New England Patriots Totally Explained

Everything about The New England Patriots totally explained

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats" by sports writers and fans, are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The owners changed the name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating the team to Foxborough in 1971, although Foxborough is a suburb of Boston, away. They are currently the American Football Conference Champions, after winning the 2007 AFC Championship Game. An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of those leagues. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in January 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers.
Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX), and the eighth to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their 2007 season.

Franchise history

November 16 1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL). The following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football team's official name. The most popular choice—and the one that Sullivan selected—was "Boston Patriots". Immediately thereafter, Phil Bissell developed the "Pat Patriot" logo.
The Patriots time in the AFL saw them struggle most years as they never had a regular home stadium. Nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. They did play in one AFL championship game, following the 1963 season. They lost to the San Diego Chargers 51–10. They wouldn't appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years. Parcells would bring the Patriots to two playoff appearances, including Super Bowl XXXI, which they lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 35–21. Pete Carroll, Parcells's successor, would also take the team to the playoffs twice.

Other notable alumni

Julius Adams DL (1971–87)

Sam Adams OG (1972–80)

Tom Addison LB (1960–67)

Houston Antwine DL (1961–71)

Don Blackmon LB (1981–87)

Drew Bledsoe QB (1993–2001)

Deion Branch WR (2002–05)

Pete Brock C (1976–87)

Ron Burton RB (1960–65)

Keith Byars FB (1996–97)

Don Calhoun RB (1975–81)

Rich Camarillo P (1981–87)

Raymond Clayborn CB (1977–89)

Ben Coates TE (1991–99)

Jim Colclough WR (1960–68)

Tony Collins RB (1981–87)

Sam Cunningham RB (1973–82)

Lin Dawson TE (1981–90)

Corey Dillon RB (2004–06)

Hart Lee Dykes WR (1989–91)

Tony Eason QB (1983–89)

Larry Eisenhauer DL (1961–69)

Irving Fryar WR (1984–92)

Tim Fox DB (1976–81)

Russ Francis TE (1975–80, 1987–88)

Larry Garron RB (1961-67)

David Givens WR (2002-05)

Terry Glenn WR (1996–2001)

Daniel Graham TE (2002-06)

Leon Gray OT (1973–78)

Steve Grogan QB (1975–90)

Ray Hamilton DL (1973–81)

Mack Herron RB (1973–75)

Brian Holloway OT (1981–86)

Craig James RB (1985–89)

Roland James DB (1980–90)

Andy Johnson RB (1974–81)

Ted Johnson LB (1995–2004)

Ty Law CB (1995–2004)

Bill Lenkaitis C (1971–81)

Ronnie Lippett DB (1983–91)

Fred Marion DB (1982–91)

Curtis Martin RB (1995–97)

Willie McGinest LB (1994–2005)

Dave Meggett KR (1995–97)

Lawyer Milloy SS (1996–2002)

Stanley Morgan WR (1977–90)

Jon Morris OL (1964–73)

Guy Morriss C (1984–87)

Jim Nance RB (1965–72)

Tom Neville OL (1965–77)

Babe Parilli QB (1961–66)

David Patten WR (2001-04)

Jim Plunkett QB (1971–76)

Johnny Rembert LB (1983–92)

Leonard Russell RB (1991–93)

Asante Samuel CB (2003-07)

Antowain Smith RB (2001–03)

John Smith K (1974–83)

John Stephens RB (1988–1992)

Darryl Stingley WR (1973–77)

Mosi Tatupu RB (1978–90)

Andre Tippett LB (1982–93)

Randy Vataha WR (1971–76)

Garin Veris DE (1985–91)

Adam Vinatieri K (1996–2005)

All-time first-round draft picks

Coaches of note

Head coaches

Lou Saban (1960–61)

Mike Holovak (1961–68)

Clive Rush (1969–70)

John Mazur (1970–72)

Phil Bengtson (interim) (1972)

Chuck Fairbanks (1973–78)

Ron Erhardt (1979–81)

Ron Meyer (1982–84)

Raymond Berry (1984–89)

Rod Rust (1990)

Dick MacPherson (1991–92)

Bill Parcells (1993–96)

Pete Carroll (1997–99)

Bill Belichick (2000–present)

Current staff

Cheerleaders

The Patriots NFL Cheerleaders are simply known as the The Patriots Cheerleaders. In 2005, cheerleader Kristin Gauvin won Miss Massachusetts, in part from her local commitment with the Patriots.

End-zone militia

During each game, about 10 men dressed as minutemen line the back of each end zone. When the Patriots score a touchdown or field goal, the militia behind the opposite end zone fire a round of blanks from flintlock muskets. After the point-after-touchdown (PAT) attempt, the men fire their guns to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. ESPN named this one of the top ten celebrations in the league in 2007.

Radio and television

As of 2007, the Patriots' flagship radio station is WBCN 104.1FM, owned by CBS Radio. The larger radio network is called the "Patriots Rock Radio Network", whose 35 affiliate stations span 7 states. Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti are the longtime announcing team.
Any preseason games not on national television are shown on ABC affiliate WCVB. Don Criqui has been the play-by-play announcer the last several years, with Randy Cross as a color commentator and Mike Lynch as a sideline reporter.

Patriots radio announcers

Years	Flagship station	Play-by-Play	Color Commentator
1960–64	590 WEEI	Bob Gallagher	Fred Cusick
1965	590 WEEI	Ned Martin	Fred Cusick
1966–71	1030 WBZ	Bob Starr	Gil Santos
1972–77	1030 WBZ	Gil Santos	Gino Cappelletti
1978–79	1030 WBZ	Gil Santos	Jon Morris
1980–86	850 WHDH	John Carlson	Jon Morris
1987	850 WHDH	Curt Gowdy	Jon Morris
1988–90	590 WEEI	Dale Arnold	Gino Cappelletti
1991–1995	1030 WBZ	Gil Santos	Gino Cappelletti
1995–present	104.1 WBCN	Gil Santos	Gino Cappelletti

Notes and references

Further Information

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