Today in Patriots History
21st Century August 15 Trivia
August 15, 2002:
"3 Games To Glory: Patriots Post Season 2002" is released by NFL Films.
Relives the Patriots amazing run through the 2001 Playoffs and includes their monumental upset over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl 36.
See post #2 above.
Friday August 15, 2014 at 7:30 pm:
Preseason Game 2, Week 2 at Gillette Stadium
New England Patriots 42, Philadelphia Eagles 35
For the second consecutive week the Patriots conducted joint practice sessions with a preseason opponent in advance of a game. The Pats hosted joint practices with the Eagles on Tuesday and Wednesday which were open to the public, prior to the Friday night game. The previous season the two clubs did the same, before a 31-22 New England win.
A week earlier the Patriots traveled to Richmond, Virginia and held joint practices with Washington ahead of their game at FedEx Field. This marked the third straight year that the Patriots held multiple joint practices during training camp.
The Patriots offense rushed for 250 yards in the win. First-year RB
Jonas Gray, who spent all of 2013 on the Baltimore practice squad, led the team with 98 yards rushing on 12 carries for an 8.2-yard average. The Patriots defense forced four tunovers, with two fumbles and two interceptions. The Pats converted those turnovers into 21 points.
Tom Brady made his 2014 debut by starting the game and played the first two offensive drives. Brady finished 8-of-10 for 81 yards with a 15-yard touchdown pass to WR
Kenbrell Thompkins and one interception.
Second-round draft pick
Jimmy Garoppolo entered the game for the third offensive series and played the rest of the first half, finishing 6-of-12 for 72 yards with two touchdown passes - a 15-yard pass to FB
James Develin and a 4-yard touchdown pass to
Brandon Lafell.
Ryan Mallett entered the game on the first drive in the second half and played the rest of the game. he finished 7-of-11 for 92 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown run and a 17-yard touchdown pass to WR
Brian Tyms. Mallett engineered three straight scoring drives to open the third quarter. Collectively the three quarterbacks were 21-of-33 for 245 yards and four touchdowns, a passer arting of 113.0.
Rookie free agent CB
Malcolm Butler of West Alabama - who we would hear about in the final game of the postseason - made his second straight preseason start. He and LB
Steve Beauharnais led the defense with seven tackles. Butler stated opposite
Darrelle Revis, who was making his debut after sitting out the opener.
Kyle Arrington started at safety along with
Devin McCourty.
First year OL
Jordan Devey also made his second straight preseason start. In the opener Devey started at left guard in place of
Logan Mankins. Against the Eagles he started at right guard, then saw action at left tackle in the second half. Devey ended up playing seven games with four starts for the Pats in 2014.
Dan Connolly started at center for the second straight game, after starting all of 2013 at right guard. Connolly took over as the starting center in 2011 when
Dan Koppen was lost to a season-ending injury in the regular season opener, before starting 14 games in 2012 at right guard. Connolly had previously shown off his versatility in 2010 with the longest kickoff return in NFL history, 71 yards against Green Bay.
The offensive line was being reshuffled due to an unpleasant contract dispute with Mankins, who refused to take a pay cut. The left guard would be traded to Tampa Bay eleven days later for TE
Tim Wright and a fourth round draft pick. Connolly would end up taking Mankins spot at left guard, Ryan Wendell would move from center to right guard, and rookie
Bryan Stork would be the starting center.
On special teams the Eagles were able to block a
Ryan Allen punt in the second quarter. It was the first blocked punt allowed by the Patriots since
Zoltan Mesko had one blocked in a September 16, 2012 game against Arizona.
Stephen Gostkowski made all six of his extra points in what was the first of the NFL's two-game experiment of kicking the extra point from the 15-yard line, rather than the two-yard line. This made the PAT the equivalent of a 33-yard field goal, rather than a 20-yarder. The NFL would make the change permanent in 2015.
Photo Gallery:
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Other recaps below:
Please post your comments, knee jerk reactions, insightful observations regarding tonight's 2nd pre-season game vs the Philly Eagles on this thread. Please do not start other threads concerning tonight's game as they will be merged or deleted. Game time is 7:30 Pm ET. The game broadcast on the...
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Follow along for everything you need to know as the Patriots host the Eagles.
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Brady trotted out for 23 snaps to start the game, the results consisting of the mostly good, at times great, and one costly error.
www.metrowestdailynews.com
Expert recap and game analysis of the New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles NFL game from August 15, 2014 on ESPN.
www.espn.com
August 15, 2015:
Gordy Holz passes away at the age of 82
The 6'4, 270 lb backup defensive tackle from Minnesota was with the Patriots in 1960, but spent the majority of his pro football career with the Denver Broncos after playing in Canada in the fifties.
August 15, 2014:
Speculation gained momentum that Gillette Stadium could host a Super Bowl in 2019.
According to a source, it appears the Patriots ownership may be trying to prepare Gillette Stadium to be a contender for a future Super Bowl bid.
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August 15, 2018:
Here's a look at this morning's top Patriots news stories for Wednesday, August 15th, 2018.
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August 15, 2023:
The Patriots cut two players that spent time on the 53-man roster in 2022.
www.masslive.com
With Ezekiel Elliott and linebacker Carson Wells coming into the fold, the Patriots have made two corresponding roster moves.
New England cut linebacker DaMarcus Mitchell, who made the 53-man roster as a core special teamer in 2022, and they also waived long snapper Tucker Addington, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Addington snapped in three games last season after Joe Cardona landed on injured reserve. Now the roster is back at 90 players as the Patriots head to Green Bay for a week of joint practices.
Elliott will give the Patriots some much needed depth at running back, and according to James White, Bill Belichick has long been an admirer of the former Cowboy.
“I know Bill Belichick has talked about some of the best backs in the league and I know he’s a big fan of Zeke. Whenever we would compete against those guys, he would always talk about how much he wanted to have him on his roster,” White said on SiriusXM.
While Elliott was the marquee signing on Monday, the Patriots also added Wells, who was a standout in the XFL and supposedly has some crazy speed for a linebacker. An undrafted free agent in 2022, Wells spent some time in Cincinnati before his stint in the XFL.
The New England Patriots on Tuesday released two core special teamers, in doing so making room for running back Ezekiel Elliott
nesn.com
The release of Mitchell is somewhat surprising. Mitchell made New England's initial 53-man roster as a rookie last season after going undrafted. He wound up being active in 16 of 17 games, primarily as a core special teamer.
Addington was added late in the 2022 campaign and was active for three games after starting long snapper Joe Cardona suffered a season-ending injury. He previously spent time with the Dallas Cowboys.
Ezekiel Elliott was only 28, but was already over the hill after seven years of overuse in Dallas. It was a good thing the Pats picked up the two-time NFL rushing leader though, because Rhamondre Stevenson missed five games with a high ankle sprain after a hip-drop tackle by the Chargers' Tuli Tuipulotu in December. Elliot improbably led the 2023 Pats in rushing yardage (642) and yards from scrimmage (955). The Patriots were without James White, who retired on August 11, 2022; their only other options at RB were Kevin Harris (16 carries, 65 yards) and Ty Montgomery (3 carries, 9 yards).
Carson Wells, for all his "crazy speed for a linebacker", was waived twelve days later on August 27. He has yet to play in a real NFL game.
Mitchell was picked up by Seattle, but failed to make their roster; he has not signed with another NFL team since.
Addington has bounced around with several teams since being cut, playing in seven games since - including one for the Pats in 2024.
August 15, 2024:
After being widely reported the previous day, the Pats trading
Matt Judon to the Atlanta Falcons becomes official - on his birthday.
Thursday August 15, 2024 at 7:05 pm:
Preseason Week Two at Gillette Stadium
Philadelphia Eagles 14, New England Patriots 13
For the second straight week the defense registered five sacks, with LB
Oshane Ximines, LB
Josh Uche, DL
Deatrich Wise, CB
Isaiah Bolden and DE
Keion White each getting to an Eagle quarterback.
Jacoby Brissett made his second preseason start and played the entire first quarter, on three offensive drives - three punts, with two three-and-outs. Brissett was 3-of-7 for 17 yards with one interception.
Rookie
Drake Maye entered at the start of the second quarter, and the Patriots scored on each of his first two drives. On the first drive he engineered an 8-play, 38-yard drive that ended with a 51-yard field goal by
Joey Slye. Next was an 8-play, 49-yard drive that began after a turnover on downs, that Maye finished off with a 4-yard touchdown run. Maye was 6-of-11 with 47 yards passing on the night.
The Patriots allowed three sacks; one on Maye for a loss of 8 yards, and two on rookie
Joe Milton for minus-15 yards.
Slye also connected on a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Bryce Baringer booted two 60-yard punts; the first went for 64 yards that pinned Philadelphia on their 1-yard line. That led to a punt that gave the Pats the ball in great field position, at the Eagles 39. New England drove to the 8-yard line but Brissett made a poor decision, forcing a pass that was intercepted.
Milton (2-7, 20 yards) entered the game in the fourth quarter and played two drives before being relieved by
Bailey Zappe (3-9, 24 yards).
A few notable plays:
- CB
Isaiah Bolden sacked Kenny Pickett for a 2-yard loss on a 3rd-and-6 in the 2nd quarter.
- DT
Mike Purcell stopped RB Lew Nichols on a 4th-and-one run. The turnover on downs led to a Pats touchdown.
- Rookie WR
David Wallis returned a 4th quarter kickoff 53 yards. That set up Slye's second field goal.
Please post your comments, knee jerk reactions, insightful observations regarding tonight's 2nd pre-season game vs the Philly Eagles on this thread. Please do not start other threads concerning tonight's game as they will be merged or deleted. Game time is 7:30 Pm ET. The game broadcast on the...
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Certainly some bright spots, albeit the finish was disappointing.
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Expert recap and game analysis of the Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots NFL game from August 15, 2024 on ESPN.
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Patriots projected Week 1 starter Jacoby Brissett was underwhelming in his one quarter before being replaced by Maye. New England went three-and-out on the game’s first possession. The Patriots' second drive ended when Brissett was intercepted by Philadelphia’s Avonte Maddox in the end zone.
After another three-and-out, Brissett was done and finished 3 for 7 for 17 yards.
Maye received a nice ovation from the sparse crowd at Gillette Stadium when he checked in before the start of the second quarter. He gave the fans even more a reason to cheer after connecting on third down with fellow rookie Javon Baker – a 12-yard toss that helped New England eventually tie it at 3 after Slye's 51-yarder.
Maye went into the end zone from 4 yards out on the first play following the two-minute warning, giving New England a 10-3 lead heading into the second half.
New England inserted Bailey Zappe with 2:25 remaining after rookie Joe Milton went 2 of 7 for 20 yards and failed to lead the offense to a first down on the ensuing drive after the Eagles took the lead with 4:23 left. Zappe’s bid at a comeback ended when a bad snap was recovered by Philadelphia, which ran out the remaining 1:47.
Undrafted rookie WR JaQuae Jackson was carted off in the fourth and ruled out with a leg injury. Jackson caught a touchdown pass in the preseason opener.
