Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots A to Z Part 4 - Locked On Patriots June 27, 2019

Episode Date: June 27, 2019

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Hey there everybody and welcome on into part four of Patriots A to Z here at Locked On Patriots. I am Mark Schofield as always with you here in the big chair and we're working our way through Patriots A to Z here. Part 2. Phase 2 of the offseason program here at Locked On Patriots. We've done A and B. We've done C and D. We've done E and F.

And now today, G and H. We've got a lot of players. A lot of plays. And one of New England's most memorable moments to get to in today's show. But before we do any of that, your usual reminders. First, please follow on with the hijinks on the Twitter machine at Mark Schofield. Check out the work at a variety of places like insidethepylon.com, Pro Football Weekly, The Score, Matt Waldman's Rookie Scouting Portfolio,

and yes, that trio of SB Nation websites. Big Blue View, Bleeding Green Nation, and of course, Pat's Pulpit. Let's get in now because we've got a lot of players to talk about here. We're going to start with the letter G today's show brought to you by the letters G and H. And let's start with G and let's start with Jimmy Garoppolo. Yes, the quarterback drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. He made two starts for the New England Patriots during his time with New England in that 2016 season when Tom Brady had to serve a four-game suspension. You'll notice we skipped right past the flake gate. I wasn't even going to mention

that one, but I just will mention the Tom Brady suspension here, but that's not talking about that. Now, Jimmy Garoppolo, obviously a member of the San Francisco 49ers, as he was traded to the Patriots midway through the 2017 season. He started five games for the 49ers in 2017, started three games for them last year, but suffered a knee injury. Now he looks to come back and be the 49ers starting quarterback, the one that they hope they traded for in 2017. Some other players with the letter G. Sam Gash, fullback for the New England Patriots during the 1990s out of Penn State, played for a number of other teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills. He played six seasons with the Patriots during his time in New England, had two Russian touchdowns, kind of was James Devlin before James Devlin, so to speak, but Sam Gash, obviously a

member of Patriots lore. Some other players were the letter DG David Givens, played four seasons with the New England Patriots before his final season in Tennessee, but had some big games for the Patriots, particularly in the postseason. You look at some of his numbers in the postseason for the Patriots during those 2003-2004 teams that won back-to-back Super Bowls. That 2004 season, probably his best season as a pro. Paired him 15 games with 12 starts, 56 receptions. That was not a career high, but his 874 yards were career highs. He did, however, catch six touchdowns the year prior in 2003.

David Gibbons, one of their better compensatory picks. He was a compensatory pick in the seventh round out of Notre Dame. Terry Glenn, another wide receiver, part of Patriots lore, drafted seventh overall by the New England Patriots in 1996. Obviously, some strife at times between him and Bill Parcells, but played six years in New England, his best year in New England. It's a toss-up. You might say it was his rookie year where he started and played in 15 games,

90 receptions, which would be a career high for him, 1,132 yards received, which was second to his 2005 season in dallas and six touchdowns which tied for second among career years for him he would have seven in that 2005 season which probably that year in dallas was his best year overall but his best year in new england probably that rookie season of course we sort of remember the he-she derogatory comments by Bill Parcells about him, but Terry Glenn, member of Patriots lore. A lot of Grahams to talk about.

Art Graham, Daniel Graham, Hanson Graham, Mitt Graham, Shane Graham. Five players with the last name of Graham suited up for the New England Patriots. Most notable of those, probably Daniel Graham, the tight end they drafted out of Colorado. Jonas Gray, he spent one year with New England, had one fantastic game, that game, that primetime game against Indianapolis where he had over 300 yards rushing. Didn't do too much more beyond that. Ben Jarvis, Green Elvis, running back for the New England Patriots for a number of seasons 2008 2009 2010 and 2011 steve grogan grogan was a mainstay for the patriots over

basically 1975 to 1990 he started 56 games for the patriots through for over 26 000 yards during his time in new eng, 182 touchdown passes. He was a member of that Super Bowl XX team where in that year he appeared in seven games, started six for them, split in time with Tony Eason. He would suffer an injury. His best year in New England, probably the 1983 season, started all 12 games, threw for 15 touchdown passes. 1979, 16 games, 28 touchdown passes.

That was probably his best year in New England now I look at it. Also his best year yardage-wise. The only time he would throw for over 3,000 yards. Most notably, Steve Grogan. Perhaps the only quarterback in recent history to wear a neck roll. Obviously we remember Steve Grogan for that. But Steve Grogan, a big part of Patriots lore. Rob Gronkowski, now a former Patriot.

But we all remember Gronk, his final catch. A seam route on Haas wide juke to set up the game's only touchdown in Super Bowl 53. Rob Gronkowski, a huge part of Patriots lore and a surefire first ballot Hall of Famers. Some current Patriots. With the letter G, Malik Gant out of Marshall, a defensive back. Tyler Gauthier, center out of Miami. Josh Gordon, we hope he makes it back. Talented wide receiver.

Steven Gostkowski, long-time kicker for the New England Patriots. Lawrence Guy, defensive tackle out of Arizona Stadium. Yes, perhaps the top corner in the game right now. Stephon Gilmore, recently acquired via trade. He's been a lockdown corner since his time in New England. Some players with the letter H.

Ray Hamilton. Sugar Bear. Drafted in the 14th round. 342nd overall by the New England Patriots in 1973, but a huge part of the Patriots defense in those teams in the 70s that made some playoff runs. Also, notably, that somewhat controversial playoff game against the Oakland Raiders. The Patriots had a 20, I think it was a 21-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

He gets flagged for a very controversial roughing the passer penalty on Kent Stabler that nullifies the incompletion that should have iced the game for New England. New England would have lost that game on a last-second touchdown run by Kent Stabler. So, Sugar Bear Ray Hamilton, a big member of Patriots lore.

John Hanna. What's interesting in the football Twitter world is every offseason or so, you'll see an all-time draft done with like 32 Twitter accounts. And without fail, one of the earliest interior offensive linemen to come off the board, as he should be, is John Hanna. Hall of Fame type player, drafted in the first round, fourth overall of the 1973 draft, played all the way through Super Bowl XX, which would be his last game. But John Hogg Hanna, just a critical member of Patriots history. You can't start a list of best Patriots ever without getting to him pretty quickly.

Just a tremendous offensive guard out of Alabama. Some other Patriots to mention with the letter H. Mike Haynes, defensive back out of Arizona State, played for the Patriots a number of years. Drafted in the first round, fifth overall, the 1976 drafts. Obviously, he would go on to play for the Raiders and be a part of that rivalry between the Patriots and the Raiders in the 80s. Some other members, yes, Aaron Hernandez.

Part of that two tight end set, that 12 personnel set with Rob Gronkowski. We know how his career sort of ended and what happened to him outside of football, but a member of Patriots history. Chris Hogan, no longer with the Patriots now, but a member of some Super Bowl teams. Michael Humanaoui, just like saying his name, but reserve tight end for the New England Patriots.

Sam Hunt, linebacker for the Patriots out of Stephen F. Austin, part of those teams in the 70s. His best year, probably 1976. Sam Hunt, linebacker for the Patriots out of Stephen F. Austin, part of those teams in the 70s. His best year, probably 1976. He had two interceptions, one of them which returned for a touchdown that season. Linebacker out of Stephen F. Austin. Some current Patriots. Brian Hoyer, A.J. Howard, Dante Hightower, mainstay at the linebacker spot for the Patriots for a number of years.

Nikhil Harry, the rookie out of Arizona State. Trent Harris, Maurice Harris, Damian Harris. We've got three members of the Patriots with the last name Harris right now. Jerron Harmon, critical safety for the Patriots right now in Therese Hall, linebacker out of Missouri. I may have missed some names there, a lot of players to talk about. If I did, please point them out to me on the Twitter machine at Mark Schofield. We'll get them added to a later show. We don't want to miss people.

We've got a lot of guys to talk about, but some great players from Patriots history and current history, letters G and H. Up next, some of the plays that helped those players succeed. That's ahead on Part 4 of Patriots A to Z here at Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now. Going to talk about some of the plays from the letters G and H here in our little Patriots encyclopedia that we're putting together. Let's start as we have tended to do so with some single receiver routes.

Again, most of these are going to be on the offensive side of the ball because that's my background and that's what I know best and those are the playbooks I have access to. But there are a couple of plays, individual routes that the Patriots have, such as hook, which is an inside receiver route, a slot receiver route, where you take a vertical stem to about six yards. Your landmark is to split the inside and outside defenders versus zone coverage. So it's basically you get between defenders and you sit down.

If you get man coverage, you sit down. If you get man coverage, you are going to break to the outside. So you sit versus zone. You basically, if you get man coverage, you run away from that defender. You match the contact of the defender. That's another coaching point in the playbook, but that is hook part of the Patriots offense. Another is hitch. This is from an outside receiver get to a depth of six yards plant off the outside foot and stick do not be short you've got to get that six yard depth you will adjust this to a go route a fade route versus press or rolled coverages if you are going to run the hitch you sell that vertical route get that defender to break on

the vertical and then get to that plant spot. Stick. Do not be short. Catch the ball. Turn towards the sideline. Coaching point also. Possible hitch go if you run the hitch and do not get the ball. You spin and then you go vertically. So that's hitch. Patriots also have Hawk as one of their single receiver routes. And this route is a little bit complicated. It's got some elements to it. And basically what Hawk is, is this. It is a double move, a hitch comeback at 12 to 14 yards. Only outside receivers were on this. So you run a hitch, then you go. So you run that hitch at six yards. Then you break vertically and at 12 to 14 yards. Then you break diagonally back towards the sideline. So it's a double move, a hitch. Then you go, then you come back. Now, if you get rolled coverage, you will run a fade. If you get press coverage, you're going to run straight

comeback. Do not twirl on the hitch. Don't spin around. Hitch, then break vertically. Don't twirl around on that. And a final coaching point on this one, great burst on second stem. You really got to sell that go route. You really want to get that defender to buy in on, oh, he's running the hitch and go, and then he can break back on the comeback. So that is Hawk, part of the Patriots playbook. Now let's talk two-man concepts. Again, we are working our way through the letters G and H.

Gotti, go and option route we've talked about this a little bit but it's a two-man concept an outside receiver runs a go inside receiver the slot receiver runs an option route the patriots have hoffa which is go and option but this is a depth of 10 to 12 yards gaudy the option route is at six. Hoffa, option route comes at 10 to 12. Goat. Yes, the Patriots have Goat in the playbook. That is a stutter go on the outside. So it's kind of like a double move on the outside and then a six yard option route from the slot receiver. Patriots also have Ghost. They have a Go on the outside and a Ghost, what they call the Ghost hook, which is you start in slide on a sl slant break vertically to

10 then break to the outside working back to a depth of about eight yards so that's where is that play ghost part of the Patriots playbook of course there is horse outside receiver to receiver concept you want to stop on the outside if you get a press coverage look you're going to run the stop if you get a rolled coverage look you're going to run the stop. If you get a rolled coverage look, you're going to run a go. Inside receiver runs a seam, but you read it. So if the middle of the field is closed, you're going to run a post. If you get cover one, you're going to run a corner. Any other coverage, you're just running that straight seam.

There's hail, which is a two-receiver concept. Outside receiver runs a 16-yard dig. Inside receiver runs the shoot route. We've talked about that. If the middle of the field is closed, again, there's a safety in the middle of the field. Slant to six yards, break vertically to 12, then cross working diagonally over the middle from 12 yards where you make that cut to about 22 yards. If the middle field is open, you're basically running a post corner. Working our way through the rest of the two-man concepts here, we've got some that we've talked about. I'm skipping one.

You know we're going to come back to it in a second. There's also hatch, two-receiver concept. Inside receiver runs that viper route where it's either a corner route if the middle field is closed or a post route if the middle field is open and then a return route on the outside, which is receiver breaks the inside of four yards and then either sits or then works back towards the outside so that route combination is hatch again you've got the return and you get the viper on the inside finally look i've danced around it long enough goof that's another one you've got an option and a viper, usually run out of a stack slot.

Apex receiver on the line of scrimmage runs that viper at the post corner, depending on whether the field is open or closed. The other receiver will run an option route, and you usually get that sort of tagged, and it is coverage specific. On one coverage, you're just going to go on a diagonal break into the inside. Against another coverage look, you're going to run it out at about six yards, break it towards the outside. It is coverage specific. The option runner is tagged. So example, you always hear Z goof, meaning the Z receiver will run the option route. Finally, Hint. I still keep coming across extras. Hint is a hitch from the outside receiver and a dart, a one-step slant from the inside receiver.

Now, I think we can get to it. Hoss. Hitch on the outside, seam on the inside. Again, part of the Patriots playbook. Now they do have a three-man concept or two in their playbook with the letters G and H. The first one we're going to talk about here, Gator. This is a three-receiver concept with a hitch on the outside, a seam route, which is a seam read route. You stay vertically if the middle of the field is closed. You make the post if the middle field is open. And then finally, a jiggle route, which is a six-yard route where you make a decision. You either break over the middle, you sit down, or you break back to the outside. So that's Gator, a three-man concept, part of the New England Patriots playbook.

Other three-man concepts with GRH, Hornet. Outside receiver runs the under route. Five yards, break to the inside, go down the line of scrimmage. Inside trips receiver runs the bow route, which is get vertically to 15, break to the outside, aiming for a depth of about 18 to 20. The middle receiver runs the viper route. I've been talking about viper a lot. It's that converted either post or corner where if the middle field is closed, you are running a corner route.

If the middle field is open, you are running a corner route. If the middle field is open, you are running a hitch route. So that is the plays from G&H that make the Patriots the team they are today. Up next, going to close this out with a name from Patriots history, Mark Henderson. Not a

player, but a piece of his equipment is in the Patriots Hall of Fame. That's ahead on Part 4 of Patriots A-Z here at Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now. And I'm going to close it out talking about a game between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots on December 12, 1982 at good old Schaefer Stadium. The night before this game, heavy rains soaked the turf at Schaefer Stadium. The night before this game, heavy rains soaked the turf at Schaefer Stadium. Conditions were made worse by not only do you have a frozen field, a snowstorm hit during

this game. Because of the bad conditions, an emergency ground rule was put into play. The officials could call timeout and allow the ground crew to use a snow plow to clear the yard markers. Despite this rule being in place, the ground crew was struggling to keep the field clear. The teams struggled on the field. This was a scoreless game into the fourth quarter. And with 445 left, conditions getting worse on the field, the Patriots were in field goal range. Head coach Ron Meyer motioned to Mark Henderson, a prisoner on work release for burglary, who was operating the snowplow.

He motioned for him to clear a spot for kicker John Smith. According to head coach Ron Meyer, it was quarterback Steve Grogan who suggested asking Henderson to clear the field. Up next, I'm going to play some audio from the Patriots. Talking about this, you're going to hear from John Smith, the kicker. You're going to hear from Steven Nelson, a linebacker. You're going to hear from Meyer. You're going to hear from Don Shuler,

who is not too happy about this moment in Patriots history. December the 12th, 1982. A snowstorm glitzes frigid Foxboro. The artificial turf looks more like the ice at the garden. Comforters are not only fashionable, but also downright necessary. And New England ingenuity would sweep the Patriots to victory. I get up early before a game, and about 6 o'clock in the morning I wake up. It's snowing like crazy.

Footing was awful, therefore you couldn't really throw the ball. So it was a grind-out, kind of mush-out game. The driving snow stalled the offenses of the Patriots and Dolphins. Trying to outsmart the elements, Patriots kicker John Smith used the head of offensive lineman Bob Trider to elevate his kick through the uprights. It went wide right. With 4.55 left in a scoreless tie, the Patriots were about to attempt a 33-yard field goal.

The name Mark Henderson was about to enter Patriots lore. I thought I ran through my head, well let's clear it with the sweeper that had been running up and down clearing the sideline for the officials all afternoon. So I sent the sweeper out there and told him to clear the space. I thought that Steve Groban actually made the call to the snowplow, the last one, and told him to go across. Mark Henderson, a convicted burglar out of prison on a work release program, had been clearing the yard markers all afternoon. This time he cleared a four-foot

swath for holder Matt Cavanaugh. On the way! It's good! My first impression was and my first instinct was the guy swept snow on Matt Cavanaugh, my holder, swept it onto the area where we were clearing out and I said he got in the way. Whoever ordered it or told the guy to do it has got to think long and hard about the ramifications of something like that. That happened. You know, I remember, you know, clapping my hands and saying, you know, this is what the home field advantage is all about. And what makes it even better was, of course, you know, the Miami Dolphins, Don Shula, who

was such a tremendous coach. And I think this is probably the low point of his Hall of Fame coaching career. The critical 3-0 win in a strike-shortened season propelled the Patriots to the playoffs. Mark Henderson got a game ball and achieved Patriot immortality. I would have definitely made the kick without the snow cloud. Henderson's tractor hangs from the ceiling of the Patriots Hall of Fame. Tremendous audio

there from the Patriots. That's on their YouTube channel. It's Pat Summerall, John Smith, Stephen Nelson, some others

talking about this. You heard that English accent of John Smith, the kicker who converted the field goal, Stephen Nelson

talking about kind of rubbing it into Shula, who you also heard from there at the end talking about whoever made the decision is going to have to live with the repercussions of that and Shula actually lodged a formal protest after this game he believed it to be against the

league rules pointed out that the league's unfair act clause allowed the league to overturn the game result he met with commissioner Pete Rozelle several days later, concerned of this protest, and Rozelle agreed with Shula that the use of the plow gave the Patriots an unfair advantage. But he said that he had never reversed the result of a game and was not going to start doing so for any reason. Now, Henderson, as I said, a convicted burglar on a work release program from MCI, Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Norfolk,

was released from prison a few years later and currently works in a construction business. He was interviewed some years later about the controversy. He jokingly remarked, what are they going to do? Throw me in jail? Both teams made the playoffs. The Patriots finished seventh in the AFC. The Dolphins finished in second. But the Dolphins would exact revenge.

They bounced the Patriots from the playoffs on 28-3. It was a scoring route to the Dolphins reaching Super Bowl XVII. The following year, the NFL banned the use of snow plows on the field during the game. In a 2000 interview for NFL Network, Shuler recalled protesting under Rule 17, which allows the league commission to overturn the results of a game, such as non-participant interference if it has an outcome on the game but again rozelle responded that while he agreed such a rule explicitly barring the use of a plow was not in place so there was nothing he could do ron meyer the patriots head coach was also interviewed for this segment he said he didn't

see why it was such a controversy saying quote the only thing i could see was the dolphins arguing about an unfair competitive advantage again the incident is commemorated with an interactive exhibit at the Hall of Patriots place. The plow itself, a John Deere Model 314 tractor with a sweeper attached, hangs from the ceiling. And if you're like me and you've seen the Patriots Hall of Fame, you've seen the plow. That will do it for today. I will be back tomorrow. We're going to be talking I and J. Believe it or not, there are a lot of plays that we can talk about. So you have that to be excited for.

As far as players, well, you know, there are some players to get to. We're going to talk about some names, some current Patriots. We've got some former Patriots to talk about with the letters I. And especially with the letter J, we've got some more players to talk about, with the letters I, and especially with the letter J, we got some more players to talk about there, including J.C. Jackson, the talented defensive back, Craig James out of SMU, so there's a lot to get to. Chad Ochocinco will probably mention him.

And again, if I missed out on some names, please, please, please do let me know. I'm trying to hit as many as I can in the show. It's only supposed to go 23 minutes. We're on a tight ship here at the Locked On Podcast Network. Until next time, please keep it locked right here. To me, Mark Schofield and Locked On Patriots. Thank you.