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Today in Patriots History
David Patten
David Patten
In memory of David Patten, who would have turned 50 today
Born Aug 19, 1974 in Columbia, South Carolina
Died Sept 2, 2021 in a motorcycle accident at the age of 47 in Columbia, SC
Patriot WR, 2001-2004; uniform #86
Signed as a free agent on April 2, 2001
David Patten went undrafted out of Western Carolina, and began his pro football career playing for the Albany Firebirds in the Arena League in 1996. In three seasons with the Giants he was seldom used, with 33 receptions for 460 yards and three touchdowns. His playing time improved in 2000 for Cleveland, catching 38 passes for 546 yards and one TD. Signing him as a free agent in 2001 turned out to be an excellent personnel move for Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
Oct 23, 2001:
Quite a pitch ? and catch
FOXBORO, Mass. — The way the play was designed, wide receiver Troy Brown was supposed to take the lateral from quarterback Tom Brady and throw a pass to David Patten. But Patten wanted more. The …
www.seacoastonline.com
The way the play was designed, wide receiver Troy Brown was supposed to take the lateral from quarterback Tom Brady and throw a pass to David Patten.
But Patten wanted more.
The former NFL castoff campaigned to be the middleman on the trick play, and he so impressed the New England coaches with his arm strength in practice that they switched the two receivers' roles. The decision turned out so well that Patten wound up in the record books.
"I was lobbying for it all week," Patten said Monday, a day after he became the first receiver ever with a rushing, receiving and passing touchdown in the Patriots' 38-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. "I worked hard my whole career waiting to get this opportunity, to find a team willing to believe in me."
Patten scored on a 29-yard end-around on the Patriots' first offensive play of the game. In the second quarter, he caught a 91-yard touchdown pass from Brady, the longest play from scrimmage in New England history.
The Patriots took over at their own 40 on the next possession, and they called a "double pass" in which Brady spun around and threw a lateral to Patten. Patten threw it downfield, hitting Brown in stride for the touchdown that made it 21-3.
That made Patten, who added a 6-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter, the first player to run for, pass for and receive a touchdown since Walter Payton did it in 1979. Patten is the sixth player in NFL history to complete the hat trick; all the others were running backs, who run and throw significantly more than receivers.
Undrafted out of Western Carolina, Patten was loading 18-wheel trucks with 75-pound bags of coffee five years ago, supplementing the heavy lifting with some work as an electrician and in landscaping. He signed as a free agent with the New York Giants in 1997, then bounced to the Cleveland Browns before signing with the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent in the spring.
Before Sunday, Patten had never thrown a pass in a game — not in any level of football. Still, with the Patriots listing only two quarterbacks since Drew Bledsoe was injured in Week 2, Belichick said he would consider letting the receiver take some snaps in an emergency.
Belichick conceived the "double pass" to go from Brady to Terry Glenn to Brown, and they practiced it that way on Wednesday. But Glenn hurt his hamstring, so on Thursday, Patten filled in as the final receiver.
They ran the play that way once, and then Patten turned around and heaved the ball 20 yards over Brown's head, as if to say, "I can throw, too."
"Then we let David throw it, and it looked pretty good," Belichick said with a snicker. "We were trying to tell Brady, 'Watch Patten do this."'
Nov 4, 2001: Patriots 24, Falcons 10 at the Georgia Dome - 7:30 Highlight Video
At the 3:25 mark Brady throws the ball into double coverage to Patten. The ball hits the knee of a defensive player,
ricochets ten yards backwards into the hands of Troy Brown, who proceeded to take the ball into the end zone for a 44-yard score.
At the 3:25 mark Brady throws the ball into double coverage to Patten. The ball hits the knee of a defensive player,
ricochets ten yards backwards into the hands of Troy Brown, who proceeded to take the ball into the end zone for a 44-yard score.
Dec 16, 2001:
A tape escape
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Receiver David Patten thought he was in another country. After winning another overtime game against the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots are in another world. Adam Vina…
www.seacoastonline.com
Receiver David Patten thought he was in another country. After winning another overtime game against the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots are in another world.
Adam Vinatieri kicked a 23-yard field goal in overtime, his fourth of the game, lifting New England to a 12-9 victory over the Bills on Sunday. The Patriots (9-5), in the thick of the AFC playoff race after finishing 5-11 last season, have won four straight for the first time in two years. The win allowed New England to pull to within a half-game of first-place Miami in the AFC East. The Dolphins, who visit New England next Saturday, lost to San Francisco, 21-0.
The game turned on the overturn of a ruling that Patten fumbled after making a reception after five minutes of OT. Patten caught Tom Brady's pass at the Bills' 41, where he was hit hard by Buffalo's Keion Carpenter. The ball popped loose and was recovered by Buffalo's Nate Clements.
Referee Mike Carey determined by a video review that Patten's head was out of bounds while the ball remained loose under his leg.
Antowain Smith broke the game open on the ensuing play, bouncing off the pile and down the sideline before he was pushed out of bounds at the 3, setting up the game-winning kick.
Patten couldn't comment on the call. Carpenter's hit knocked him unconscious. "I didn't know where I was. I could have been in Czechoslovakia," Patten said. "I thought I let the team down, but the replay was one thing that went our way."
Carey, the referee, said the video review was "indisputable." "The ball was loose in the field of play, and while it was in contact with the receiver's calf, his hit (was) out of bounds," Carey said. "By rule, if a loose ball touches anything that is out of bounds, it is itself out of bounds."
July 17, 2017:
Where Are They Now: David Patten | Patriots.com
Then: David's three-score performance in the Patriots' October 21, 2001 win against Indianapolis made him just the sixth player in NFL history to run, catch and throw for a touchdown in a single game. He finished the regular season with 51 receptions for 749 yards and recorded New England's only offensive touchdown in Super Bowl XXXVI victory on an eight-yard pass from Tom Brady in the Patriots' win over the Rams.
*Now:* In 2013, David returned to his alma mater, Western Carolina University (where he played from 1992-1995) to complete his degree in social work. He was also an assistant coach for the Catamounts. He is now reportedly a minister with the True Believers Church of Our Lord ************. David's son, Daquan, is a walk-on freshman wide receiver at Western Carolina.
July 31, 2010 - Glen Farley:
Patriots’ Patten retires after career of big catches
The little man turned in a number of big plays, many during his four seasons at wide receiver with the Patriots, before opting to walk away from the game on Saturday.
www.enterprisenews.com
He stood all of 5-foot-10, weighed in at all of 190 pounds. Many were the Sundays, though, when David was Goliath.
Over the course of four seasons in New England (2001-2004), he hauled in 165 passes for 2,513 yards and 16 TDs to rank 24th all-time on the Patriots’ career receptions list.
A ringing endorsement for Patten is contained in his jewelry box – three Super Bowl rings.
“Now you sit back and reflect, you say, ‘Hey, the career wasn’t that bad,’” said Patten, who will turn 36 this month. “Not bad for a kid undersized, out of Columbia, S.C., a small 1-AA school (Western Carolina), undrafted, working in a coffee bean factory, electrician work, landscaper.
Many were the times when the little man rose, even on pro football’s grandest stage.
In the 2001 postseason, for instance, he made a leaping, 11-yard TD catch of a Drew Bledsoe in the AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh one week, corralled an 8-yard TD toss from Brady in Super Bowl XXXVI against St. Louis the next.
“I was just watching the NFL Network,” said Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, “and you see David Patten catching touchdowns in Super Bowls. The route he had to go was a long route and very difficult. To not give up and have the desire that he had to get where he knew he could be is pretty remarkable.”
A Hall of Famer, he wasn’t. A gamer, he was.
Patten, who says his future endeavors will include work in the ministry, got every ounce of the ability his maker gave him.
While countless other NFL wide receivers are divas, Patten was a doer.
"Remembering David Patten: Forever a Part of Our Patriots Family"
Short but sweet: a nice 1:30 highlight tribute video from the Patriots:
Short but sweet: a nice 1:30 highlight tribute video from the Patriots:
July 31, 2010 - Jeff Howe:
Old Patriots Hero David Patten Calls It a Career After 12 NFL Seasons - NESN.com
FOXBORO, Mass. — Wide receiver David Patten, one of the icons of the Patriots' dynasty, announced his retirement Saturday morning. The selfless, hardworking leader said he was "100 percent healthy" and was coming off a "great practice" Friday, but he just wasn’t as mentally into the game as he...
nesn.com
Patten was in his second stint with the Patriots, and through offseason practices and two days of training camp, he appeared to have a shot to make the roster. His chemistry with quarterback Tom Brady — who tried to talk Patten out of retiring Saturday morning — was extremely obvious, and it would have been a valuable asset for a team with a young receiving corps.
However, Patten will say so long to a game that he treated so well — and in return, treated him well back.
Patten went undrafted out of Western Carolina and found his way into the league after working as an electrician, a landscaper and in a coffee bean factory. He earned his stripes through hard work and dedication, and Belichick credited Patten as one of the players who got "the program started" in New England.
"We have a lot of players that work hard," Belichick said. "I think David sets the pace in work ethic."
"You play for the money," Patten said. "You play for the championships, but at the end of the day, you just want your fellow players, your teammates and your coaches to know that you gave everything that you have on a day-in and day-out basis."
Patten played in New England from 2001 to 2004, catching 165 passes for 2,513 yards and 16 touchdowns. Patten caught 13 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns during the Patriots' 2001 postseason run, and two of his touchdown grabs — one against the Steelers in the AFC championship game and another against the Rams in the Super Bowl — have been burned into the memory of Patriots fans.
"There have been a number of times when I've been over in the Hall or flip on the TV," Belichick said. "It seems like there's always a David Patten highlight."
In 12 NFL seasons, he caught 324 passes for 4,715 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also spent time with the Giants, Browns, Redskins and Saints.
Every David Patten Patriots Touchdown | David Patten Highlights (2:41)
July 31, 2010:
David Patten Retirement Press Conference
New England Patriots wide receiver David Patten announces his retirement from the NFL during his press conference at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, July 31, 2010. BILL BELICHICK BB: I spoke with David [Patten] this morning and David and I have a great rela
www.patriots.com
Patriots’ Patten retires after career of big catches
The little man turned in a number of big plays, many during his four seasons at wide receiver with the Patriots, before opting to walk away from the game on Saturday.
www.enterprisenews.com
Patriots receiver Patten announces retirement
Patriots wide receiver David Patten retired from football on Saturday.
www.espn.com
Wide receiver David Patten, who was a key contributor to the New England Patriots' three Super Bowl championships, announced his retirement Saturday morning at the team's training camp.
Patten, who turns 37 on Aug. 19, said he believed he could keep up physically. But it was the mental challenge that led him to tell coach Bill Belichick he was retiring after four practices. Patten described his time with the Patriots, from 2001 to 2004, as the highlight of his career.
Belichick said that the team had hoped to sign Patten as a free agent in 2000, which was Belichick's first year as Patriots coach. But the team lost out to the Cleveland Browns, whose offer was $50,000 richer.
The Patriots finally got their man the following season, with Patten facing what he thought were long odds for a roster spot. About two weeks into training camp, Belichick pulled Patten out of a meeting, and Patten feared the worst.
Instead, Belichick told him he had an opportunity to fight for a starting job, and that the team was offering him a three-year contract extension.
He totaled 324 receptions for 4,715 yards and 24 touchdowns, while adding 20 catches for 260 yards and two touchdowns in the playoffs.
One of his biggest catches came in arguably the greatest victory in franchise history, in Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams, when he was on the receiving end of an 8-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady.
Patten was an underdog story, but his perseverance was ultimately rewarded.
"You reflect now and say, 'Hey, your career wasn't that bad for a kid, undersized out of Columbia, South Carolina and a small I-AA school [Western Carolina]. Undrafted. Working in a coffee bean factory. Electrician work. Landscaper.' Who would have thought 12 years in the National Football League?" Patten said. "Three championships. So many memories. Now I can sit back and reflect on it and pass this on to my kids.
