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Today In Patriots History July 10: Sea Bass turns the big 4-0

Fun historical team facts.
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Today in Patriots History
Sea Bass


Happy 40th birthday to Sebastian Vollmer
Born July 10, 1984 in Dusseldorf, Germany
Patriot OT, 2009-2016; uniform #76
Pats 2nd round (58th overall) selection of the 2009 draft, from Houston

-> 88 regular season games played, with 80 starts
-> 10 playoff games, all as a starter
-> two Super Bowl rings (SB49, SB51)
-> 2nd team All Pro, 2010










May 16, 2017:
Sebastian Vollmer spent seven years playing tackle for the New England Patriots. When Vollmer was on the team, the Patriots listed him at 6-foot-8 and 320 pounds.​

Vollmer dealt with various injuries throughout the 2016 offseason, and toward the end of training camp, the Patriots placed him on the physically unable to perform list. That move mandated that he miss the first six games of the season, but the seriousness of his hip and shoulder issues wound up keeping him out for the entire season anyway. Vollmer was then released in March.​

He surfaced again on Tuesday for an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio, and well, he's down from 320 pounds to 245 pounds. Check it:​



That's Vollmer in the middle, in the light blue button-down shirt with the red drink in front of him. (That's Jimmy Clausen to his right and Matt Forte to his left.) How Vollmer looks here is a far cry from this guy:​


Apart from the thickness of the beard, Vollmer is obviously noticeably thinner in the face and chest. It's not uncommon for NFL linemen to drop weight after finishing their playing days, but Vollmer's transformation in less than a year is pretty stunning, especially considering he was on the roster as recently as last August and it seemed like the Pats expected him to play before his injuries became too much to deal with.​



March 18, 2019:




July 21, 2018:
Vollmer, like Ninkovich, has remained in the New England area and is just starting to find his post-football life. He works out first thing each morning, spends lots of time with his wife and young kids, and works with a few charities and local businesses. Vollmer also moonlights as an NFL broadcaster for German-language TV back in his home country.​

“We all played for a long time, assumed a risk to a certain degree, but I can’t worry about it. I can’t worry today what might happen tomorrow in 10, 20, 50 years,” he said. “Yeah, you probably try to stay active. But I think even if you didn’t play, you shouldn’t give up on reading and Sudoku.”​

He carries plenty of pain from his eight NFL seasons — lingering back, shoulder and hip injuries, a broken leg, arthritis. But he is also fit and trim — he lost so much weight right after retirement, 75 pounds, that he has put about 15 back on.​

“Certain things I won’t be able to do and I’m in pain every day, but there’s also a lot of things I can do, so I try to concentrate on the good things, and that’s the way I’m doing it,” he said. Football “worked for me, and I don’t regret it one bit.”​












Tom Brady Tries to Speak German in Sebastian Vollmer's School of German


Tom Brady Learns to Yell in German | Vollmer’s School of German


Sebastian Vollmer's Incredible NFL Journey
 
The Patriots were interested enough in him that they sent Dante Scarnecchia to his pro day. I don't know how it happened, but the Cougars let Scarnecchia basically run Vollmer's pro day.
 
The Patriots were interested enough in him that they sent Dante Scarnecchia to his pro day. I don't know how it happened, but the Cougars let Scarnecchia basically run Vollmer's pro day.
The absence of Dante Scarnecchia is such a vastly underreported and overlooked part of this team's descent. No matter who replaced him, it was never going to be a question about whether or not there would be a drop-off; it was always only a question of how far.
 
Today in Patriots History
David Andrews


Happy 32nd birthday to David Andrews
Born July 10, 1992 in Jones Creek, Georgia
Patriot center, 2015-present; uniform #60
Acquired as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 8, 2015, from Georgia



David Andrews has played in 120 regular season games with 117 starts over eight seasons with the Patriots. He is also played in twelve playoff games, with the Pats going 9-3 in those contests. With the exception of 2019 (when he missed the entire season due to career threatening blood clots in his lungs), Andrews has been a steady performer, anchoring the New England offensive line. In those eight other seasons he has played in 132 out of 143 games, logging 7,636 offensive snaps.

The Patriots signed David to a three year, $9 million contract extension after his second year in the NFL, and in 2021 fans were happy to see that New England avoided a free agent loss by re-signing him to a four year, $19 million contract through the 2024 season. in mid-May the Patriots extended Andrews again with a one-year contract extension that includes $8 million fully guaranteed. Under the new deal Andrews will earn a base value of $12 million over the next two seasons, with a maximum value of $13 million.


2014: On a Georgia Bulldogs team that included Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb and Malcolm Mitchell, David Andrews was team's highest individual award.

Jan 30, 2018:

Jan 23, 2019:

Feb 5, 2019:

March 11, 2019:

March 20, 2020:

March 18, 2021:

March 20, 2021:

May 9, 2024:

David Andrews | Patriots.com















 
Lol, I forgot all about that.

Even though it didn't require much acting, I thought Cam Neely did a decent job in that role.

A thousand times better than Brett Favre in There's Something About Mary.
 
Vollmer was the best RT the Pats have had since I've started watching the Pats in the 90's.
 
Today in Patriots History
Akeem Ayers


Happy 35th birthday to Akeem Ayers
Born July 10, 1989 in Los Angeles
Patriot LB, 2014; uniform #52
Acquired in a trade with Tennessee on October 21, 2014

Prior to week eight of the 2014 season, after Jerod Mayo was placed on injured reserve the Patriots acquired Akeem Ayers and a seventh round pick, in exchange for only a sixth round draft pick. Even though he was a one-year rental, that was an incredibly good deal.

After having been inactive in five out of seven games with the Titans, Ayers played in all remaining nine games for the Pats, with four starts, In that time he had four sacks, 22 total tackles, one interception and one pass defensed. Akeem was on the field for 382 defensive snaps in those nine games with the Patriots, including a high of 74 in a 43-21 victory over Denver. Ayers also played in all three playoff games, earning a ring for the Super Bowl victory over Seattle (including making the tackle on Marshawn Lynch at the one yard line).






Early in 2015 free agency Ayers signed with the Rams; he last played with the Giants late in 2017. The Pats had brought Ayers in for a workout early in the 2017 season, but did not sign him. Akeem Ayers played in 100 NFL games over seven NFL seasons, recording 320 tackles and 15½ sacks.

Check out Ayers' autobiography here: Proving Myself | The Players' Tribune

Oct 21, 2014:

March 12, 2015:

Sept 1, 2015:


Oct 8, 2016:

Jan 6, 2018:

Jan 24, 2015 foreshadowing:


 
Today in Patriots History
Antonio Brown


Happy 36th birthday to Antonio Brown
Born July 10, 1988 in Miami
Patriot WR, 2019; uniform #17
Signed as a free agent on September 20, 2019




For all that has been written about AB, it is easy to overlook the fact that he played just one game for the Patriots. I would have really loved to have seen what the Pats could have accomplished with Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman and Brown for a full 2019 season. At the time the four-time All Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler ranked second among active NFL players with 886 receptions, and third with 11,746 yards receiving. Even though the vast majority of his stats came over just eight seasons and his last good season was six years ago, Brown still ranks 21st in career receptions (976), 25th in receiving yards (12,291), 26th in receiving touchdowns (83) - and third all-time with an average of 84.2 yards receiving per game.















 
Today in Patriots History
Two Super Bowl Rings; Did He Ever Play In The NFL?


Happy 33rd birthday to Caylin Hauptmann
Born July 10, 1991 in Los Angeles
Patriot OT, 2014-2015; uniform #68
Signed as a free agent to the practice squad on September 16, 2014

The Patriots signed Hauptmann to the practice squad just after week two in 2014, where he remained for all but one week for the rest of the season. The Pats brought him back to training camp in 2015, but he was released as part of the final roster cuts - ten days after being removed from the NFI list. The previous year he was with Seattle, when the Seahawks crushed Peyton Manning and the Broncos 43-8.

Things get a bit murky here. There had been sites that said Hauptmann played in one game for Seattle, but now others says he dressed for three games but never got on the field. Either way, he owns two super bowl rings with extremely limited playing time, other than on practice squads.

Hauptmann had originally been signed by Cleveland as an undrafted rookie from Florida International in 2013, and began the year on their practice squad before Seattle signed him to their 53-man roster. The Seahawks waived him as part of final roster cuts in 2014, and the Browns claimed him back - but he was immediately released after a failed physical. That is when the Pats signed Hauptmann, eventually releasing him a year later. Hauptmann's last appearance in the NFL was in Tampa's 2016 training camp.





Jan 23, 2014:

March 13, 2015:

 
Today in Patriots History
More July 10 Birthdays


Happy 62nd birthday to Mike Saxon
Born July 10, 1962 in Whittier, CA
Patriot P, 1993; uniform #7
Signed as a free agent on July 26, 1993

The Patriots signed Mike Saxon near the end of the 1993 training camp, after he had spent eight seasons with Dallas. He punted 73 times at an average of 42.4 yards that season for Bill Parcells' 5-11 team. Saxon returned to training camp with the Pats in 1994, but was beat out for the job by rookie fifth round draft pick Pat O'Neill. Saxon played in 172 regular season games and seven playoff games in his 11-year NFL career, averaging 41.7 yards per punt. He also played in seven playoff games, including Dallas' 52-17 victory over Buffalo in Super Bowl 27. In his post-NFL life Mike Saxon runs hos own roofing and construction company in Dallas.

Mike Saxon Roofing & Construction






Sept 14, 1993: Bennie Blades is late on his attempt to block a Mike Saxon punt​




Happy 41st birthday to Marcus Harrison
Born July 10, 1984 in Little Rock
Patriot DT, 2011; uniform #94
Signed as a free agent on October 14, 2011

After Mike Wright was placed on injured reserve in October of 2011, the Patriots signed the former Chicago Bear. He lasted all of 24 hours on the roster, replaced the next day by Sterling Moore. Marcus Harrison was re-signed the following March, but was released at the end of training camp. Harrison played in 37 NFL games from 2008-10 for Chicago, with nine starts.









Happy 36th birthday to Josh Victorian
Born July 10, 1988 in New Orleans
Patriot CB, 2011 practice squad
Signed to the practice squad on September 22, 2011

The Patriots signed and released Josh Victorian to their practice squad five times in 2011. From 2011 to 2015 the corner from La Tech also spent time with the Ravens, Saints, Steelers, Lions and Giants. He appeared in 12 NFL games, primarily with Pittsburgh in 2012.

Prior to joining the LA KISS, Victorian spent four years in the NFL from 2011 to 2014. The Baltimore Ravens signed him as an undrafted free agent in July of 2011. After being released by the Ravens, Victorian was signed to the New England Patriots practice squad. He then spent time on the New Orleans Saints offseason roster. In December of 2012, he was signed to the Pittsburg Steelers active roster. He racked up 10 total tackles in 4 games with the Steelers. In 2013, Victorian appeared in eight games with the Houston Texans.​



#29 Sterling Moore, #32 Devin McCourty and #28 Josh Victorian​




Happy 35th birthday to Chris Greenwood
Born July 10, 1989 in Detroit
Patriot CB, 2015 practice squad
Signed to the practice squad on November 28, 2015

A fifth round draft pick by Detroit in 2012 from D-3 Albion, New England was Greenwood's final stop of his NFL career. He had also been on the practice squad with Detroit and Minnesota, and appeared in three games for the Lions in 2013.





In memory of Dave McCormick
July 10, 1943 - March 17, 1986

An offensive tackle from LSU, McCormick was selected by the Boston Patriots in the first round (7th overall) of the AFL 'Redshirt' Draft. He signed with the 49ers and never played for the Pats.

Unlike today when the draft occurs at the end of April, the NFL and AFL held separate 1965 drafts on Saturday, November 28, 1964, two days after Thanksgiving. The drafts occurred as Army-Navy, Clemson-South Carolina, Notre Dame-USC, Georgia Tech-Georgia, Tennessee-Vanderbilt, and others played rivalry games. The scheduling seems odd today, but it ensured neither league got a jump on signing graduating seniors.​

Another oddity in those years was the future or redshirt drafts. Neither league signed players until they completed their college eligibility, and there was no early entry process. However, both leagues allowed teams to draft players who redshirted and had remaining college eligibility. The NFL included "future" picks as part of the standard draft, so teams could pick a player they could sign the next day or a future player that could not play until the 1966 season.​

The AFL, meanwhile, held a regular draft and a separate redshirt draft, which occurred after its eight teams completed the regular draft.​




One other local New England area football player with a great story that was born on this date:

- Mark Roopenian, 66 (July 10, 1958); grew up in Watertown and then played a different position (TE, C, ILB and DT) in each of his four years at Boston College. As an undrafted rookie in 1982 he improbably impressed the Bills' coaches to land a roster spot - helped out in part by standing toe to toe and holding his own in one-on-one drills against the infamous Conrad Dobler. Roopenian played nose tackle, some defensive end and special teams for Buffalo.

Unfortunately on the opening kickoff of the third game of the '83 season he suffered a severe neck injury which ended his pro football playing days. In his post-football life Roopenian has had a very successful business career, directing the leasing, marketing and asset management of buildings such as the John Hancock Tower and International Place.

Mark Roopenian | LinkedIn



From the way-back machine:
- Harry Wynne (1920-1989); end and defensive end played a couple years of pro football. In 1944 he had ten receptions for 205 yards with the Boston Yanks, third most on the club that year.


Some other pro football players who were born on July 10:
- Roger Craig, 64 (7/10/60); four-time Pro Bowl running back won three rings with the Niners. He led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988, and in receptions with 92 in 1985.

- Darryl Talley, 64 (7/10/60); two-time Pro Bowl OLB played in 216 NFL games, mostly with Buffalo. He had 38½ career sacks and also played in 18 playoff games, but is now another victim of health issues many former players face.

- Cameron Jordan, 35 (7/10/89); DE has played in 209 games for the Saints since 2011, with 8 Pro Bowls on his résumé.

- Joel Hilgenberg, 62 (7/10/62); center for the Saints played in 142 games from 1984 to 1993, making him the slacker at family reunions: brother Jay played in 188 games, and uncle Wally played in 199.

- Brent Alexander, 53 (7/10/71); safety played in 192 NFL games from 1994 to 2005, and once had a streak of 133 consecutive starts.

- Toni Fritsch (1945-2005); was a soccer player in Austria before joining the NFL and leading the league in field goal percentage three times with the Houston Oilers.

- Larry Hand, 84 (7/10/40); 10th round draft pick overachieved, playing in 164 games at DE for the Lions from 1965 to 1977.

- Trent Richardson, 34 (7/10/90); 3rd overall pick of the 2012 draft burst on the scene with 1,317 yards from scrimmage and 12 TD as a rookie - but only lasted in the NFL for two more seasons.

- Bill Gramatica, 43 (7/10/78); Martin's younger brother is most well known for an over the top celebration gone bad, following a successful first quarter field goal attempt.

 
Today in Patriots History
Training Camp at Bryant College



July 10, 1976: the first day the Pats ever trained at Bryant College (1976-2002)

Looking Back at Bryant College | Patriots.com
















July 10, 2009:
The New England Patriots continued to reshape their cornerback position on Friday, reaching a four-year agreement with second-round draft pick Darius Butler of Connecticut.​

Regarded by many as the top coverage defender in the draft pool, Butler inexplicably slipped to the second round, where the Patriots gladly stopped his free fall. As a rookie, Butler should compete for playing time in nickel situations, and could contribute on special teams, likely as a kickoff return man.​

New England finished 12th against the pass in 2008, but surrendered 27 touchdown passes, the second most in the league. The club has made revamping the cornerback position a priority in the offseason. During the draft, the Patriots traded starter Ellis Hobbs to the Eagles. The year before, starter Asante Samuel departed to the Eagles as a free agent.​

The Patriots signed veterans Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden as free agents in the offseason, and that pair is likely to start. The club is also counting on young veterans such as Terrence Wheatley, Jonathan Wilhite, and Mike Richardson. Butler should fit well with that group.​

A four-year starter in college and a captain for two seasons, Butler posted 108 tackles, 9½ tackles for loss, 14 interceptions and 26 passes defensed at Connecticut. And that includes not intercepting a pass his senior season, when opponents avoided throwing at him. Unofficially, Butler surrendered no passing touchdowns in 2008.​


July 10, 2007
Patriots re-sign unrestricted free agent Troy Brown to a one-year contract. 2007 would be his 15th and final season playing for the New England Patriots.


July 10, 2003
Former Jackson State wr T.C. Taylor is waived.


July 10, 1997:
Pats re-sign two ERFAs, Chad Eaton and [/b]Rupert Grant[/b].


July 10, 1995:
New England signs sixth round draft pick Dino Philyaw, a RB from Oregon.


July 10, 1987:
Patriots re-sign free agent Rich Camarillo. From 1981-87 he ranked in the top ten in yards per punt five times for the Pats, and was long considered to be the best punter in the history of the franchise.


July 10, 1972:
New England re-signs five players: kicker Charlie Gogolak, WR Eric Crabtree, OL Mike Montler, WR Reggie Rucker and TE Roland Moss.


July 10, 1971:
- Patriots claim G Gary Roberts off waivers from Atlanta; he had played 11 games with six starts for the Falcons in 1970.

- Pats sign Jerry Bilfiol and G **** Swatland. The Stamford CT native was waived-injured in August.
 
The absence of Dante Scarnecchia is such a vastly underreported and overlooked part of this team's descent. No matter who replaced him, it was never going to be a question about whether or not there would be a drop-off; it was always only a question of how far.
It seemed like whatever position group he was with did better.
 
A damn sight better than Nicky OxyKaczur that’s for sure.
As Jim Nance would say “Cashure”! How did he not know how to pronounce his name correctly? He also called Wilfork “Wilferk”.
 
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