- Joined
- Aug 13, 2005
- Messages
- 19,240
- Reaction score
- 12,767
With today being 4/20, who goes into the Patriots all-time 420 team?
Nominees include Willie Andrews, Josh Gordon, Bob Gladieux, Tony Collins, Mack Herron, Terry Glenn, LeGarrette Blount, Randy Moss, Kevin Faulk, Brandon Browner, AH, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Spikes, Brian Tyms, Brandon Bolden and Wes Welker.
Now after that last toke, does a player receiving two super bowl rings while never playing in an NFL game blow your mind?
Happy 30th birthday to Tyler Gaffney
Born April 20, 1991 in San Diego
Patriot RB 2014-2017
Uniform #31 ('14), #36 ('15), #35 ('16)
Claimed off waivers on July 28, 2014
Gaffney earned a scholarship to Stanford after scoring 99 touchdowns in high school. He was a very good baseball outfielder as well, and left school for a year to play minor league baseball in the Pirates organization. Despite batting .297 with an on base percentage of .483, Gaffney elected to return to Stanford to focus on football.
The Panthers took Gaffney in the sixth round of the 2014 draft. He was Carolina's third running back on their depth chart, but his rookie season ended due to a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee during training camp. Thinking nobody would waste a roster spot on a player out for the season, Carolina cut Gaffney with the expectation of re-signing him after clearing waivers to their injured reserve list. The gamble backfired as the Pats claimed the running back. After spending the season on IR Gaffney received a ring for the Pats victory over Seattle in Super Bowl 49.
Still not 100% healthy, Gaffney was waived in mid-August of 2015. As a result of going unclaimed he spent his second straight season on IR. In September of 2016 it was the same story: waived/injured, cleared waivers and re-signed. He was released with an injury settlement, but later that season re-signed to the Pats practice squad. Gaffney was promoted to the 53-man roster for the week 8 victory at Buffalo, but did not play. After the bye week he ended up back on the practice squad. At the end of the season he received a second ring, for the iconic 28-3 Super Bowl victory.
8/13/2016: Playing in the NFL has been a long time coming for Patriots' Tyler Gaffney
The Patriots released Gaffney prior to the draft in 2017. With James White, Dion Lewis, Rex Burkhead, James Develin and DJ Foster already on the roster, it just made more sense to add an undrafted rookie with healthy knees as training camp fodder. Gaffney eventually signed with Jacksonville, but once again he was waived/injured, thus ending his NFL career. At that point he returned to baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and he had another good minor league season at the single-A level in 2018. However he couldn't bat his weight once promoted to double-AA ball, and retired from pro baseball.
Happy 43rd birthday to Omare Lowe
Born April 20, 1978 in Seattle
Patriot safety, 2004; uniform #23
Signed as a free agent to the practice squad on November 16, 2004
According to his Washington Huskies bio, in high school Lowe was an option QB with 15 TD and over 900 yards rushing. His best sport though was track; at the 1997 state championships he won the 110 high hurdles (14.52), the 300 intermediate hurdles (37.94) and was part of championship 1,600-meter relay team (3:23.07).
From 2002-08 Lowe was at some point signed with the Dolphins (who drafted him in the fifth round in 2002), Titans, Jets, Vikings, Redskins, Patriots, Seahawks, Falcons, Seahawks again, and Jaguars. Lowe appeared in 43 NFL games with 32 of those in 2005-06 with Atlanta; most of the rest of his NFL days were on practice squads.
Lowe spent two weeks in November of 2004 on the Pats practice squad and then played in three games for the Patriots late in the 2004 season. He too received a Super Bowl ring from the Patriots, though at least Omare was wearing a uniform during a real game. Omare was part of the patchwork defensive secondary that was pieced together after Ty Law, Tyrone Poole and Guss Scott all went on injured reserve.
12/28/14: Patriots Re-Sign S Je'rod Cherry; S Omare Lowe Re-Joins Practice Squad
John Simerson was born April 20, 1935 in Honolulu
Died August 2, 1992 at the age of 57
Patriot C/G, 1961; uniform #75
Signed as a free agent sometime prior to the '61 training camp
The 6'3" 275 lb Simerson was born and raised in Hawaii. He was a tackle at Purdue but converted to center in the pros. Simerson was a late (254th overall) draft pick by the Eagles in 1957. He played in a total of 43 games with Philly, Pittsburgh, Houston and the Pats.
Keeping the championship ring theme going, Simerson appeared in all 14 games for the Oilers when Houston became the first team to win an American Football League title. The following season he played in ten games for the Patriots, backing up former Boilermaker teammate Walt Cudzik.
John Simerson Photo at Purdue
John Simerson Obituary
Mike Purcell was born April 20, 1991 in Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Patriot NT, 2017 practice squad
Signed as a free agent to the practice squad on October 25, 2017
The Wyoming Cowboy never saw any action with the Patriots, but did appear in 44 games with 21 starts for the 49ers and Broncos from 2014-2020.
Other pro football players with New England connections born on this date:
Luke Kuechly turns 30 (born 4/20/1991)
The linebacker was a two-time All-American at Boston College; his #40 jersey was retired by BC in 2016. He was drafted ninth overall in the 2012 draft by Carolina. Kuechly has been named to the Pro Bowls four times and is a three time All Pro. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. Kuechly was plagued with concussions in recent years, but bounced back nicely with a 2018 season that resulted in his being named to the All-Pro team.
Ernie Stautner, 4/20/1925-2/16/2006 (80)
The German-born Stautner is another alumnus of Boston College. Stautner was a guard on offense and defensive tackle and end on defense. He played for the Steelers from 1950 through 1963, remarkably missing just one game in those 14 years. Stautner was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969. He then went on to became the defensive coordinator under Tom Landry for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 to 1988.
Richard Jarvis turns 26 (born 4/20/1995)
Jarvis was born in Watertown and grew up in Belmont; he went to Belmont Hill High School and Brown University.
His football story is not quite as compelling as the two above. The linebacker was signed as an undrafted free agent by Atlanta in 2018, and appeared in one game for the Falcons after beginning the season on the practice squad. He has also been on the Buffalo and Jacksonville practice squads, but it appears that his 17 special team snaps in that one week three 43-37 loss will be the extent of his pro football career.
Nominees include Willie Andrews, Josh Gordon, Bob Gladieux, Tony Collins, Mack Herron, Terry Glenn, LeGarrette Blount, Randy Moss, Kevin Faulk, Brandon Browner, AH, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Spikes, Brian Tyms, Brandon Bolden and Wes Welker.
Now after that last toke, does a player receiving two super bowl rings while never playing in an NFL game blow your mind?
Today in Patriots History
Two Rings, Zero Games
Two Rings, Zero Games
Happy 30th birthday to Tyler Gaffney
Born April 20, 1991 in San Diego
Patriot RB 2014-2017
Uniform #31 ('14), #36 ('15), #35 ('16)
Claimed off waivers on July 28, 2014
Gaffney earned a scholarship to Stanford after scoring 99 touchdowns in high school. He was a very good baseball outfielder as well, and left school for a year to play minor league baseball in the Pirates organization. Despite batting .297 with an on base percentage of .483, Gaffney elected to return to Stanford to focus on football.
The Panthers took Gaffney in the sixth round of the 2014 draft. He was Carolina's third running back on their depth chart, but his rookie season ended due to a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee during training camp. Thinking nobody would waste a roster spot on a player out for the season, Carolina cut Gaffney with the expectation of re-signing him after clearing waivers to their injured reserve list. The gamble backfired as the Pats claimed the running back. After spending the season on IR Gaffney received a ring for the Pats victory over Seattle in Super Bowl 49.
Still not 100% healthy, Gaffney was waived in mid-August of 2015. As a result of going unclaimed he spent his second straight season on IR. In September of 2016 it was the same story: waived/injured, cleared waivers and re-signed. He was released with an injury settlement, but later that season re-signed to the Pats practice squad. Gaffney was promoted to the 53-man roster for the week 8 victory at Buffalo, but did not play. After the bye week he ended up back on the practice squad. At the end of the season he received a second ring, for the iconic 28-3 Super Bowl victory.
8/13/2016: Playing in the NFL has been a long time coming for Patriots' Tyler Gaffney
The Patriots released Gaffney prior to the draft in 2017. With James White, Dion Lewis, Rex Burkhead, James Develin and DJ Foster already on the roster, it just made more sense to add an undrafted rookie with healthy knees as training camp fodder. Gaffney eventually signed with Jacksonville, but once again he was waived/injured, thus ending his NFL career. At that point he returned to baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and he had another good minor league season at the single-A level in 2018. However he couldn't bat his weight once promoted to double-AA ball, and retired from pro baseball.
Happy 43rd birthday to Omare Lowe
Born April 20, 1978 in Seattle
Patriot safety, 2004; uniform #23
Signed as a free agent to the practice squad on November 16, 2004
According to his Washington Huskies bio, in high school Lowe was an option QB with 15 TD and over 900 yards rushing. His best sport though was track; at the 1997 state championships he won the 110 high hurdles (14.52), the 300 intermediate hurdles (37.94) and was part of championship 1,600-meter relay team (3:23.07).
From 2002-08 Lowe was at some point signed with the Dolphins (who drafted him in the fifth round in 2002), Titans, Jets, Vikings, Redskins, Patriots, Seahawks, Falcons, Seahawks again, and Jaguars. Lowe appeared in 43 NFL games with 32 of those in 2005-06 with Atlanta; most of the rest of his NFL days were on practice squads.
Lowe spent two weeks in November of 2004 on the Pats practice squad and then played in three games for the Patriots late in the 2004 season. He too received a Super Bowl ring from the Patriots, though at least Omare was wearing a uniform during a real game. Omare was part of the patchwork defensive secondary that was pieced together after Ty Law, Tyrone Poole and Guss Scott all went on injured reserve.
12/28/14: Patriots Re-Sign S Je'rod Cherry; S Omare Lowe Re-Joins Practice Squad
The New England Patriots re-signed safety Je'Rod Cherry to the 53-man roster today. The team subsequently announced that safety Omare Lowe cleared waivers last night and was re-signed to the Patriots practice squad today.
Lowe, 26, re-joins the practice squad after having spent three stints on the Patriots' active roster this season. He was recently signed from the practice squad to the active roster (Dec. 25) and participated in the Patriots' 23-7 victory over the Jets last Sunday before being waived the following day.
The 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pounder has played in a total of six NFL games in his career and recorded one special teams tackle. He has played in three games for New England in 2004, participating against Baltimore on Nov. 28, at Miami on Dec. 20 and at the New York Jets on Dec. 26. The University of Washington product was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round (161st overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft.
Lowe has also spent time on the active rosters of the Miami Dolphins (2002) and the New York Jets (2003), while also seeing time with the practice squads of the Tennessee Titans (2003) and Minnesota Vikings (2004). He played in two games for the Jets last season and saw time in one game with Miami as a rookie in 2002.
John Simerson was born April 20, 1935 in Honolulu
Died August 2, 1992 at the age of 57
Patriot C/G, 1961; uniform #75
Signed as a free agent sometime prior to the '61 training camp
The 6'3" 275 lb Simerson was born and raised in Hawaii. He was a tackle at Purdue but converted to center in the pros. Simerson was a late (254th overall) draft pick by the Eagles in 1957. He played in a total of 43 games with Philly, Pittsburgh, Houston and the Pats.
Keeping the championship ring theme going, Simerson appeared in all 14 games for the Oilers when Houston became the first team to win an American Football League title. The following season he played in ten games for the Patriots, backing up former Boilermaker teammate Walt Cudzik.
John Simerson Photo at Purdue
John Simerson Obituary
After a knee injury ended his football career, Simerson went to work for Willig Co., one of the largest freight lines on the West Coast. Simerson worked his way up the company, and had served as president and chief executive officer for the past ten years.
Mike Purcell was born April 20, 1991 in Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Patriot NT, 2017 practice squad
Signed as a free agent to the practice squad on October 25, 2017
The Wyoming Cowboy never saw any action with the Patriots, but did appear in 44 games with 21 starts for the 49ers and Broncos from 2014-2020.
Other pro football players with New England connections born on this date:
Luke Kuechly turns 30 (born 4/20/1991)
The linebacker was a two-time All-American at Boston College; his #40 jersey was retired by BC in 2016. He was drafted ninth overall in the 2012 draft by Carolina. Kuechly has been named to the Pro Bowls four times and is a three time All Pro. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. Kuechly was plagued with concussions in recent years, but bounced back nicely with a 2018 season that resulted in his being named to the All-Pro team.
Ernie Stautner, 4/20/1925-2/16/2006 (80)
The German-born Stautner is another alumnus of Boston College. Stautner was a guard on offense and defensive tackle and end on defense. He played for the Steelers from 1950 through 1963, remarkably missing just one game in those 14 years. Stautner was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969. He then went on to became the defensive coordinator under Tom Landry for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 to 1988.
Richard Jarvis turns 26 (born 4/20/1995)
Jarvis was born in Watertown and grew up in Belmont; he went to Belmont Hill High School and Brown University.
His football story is not quite as compelling as the two above. The linebacker was signed as an undrafted free agent by Atlanta in 2018, and appeared in one game for the Falcons after beginning the season on the practice squad. He has also been on the Buffalo and Jacksonville practice squads, but it appears that his 17 special team snaps in that one week three 43-37 loss will be the extent of his pro football career.
, the original fall guy (technically it was his cousins ecstasy pills)
