Annual Patriots' Hall Of Fame Injustice, I Mean Nominations

[Actual Pats Fan]

Tom E. Curran

"...HOWLING will ensue[sp] that someone has to DO SOMETHING about the CEMENTHEADS that ALLOWED this to HAPPEN!!!"

So. Tom's got three guys who rode Brady's coattails, and played with other teams.

Lots of fans agree that there should be a chronology, so heroes of the past do not get left behind.

It just sucks that several times, blatantly worthy and by the way black Pats stars got inducted after they passed away while other less worthy by the way white Pats stars got to enjoy their ceremonies in person.

I know, Fairbanks, Francis and Tatupu aren't black, I was just venting. But Russ is still with us.

"A team Hall of Fame is exactly where the nuance of what Faulk meant to the Patriots in terms of longevity, leadership, culture, selflessness, four-down production, all that Patriot Way claptrap should be celebrated. Without apology."

I love Tedy Bruschi. Worthy first year eligible inductee. 189 games played. All for Patriots. One Pro Bowl.

I equally love Julius Adams. Nominated again yesterday. 206 games played. All for Patriots. One Pro Bowl.

I truly wonder if Ernie Adams is the only one paying attention to this guy. Scar coached him too.

Statistics do not reflect the impact and heart contributed by both players.

One player was able to play on three Super Bowl champions, and then returned from a life threatening stroke to play superbly for several more years; the other had one title stolen, the next season suffered the consequences of terrible ownership, and got hurt and lost for the year in Week One the following year. The next two seasons were historic in the team's ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Five years after that, he helped lead the team finally to the Super Bowl, where the coach started a quarterback with zero chance in a zillion of winning. But the other player still came out of retirement two years later to contribute again.

Julius Adams' mandatory induction is just as blindingly, painfully obvious to me and other Pats fans as Tedy Bruschi's.

 

[Steve102]

The Krafts can easily fix this by allowing more than one per year. Pretty easy. Curran makes that point. Back when they started, no one envisioned this run. Just open it up and get these guys honored they way they all should.

 

[captain stone]

Nobody should get in until Julius Adams gets in.

 

[p8ryts]

It's funny that we are less invested (me included) in guys that left because they wanted to push the money envelope. Seymour, Milloy, Mankins, Welker. I felt the same about Law, one of my favorite Patriots until I returned to the area and started getting involved. I support Julius Adams, Chuck Fairbanks and Russ Francis from the old days.

 

[jah]

You're practically speaking a different language to me but I respect the passion.

 

[signbabybrady]

You're practically speaking a different language to me but I respect the passion.

 

[Dingleberry]

Julius Adams is my pick and has been for years. Loved his interviews showing his pure joy during the 85 SB run. Long overdue.

The first injection of race into the discussion is sad but expected nowadays.

When everything is racist, nothing is racist.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Julius Adams is my pick and has been for years.

At 33, Upton Bell was the NFL's youngest General Manager. One of his first moves with the Patriots was drafting Jim Plunkett with the first overall pick in the 1971 draft.

His second round pick was Julius Adams, a two-time All-conference DL from Texas Southern.

He started as a rookie and was chosen to the UPI All-Rookie team in 1971. He was the Patriots' leading sacker with 7.5 in 1974 and was named as one of the NFL's top defensive linemen by Pro QB Magazine. The NFL only began officially counting sacks in 1982, so his career total is not on record. He played for seven head coaches.

His play on the field was outstanding, and his leadership recognized by teammates and coaches alike.

Julius always conducted himself like a champion. After the promising 1974 season, team injuries led to a struggle as the 1975 team fell to 3-11. However, a Patriot topped the AFC in the NFL arm wrestling competition telecast during halftimes:

1975 NFLPA Arm Wrestling Championship

Just one of the endless examples debunking Patriots denigration is their dominance of the Chargers. Julius' teams went 6-0 against them, with Plunkett over Fouts in '73:

First NFL Game – Chargers v. Patriots (12/2/73)

...and Grogan went 5-0 vs. the vaunted, heralded "Missing Rings" bunch. BTW, Drew Bledsoe went 3-0 vs. SD and Brady famously beat Flutie in '01, before Brees beat Tom in '02 & '05.

Back to Julius, he earned the Jim Lee Hunt Memorial Award, given to the most outstanding Patriot lineman in 1981. In 1982 he blocked an Uwe von Schamann field goal attempt in the Snow Plow Game. My unofficial count of his career sacks would tie him with Willie McGinest for second all time on the team career list, including three sacks of Stabler in the Ben Dreith debacle in 1976. "That was one of the worst-called games I have ever seen in my life," he said afterward.

He is on two Patriots All Decade teams and two Anniversary teams.

Numbers do not do him justice, so here are a few words:

“Julius was a coach’s dream, a teammate’s dream, and an opponent’s worst nightmare. He was like a coach on the field,” recalled Ed Khayat, New England’s defensive line coach that championship season. “And he had the utmost respect of his teammates because he was a leader in every sense of the word.”

“Dad’s favorite mementos were the team pictures, not the individual awards or accolades,” said his son Keith.

“Julius was a high-character guy. I looked up to him,” said Steve Nelson, a Patriots Hall of Famer. “He had been with some Patriots teams that weren’t very good and he was really important in turning the mentality of our team around.”

Nelson said that whether you were a starter or a backup, “he always showed you respect and made you feel important.”

Mr. Adams “never rested on his laurels. He played with passion and was a motivator,” said Andre Tippett, who is now the team’s executive director of community affairs and an inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“He was always trying to outwork the other guys, even toward the end of his career,” Tippett said. “He also had a great feel early in a game for the tendencies of opposing players and for when the ball would be snapped, and he would tip us off.”

Coach Raymond Berry said, “if you were trying to shape the ideal personality and makeup of a teammate, Julius would be the model.”

 

[Dingleberry]

At 33, Upton Bell was the NFL's youngest General Manager. One of his first moves with the Patriots was drafting Jim Plunkett with the first overall pick in the 1971 draft.

His second round pick was Julius Adams, a two-time All-conference DL from Texas Southern.

He started as a rookie and was chosen to the UPI All-Rookie team in 1971. He was the Patriots' leading sacker with 7.5 in 1974 and was named as one of the NFL's top defensive linemen by Pro QB Magazine. The NFL only began officially counting sacks in 1982, so his career total is not on record. He played for seven head coaches.

His play on the field was outstanding, and his leadership recognized by teammates and coaches alike.

Julius always conducted himself like a champion. After the promising 1974 season, team injuries led to a struggle as the 1975 team fell to 3-11. However, a Patriot topped the AFC in the NFL arm wrestling competition telecast during halftimes:

1975 NFLPA Arm Wrestling Championship

Just one of the endless examples debunking Patriots denigration is their dominance of the Chargers. Julius' teams went 6-0 against them, with Plunkett over Fouts in '73:

First NFL Game – Chargers v. Patriots (12/2/73)

...and Grogan went 5-0 vs. the vaunted, heralded "Missing Rings" bunch. BTW, Drew Bledsoe went 3-0 vs. SD and Brady famously beat Flutie in '01, before Brees beat Tom in '02 & '05.

Back to Julius, he earned the Jim Lee Hunt Memorial Award, given to the most outstanding Patriot lineman in 1981. In 1982 he blocked an Uwe von Schamann field goal attempt in the Snow Plow Game. My unofficial count of his career sacks would tie him with Willie McGinest for second all time on the team career list, including three sacks of Stabler in the Ben Dreith debacle in 1976. "That was one of the worst-called games I have ever seen in my life," he said afterward.

He is on two Patriots All Decade teams and two Anniversary teams.

Numbers do not do him justice, so here are a few words:

“Julius was a coach’s dream, a teammate’s dream, and an opponent’s worst nightmare. He was like a coach on the field,” recalled Ed Khayat, New England’s defensive line coach that championship season. “And he had the utmost respect of his teammates because he was a leader in every sense of the word.”

“Dad’s favorite mementos were the team pictures, not the individual awards or accolades,” said his son Keith.

“Julius was a high-character guy. I looked up to him,” said Steve Nelson, a Patriots Hall of Famer. “He had been with some Patriots teams that weren’t very good and he was really important in turning the mentality of our team around.”

Nelson said that whether you were a starter or a backup, “he always showed you respect and made you feel important.”

Mr. Adams “never rested on his laurels. He played with passion and was a motivator,” said Andre Tippett, who is now the team’s executive director of community affairs and an inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“He was always trying to outwork the other guys, even toward the end of his career,” Tippett said. “He also had a great feel early in a game for the tendencies of opposing players and for when the ball would be snapped, and he would tip us off.”

Coach Raymond Berry said, “if you were trying to shape the ideal personality and makeup of a teammate, Julius would be the model.”

Loved reading all of that about one of my childhood favorites!

 

[1960Pats]

Loved reading all of that about one of my childhood favorites!

He's got some great memories. He knows his logos as well.

I never liked HOF voting and nothing has changed.

 

[1960Pats]

Nobody should get in until Julius Adams gets in.

As justified as that may be it's that kind of thinking that leads to the other side of the coin. If Joe Namath is in then Eli should be too.

 

[primetime]

As justified as that may be it's that kind of thinking that leads to the other side of the coin. If Joe Namath is in then Eli should be too.

I don't think this is anything like what Captain Stone was saying.

Julius Adams should have been in a long time ago. It's disappointing, as Actual Pats Fans alludes to, that we're only seriously discussing his candidacy over a host of younger and more recent players after he died. There will be plenty of opportunities for Vrabel or Seymour to get in.

 

[patfanken]

.There is a clip that I remember where Russ Francis is visiting the Pats during preseason, and Bill gathers the team around him and introduces him to the team and was MORE than laudatory in his praise of him. That clip alone should be enough to get him in.

BTW- I can't agree more about adding Fairbanks and Adams. I can't disagree more than having a .500 record turncoat HC being nominated again. Mosi is an interesting choice as a Faulk like player who was good but not great and represented the Patriot Way long before there was a Patriot Way. He also gets points as a guy who stayed in the area after his career and was a great representative of the team for many years.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

.There is a clip that I remember where Russ Francis is visiting the Pats during preseason, and Bill gathers the team around him and introduces him to the team and was MORE than laudatory in his praise of him. That clip alone should be enough to get him in.

Friday, Aug 06, 2004 10:21 AM

Q: Was the Russ Francis visit planned?

BB: No, I didn't know he was going to be here. I guess he had some other things to do in the area and he stopped by. He has been by a couple of times before, but not in training camp. He told me it was the first time he had been at training camp since he was at training camp as a player.

Q: Did he talk to the team at all?

BB: Yeah. He had a chance to say hello to the team. A lot of guys came up to him and introduced themselves to him and that kind of thing. It was good. It looks like he could still play. He is pretty impressive. He was pretty good and he still looks pretty good. He kind of reminds me of Jim Brown. You could still put him in there and throw him the ball.

Mosi is an interesting choice as a Faulk like player who was good but not great and represented the Patriot Way long before there was a Patriot Way. He also gets points as a guy who stayed in the area after his career and was a great representative of the team for many years.

Larry Izzo went undrafted in the 1996 NFL Draft and was later signed by the Miami Dolphins as a free agent in April 1996. He first came to local notoriety based on a sound byte that circulated during the pre-season of Izzo's rookie year, where Miami coach Jimmy Johnson told the team that only two players were guaranteed to make the team: one was Dan Marino and the other the then-unknown Izzo. He spent most of his time on special teams, and was rewarded with his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 2000.

His contribution to the Patriots after that is legendary among us fans. I still think that off season after 2000 is one of the best, ever, anywhere for anyone and directly led to our success the next season.

Another renowned ST guy is Steve Tasker, who was a flashy, Welker/Edelman type.

Mosi Tatupu, as far as I know, defined the role of special teams specialist. Again, us fans know that he brought the heat every play, every game.

It is no coincidence he made the hit of the game at the Coliseum to force the winning touchdown against the Raiders in the '85 playoffs.

And when it snowed, well, he was a monster. Are there any statistics on rushing in the snow?

Mosi Tatupu was one of a kind

Mosi Tatupu, Pro Bowl Special-Teams Player for Patriots, Dies at 54

Shady McCoy is pretty good.

LeSean McCoy's best snow-game moments in his career