Two Patriots win monthly awards
Posted on October 30, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized
Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month, and kicker Stephen Gostkowski was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month, the league announced today.
- Mayo, a first-round selection (No. 10 overall) from Tennessee, led the team with 24 tackles in the month as the Patriots posted a 3-1 (.750) record in October. The first linebacker selected by the Patriots in the first-round in the NFL Draft under head coach Bill Belichick (2000-present), Mayo has started all seven games at inside linebacker this season. The rookie leads the team with 55 tackles and has also added one fumble recovery. Mayo posted his best performance of the month in his first appearance on Monday Night Football against Denver (10/20), registering 11 tackles.
- Mayo is the first Patriots player to earn Rookie of the Month honors since wide receiver Deion Branch (Offense) in September of 2002, and he is the first New England player to win Defensive Rookie of the Month since the league started the award in 1996.
- Gostkowski has made 9 of 10 field goals (90.0 percent) in the month of October and has totaled 38 points to lead the Patriots in scoring. In 2008, Gostkowski has made 16 of 17 field goals (94.1 percent), including a perfect 10-for-10 from under 40 yards. In 2 games this month (at San Francisco on 10/5; against St. Louis on 10/26), Gostkowski made all three field goal attempts as the Patriots won both games by fewer than 10 points. The Mississippi native has made 23 of his past 24 field goal attempts dating back to last season. His career field goal accuracy rate of 85.1 percent (57 of 67) is the best in Patriots history.
- In his third year from Memphis, this is Gostkowski’s first Player of the Month Award. Gostkowski joins Adam Vinatieri as the only two Patriot kickers to win Special Teams Player of the Month.
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