Today In Patriots History Feb 17: Happy Birthday to Stanley Morgan, Sony Michel, Bryan Cox

Happy 71st birthday to Stanley Morgan
Born February 17, 1955 in Easley, South Carolina
Patriot WR, 1977-1989; uniform #86
Pats 1st round (25th overall) selection of the 1977 draft, from Tennessee
Pats résumé: Patriots Hall of Fame, 2007





Stanley Morgan is a two-time All Pro and four-time Pro Bowl receiver, despite playing on extremely run-oriented offenses. He led the NFL in touchdown receptions in 1979, and in yards per reception in three consecutive seasons (1979-81) - with an astounding 22.8, 22.0 and 23.4 yards per catch. His 19.2 career yards per catch ranks as 10th best in NFL history. In 1986 Morgan set what was then a franchise record with 1,491 yards receiving, playing an integral part on the first Patriot team to make it to the Super Bowl.

In 1981 Morgan broke his own franchise single game record with 182 yards receiving against the Dolphins; that milestone would last for 17 years until rules and penalties enhanced the passing game immensely.

Despite the NFL's thumb on the scale that makes comparing stats from different decades difficult, to this day Stanley Morgan still holds the Patriots career record for receiving yards (10,352), games with 100+ yards receiving (38; ten more than #2's Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski) and yards from scrimmage (10,843). When he departed Foxborough after the 1989 season he also held franchise records for receptions (534; now 4th), receiving touchdowns (67, now 2nd); points by a non-kicker (408, now 2nd), all-purpose yards (11,468, now 2nd).


There are two mysteries in regards to Stanley Morgan's legacy.
First, why did it take the Patriots eight years to induct him into the team's Hall of Fame?
And secondly, why is he not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?




On August 27, 2007 Stanley Morgan was finally inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Despite playing on run-heavy teams in the pre-Bill Polian 'let's change the rules to favor Peyton' Competition Committee, Morgan had nearly 2,500 more career receiving yards than any other player in franchise history.






Nov 9, 2007:









Good article and Q&A with Stanley Morgan here (though some of those records have been broken since it was written):
Dec 23, 2005 - Patriots.com


June 14, 2018:


2000:


2016:





Below is an old full game, from 1985. Patriots only threw the ball 15 times!
How Stanley Morgan ended up with 557 receptions for 10,716 yards and 72 touchdowns with that kind of game plan and offensive strategy is amazing.





March 28, 2023:


July 27, 2023:


26 minute interview:

There are more than 20 pages in the 2025 Patriots media guide that have Stanley Morgan's name on it, and that doesn't include games with box scores or season-ending team stats.

Here are a few of those pages; on the last one, Patriots Individual Records - Receiving, Stanley Morgan's name is on the all-time franchise leader board 14 times.

Can you imagine what it would have been like had Tom Brady been Stanley Morgan's quarterback, rather than Steve Grogan, Matt Cavanaugh, Tom Owen, Tony Eason, Tom Ramsey, Doug Flutie and Marc Wilson?

Thank you very much for putting this together. One of my favorite Patriots and likely why I have become a deranged Patriot fan, together with a few others.

Morgan was unbelievably good. He would be All-Pro in the NFL today. He had the unfortunate experience of playijng in the NFL during years in which future Hall of Famers like Steve Largent, Lynn Swann, Stallworth, James Lofton, Art Monk, and Jerry Rice made All-Pro year after year. Stanley only got to be first team All-Pro among all these other HOFers 3x. And then when you add other guys who made the HOF from that era like Wes Chandler, Harold Carmichael, Cliff Branch and Drew Pearson, things look mighty funky that Morgan isn't in there. He clears a lot of these guys.

It's a head scratcher. Stanley definitely deserves it

Happy Birthday Stanley ... one of the first "player posters" i tried making...

One of the biggest NFL HoF snubs... by the primary committee and the senior committee...

It's a disgrace that the fraudulent HoF doesn't have him in it.

Happy 31st birthday to Sony Michel
Born February 17, 1995 in Hollywood, Florida; hometwon Plantation FL
Patriot RB, 2018-2020; uniform #26
Pats 1st round (31st overall) selection of the 2018 draft, from Georgia
Pats résumé: three seasons, 38 games, 15 TD; four postseason games; Super Bowl 53 champion


Sony Michel finished his college career third on Georgia’s all-time rushing list with 3,638 yards, having passed both Garrison Hearst and Todd Gurley on the Bulldogs leader board, and finishing with eleven 100-yard games and 33 touchdowns. Michel was the third running back selected in the 2018 draft, after Penn State's Saquon Barkley (#2, Giants), San Diego State's Rashaad Penny (#27, Seattle) and before second rounders Georgia's Nick Chubb (#35, Cleveland), USC's Ronald Jones (#38, Tampa), Auburn's Kerryon Johnson (#43, Detroit) and LSU's Derrius Guice (#59, Washington).




As a rookie Sony started eight of the 13 games he appeared in (missing three games due to injury), and finished his rookie seaon with 931 yards rushing with six touchdowns and a healthy 4.5 yards per carry. Michel had a career-high 133-yards rushing (and career-high 145 yards from scrimmage) in a week twelve 27-13 win at the Jets, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. He then started two of three playoff games and rushed for 336 yards on 71 carries, adding six rushing touchdowns, including the lone score on a 2-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to give the Patriots the lead in the Super Bowl LIII victory versus the Rams. His six postseason rushing touchdowns set an NFL record for the most rushing touchdowns by a rookie in a single postseason, and is second only to Terrell Davis (8) for the most rushing touchdowns overall in a single postseason. During the regular season Michel rushed for over 100 yards four times, and in the postseason he hit the century mark twice, with 129 yards against the Chargers in the AFCDG, and 113 yards at KC in the AFCCG.




Michel followed that up with 1,006 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in 2019, highlighted by three touchdowns in a 33-0 victory over the Jets on October 21. In week three of the 2020 season Michel broke the 100-yard mark for the fifth time in his career, with 117 yards on nine carries in a win at Las Vegas. In so doing he became only the third player in franchise history to rush for over a hundred yards in a game while also averaging at least 13 yards per carry.




From that pinnacle things went south quickly though, with Michel being placed on IR with a quad injury on October 5. Damien Harris had established himself as the lead back by the time Michel was activated off IR on November 21, and his playing time was limited to snaps provided to give Harris a breather. Michel finished the year with 449 yards rushing and two touchdowns.




In 2021 the Patriots drafted Rhamondre Stevenson in the fourth round, and encouraged by his progress, traded Michel to the Rams on August 25 for a 2022 sixth (Chasen Hines) and 2023 fourth (Jake Andrews). Michel gained 973 yards from scrimmage and scored five touchdowns as the Rams won the super bowl in 2021, but his pro football career sputtered after that. Michel retired on July 29, 2023 after telling Rams head coach Sean McVay that his 'body was telling him it was time to retire'.

Happy 58th birthday to Bryan Cox
Born February 17, 1968 in East St Louis, Missouri
Patriot LB, 2001; uniform #0 (preseason), #51
Signed as a veteran free agent on July 31, 2001
Pats résumé: one season, 11 games (7 starts); one well-deserved championship ring



Bryan Cox was that player that you hated when he was on another team, and loved if he was on your team. Coming off a 5-11 season, Bill Belichick hit it out of the park with his veteran free agency additions in 2001. In the first game after Mo Lewis hit Drew Bledsoe - Tom Brady's first NFL start - Bryan Cox made a statement hit on Jerome Pathon, absolutely destroying the Colts WR. Any notion that the 2001 New England Patriots had reverted to being patsies ended right then and there. It was a catalyst that fired the team up, leading to the famous super bowl run. The play visibly energized the Patriots, who went on to upset the Colts that day by the score of 44-13 – and the rest is history.

Cox was a 33-year old veteran in his 11th NFL season, close to the end of his career. That one play altered the demeanor of this team that many at that point in time expected to finish in the bottom-five or worse, possibly a three-win team. Cox was brought in to be a leader on defense and he did just that - not just for one play or one game, but for the entire season and for years to come. That one single play changed the attitude of the team, from being the hunted to being the hunters. I realize that sounds like a load of over-the-top hyperbole, but that one play changed the season, and that one season altered the course of this franchise.





Bob George from February 8, 2002:
This is not about Mo Lewis. Or Drew Bledsoe.

Say what you want about the near-fatal blow that turned into the genesis of Tom Brady’s NFL career. But there was another turning point to the 2001 Patriot season that involved a linebacker hit, and it may have had more of an impact on the team than Lewis’ clobbering of Bledsoe late in the Week 2 loss to the Jets, 10-3.

The Patriots staggered into their Week 3 match with Indianapolis at home. They were 0-2, listless, downtrodden and as forlorn as Noah looking for a unicorn in the famous Irish Rovers song. Meanwhile, the Colts opened the season with huge wins over the Jets and Buffalo. The Colts figured to munch out on the beleaguered Patriot defense, and Bill Belichick’s career Patriot coaching mark stood at a putrid 5-13.

But on the game’s second offensive play, something very special happened. From out of the blue came a wake up call sent by someone who for years was a target of Patriot boo-birds, an extremely unpopular player in his career as a Dolphin, a Bear and a Jet.


Jerome Pathon lined up split out to the left. He ran a quick slant towards the middle of the field, and caught a quick strike from Peyton Manning. A split second later, a thundering boom was heard, and Pathon was sent crashing to the ground faster than if an anvil had just fallen on his head.

Bryan Cox met Pathon just after he had caught the ball, and leveled the Colt receiver with a jarring blow that changed that whole game, and the whole Patriot season. In Super Bowl XXXVI, St. Louis receivers were clobbered the entire game by the exotic dime packages designed by Belichick. Each and every hit applied to a Ram receiver traces its lineage back to that hit from Cox on Pathon. If Lewis’ hit on Bledsoe changed the season for the Patriots, Cox’s hit on Pathon defined it.


From that moment on, the Patriots became a physical team. Cox would eventually go down to an ankle injury courtesy of Dan Neil of Denver, but the crew he left behind at the linebacker position more than made up for his loss with solid play in 2001. This crew was so good that Ted Johnson was relegated to a backup role, and the group made Andy Katzenmoyer totally forgettable.

Once Tedi Bruschi established himself as a force at middle linebacker, Johnson could no longer reclaim his job. If the Patriots had stayed with a base 3-4 defense for most of the season, Johnson might have seen more playing time. But the 4-3 was less susceptible to yielding lots of rushing yardage, so Johnson sat while Bruschi enjoyed a breakout campaign.

Bruschi, along with Cox, symbolized the intensity on defense for the Patriots. Aside from being an incredibly intelligent player, Bruschi quickly gained a reputation for being a hard hitter despite his smallish size for his position. After having played most of his career as a situational outside linebacker, Bruschi became more of a force in run stoppage and situational pass rush downs.







From the the February 4, 2002 issue of ESPN The Magazine:
ESPN The Magazine: Rebel with a cause












In a bit of trivia uniform for you, to the best of my knowledge Bryan Cox is one of only two players to wear the number zero on the field for the Patriots. When he arrived in 2001, Cox wanted the jersey number that he wore for his entire NFL career, #51. However, that was already taken by another new veteran: Mike Vrabel. As a result Cox wore #0 in training camp and preseason. When Ron Holmberg was let go as part of final roster cuts on September 2, Vrabel took Holmberg's #50 which allowed Cox to take #51.

In memory of Ron Meyer, who would have turned 85 today
Born February 17, 1941 in Westerville, Ohio
Died December 5, 2017 at the age of 76 in Austin, Texas
Patriot head coach, 1982-1984
Hired as the 8th head coach in team history on Jan 15, 1982
Pats résumé: 2½ seasons, 18-15 (.545) record with one playoff appearance


Prior to the 2025 season, Ron Meyer and Pete Carroll were the only head coaches in the history of the New England Patriots to never have a losing season. In the strike-shortened 1982 season the Pats went 5-4, and made it to the expanded playoffs. The following year New England finished 8-8, second place in the AFC East. Then in 1983 the Pats were 5-3 when Meyer was fired after a power struggle, with the front office ticked off that they did not inform them or consult with them before firing DC Rod Rust - who GM Patrick Sullivan immediately rehired, under new head coach Raymond Berry. Meyer was hired to replace Ron Erhardt, who had gone 2-14 in 1981, and was named AFC Coach of the Year for the quick turnaround.

Ron Meyer has some unique tidbits as part of his legacy. He was the head coach who turned SMU into a football powerhouse – and was also the reason the program received the NCAA death penalty for recruiting violations. Meyer was the head coach for the Snow Plow Game, when parolee Mark Henderson nearly caused Don Shula to have a stroke. As awesome as that maneuver was for fans of the Patriots, perhaps his greatest contribution to the franchise was hiring a young coach on his SMU staff by the name of Dante Scarnecchia.

Meyer is one of the few head coaches in NFL history to be fired in midseason with a winning record. That happened after he fired his defensive coordinator following a 44-24 loss without telling his boss. It was the final straw for GM Patrick Sullivan, who was not informed of the decision and heard about it second hand. Previously Sullivan had overruled Meyer on several highly questionable trades he wanted to make, which included getting rid of John Hannah, Julius Adams, Tony Collins, Mosi Tatupu and other key players. A year after Meyer was fired the Patriots won their first AFC championship in the famous Squish the Fish Game.




More on Ron Meyer here, from the Jan 15 entry:

Feb 17, 1960:
Patriots sign 29-year old NFL veteran Harry Jagielski

Harry was originally a 7th round 1954 draft pick by Washington, out of Indiana University. Lou Saban converted him from offensive tackle to defense, starting at left defensive tackle. (Later Mike Holovak did the same thing with Houston Antwine, moving him from guard to defensive tackle.) Jagielski played in 19 games with 18 starts in the first year and a half of the Boston Patriots existence. Harry is one of only two players from Indiana University to appear in a game with the Patriots (LB Donnie Thomas, 3 games in 1976).





Feb 17, 1972:
The Patriots pay a cash dividend of 15 cents per share.

The Pats media guide states this was 'financial history', a first-ever for a sports franchise, but other articles suchas the one below claim that the Pats had paid out a dividend in 1967.





Feb 17, 1993:
Free agent offensive lineman Dean Caliguire signs with the Patriots

The league was just dipping its toes into real free agency, as opposed to Plan B free agency where a team signing a free agent had to compensate the former team for their loss with a draft pick, cash, or another player. As a result teams were only signing jags like Caliguire (who never played for the Pats) as free agents, in order to avoid that compensation until Reggie White sued and won the right to move about freely.




Feb 17, 2007:
Patriots team photographer **** Raphael passes away at the age of 68







Feb 17, 2009:
Special Teams standout Kelley Washington and backup guard Billy Yates are released

Washington played in 24 regular season games and all three postseason games in his two seasons in New England, after four seasons at WR with the Bengals. At the time I thought he would be a good receiver for the Pats, but there was no room for him on offense with all the other 2007 additions. Yates appeared in 22 games with 11 spot starts for the Pats from 2005-2008.






Feb 17, 2010:
George Godsey is hired as an offensive assistant coach

Godsey would be promoted to the Pats tight end coach in 2011-12 before moving on to Houston. he is currently the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech.










Feb 17, 2016:
Patriots release CB Leonard Johnson

Johnson was forced into four games with three starts for the Pats late in 2015 due to injuries. From 2012 to 2018 he played in 83 games with 28 starts.




Feb 17, 2017:
TE coach Brian Daboll departs to become offensive coordinator at Alabama







Leonard Meyers passes away at the age of 38
The CB was a sixth-round pick by the Pats in 2001 and played in 15 games for New England from 2001-02.








Feb 17, 2023:
DL LaBryan Ray is released

An undrafted rookie out of Alabama, Ray spent 2022 on the Pats practice squad and then on IR. He has been with the Carolina Panthers for the last three seasons, appearing in 46 games with ten starts.




Feb 17, 2024:
New head coach Jerod Mayo is officially introduced to the public and press as the franchise's 15th head coach, following his January 12 hire.










Feb 17, 2025:

Happy 39th birthday to Tiquan Underwood
Born February 17, 1987 in New Brunswick, New Jersey
Patriot WR, 2011; uniform #10
Signed as a free agent on August 29, 2011
Pats résumé: one season, six games (zero starts), plus two postseason games

I have four recollections about Tiquan Underwood.

First is that he was cut on the eve of the Super Bowl to make room on the roster for DE/TE Alex Silvestro. This created a manufactured-by-the-media maelstrom, hand-wringing by the talking heads that Bill Belichcik was so cruel. All this over a guy with three receptions that season.

Second was that he was the catalyst for the infamous Bill O'Brien-Tom Brady shouting match, if I recall correctly.



Third was Jerod Mayo selecting him as an assistant WR coach, despite not having a lot of experience, but at the same time having a lot of job-hopping while retaining the same title. (Underwood lasted one year here and was just let go by Dallas.)

Fourth and foremost, his hair:


Back to Tiquan Underwood. He was a 7th round draft pick by Jacksonville out of Rutgers, where he played for Greg Schiano. (Underwood lated coached at Rutgers for Schiano in 2020-21.) The Pats picked him up after being waived late in the Jags 2011 training camp, for bottom of the roster special teams and depth. Underwood averaged 23.4 yards on 24 kickoff returns for Jacksonville in 2010.

The 2011 Patriots had a less than ideal mixture at wide receiver. Three players were on the wrong side of 30 (Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Chad Johnson), while Julian Edelman (four receptions in 2011) and Matthew Slater were strictly special teams players. The Pats worked around that lack of depth by primarily using two-tight end formations (and also waiting too long to throw in the towel on Ochocinco).

Underwood was released by the Pats early in the 2012 off season and reunited with Schiano for two seasons with Tampa Bay, with 52 receptions and six touchdowns. He has been coaching at both college and NFL levels since 2018, primarily as an assistant WR coach.

March 6, 2012, from Patriots.com:

Feb 11, 2024:






In memory of John Lee, who would have turned 73 today
Born February 17, 1953 in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey
Died August 16, 2024 in Red Bank, NJ at the age of 71
Patriot DE, 1981; uniform #66
Claimed off waivers from San Diego on Nov 16, 1981
Pats résumé: one season, four games (four starts)

John Lee started in four games for the Patriots at the end of the forgettable 1981 season. He played in 54 NFL games from 1976-1981, all the rest previously with the Chargers.









Happy 34th birthday to Jake Kumerow
Born Feb 17, 1992 in Chicago
WR, 2017 practice squad
Signed to the practice squad on October 26, 2017
Released November 9, 2017
Kumerow played in 46 games for Green Bay and Buffalo from 2018 to 2022. He comes from a family with strong NFL roots: grandfather Palmer Pyle (G, 61 games, 1960-66); great-uncle Mike Pyle (Bears C, 121 games, 1x Pro Bowl, 1961-69); father Eric Kumerow (Miami DE, 42 games, 1988-90); uncle John Bosa (DE, BC, Miami, 31 games 1987-89); cousin Joey Bosa (DE, 5x Pro Bowl, 122 games, 2016-present) and cousin Nick Bosa (DE, 5x Bowl, 85 games 2019-present).



Happy 31st birthday to Troy Fumagali
Born Feb 17, 1995 in Naperville, Illinois
TE, 2021 offseason / IR
Signed May 27, 2021
Waived/injured Aug 17, 2021; not re-signed
Troy spent 2021 on injured reserve with the Patriots. Between bouncing around the NFL on three team's practice squads from 2018 to 2023, he played in 19 games for Denver in 2019-20.



Happy 75th birthday to Homer May
Born Feb 17, 1951; hometown Lubbock, Texas
TE, 1973 offseason and training camp
Selected in the 11th round (264th overall) of the 1973 draft, from Texas A&M
Homer did not survive roster cuts, and never played in the NFL.






Happy 37th birthday to LeQuan Lewis
Born Feb 17, 1989 in Los Angeles; hometown Lakewood CA
CB, 2013 training camp
Signed as a free agent on Aug 12, 2013
Waived on August 26, 2013
A well traveled man, LeQuan played in NFL games from 2011 to 2014 as a KR/CB for the Cowboys, Bucs and Jets, while also spending time in the offseason with the Titans, Raiders, Bears, Patriots and Cardinals.




Happy 57th birthday to Mark Didio
Born Feb 17, 1969 in Syracuse, New York
UConn
Didio was a four-year letterman for the Huskies from 1988 to 1991. He set school career records in receptions and receiving yards with 239 catches for 3,535 yards. His 3,535 receiving yards were also the fourth-most in NCAA Division I-AA history at the time. He went undrafted and appeared in two NFL games with the Steelers in 1992. After that Mark became a sales rep for medical devices; his son Mark Didio Jr is now a WR at UConn.




In memory of Dutch Forst, 1891-1963
Born Feb 17, 1891
Born and raised in Derby, CT; Providence Steam Roller
One of 22 players named Dutch to play in the NFL back in the 1920-30s, Mr. Forst was a fullback for Providence in the early days of the NFL.

In memory of Jim Brown (1936-2023)
Born Feb 17, 1936; hometown Manhasset, New York
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1971
College Football Hall of Fame, 1995
NFL 50th, 75th, 100th Anniversary Teams
1957 NFL Rookie of the Year
3x NFL MVP
8x First Team All Pro
8x NFL Rushing leader
NFL record 104.3 career rushing yards per game









Happy 57th birthday to Levon Kirkland
Born Feb 17, 1969 in Lamar, South Carolina
Steelers ILB, 1992-2002; 176 games, plus 13 postseason games
NFL All-1990s Team
1x All Pro, 2x Pro Browl




In memory of Charlie Johnson, 1952-2021
Born Feb 17, 1952 in West Columbia, Texas
Eagles/Vikings NT, 1977-1984; 117 games, plus 9 postseason games
2x All Pro, 3x Pro Bowl



Happy 65th birthday to Guy McIntyre
Born Feb 17, 1961 in Thomasville, Georgia
49ers G, 1984-1996; 186 games, plus 22 postseason games
5x pro Bowl, 3x Super Bowl champion




Happy 67th birthday to Neil Lomax
Born Feb 17, 1959 in Portland, Oregon
St Louis/Phoenix Cardinals QB, 1981-88; 108 games, plus one postseason game
2x Pro Bowl, 1987 passing yardage leader, 1982 lowest interception rate leader




Happy 40th birthday to Brett Kern
Born Feb 17, 1986 in Grand Island, New York
Titans punter, 2008-2022; 223 games, plus nine postseason games
1x All Pro, 3x Pro Bowl; NFL best 49.7 yards per punt in 2017



Other Feb 17 NFL birthdays:
Devin White
Frank Sanders
Case Keenum
David Klingler
TJ Duckett
William Floyd
Scott Laidlaw