Favorite Forgotten Pats Heroes From The Past

[Pape]

Curtis Martin, one of my favourite pats running back, traded too soon to the Jets.

Martin was not traded to the jete, no siree jim-bob... that was theft by poison pill... Martin leaving is one of the (myriad) of reasons Bill Parcells is viewed with such enmity in New England...

Martin was a restricted free agent... Parcells, now running the Jete, used his knowledge of the Patriots financial situation and crafted Martin a tender, which included a few poison pill elements... the contract could be voided by the Player after one year, included a "no franchise tag" clause, and included a 3.3 million dollar bonus... The Pats were cap strapped & couldn't match the money, and if they did, they risked losing Martin after just one year because of the voidable after one year/no franchise tag clauses...

 

[NCPATSFAN1971]

So, we are in the dog days of summer, and we have a month plus before training camp starts. So I’ve been watching some old Pat’s games and some NFL films from when I became a fan (1975), up until the 1st dynasty years, and I’ve been thinking about some forgotten heroes of the past.

I’m sure we’ve done something similar in the past, but I personally think it’s a fun subject, so I’m gonna name some of my favorite forgotten Pat’s heroes from the past. Not in any particular order. Of course, if you’re an old geezer like me, you know all these guys.

1) Harold Jackson WR- I loved Daryl Stingley, and was devastated when he got paralyzed. When we got Harold Jackson, I thought, this guy has been around forever, I remember him from the Eagles, and of course then the Rams who we got him from. He’s too old. Boy was I wrong, he became an explosive weapon for Grogan opposite speedster Stanley Morgan. He and Morgan EACH had 1,000+ yards receiving in 1979, despite each having less than 50 catches. Double deep threats.

2) Don Calhoun RB- He was just a really solid back. Despite being a backup he had three 700+ yard seasons. He was a fantastic back in his own right, extremely tough runner with some wiggle. The Pats had 3 backs for defenses to deal with, 4 if you add Grogan.

3) Tim Fox Safety- I loved Tim Fox, he was like an enforcer back there at the safety position. Loved the way he played. He was another excellent 1st round pick along with center Pete Brock and CB Mike Haynes in 1976, what a draft.

4) Mosi Tatupu RB- At USC, he blocked for RBs Ricky Bell and Charles White. When he came to the Pats, he did it all. Special teams, fullback, caught the ball once in a while. Truly a selfless Patriots.

5) Jarvis Green DE- He just made so many key plays for the Pats first part of the dynasty. Especially in the playoffs. Wasn’t a GREAT player, but I remember him getting to Peyton Manning a few times in clutch situations.

Those are just a few on my list, I’m sure I’ll post a few more, what are yours ?

I remember a game when the Pats were playing the Jets and Tim Fox happened to be playing on special teams. Anyhow, the Pat's punted and the Jet's player clearly put up a fair catch signal. Tim Fox must have not seen the signal and hit the Jets player at full speed consequently knocking him out. That play resulted in a 15 yard penalty but wow!

 

[203Pat]

Really liked Givens. Low draft pick, not spectacular, but exceeded the expectations.

Absolutely loved Givens in the role he had here. So sad that his knee didn't hold up in Tennessee.

 

[Rob0729]

Roman Phifer. Ok, I don't know if he is an actual hero, but he was a very solid LB often forgotten because he played with McGinest, Bruschi, and Vrabel during the first dynasty years.

 

[ErniesPinkStripes]

I loved the big guys like Willie, Bruschi, Rodney etc but I also loved Rosie Colvin, besides his injuries ha



Honorable mention to Sammy Morris - random player, not here super long but I loved watching him run

 

[pazrul72]

I saw him mentioned briefly earlier but before Gronk was Ben "Winter" Coates. I LOVED watching him play. He was that guy that Everytime you needed a first down had 3 guys hanging off of him but caught it anyway. He'd never make it in today's game, way too physical liked to push off, but man it was awesome seeing him body people. I have the clip of the long TD he scored against Miami going in my head, for a big man it took him a min to get up to speed but once he was there? Runaway freight train no one was stopping.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

Dan Connolly, everyone remembers him for a kick return, but he had ridiculous versatility. He was a good athlete who played center, both guard positions and filled in at tackle in emergencies and did them all well.

The loaf of bread!

DC return

 

[Vindicate]

Nate Ebner. Essentially coached and ran multiple ST units during his stay here, and ST overall went way down when he left.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Martin was not traded to the jete, no siree jim-bob... that was theft by poison pill... Martin leaving is one of the (myriad) of reasons Bill Parcells is viewed with such enmity in New England...

Martin was a restricted free agent... Parcells, now running the Jete, used his knowledge of the Patriots financial situation and crafted Martin a tender, which included a few poison pill elements... the contract could be voided by the Player after one year, included a "no franchise tag" clause, and included a 3.3 million dollar bonus... The Pats were cap strapped & couldn't match the money, and if they did, they risked losing Martin after just one year because of the voidable after one year/no franchise tag clauses...

I think the NYJFL outlawed that type of contract afterward. Parcells was smart to make that move, but it always bothered me that Parcells knew that Martin would come to the Jete after 1 year if the Pats matched. One of the many reasons I don't think he belongs in the Pats HOF

 

[mike_usagisan]

I always loved how Russ Hochstein got called out as being the weak link on the line and stepped up when it mattered.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

David Givens
Malcolm Mitchell

 

[Sect140]

So many to choose from.

Ben Coates: I loved watching him play.

J.R. Redmond: Didn’t do much here but he sure did come through on the last drive in the Super Bowl.

Bruce Armstrong: Saw interview on Bruce Smith where he said Bruce Armstrong was the hardest tackle he had to line up against.

 

[jimnance]

Jim Nance.
Who the hell did you expect me to name?

 

[InRodWeRust]

Tim Goad. Played nose tackle on crappy teams in the 90's. He was a tough mfer. Loved his motor and desire to compete when others may have just packed it in. Always seemed to make plays against much better competition. Give me a front four with his desire and motivation any day. Unappreciated for sure.

Do you remember the fan's "Goad's Toads" sign draped over the sideline wall? I think it was a big white cloth written in fluorescent orange (with some green outline) if I remember right.

 

[TheRainMaker]

in typical Patriots fashion, they didn't want to pay him... and it didn't help that he was replaced by damien woody, a guard who played here as a subpar center

Underrated comment. I was young at the time and didn't remember why Wohlabaugh left, but the board reminded me that he wanted to be highest paid C in the league which he got from Cleveland. I do remember he was considered among the best in the game or at least the AFC even though he kept getting shafted from any Pro Bowls/All Pro's. His loss created a need at C which the Pats had to blow on Woody who couldn’t snap a football out of the shotgun. Had they kept Wohlabaugh, I think the Pats would've gone DL. McGinest had zero help.

Willie “big play” Clay, pre-dynasty free safety who made timely interceptions and was solid in coverage.

Loved Willie Clay and my favorite Pats FS. The late 90's secondary swagger was unmatched. His loss was glaring with Chris Carter replacing him. He's the worst Pats S I've seen play routinely getting torched and out of position.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Do you remember the fan's "Goad's Toads" sign draped over the sideline wall? I think it was a big white cloth written in fluorescent orange (with some green outline) if I remember right.

Yes! Did you know that crew? Family? Fans? Never knew the story behind the sign

 

[Pape]

Do you remember the fan's "Goad's Toads" sign draped over the sideline wall? I think it was a big white cloth written in fluorescent orange (with some green outline) if I remember right.

section 12, south endzone, foxboro stadium... my seats were in row 6 there... rowdy & boisterious would be an understatement

 

[Pape]

Vincent Brown... The best linebacker on the team from the late 80's and early 90's... a hard hitting tackling machine was consistently making the play, and if he wasn't, he was right there... was cut loose at the end of 1995 after leading the team in tackles... would have been nice to see him on the team for the super bowl run in 1996... you can't tell me todd collins was a better option...


The aforementioned Russ Hochstein... @mike_usagisan ... Mike is right, he was a plug and play swing for the whole offensive line for years... pretty sure he played every position on the line at one point or another... Hated that he left, but you knew that type of versatility was going to get him a contract sooner or later... He was a bit overmatched in 42, after replacing Stephen Neal, but that's why he wasn't a full time starter... Cest la vie


Mr Irrelevant, Marty Moore... Long shot linebacker, last pick in the draft turned into an 8 year nfl vet... another one of those early special teams players that held on due to his contributions to the third phase of the game... he did leave for a year, spent a season at the mistake by the lake before returning just in time to earn himself a ring as part of the 2001 team...

 

[mgteich]

Julius Adams
Ray Hamilton
Vincent Brown
Ronnie Lippett
Bruce Armstrong

fine list
none should be "forgotten"

 

[The Gr8est]

I saw him in an interview a few years ago and he said he regretted leaving the Pats.

Well he got a pretty much career ending injury around that time.

Wasn’t it just after he signed elsewhere?