Sunday, September 09, 2007

Pats post Jets notes and Quotes

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

GAME NOTES—PATRIOTS at NEW YORK JETS
Week 1 – September 9, 2007

LONGEST KICKOFF RETURN IN NFL HISTORY

Ellis Hobbs returned the opening kickoff of the second half 108 yards for a touchdown, recording the longest kickoff return in NFL history and tying for the longest play in NFL history. The kickoff return for a touchdown was the second of Hobbs’ career, with his other coming on Dec. 17, 2006 on a 93-yard return against the Houston Texans. Hobbs’ 108-yard kickoff return surpasses the previous NFL record of 106 yards, achieved three times, last by Roy Green of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1979. Hobbs’ play ties two 108-yard missed field goal returns for touchdowns as the longest play in NFL history. Nathan Vasher and Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears returned field goals 108 yards for touchdowns in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

MOSS’S TOTALS

In his Patriots debut, Randy Moss caught nine passes for 183 yards, achieving the third-highest single-game receiving yardage total in Patriots history. Moss’ 183 yards were the most by a Patriots receiver since Terry Glenn’s franchise-record 214 yards at Cleveland on Oct. 3, 1999. His 183 yards also were the third highest yardage total of Moss’s 139-game regular season career, trailing only his 204-yard performance at Chicago on Nov. 14, 1999 and his 190-yard total at Green Bay on Oct. 5, 1998. Both of those performances came while playing for the Minnesota Vikings.

RANDY MOSS’ TOP RECEIVING PERFORMANCES

Yds       Rec       Date             Opponent

204       12         11/14/99         at Chicago

190       5         10/05/98         at Green Bay

183       9         09/09/07     at N.Y. Jets

172       8         09/28/03           San Francisco

171       10         11/19/01           N.Y. Giants

168       7         10/01/00         at Detroit

163       3         11/26/98         at Dallas

158       7         12/09/01           Tennessee

TOP SINGLE-GAME RECEIVING PERFORMANCES/PATRIOTS HISTORY

Player               Yds     Rec     Date           Opponent

Terry Glenn           214     13       10/03/99     at Cleveland

Terry Glenn           193     9       12/06/98     at Pittsburgh

Randy Moss         183   9       09/09/07   at N.Y. Jets

Stanley Morgan       182     5       11/08/81         Miami

Troy Brown           176     16       09/22/02         Kansas City

Stanley Morgan       170     5       11/26/78         Baltimore Colts

MOSS SCORES

Randy Moss scored his first touchdown in a Patriots uniform on a 51-yard reception from Tom Brady in the third quarter, giving the Patriots a 28-7 lead. The touchdown catch was the 102nd of Moss’ career and was his 20th career touchdown reception of 50 yards or longer.

150 FOR BRADY

Tom Brady’s 51-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss in the third quarter was the 150th touchdown toss of his regular season career. He joins Steve Grogan (182) and Drew Bledsoe (166) as the only quarterbacks in Patriots history to total 150 touchdowns.

BIG DAY FOR BRADY

Tom Brady completed 22-of-28 passes (78.6 percent) for 297 yards and three touchdowns, good for a 146.6 passer rating. His passer rating of 146.6 was the third highest of his career, and his completion percentage of 78.6 was the fourth highest of his career.

BRADY’S TOP PASSER RATINGS
Rating   Date           Opp.      W/L     Score

148.3     10/21/01         at IND       W       38-17

147.6     11/03/02         at BUF       W         38-7

146.6     09/09/07     at NYJ     W     38-14

143.9     11/25/01         vs. NO     W       34-17

140.4     10/09/05         at ATL       W       31-28

130.5*    01/23/05         at PIT       W       41-27

*-AFC Championship Game

BRADY’S TOP COMPLETION PERCENTAGES
Pct     Cmp-Att   Opp.      Date         W/L     Score

84.6       22-26     at BUF     11/03/02       W         38-7

81.5       22-27     at ATL     10/09/05       W       31-28

80.0       16-20     at IND     10/21/01       W       38-17

78.6     22-28     at NYJ   09/09/07   W     38-14

76.3       29-38     at BUF     12/11/05       W         35-7

75.6       31-41     at PIT     09/25/05       W       23-20

74.3       26-35     at IND     11/30/03       W       38-34

SEASON STARTS WITH A TOUCHDOWN DRIVE

The Patriots scored a touchdown on their first offensive possession of the season for the first time since 1997. The last time New England reached the end zone on its season-opening possession was on Aug. 31, 1997 against San Diego at Foxboro Stadium. In that game, the Patriots received the opening kickoff and marched 73 yards on seven plays, ending in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Drew Bledsoe to Ben Coates. The last time the Patriots opened the season with a touchdown drive in a game played on the road was in 1989, when New England opened the season with a 93-yard touchdown drive on 16 plays against the Jets ad Giants Stadium, ending in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Tony Eason to Irving Fryar.

STARTING STRONG

The Patriots’ first offensive possession of the season was a 91-yard, 12-play touchdown drive that ended in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Wes Welker, giving the Patriots a 7-0 lead. New England gained seven first downs on the drive and did not face a third down until the final play of the drive, on which Brady found Welker for the score.

BRADY-TO-WELKER

Wes Welker scored his first touchdown in a Patriots uniform on an 11-yard scoring grab from Tom Brady in the first quarter. The scoring catch was Welker’s 100th career reception and the second touchdown catch of his career. He also reached the end zone on a kick return in 2004 with the Miami Dolphins. Welker was acquired by the Patriots from the Dolphins on Match 5, 2007 in exchange for a second-round pick and a seventh-round selection in the 2007 draft.

PATRIOTS DEBUTS

Ten players made their Patriots debuts against the Jets: TE Kyle Brady, P Chris Hanson, DB Brandon Meriweather, S Mel Mitchell, RB Sammy Morris, WR Randy Moss, WR Donte’ Stallworth, LB Adalius Thomas, WR Kelley Washington and WR Wes Welker

VRABEL WITH MULTIPLE SACKS

Linebacker Mike Vrabel totaled 2.5 sacks, marking the second highest single-game sack total of his career and his highest since totaling a career-high 3.0 sacks against Cleveland on Oct. 26, 2003.

BIG BENJAMIN

Benjamin Watson gave the Patriots a 14-7 lead with a 5-yard touchdown reception from Tom Brady with 1:07 remaining in the first half. The scoring grab was the eighth of Watson’s career. Last season, Watson finished second on the team with 49 receptions, the highest reception total by a Patriots tight end since Ben Coates caught 67 passes in 1998.

QUICK HITS

Ø Laurence Maroney recorded an 11-yard run on the Patriots’ first offensive play of the season.

Ø Tom Brady made his 95th consecutive start at quarterback for the Patriots.

Ø Mike Vrabel and Ty Warren combined to sack Chad Pennington for a 9-yard loss on third down in the first quarter, forcing a New York punt on the next play.

Ø Vrabel and Jarvis Green combined to sack Pennington for a 7-yard loss in the second quarter.

RECORD UPDATE

Ø Tom Brady improved to 7-0 as a starter on the road against the Jets.

Ø Brady improved to 22-1 as a starter on artificial turf in the regular season.

Ø Brady improved to 18-2 in the regular season when throwing for three or more touchdowns.

Ø The Patriots improved their all-time record to 24-24 on opening day.

MILESTONE FOR BELICHICK

With the Patriots’ win, Bill Belichick recorded his 125th career regular season victory as a head coach, becoming one of just four active NFL head coaches with 125 or more career wins. He joins Joe Gibbs (162 wins entering today), Mike Holmgren (159 wins entering today) and Mike Shanahan (139 wins entering today).