Who's Your All-time Patriots 53-man Roster?

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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This is who I'd have
"Starters":
QB1 GOAT
FB Sam Gash
RB1 Curtis Martin
3DB James White
TE1 Gronk
LT1 Bruce Armstrong
LG1 John Hannah
C1 Damien Woody
RG1 Sam Adams
RT1 Sebastian Vollmer
WR1 Randy Moss
WR2 Stanley Morgan
WRS/PR2/DB12 Julian Edelman

K Adam Vinatieri
P Ryan Allen (just for SB LIII)
PR1/WR5/DB11 Troy Brown
KR1/RB5 Kevin Faulk
STC/WR6 Matt Slater

Edge1 Willie McGinest (4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB)
DT/DE Richard Seymour (4-3 DT, 3-4 DE)
NT Vince Wilfork
DE Trey Flowers
OLB Andre Tippett
LB/TE4 Mike Vrabel
MLB Tedy Bruschi
CB1 Ty Law
CB2 Steph Gilmour
SS Rodney Harrison
FS Devin McCourty
-------------------------------
29


Bench:
QB2 Bledsoe
QB3 Grogan (for running)
RB3 Corey Dillon
RB4 Jim Nance
WR4/PR3 Wes Welker
C2 Jon Morris (would be 1, but we need GOAT to be comfy)
G3 Logan Mankins
T3 Matt Light
TER Ben Coates
TEB Daniel Graham

Edge Chandler Jones
DT Houston Antwine
DL Sugar Bear Hamilton
DL Bob Dee
ILB Steve Nelson
ILB Vincent Brown
OLB Rosie Colvin
LB/ST Larry Izzo
CB Darrelle Revis
CB Mike Haynes
CB Asante Samuel
CB Raymond Clayborn
S Lawyer Milloy
S/ST Antwan Harris


HM: Gino, Branch, Otis Smith, Warren, Francis, Koppen, Chung, Glenn, Develin, Marion, Thuney, Nick B, Sam Cunningham
Not eligible due to off-field issues: AH, Browner, Fryar

Who do you have?
 

DourDoerr

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I'd put Hightower and Nelson over Vrabel and Bruschi with Mayo and Bruschi on the bench. Koppen was a better center than Woody - I mean he could handle snaps under center AND shotgun.
 

Bowser

New Member
Sep 27, 2019
400
I'd add Don Blackmon and delete Rosie Colvin ... and, yeah, put Russ Francis over Daniel Graham. Some stats:

Blackmon: 7 seasons, 541 TKL, 30.5 SAC, 5 INT
Colvin: 6 seasons, 180 TKL, 26.5 SAC, 1 INT

Francis: 7 seasons, 207 REC, 3,157 YDS, 28 TD
Graham: 5 seasons, 120 REC, 1,393 YDS, 17 TD

I'd also put Corey Dillon over Martin, but I can't justify my choice with numbers. I was a season ticket holder during Martin's time. I loved the guy and acknowledge he was a better receiver than Dillon, but Dillon was the better, more dominant runner to me.

Interesting both Martin and Dillon only played 3 seasons in NE. Slim pickings at RB, eh?
 
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Bowser

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Sep 27, 2019
400
I think it's also hard to make a statistical case for Edelman over Welker, but I'd choose Edelman as well.
 

E5 Yaz

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Babe Parilli and Gino Cappelletti wonder how far back is being considered as "all time"
 

Zedia

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I'd put Sam Bam instead of Gash, but I guess they're two different kinds of FBs. But I'm ok with a third blocking TE in Graham instead of a third receiving TE in Francis, so I guess Gash is ok too. I don't know how he compares to Develin thought.
 

Dick Drago

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Mar 28, 2002
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Pats have had great tight ends over the years—Francis would be on my 53–he was also an excellent blocker.
 

bigq

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Jul 15, 2005
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I think it's also hard to make a statistical case for Edelman over Welker, but I'd choose Edelman as well.
If you look at cumulative postseason statistics it’s an easy choice.
 

Bowser

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Sep 27, 2019
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If you look at cumulative postseason statistics it’s an easy choice.
Hey, I'd pick Edelman, too, but I'm not seeing an easy choice no matter how you slice the data. Welker was a 5-time Pro Bowler/2-time first-team All Pro with the Pats. Jules hasn't made a Pro Bowl. It's a crock, but there it is.
 

E5 Yaz

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Jim Nance had a far better rushing career than Curtis Martin's three seasons in NE
 

vadertime

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My only change would be Kevin Turner over Gash at FB. Only here for 3 years, and I freely admit he was a binky of mine, but some stats are better than Gash in half the time.
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
55,299
deep inside Guido territory
QB(3)--Brady, Bledsoe, Parilli
RB(5)-Martin, Dillon, Faulk, White, Nance
FB(1)-Turner
WR(6)-Moss, Welker, Edelman, Morgan, Brown, Branch
TE(3)-Gronkowski, Coates, Francis
OL(8)-Armstrong, Hannah, Koppen, Mankins, Light, Vollmer, Thuney, John Morris
DL(4)-Seymour, Wilfork, Washington, Jones
Edge(4)-McGinest, Vrabel, Ninkovich, Slade
LB(6)-Tippet, Buoniconti, Bruschi, Hightower, Mayo, Nelson
CB(5)-Haynes, Law, Samuel, Clayborn, Gilmore
S(5)- McCourty, Harrison, Milloy, Chung, Harris
K: Vinatieri
P: Allen
ST: Slater

Starting Offense
QB: Brady
RB: Martin
WR: Moss, Welker, Morgan
TE: Gronkowski
OL: Armstrong, Hannah, Koppen, Mankins, Light

Base Defense
DL: McGinest, Seymour, Wilfork, Slade
LB: Tippet, Bruschi, Hightower
CB: Haynes, Law
S: McCourty, Harrison
 

jaytftwofive

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Jan 20, 2013
1,182
Drexel Hill Pa.
Jim Nance had a far better rushing career than Curtis Martin's three seasons in NE
It seems it's all about who won Super Bowls. I would add Steve Nelson at LB and Haynes at CB with Ty and it's tough between Jim Nance and Cunningham at Fullback but I have to go with Sam Bam . And "All World" Russ Francis is hard to vote against but I guess I have to go with Gronk. I think Lawyer Milloy could be at safety. Tough who to take out at safety to put him in. And Martin only played 3 years but I think he's as good as any running back I've ever seen in Pats history. Damn I wish they would have kept him. They would have been even better in the early to mid 2000's.
 

E5 Yaz

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It seems it's all about who won Super Bowls. I would add Steve Nelson at LB and Haynes at CB with Ty and it's tough between Jim Nance and Cunningham at Fullback but I have to go with Sam Bam . And "All World" Russ Francis is hard to vote against but I guess I have to go with Gronk. I think Lawyer Milloy could be at safety. Tough who to take out at safety to put him in. And Martin only played 3 years but I think he's as good as any running back I've ever seen in Pats history. Damn I wish they would have kept him. They would have been even better in the early to mid 2000's.
Heck, I hadn't even noticed that Haynes wasn't on his first team. Haynes is the best CB in Patriots history
 

riboflav

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Faulk over White is a no-brainer IMO. Great at draws, picking up blitzes, and receiving.

And he converted the 4th and 2 and we all know it bc he's Kevin F'in Faulk.
 

lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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I believe defensive lineman Julius Adams and his 206 career games should get some recognition. Sacks were not recorded as an official statistic until his 12th season. One 1 Pro Bowl, but the Pats were mostly overlooked during that time period.

Agree that Haynes should be starting at DB.

TE is an interesting one. I rank them as Gronk, huge gaping hole, Russ Francis, Coates, Dawson, Watson, Graham.

Other honorable mentions, that I did not see listed already:

RB: Danny Woodhead, Mosi Tatupu, Andy Johnson (decent 2-way back during the 70's), JR Redmond (for those 2 key catches early on)
WR: Harold Jackson (Stanley Morgan's partner who ended a nice career at NWE), Darryl Stingley, David Givens
TE: Martellus Bennett, Jermaine Wiggins (yeah, he's terrible on radio, but that big catch puts him on this list)
OL: Leon Gray (one of the worst trades in team history), Bill Lenkaitis, Sam Adams, Brian Holloway, Joe Andruzzi, Steve Neal, Dan Connolly
Front 7: Jarvis Green, Ted Johnson, Vincent Brown, Roman Phifer
Secondary: Ronnie Lippett (was way better than Otis Smith), Tim Fox, Willie Clay

HM: Gino, Branch, Otis Smith, Warren, Francis, Koppen, Chung, Glenn, Develin, Marion, Thuney, Nick B, Sam Cunningham
Not eligible due to off-field issues: AH, Browner, Fryar

Who do you have?
I assume the bolded is an Easter Egg.
 
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RG33

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Nov 28, 2005
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Faulk over White is a no-brainer IMO. Great at draws, picking up blitzes, and receiving.

And he converted the 4th and 2 and we all know it bc he's Kevin F'in Faulk.
White has 2800 yards receiving (in 6 years) to Faulk’s 3600 career receiving yards (13 years) and 1100 yards rushing to 3800 yards rushing.. . . . But the key for me is. . . .

James White with 1 fumble
Kevin Faulk with 25 fumbles

I loved Faulk, but would have a heart attack every time a defender tackled him in a big moment — his little arms coughed up the football WAY too much. I was always surprised he lasted as long as he did with BB.
 

Norm Siebern

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May 12, 2003
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Faulk over White is a no-brainer IMO. Great at draws, picking up blitzes, and receiving.

And he converted the 4th and 2 and we all know it bc he's Kevin F'in Faulk.
Damn straight he made it. Every time I see that play in replay it still pisses me off. All every commentator ever says is how the Patriots choked going for it, or it was a terrible decision. What everyone always misses, just as they missed that night, is that he made that first down, and no one ever mentions that.
 

lexrageorge

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18,100
Damn straight he made it. Every time I see that play in replay it still pisses me off. All every commentator ever says is how the Patriots choked going for it, or it was a terrible decision. What everyone always misses, just as they missed that night, is that he made that first down, and no one ever mentions that.
I will give an unpopular opinion, but it's worth noting that Melvin Bullitt's tackle was truly a picture perfect tackle in that situation, and probably had a lot do with the linesman, who was watching the play in full speed, thinking that Faulk was a foot short of the first down marker.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
24,376
Faulk


First catches it at the 31. Bobbles it, but secures it past the 30 with his left foot planted on the ground at the 20. You can see his toes on the ground a few inches short of the 30, but you can see that his body is at an angle where the ball is well past where his foot is.

29913

And here's where they ended up spotting it:

29914

But the Patriots get all the calls.......
 

jaytftwofive

New Member
Jan 20, 2013
1,182
Drexel Hill Pa.
Faulk


First catches it at the 31. Bobbles it, but secures it past the 30 with his left foot planted on the ground at the 20. You can see his toes on the ground a few inches short of the 30, but you can see that his body is at an angle where the ball is well past where his foot is.

View attachment 29913

And here's where they ended up spotting it:

View attachment 29914

But the Patriots get all the calls.......
They had this game on last week and I'm still pisssed at this game. The NBC commentator ref. who gave them the ruling said apparently Faulk didn't have possession when he was in first down territory and didn't have possession until he was behind first down territory. If that's true it was the right call as angry as I was.
 

theskippa10

New Member
Jul 31, 2006
9
What about Jim Colclough at WR? Obviously I never saw him play but numbers wise I'd take him over Branch, Givens and some of these other guys mentioned. 5000 yards in the 1960s, 8th in receiving yards and 6th in receiving TDs all in a run heavy era is pretty impressive.
 

PedroKsBambino

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They had this game on last week and I'm still pisssed at this game. The NBC commentator ref. who gave them the ruling said apparently Faulk didn't have possession when he was in first down territory and didn't have possession until he was behind first down territory. If that's true it was the right call as angry as I was.
That is not what the reply shows, though. I too remain pissed at the call---it was demonstrably wrong and the hometown officiating that blew the call created the ludicrous narrative about Belichick which should, on the merits, have been a celebration of his creativity
 

ZMart100

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Aug 15, 2008
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I wish I could find Robert Edwards video that wasn't of his knee getting shredded on the beach. I remember him being fantastic. I think this should be peak >> longevity. On that line of thinking I'd probably put Dion Lewis in the backfield as well.
 

Bowser

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Sep 27, 2019
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I was a season ticket holder for the Robert Edwards experience. I remember him as very promising, but I'm not sure I'd call him fantastic.

Err, just checked his numbers -- they were better than I remember: 291/1,115/9 (3.8 avg), plus another 35/331/3 on the receiving side.

What I liked about him was he was 220 lbs with good speed, which seemed like a bit of a novelty at a time when many of the top runners -- Terrell Davis, Barry Sanders, Marshal Faulk, and Curtis Martin -- were closer to 205 lbs.

Edwards made the sting of Martin's loss a bit less.
 

jaytftwofive

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Jan 20, 2013
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That is not what the reply shows, though. I too remain pissed at the call---it was demonstrably wrong and the hometown officiating that blew the call created the ludicrous narrative about Belichick which should, on the merits, have been a celebration of his creativity
Say the Pats got the call and finished 11-5. They would still have had the 3rd seed and lost to the Ravens bad in the opening round. As it turns out it didn't matter. They also are lucky they didn't lose to the Bills opening week and finish 9-7. The Bills gave them that game at the end, but that's part of the game. That team was such a talented one and we had high hopes and was so disappointing. 5th best defense in NFL believe it or not. That's why I was so disappointed in BB's decision to go for it instead of punting because this was one of his better defenses he had and he basically said I don't trust my defense against Manning. Even Bruschi and Rodney H. criticized him for it. Of course they were retired by then. I guess Brady still wasn't 100 % that year also coming back from that bad injury in week one 08. The next year....2010, Wow.....one of his bests.
 
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MuppetAsteriskTalk

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Feb 19, 2015
5,398
I believe defensive lineman Julius Adams and his 206 career games should get some recognition. Sacks were not recorded as an official statistic until his 12th season. One 1 Pro Bowl, but the Pats were mostly overlooked during that time period.

Agree that Haynes should be starting at DB.

TE is an interesting one. I rank them as Gronk, huge gaping hole, Russ Francis, Coates, Dawson, Watson, Graham.

Other honorable mentions, that I did not see listed already:

RB: Danny Woodhead, Mosi Tatupu, Andy Johnson (decent 2-way back during the 70's), JR Redmond (for those 2 key catches early on)
WR: Harold Jackson (Stanley Morgan's partner who ended a nice career at NWE), Darryl Stingley, David Givens
TE: Martellus Bennett, Jermaine Wiggins (yeah, he's terrible on radio, but that big catch puts him on this list)
OL: Leon Gray (one of the worst trades in team history), Bill Lenkaitis, Sam Adams, Brian Holloway, Joe Andruzzi, Steve Neal, Dan Connolly
Front 7: Jarvis Green, Ted Johnson, Vincent Brown, Roman Phifer
Secondary: Ronnie Lippett (was way better than Otis Smith), Tim Fox, Willie Clay


I assume the bolded is an Easter Egg.
Glad to see Tim Fox get a mention. He was a favorite of mine when I was a kid.
 

BuellMiller

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Mar 25, 2015
449
That is not what the reply shows, though. I too remain pissed at the call---it was demonstrably wrong and the hometown officiating that blew the call created the ludicrous narrative about Belichick which should, on the merits, have been a celebration of his creativity
I agreed with the decision to go for it; I just never liked passing for it twice in a row after getting to 3rd and 2, if BB knew they were going to go for it on 4th and short. I felt that they had had success running the ball that game...oh well.
 

BuellMiller

New Member
Mar 25, 2015
449
I believe defensive lineman Julius Adams and his 206 career games should get some recognition. Sacks were not recorded as an official statistic until his 12th season. One 1 Pro Bowl, but the Pats were mostly overlooked during that time period.

Agree that Haynes should be starting at DB.

TE is an interesting one. I rank them as Gronk, huge gaping hole, Russ Francis, Coates, Dawson, Watson, Graham.

Other honorable mentions, that I did not see listed already:

RB: Danny Woodhead, Mosi Tatupu, Andy Johnson (decent 2-way back during the 70's), JR Redmond (for those 2 key catches early on)
WR: Harold Jackson (Stanley Morgan's partner who ended a nice career at NWE), Darryl Stingley, David Givens
TE: Martellus Bennett, Jermaine Wiggins (yeah, he's terrible on radio, but that big catch puts him on this list)
OL: Leon Gray (one of the worst trades in team history), Bill Lenkaitis, Sam Adams, Brian Holloway, Joe Andruzzi, Steve Neal, Dan Connolly
Front 7: Jarvis Green, Ted Johnson, Vincent Brown, Roman Phifer
Secondary: Ronnie Lippett (was way better than Otis Smith), Tim Fox, Willie Clay
He can also be a backup KR.
 

Old Fart Tree

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This is who I'd have
"Starters":
QB1 GOAT
FB Sam Gash
RB1 Curtis Martin
3DB James White
TE1 Gronk
LT1 Bruce Armstrong
LG1 John Hannah
C1 Damien Woody
RG1 Sam Adams
RT1 Sebastian Vollmer
WR1 Randy Moss
WR2 Stanley Morgan
WRS/PR2/DB12 Julian Edelman

K Adam Vinatieri
P Ryan Allen (just for SB LIII)
PR1/WR5/DB11 Troy Brown
KR1/RB5 Kevin Faulk
STC/WR6 Matt Slater

Edge1 Willie McGinest (4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB)
DT/DE Richard Seymour (4-3 DT, 3-4 DE)
NT Vince Wilfork
DE Trey Flowers
OLB Andre Tippett
LB/TE4 Mike Vrabel
MLB Tedy Bruschi
CB1 Ty Law
CB2 Steph Gilmour
SS Rodney Harrison
FS Devin McCourty
-------------------------------
29


Bench:
QB2 Bledsoe
QB3 Grogan (for running)
RB3 Corey Dillon
RB4 Jim Nance
WR4/PR3 Wes Welker
C2 Jon Morris (would be 1, but we need GOAT to be comfy)
G3 Logan Mankins
T3 Matt Light
TER Ben Coates
TEB Daniel Graham

Edge Chandler Jones
DT Houston Antwine
DL Sugar Bear Hamilton
DL Bob Dee
ILB Steve Nelson
ILB Vincent Brown
OLB Rosie Colvin
LB/ST Larry Izzo
CB Darrelle Revis
CB Mike Haynes
CB Asante Samuel
CB Raymond Clayborn
S Lawyer Milloy
S/ST Antwan Harris


HM: Gino, Branch, Otis Smith, Warren, Francis, Koppen, Chung, Glenn, Develin, Marion, Thuney, Nick B, Sam Cunningham
Not eligible due to off-field issues: AH, Browner, Fryar

Who do you have?
hm. Gash over Patrick Pass? My dad would still take Kevin “Nine Yards” Turner.
 

tims4wins

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Jul 15, 2005
37,061
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I agreed with the decision to go for it; I just never liked passing for it twice in a row after getting to 3rd and 2, if BB knew they were going to go for it on 4th and short. I felt that they had had success running the ball that game...oh well.
I think they threw on 3rd to catch the Colts off guard.

Or maybe because they thought they could go 1 for 2. Either way I can’t fault the play calls.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
24,376
I think they threw on 3rd to catch the Colts off guard.

Or maybe because they thought they could go 1 for 2. Either way I can’t fault the play calls.
You give Brady two chances to complete one pass for 2 yards.... I mean.... the odds have to be greater than 90% that they get it.
 

Zincman

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Jul 31, 2006
433
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Jon Morris was easily the most accomplished center for the Pats. AFL All-star six times. First Pat player ever to rep the AFC in the Pro Bowl. Plus, he graduated from Holy Cross, so you know he's wicked smart.