All-time Favorite Patriots Team

ivanvamp · Mar 5, 2013

Let's talk about our favorite players, shall we? Not necessarily the *best*, but rather, our favorites. Let's do it based on filling out a starting team - offense, defense, special teamers (punter, kicker, returner). Here's mine (I go back as a fan to 1976, so I can't really get into guys like Nance or Cappelletti):

QB - Tom Brady (liked Bledsoe, loved Grogan, but come on)
RB - Most Tatupu (fan favorite for sure)
RB - Curtis Martin (even though he went to the hated Jets...loved him here)
WR - Troy Brown (my favorite Pats' WR ever)
WR - Wes Welker (tough one over Stanley Morgan)
TE - Rob Gronkowski (another tough one over Russ Francis and Ben Coates)
OT - Brian Holloway (liked that '85 offensive line until the Super Bowl)
OG - John Hannah (the best)
C - Pete Brock (loved watching him play)
OG - Stephen Neal (absolute mauler)
OT - Bruce Armstrong (very good player)

DE - Willie McGinest (made a ton of big plays)
DT - Richard Seymour (loved his nastiness)
DT - Vince Wilfork (one of my all-time favorite Pats)
DE - Julius Adams (always liked him...tough call over Garin Veris)
OLB - Andre Tippett (my favorite LB in Pats' history)
ILB - Steve Nelson (consummate professional)
ILB - Tedy Bruschi (2nd favorite LB in Pats' history)
OLB - Don Blackmon (lots of great LBs to choose from)
CB - Raymond Clayborn (great, great player)
CB - Ty Law (had to leave Mike Haynes off this list...ugh)
S - Rodney Harrison (brought real attitude to the team)
S - Lawyer Milloy (wish he could have stuck around longer)

P - Zoltan Mesko (don't really have a big favorite here)
K - Adam Vinatieri (liked some others, but Vinatieri is the man)
PR - Troy Brown (see comments above)
KR - Ellis Hobbs (always made it interesting)

Spiral · Mar 5, 2013

ivanvamp said:
Let's talk about our favorite players, shall we? Not necessarily the *best*, but rather, our favorites. Let's do it based on filling out a starting team - offense, defense, special teamers (punter, kicker, returner). Here's mine (I go back as a fan to 1976, so I can't really get into guys like Nance or Cappelletti):

QB - Tom Brady (liked Bledsoe, loved Grogan, but come on)
RB - Most Tatupu (fan favorite for sure)
RB - Curtis Martin (even though he went to the hated Jets...loved him here)
WR - Troy Brown (my favorite Pats' WR ever)
WR - Wes Welker (tough one over Stanley Morgan)
TE - Rob Gronkowski (another tough one over Russ Francis and Ben Coates)
OT - Brian Holloway (liked that '85 offensive line until the Super Bowl)
OG - John Hannah (the best)
C - Pete Brock (loved watching him play)
OG - Stephen Neal (absolute mauler)
OT - Bruce Armstrong (very good player)

DE - Willie McGinest (made a ton of big plays)
DT - Richard Seymour (loved his nastiness)
DT - Vince Wilfork (one of my all-time favorite Pats)
DE - Julius Adams (always liked him...tough call over Garin Veris)
OLB - Andre Tippett (my favorite LB in Pats' history)
ILB - Steve Nelson (consummate professional)
ILB - Tedy Bruschi (2nd favorite LB in Pats' history)
OLB - Don Blackmon (lots of great LBs to choose from)
CB - Raymond Clayborn (great, great player)
CB - Ty Law (had to leave Mike Haynes off this list...ugh)
S - Rodney Harrison (brought real attitude to the team)
S - Lawyer Milloy (wish he could have stuck around longer)

P - Zoltan Mesko (don't really have a big favorite here)
K - Adam Vinatieri (liked some others, but Vinatieri is the man)
PR - Troy Brown (see comments above)
KR - Ellis Hobbs (always made it interesting)

I'll make the following substitutions for my list:

Sam Cunningham over Mosi
Stanley Morgan over Troy Brown
Leon Gray or Matt Light over Holloway
Mike Vrabel over Don Blackmon
Mike Haynes over Clayborn
Tim Fox over Milloy
Francis over Gronk (too soon for him)
Gino over Adam
Mack Herron over Ellis Hobbs

DocHoliday · Mar 5, 2013

I'll take this in another direction, because I always wanted to touch on this:

My favorite team as a unit has to be the 2010 Patriots. Between Brady's stunning play, Woodhead's sudden appearance, the lovable BJGE, Branch coming back, and the rag tag presence of Tate and Crumpler made that by far my favorite Patriots team.

They overachieved in classic Patriots fashion. Really was an exciting season, especially 45-3 and that dagger TD against the Bears to close out the half.

jmt57 · Mar 5, 2013

I'll give it a whirl, with a bit of a twist. I'm going to cheat a little bit and include an extra one or two on both offense and defense due to different situations (3-4 or 4-3, 3 WR set, 2 RB, 1 or 2 TE, etc.)

QB -- Tom Brady
FB -- Jim Nance
RB -- Don Calhoun
WR -- Jim Colclough
WR -- Stanley Morgan
WR -- Wes Welker
TE -- Russ Francis
TE -- Ben Coates
LT -- Leon Gray
RT -- Bruce Armstrong
C --- Bill Lenkaitis
LG -- John Hannah
RG -- Stephen Neal

LDE -- Willie McGinest
RDE -- Richard Seymour
LDT -- Vince Wilfork
RDT -- Houston Antwine
LOLB -- Andre Tippett
ROLB -- Mike Vrabel
LILB -- Steve Nelson
RILB -- Tedy Bruschi
LCB -- Ty Law
RCB -- Mike Haynes
SS -- Rodney Harrison
FS -- Tim Fox

K -- Adam Vinatieri
P -- Rich Camarillo
LS -- Lonnie Paxton
KR -- Kevin Faulk
PR -- Mack Herron

Other Special Team Players and Backups, to bring the roster up to a game day size of 46:
Larry Izzo
Larry Whigham
Mosi Tatupu
Bob Gladieux
Troy Brown
Raymond Clayborn
Shelby Jordan
Steve Kiner
Jon Morris
Bob Dee
Steve Grogan
Randy Vataha
Julius Adams
Don Blackmon
Sam Adams
Gino Cappelletti

I'm sure there are a few egregious errors that I overlooked, so apologies in advance for that. And yes, I realize that Cunningham was better than Calhoun and Fryar was better than Vataha - but the request was for favorite players, not simply a listing of who we consider to be the best.

PatsWickedPissah · Mar 5, 2013

Favorites...

QB - Tom Brady
RB - Jim Nance
RB - Kevin Faulk
WR - Troy Brown
WR - Wes Welker
WR - Stanley Morgan
TE - Rob Gronkowski
OT - Brian Holloway
OG - John Hannah
C - Pete Brock
OG - Stephen Neal
OT - Matt Light

(12 man offense because of substitutions/configurations))

DE - Willie McGinest
DT - Richard Seymour
DT - Vince Wilfork
DE - Julius Adams
OLB - Andre Tippett
ILB - Steve Nelson
ILB - Tedy Bruschi
OLB - Mike Vrable
CB - Raymond Clayborn
CB - Mike Haynes
S - Rodney Harrison
S - Tim Fox

(love the 12 man defense)

P - Zoltan Mesko
K - Adam Vinatieri
LS - Lonnie Paxton
PR - Troy Brown
KR - Ellis Hobbs

HC: Bill Belichick

Owner: Robert Kraft

Hate leaving guys like Antwine, Law, etc. off

RobertWeathers · Mar 5, 2013

To not have Robert Weathers as a RB is a travesty of epic proportions.

Kevin · Mar 5, 2013

I'm only 22 so this list is limited.

QB - Tom Brady
RB - Corey Dillon
RB - Patrick Pass
WR - Randy Moss
WR - Deion Branch
TE - Rob Gronkowski
OT - Matt Light
OG - Logan Mankins
C - Damien Woody
OG - Stephen Neal
OT - Sebastian Vollmer

DE - Willie McGinest
DT - Vince Wilfork
DT - Ted Washington
DE - Ty Warren
OLB - Roman Phifer
ILB - Tedy Bruschi
ILB - Brandon Spieks
OLB - Mike Vrabel
CB - Ty Law
CB - Asante Samuel
S - Rodney Harrison
S - Lawyer Milloy

P - Zoltan Mesko
K - Adam Vinatieri
PR - Julian Edelman
KR - Bethel Johnson

BadMoFo · Mar 5, 2013

Kevin said:
I'm only 22 so this list is limited.

QB - Tom Brady
RB - Corey Dillon
RB - Patrick Pass
WR - Randy Moss
WR - Deion Branch
TE - Rob Gronkowski
OT - Matt Light
OG - Logan Mankins
C - Damien Woody
OG - Stephen Neal
OT - Sebastian Vollmer

DE - Willie McGinest
DT - Vince Wilfork
DT - Ted Washington
DE - Ty Warren
OLB - Roman Phifer
ILB - Tedy Bruschi
ILB - Brandon Spieks
OLB - Mike Vrabel
CB - Ty Law
CB - Asante Samuel
S - Rodney Harrison
S - Lawyer Milloy

P - Zoltan Mesko
K - Adam Vinatieri
PR - Julian Edelman
KR - Bethel Johnson

That is probably the first time Patrick Pass has ever made any favorites list.

Brady_to_Moss · Mar 5, 2013

2007 team

Archeryaddict12 · Mar 5, 2013

Brady_to_Moss said:
2007 team

Yep, I think we could see a rebirth of this in the near future. Add a couple of guys on D, keep gronk and ahern healthy and this team can do it.

Brady_to_Moss · Mar 5, 2013

Archeryaddict12 said:
Yep, I think we could see a rebirth of this in the near future. Add a couple of guys on D, keep gronk and ahern healthy and this team can do it.

Nothing beats that FA year. Welker, Thomas, Trade for Moss Stallworth

Wonder how much $$ we had at the start of that season

PatsWickedPissah · Mar 5, 2013

Kevin said:
I'm only 22 so this list is limited.

QB - Tom Brady
RB - Corey Dillon
RB - Patrick Pass
WR - Randy Moss
WR - Deion Branch
TE - Rob Gronkowski
OT - Matt Light
OG - Logan Mankins
C - Damien Woody
OG - Stephen Neal
OT - Sebastian Vollmer

DE - Willie McGinest
DT - Vince Wilfork
DT - Ted Washington
DE - Ty Warren
OLB - Roman Phifer
ILB - Tedy Bruschi
ILB - Brandon Spieks
OLB - Mike Vrabel
CB - Ty Law
CB - Asante Samuel
S - Rodney Harrison
S - Lawyer Milloy

P - Zoltan Mesko
K - Adam Vinatieri
PR - Julian Edelman
KR - Bethel Johnson

Nice job Grasshopper!

My criticisms...

The big one...Faulk instead of Patrick Pass. Unless you're Patrick's nephew of course.

Ellis Hobbes II over Bethel, but I can see your case for Bethel

No love for troy Brown? I'd take him over Deion if forced to choose

And Ted Johnson over Spikes in your 21st century era

Nice picks

Steve102 · Mar 5, 2013

QB - Tom Brady
RB - Corey Dillon: I know his rep, but the 2004 year was monster
RB - Curtis Martin
WR - Stanley Morgan : should be HOF
WR - Randy Moss: so much fun to watch, circa 2007
TE - Gronk: just a smidge over Russ Francis, but Gronk is a lot of fun to watch off season and on the field.
OT - Leon Gray
OG - John Hannah
C - Dr. Bill Lenkaitis: any guy smart enough to be a Dr. deserves to be included
OG - Logan Mankins
OT - Bruce Armstrong

DE - Willie McGinest
DT - Richard Seymour
DT - Vince Wilfork
DE - Julius Adams
OLB - Andre Tippett
ILB - Tedy Bruschi
OLB - Mike Vrabel
CB - Raymond Clayborn
CB - Ty Law: Should be HOF
S - Rodney Harrison
S - Lawyer Milloy: one of my all-time favorite players, played angry.

P - Rich Camarillo: memory serves he was a weapon
K - Adam Vinatieri
PR - Troy Brown
KR - Dave Meggett: non-Ellis Hobbs pick

Following JMT's lead, lets fill out the roster to 46

Steve Nelson
Sam Adams
Matt Light
Sam Cunningham
Steve Grogan
Wes Weklah
Tim Fox
Mike Haynes
Russ Francis
Ted Johnson
Gino Capalletti
Darryl Stingley: just because he needs to be on the list
Vincent Brown
Pete Brock
Dan Connolly: any lineman that runs the ball on a KR primetime is automatically a fan favorite at my house.
Larry Whigham
Larry Izzo
Otis Smith: Wait'll Otis see's us...
Chris Slade
Junior Seau

Coaching Staff:
Bill Belichick, Chuck Fairbanks, Dante Scarnechia, Tuna, Raymond Berry, RAC and Charlie Weis. It's not my job to make them get along. Good luck.

Ownership:
Kraft family. Like there's another choice.

Kevin · Mar 5, 2013

PatsWickedPissah said:
Nice job Grasshopper!

My criticisms...

The big one...Faulk instead of Patrick Pass. Unless you're Patrick's nephew of course.

Ellis Hobbes II over Bethel, but I can see your case for Bethel

No love for troy Brown? I'd take him over Deion if forced to choose

And Ted Johnson over Spikes in your 21st century era

Nice picks

I liked Patrick Pass' body of work as a special teamer. Kevin Faulk, well, I like Faulk a lot, but I really liked Pass and thought he was a rock solid player. Just one of those personal guys that I thought deserved some love. I probably like Faulk more than Pass, but I had to make sure someone mentioned Patrick Pass.

Hobbs vs. Johnson is basically a toss-up. I hated Hobbs as a corner Johnson as a wide receiver...but both were fantastic as kick returners.

Plenty of love for Troy Brown, one of my favorite Patriots ever. But so is Deion Branch. I love Deion Branch for the guy he is off the field just as much as he is on the field. Branch is a truly happy individual, an all around great guy and on the field he was always reliable in the same way Troy Brown was, though he didn't do it as long.

Yup, I obviously caught the end of Ted Johnson's career. Spikes is essentially a clone of him which is why I love him so much.

This is a really cool topic, by the way.

PatsWickedPissah · Mar 5, 2013

Kevin said:
I liked Patrick Pass' body of work as a special teamer. Kevin Faulk, well, I like Faulk a lot, but I really liked Pass and thought he was a rock solid player. Just one of those personal guys that I thought deserved some love. I probably like Faulk more than Pass, but I had to make sure someone mentioned Patrick Pass.

Hobbs vs. Johnson is basically a toss-up. I hated Hobbs as a corner Johnson as a wide receiver...but both were fantastic as kick returners.

Plenty of love for Troy Brown, one of my favorite Patriots ever. But so is Deion Branch. I love Deion Branch for the guy he is off the field just as much as he is on the field. Branch is a truly happy individual, an all around great guy and on the field he was always reliable in the same way Troy Brown was, though he didn't do it as long.

Yup, I obviously caught the end of Ted Johnson's career. Spikes is essentially a clone of him which is why I love him so much.

This is a really cool topic, by the way.

Ever read "Patriots Reign" and the comments about Pass by Weis et. al.?

Say Hi! to uncle Patrick for me!

DocHoliday · Mar 6, 2013

I want to love Spikes so much, but his personality on twitter is so obnoxious

DarrylS · Mar 6, 2013

ivanvamp said:
QB - Tom Brady (liked Bledsoe, loved Grogan, but come on)
RB - Most Tatupu (fan favorite for sure)
RB - Curtis Martin (even though he went to the hated Jets...loved him here)
WR - Troy Brown (my favorite Pats' WR ever)
WR - Wes Welker (tough one over Stanley Morgan)
TE - Rob Gronkowski (another tough one over Russ Francis and Ben Coates)
OT - Brian Holloway (liked that '85 offensive line until the Super Bowl)
OG - John Hannah (the best)
C - Pete Brock (loved watching him play)
OG - Stephen Neal (absolute mauler)
OT - Bruce Armstrong (very good player)

DE - Willie McGinest (made a ton of big plays)
DT - Richard Seymour (loved his nastiness)
DT - Vince Wilfork (one of my all-time favorite Pats)
DE - Julius Adams (always liked him...tough call over Garin Veris)
OLB - Andre Tippett (my favorite LB in Pats' history)
ILB - Steve Nelson (consummate professional)
ILB - Tedy Bruschi (2nd favorite LB in Pats' history)
OLB - Don Blackmon (lots of great LBs to choose from)
CB - Raymond Clayborn (great, great player)
CB - Ty Law (had to leave Mike Haynes off this list...ugh)
S - Rodney Harrison (brought real attitude to the team)
S - Lawyer Milloy (wish he could have stuck around longer)

P - Zoltan Mesko (don't really have a big favorite here)
K - Adam Vinatieri (liked some others, but Vinatieri is the man)
PR - Troy Brown (see comments above)
KR - Ellis Hobbs (always made it interesting)

Replace Tatupu with Sam Cunningham
Troy Brown/Wes Welker or Darryl Stingley and Stanley Morgan
Replace Brock with Koppen
Replace Armstrong with Light
Replace Blackmon with Vrabel
Replace Milloy with Tim Fox

Pewsterbaby · Mar 6, 2013

PatsWickedPissah said:
Favorites...

QB - Tom Brady
RB - Jim Nance
RB - Kevin Faulk
WR - Troy Brown
WR - Wes Welker
WR - Stanley Morgan
TE - Rob Gronkowski
OT - Brian Holloway
OG - John Hannah
C - Pete Brock
OG - Stephen Neal
OT - Matt Light

(12 man offense because of substitutions/configurations))

DE - Willie McGinest
DT - Richard Seymour
DT - Vince Wilfork
DE - Julius Adams
OLB - Andre Tippett
ILB - Steve Nelson
ILB - Tedy Bruschi
OLB - Mike Vrable
CB - Raymond Clayborn
CB - Mike Haynes
S - Rodney Harrison
S - Tim Fox

(love the 12 man defense)

P - Zoltan Mesko
K - Adam Vinatieri
LS - Lonnie Paxton
PR - Troy Brown
KR - Ellis Hobbs

HC: Bill Belichick

Owner: Robert Kraft

Hate leaving guys like Antwine, Law, etc. off

I'm not giving the tight end slot to Gronk. He hasn't played long enough or stayed healthy when it mattered. Until then, both Ben Coates and Russ "All World" Francis are decidedly ranked above him. Francis and Dave Casper revolutionized the position in the 70's and Bledsoe to Coates was freaking money.

ivanvamp · Mar 6, 2013

Pewsterbaby said:
I'm not giving the tight end slot to Gronk. He hasn't played long enough or stayed healthy when it mattered. Until then, both Ben Coates and Russ "All World" Francis are decidedly ranked above him. Francis and Dave Casper revolutionized the position in the 70's and Bledsoe to Coates was freaking money.

You are certainly free to rank them as you see fit - that's the idea. But the premise behind the OP was that this was a list of your *favorite* Patriots at each position, not necessarily the *best* player.

p8ryts · Mar 6, 2013

Spiral said:
I'll make the following substitutions for my list:

Sam Cunningham over Mosi
Stanley Morgan over Troy Brown
Leon Gray or Matt Light over Holloway
Mike Vrabel over Don Blackmon
Mike Haynes over Clayborn
Tim Fox over Milloy
Francis over Gronk (too soon for him)
Gino over Adam
Mack Herron over Ellis Hobbs

I support these with the exception of Nance over Cunningham (I still haven't forgiven him for going out of bonds on a first down run in the Oakland game).
I still haven't forgiven Mike Haynes for going to Oakland, I love Clayborn.
Nick Buonoconti over Nelson or Bruschi

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