OT: Players you forget were Patriots

[maust]

...here are three players who had successful careers elsewhere:

Larry Centers (great career but not in New England long enough to make much impact)
Derrick Burgess (another of BB's but-I-met-him-at-the-Pro-Bowl misjudgements)
Duane Starks (watching him trying to figure out who to cover was like watching a Westerner looking for the right platform in a Japanese train station)
Brian Waters (great player, great signing, but wanted to leave to be with his family)

 

[Bill Lee]

Then there was O.T.I.S.!

Sorry, man, but O. T. I. S. is and will always be unforgettable!

 

[203Pat]

I play immaculate grid everyday so these guys are on my mind way more than they should be lol.

 

[maust]

Adam Seward.

Oh wait.

You rat bahstid!
Well done, I opened this thread with the specific intent of pimpin' my boy Adam

 

[Grogan14]

My all time favorite short timer
Tim Tebow

A man of faith and integrity

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Mike Cloud
JONES GRAY! (Rip @dikembe)

 

[sb1]

My all time favorite short timer

Tim Tebow

Red jacket for Tebow or nah?

 

[brdmaverick]

Still weird that Gordon has a super Bowl ring

and that Terry Glenn got a ring too

 

[FCB02062]

The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, Son of Plumber, had a tryout with the then Boston Patriots but did not make the team. He played at West Texas State.

"I've wined and dined with kings and queens, and I've slept in the alley eating pork and beans."

"You don't know what hard times are, daddy. Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work, they got 4 or 5 kids and can't pay their wages, can't buy their food. Hard times are when the autoworkers are out of work, and they tell 'em to go home."

 

[203Pat]

My all time favorite short timer

Tim Tebow

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Robbie Gould was signed as an UDFA in 2005 but cut in preseason.

....yep? Not sure why you responded to me, but yeah, I remember that. Two decent kickers.

I had a chance to ask Phil Dawson if the fact he wore #4 during his playing career had anything to do with Adam (this was back when the internet was cool and gave us a chance to randomly ask guys questions). And Dawson said, yep, absolutely. Adam had a HUGE influence on his career.

As a related note, around this period, I also got a chance to ask Drew Bledsoe (when he was on the Bills at this point) what the significance of #11 was. He said it was just the number he got assigned in college. He rationalized it as being a tribute to a friend of his from school days who wore #11. So, it became a tribute to his buddy, even though he didn't initially go out of his way for #11.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Mike Cloud
JONES GRAY!

Two one game wonders.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Looking at the 03 roster, JJ Stokes was always someone who stood out to me as a "who the eff is that guy" and then you look at stats and like damn he was decent before he got here

 

[203Pat]

I always have a soft spot for some of the guys Bill brought over in 2000/2001 when he first got here. Guys like Bobby Hamilton, Otis Smith, Terrell Buckley, Marc Edwards, Antowain Smith, David Patten, Mike Compton. Mostly unheralded guys that only some of us nerds would really remember but they were good in their roles and started to build the foundation of what the Patriots would become.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Defensive back, if I recall correctly.

Got the draft day phone call where he was informed of the team's plans, and said GTFO, forcing an immediate trade.

Rich Gannon shares incredible story behind why Patriots traded him Seems to indicate they were gonna try him both at DB and RB?

Most of the other sources I found only included references to trying him at RB. Nothing contemporaneous yet. But I guess a 4th round QB's tale of frustration was hardly newsworthy at the time.

 

[Mike the Brit]

The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, Son of Plumber, had a tryout with the then Boston Patriots but did not make the team.

Not sure I can tell you much about that, but James Ihedigbo, who grew up in Amherst, used to push a supermarket trolley around the campus, collecting cans and bottles from the fraternity parties to get the deposit.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Looking at the 03 roster, JJ Stokes was always someone who stood out to me as a "who the eff is that guy" and then you look at stats and like damn he was decent before he got here

You really didn't know who J.J. Stokes was prior to him going to NE? Lol. He was a big time college WR at UCLA and the 10th overall selection by SF, but was pretty underwhelming there. Terrell Owens emergence quickly kicked him down the totem pole.

 

[Pape]

anyone remember the guy who probably had the worst name ever? this dude must have been hazed ruthlessly because of it...

"Dee Virgin"

lol

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Looking at the 03 roster, JJ Stokes was always someone who stood out to me as a "who the eff is that guy" and then you look at stats and like damn he was decent before he got here

Yeah, he ended up being one of the 'bridge' receivers between Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens in SF.

Drafted in '95, that put him on the team at the same time as a (supposedly) aging Jerry Rice and a developing Terrell Owens. The 1998 49ers receivers room had JJ, Rice (drafted in 1985), and Owens (drafted in 1996). As a first rounder to Owens' 3rd rounder, it was expected that JJ would be #1 with Owens #2 after Rice retired.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Lots of good names listed in the thread.

Robbie Gould stands out because he was cut during camp in 2005 as of course he wasn't going to make the team over Adam V. What a kicker he turned out to be.

Antonio Brown will make this list in time.

Vinny Testeverde is someone I forgot was briefly with the Pats. Sometimes I forget Flutie was back with them as well. I recently watched the "drop kick" game which reminded me.

Robert Edwards is talked about every now and then, but his story was tragic. It's really eerie to think that these events from Parcells throwing fit, to stealing Martin, the late Bledsoe injury in 1998, then Edwards' freak injury had to happen in order for Bill to arrive and draft Tom Brady in 2000. If Edwards never gotten injured, I don't think BB and/or Tom Brady are in NE.