 1974, he led the nation in rebounding as he averaged 19.03 rebounds per game.  He is still ranks as the Friars’ all-time rebounding and blocked shots leader.  He registered 1,592 boards (17.89 rpg) and 363 blocked shots (4.08 bpg).  Barnes also was a prolific scorer.  He ranks fifth all-time in scoring at Providence, recording 1,839 points (20.7 ppg).  Barnes was the second pick in the 1974 ABA Draft.  After two years in the ABA, he spent four seasons in the NBA. 

Fans interested in attending the game can purchase tickets by calling the PC ticket office at 401-865-GO PC. Any fans that wish to purchase tickets to the March 7 dinner at the Westin should call Jen Cote at 401-865-1880.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Big East Basketball News

Courtesy of: The Big East Conference

Interesting news from the Big East Conference. (see release below) This issue has been a bone of contention among the league’s basketball coaches.
While it shouldn’t be an issue this year, Providence College has found itself on the outside looking in at conference tournament time. Now, (or starting in 2009, it is no longer an issue)

fc

 

 

 

November 7, 2007

For Immediate Release

 

 

 

BIG EAST Will Increase Basketball Championship Fields
To Include All 16 Members For 2009

 

Providence, R.I. – The Presidents of the BIG EAST Conference voted to include all 16 member institutions in the men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments beginning in 2009.  The Presidents took this action at their annual meeting, which was held Nov. 6 in Philadelphia, Pa.

 

        “Our Presidents performed a very thorough review of the tournament format,” said Commissioner Michael Tranghese.  “After extensive deliberation, it was decided that inviting all teams to participate would provide a special opportunity to every men’s and women’s basketball student-athlete.”

 

        Currently, the top 12 teams in the final regular-season standings advance to participate in the men’s and women’s championships.  The men’s championship is held in New York City at Madison Square Garden.  The women’s championship is held in Hartford, Conn., at the Hartford Civic Center.

 

        The new format will have the teams seeded 9 through 16 meet on the first day of competition.  The matchups will be No. 9 vs. No. 16, No. 10 vs. No. 15, No. 11 vs. No. 14 and No. 12 vs. No. 13.

 

The winners of those four games will meet seeds 5 through 8 on the second day of play.  The 9/16 winner will advance to play the No. 8 seed.  The 10/15 winner will play the No. 7 seed.  The 11/14 winner will meet the No. 6 seed.  The 12/13 winner will play the No. 5 seed.

 

Those four winners will advance to play the top four seeds in the quarterfinal round.  Thus, the top four seeded teams still will not play until the quarterfinals, which occurs in the current 12-team format.

 

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Ortiz Surgery

Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox

ORTIZ UNDERGOES ARTHROSCOPIC SURGERY ON RIGHT KNEE

BOSTON, MA—Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz had a right knee arthroscopy today at Massachusetts General Hospital to address the cartilage problem in his knee.

The surgery, which was performed by team Medical Director Dr. Thomas Gill, went well, and Ortiz will begin rehabilitation immediately. The surgery should not interfere with his off-season program, and he is expected to be ready for full participation in spring training.

Ortiz batted .332 with 35 home runs and 117 RBI in 149 games with Boston in 2007.

 

Schilling staying with Red Sox

Courtesy of the Boston Red Sox

RED SOX AGREE TO TERMS WITH PITCHER CURT SCHILLING

ON ONE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR 2008

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today agreed to terms with righthanded pitcher Curt Schilling on a one-year contract for the 2008 season. No terms were disclosed.

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

Schilling, who had been eligible for free agency, returns for a fifth season in Boston after originally being acquired by the Red Sox in a trade with Arizona in November 2003. In 2007, the righthander, who will celebrate his 41st birthday on November 14, was 9-8 with a 3.87 earned run average in 24 regular season starts.

He posted the second lowest ERA among Red Sox starters and finished fourth on the staff in wins, starts, innings (151.0), and strikeouts (101). Schilling was on the disabled list from June 19 to August 6 with right shoulder tendonitis before returning to post a 3.34 ERA in his final nine regular season starts. He allowed just 23 walks, an average of 1.37 per nine innings, and pitched 8.2 hitless innings in a 1-0 complete game victory on June 7 in Oakland.

Schilling was 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts during the Red Sox’ march to their second World Series victory in four years. He pitched seven shutout innings to win the third and deciding game of the ALDS against the Angels. After issuing five runs in 4.2 frames with a no decision in Game 2 of the ALCS, Schilling held the Indians to two runs over 7.0 innings in a Game 6 victory at Fenway Park, He concluded his outstanding post-season with a 2-1 win in Game 2 of the World Series, holding Colorado to one run in 5.1 innings.

The post-season performance improved Schilling’s career mark to 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 playoff starts. Among all-time post-season leaders, he is tied for fifth in wins and ranks eighth in strikeouts (120) while posting the second best winning percentage (.846) and the third lowest ERA among pitchers with at least 100.0 innings.

Schilling has an all-time regular season record of 216-146 with 3.46 ERA in 569 games/436 starts with Baltimore (1999-90), Houston (1991), Philadelphia (1992-2000), Arizona (2000-2003), and Boston (2004-07). He ranks 14th all-time with 3,116 strikeouts and is tied for 76th in wins, recording 15 or more victories eight times. The righthander is 53-29 in 119 regular season games/98 starts in his four seasons with Boston while going 6-1 in the post-season.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Pats-Colts postgame notes

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

GAME NOTES—PATRIOTS at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Week 9 – November 4, 2007

BRADY SETS SINGLE-SEASON FRANCHISE TOUCHDOWN PASS MARK

With three touchdown passes against the Colts today, Tom Brady raised his season total to 33 touchdown passes, setting a new franchise record and passing Vito “Babe” Parilli’s previous record of 31 touchdown passes in 1964. Brady tied the record with a 4-yard scoring strike to Randy Moss in the second quarter and set a new record with his 32nd scoring pass of the season, a 3-yard strike to Wes Welker in the fourth quarter. He added his 33rd touchdown pass of the season on a 13-yard score to Kevin Faulk in the fourth quarter. Parilli threw his 31 touchdown passes for the Boston Patriots during the 14-game American Football League season. Brady reached 33 passes in the ninth game of the season.

BRADY SETS NFL RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH 3+ TOUCHDOWN PASSES

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes today, setting an NFL record with his ninth straight game with three or more touchdown passes. He broke the old record of eight consecutive games, set by Peyton Manning in 2004. Through nine games this season, Brady has totaled 32 touchdown passes and just four interceptions.

BRADY LEADS 25th CAREER COMEBACK

Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 24-20 victory following a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit, marking the 25th time in his career that he has led the Patriots to a win following a fourth-quarter deficit or tie. He accomplished the feat for the 19th time in the regular season and has also done it six times in the playoffs (including three times in the Super Bowl. Against Indianapolis, the Patriots trailed 20-10 following an Indianapolis touchdown with 9:42 left in the game. Brady then led the team on a seven-play, 73-yard scoring drive to make the score 20-17 on a 3-yard touchdown catch by Wes Welker with 7:59 left and on the Patriots’ next drive led a three-play, 51-yard drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown catch by Kevin Faulk that gave the Patriots a 24-20 lead with 3:15 remaining in the game. The comeback against the Colts marked the Patriots’ fourth fourth-quarter comeback from a deficit of 10 or more points with Brady at the helm and the first one that was won in regulation time. The last time Brady led a comeback of 10 or more points was on Dec. 29, 2002, when the Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 27-24 in overtime after trailing 24-13 with 4:59 remaining in regulation. Brady’s other comebacks of 10 or more points in the fourth quarter came on Nov. 10, 2002 at Chicago (a 33-30 win following a 30-19 deficit with 5:16 remaining in regulation) and in the 2001 divisional playoffs against Oakland on Jan. 19, 2002 (a 16-13 overtime win following a 13-3 deficit entering the fourth quarter).

MOSS TIES SINGLE-SEASON FRANCHISE RECEIVING TD RECORD

Randy Moss hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the second quarter to give the Patriots a 7-3 lead. The touchdown was Moss’s 12th receiving touchdown of the season, tying the Patriots’ single-season franchise record also achieved by Stanley Morgan in 1979. Moss’s 12 touchdown catches are the fifth highest total of his 10-year career, trailing his career-best 17 scoring grabs in 1998 and 2003, his 15 touchdown catches in 2000 and his 13 scoring receptions in 2004. On the same touchdown pass where Moss tied the franchise touchdown reception record, Tom Brady tied Babe Parilli’s 1964 mark with his 31st touchdown toss of the year.

100-YARD GAME FOR MOSS

Randy Moss had 145 receiving yards on nine receptions, marking his sixth game this season with at least 100 receiving yards. The 100-yard receiving game was the 52nd of his career, a total that ranks third all-time behind Jerry Rice (76) and Marvin Harrison (59). Stanley Morgan holds the Patriots single-season record with nine 100-yard receiving games in 1986.

 

MAKING HISTORY

In the 88-year history of the NFL, there have been six games that have matched up undefeated teams with five or more victories. The Patriots have taken part in three of those games and have won all three, including two this season. The 5-0 Patriots beat the 5-0 Dallas Cowboys 48-27 on Oct. 14 and the 8-0 Patriots defeated the 7-0 Colts 24-20 today. Additionally, the 5-0 Patriots beat the 5-0 New York Jets 13-7 on Oct. 24, 2004.

NFL GAMES IN WHICH BOTH TEAMS WERE UNBEATEN WITH 5+ WINS

Date           Teams                                                             Result

11/13/21       Buffalo All-Americans (6-0) vs. Akron Pros (7-0)          at BUF 0, AKR 0

11/04/23       Canton Bulldogs (5-0) vs. Chicago Cardinals (5-0)        CAN 7, at CHI 3

10/28/73       Minnesota Vikings (6-0) vs. Los Angeles Rams (6-0)        at MIN 10, LA 9

10/24/04       New England Patriots (5-0) vs. New York Jets (5-0)        at NE 13, NYJ 7

10/14/07       New England Patriots (5-0) vs. Dallas Cowboys (5-0)      NE 48, at DAL 27

11/04/07       New England Patriots (8-0) at Indianapolis Colts (7-0)      NE 24, at IND 20

GREEN MACHINE

Jarvis Green strip-sacked Peyton Manning with 2:30 remaining in the game on third-and-nine at the Colts’ 49-yard line with New England holding a 24-20 lead. Rosevelt Colvin recovered the fumble, giving the Patriots possession at the Indianapolis 46-yard line and ending Indianapolis’ bid for a potential go-ahead score. The sack was Green’s fourth of the season and raised his career total to 22.5 sacks. It was his first forced fumble of the season and was the seventh forced fumble of his career. Last season, Green tied Mike Vrabel for the team lead with three strip sacks.

FAULK SCORES FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE SEASON

Kevin Faulk scored his first touchdown of the season on a 13-yard reception from Tom Brady that gave the Patriots a 24-20 lead with 3:15 remaining in the game. The touchdown was the 24th of Faulk’s career and was his 11th career touchdown reception. He has also scored 11 rushing touchdowns and two touchdowns on kickoff returns.

WELKER CATCHES SEVENTH TOUCHDOWN PASS OF THE SEASON

Wes Welker caught his seventh touchdown pass of the season, a 3-yard scoring grab from Tom Brady in the fourth quarter to cut the Indianapolis lead to 20-17. Welker, who had just one touchdown reception entering the 2007 season, has now caught six touchdown passes in his last four games. Welker entered the game tied for second in the NFL with a team-high 56 receptions this season.

SEYMOUR TIPS FIELD GOAL TRY

Richard Seymour tipped Adam Vinatieri’s 50-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, getting his fingertips on the ball and forcing Vinatieri’s first career miss in the RCA Dome. In his seven-year career, Seymour has blocked five career field goals in the regular season and one in the playoffs. Heading into today’s game, Vinatieri was 55-for-57 on indoor field goal attempts in the regular season, with his only two misses coming at Houston’s Reliant Stadium on Nov. 23, 2003 while playing for the Patriots against the Houston Texans.

MOSS CATCHES 55-YARD PASS

Randy Moss hauled in a 55-yard pass in the fourth quarter that gave the Patriots a first-and-goal at the Colts’ 3-yard line. The catch was Moss’s longest of the season and his longest since Oct. 2, 2005, when he grabbed a 79-yard pass while playing for the Oakland Raiders against the Dallas Cowboys. Moss’s 55-yard grab was the second longest by a Patriots player this season, trailing only Donte Stallworth’s 69-yard touchdown reception at Dallas on Oct. 14.

VRABEL RAISES SEASON TOTAL TO 8.5 SACKS

Mike Vrabel sacked Peyton Manning for a 4-yard loss in the third quarter. The sack raised Vrabel’s season total to 8.5 sacks, a mark that leads the team. Entering this week’s games, Vrabel’s 7.5 sacks led all NFL linebackers and ranked second overall in the AFC and fifth overall in the NFL. Last season, Rosevelt Colvin led the Patriots with 8.5 sacks. Vrabel’s single-season career high is 9.5 sacks, achieved in 2003 with the Patriots. Following his sack of Manning, Vrabel had 47.0 career sacks, a mark that ranks sixth among all active NFL linebackers.

HARRISON HAS FIRST INTERCEPTION OF THE SEASON

Rodney Harrison intercepted a Peyton Manning pass in the third quarter, giving the Patriots possession at the Indianapolis 30-yard line. The interception was Harrison’s first of the season and was the 33rd of his career. Harrison’s last interception came on Oct. 30, 2006 at Minnesota. Harrison, who also has 30.5 career sacks, is the only player in NFL history with at least 30 career sacks and at least 30 career interceptions.

DEFENSE BEARS DOWN

The Patriots defense clamped down and held the Colts to a field goal on two occasions in the first half after long pass interference penalties gave the Colts a first-and-goal from inside the 10-yard line. In the first quarter, a 37-yard penalty gave Indianapolis a first-and-goal from the 9-yard line, but Asante Samuel’s pass deflection in the end zone on third down kept Indianapolis out of the end zone and forced a 21-yard field goal by the Colts. In the second quarter, a 40-yard penalty gave the Colts a first-and-goal from the six-yard line, but Randall Gay stuffed Dallas Clark on third down for a 2-yard loss on a pass play that once again kept the Colts out of the end zone and forced a 25-yard field goal.

QUICK HITS

Ø    Tom Brady improved his career record as a starter(including playoffs) to… 27-5 in games decided by four points or fewer, 31-2 on artificial turf and 11-1 in games played indoors.

Ø    Rosevelt Colvin sacked Peyton Manning on third down in the fourth quarter, causing a fumble (the Colts recovered) and forcing an Indianapolis punt on the ensuing play.

Ø    Richard Seymour stuffed the Colts’ Kenton Keith for a 5-yard loss in the first quarter.

Ø    Adalius Thomas hit Joseph Addai in the backfield for a 3-yard loss in the second quarter.

Ø    Ty Warren and Tedy Bruschi combined to stop Addai for a 1-yard loss in the third quarter, helping force a punt two plays later.

Ø    Jarvis Green stuffed Addai in the backfield for a 9-yard loss on a rushing attempt in the third quarter.

Ø    Joseph Addai’s 73-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the longest play allowed by the Patriots this season. Previously, the longest play New England had allowed in 2007 was a 36-yard reception by Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards on Oct. 7. Addai’s play was the longest given up by the Patriots since Denver’s Javon Walker had an 83-yard catch on Sept. 24, 2006.

Ø    The Patriots did not score in today’s first quarter. Entering the game, the Patriots had scored points in 30 of 32 quarters of football.

Ø    Tom Brady’s 19-yard scramble in the third quarter was the second longest run of his career, trailing only his 22-yard scamper against Cincinnati on Oct. 1, 2006.

Ø    The Patriots were penalized a total of 146 yards on 10 penalties, setting a new single-game franchise record for penalty yards. The previous record was 139 penalty yards against Buffalo on Nov. 6, 1983.

WELKER’S 35-YARD PUNT RETURN

Wes Welker’s 35-yard punt return in the third quarter was the longest by a Patriots player this season and the longest since Chad Jackson returned a punt 39 yards at Tennessee on Dec. 31, 2006. For Welker, it was his longest punt return since bringing one back 47 yards while playing for Miami in the 2006 regular-season opener on Sept. 7, 2006 at Pittsburgh.

INTERCEPTION-FREE STREAK BROKEN

Tom Brady threw an interception to Indianapolis’ Antoine Bethea in the second quarter, ending a streak of 175 pass attempts without an interception. His 175 passes without a pick are the longest streak of Brady’s career and are four shy of the franchise record of 179 passes without an interception, achieved by Drew Bledsoe in 1995. During Brady’s 175-pass streak without an interception, he threw 20 touchdown passes. Prior to Bethea’s interception, the last time Brady had thrown a pick was on Oct. 1, when Cincinnati’s Leon Hall picked off one of his passes in the second quarter.

GOSTKOWSKI’S SUCCESS STREAK

Stephen Gostkowski converted a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter, cutting the Colts’ lead to 13-10. Following that field goal, Gostkowski was 11-for-12 on the season (91.7 percent) and had made 32 of his last 35 field goal tries (91.4 percent) since Nov. 5, 2006. That streak includes a perfect 8-for-8 performance in the 2006 playoffs.

SCORING STREAK BROKEN

The Patriots were held to a punt on their first offensive possession of the game, marking the first time this season they were held off of the scoreboard on their opening drive. Entering today’s game, the Patriots had scored on their opening drive in each of the season’s first eight games, totaling five touchdowns and three field goals.

BRADY IS SOLID INDOORS

Tom Brady improved to 9-0 record as a starter in regular-season games played indoors. He is also 2-1 in the playoffs in such games, with his only loss coming in last season’s AFC Championship Game.

TOM BRADY’S RECORD AS A STARTER IN INDOOR GAMES
Regular Season (9-0)

10/21/01…........ at Indianapolis…..................... W…............ 38-17

11/04/01…........ at Atlanta…........................... W…............ 24-10

11/28/02…........ at Detroit…............................ W…............ 20-12

11/23/03…........ at Houston….......................... W…............ 23-20 OT

11/30/03…........ at Indianapolis…..................... W…............ 38-34

11/07/04…........ at St. Louis….......................... W…............ 40-22

10/09/05…........ at Atlanta…........................... W…............ 31-28

10/30/06…........ at Minnesota…....................... W…............ 31-7

11/04/07….......... at Indianapolis…..................... W…............ 24-20

Playoffs (2-1)

02/03/02…........ $  St. Louis….......................... W…............ 20-17

02/01/04…........ *  Carolina….......................... W…............ 32-29

01/21/07…........ at Indianapolis…...................... L…............ 34-38

$-Super Bowl XXXVI at New Orleans *-Super Bowl XXXVIII at Houston