Giving up the Ghost

Oppo

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Apr 5, 2009
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3 x Super Bowl champion
4 x Pro Bowl
3 x All Pro
479 consecutive PATs
All time Pats leading scorer
87.4% career FG
88.6% career playoff FG

Thank you!

Forget the misses, share a favorite memory
 

Bowhemian

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Nov 10, 2015
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He was a very consistent and very reliable kicker for a lot of years. He deserves a ton of credit, as he was a big part of Dynasty II
 

Zososoxfan

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Jul 30, 2009
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I thought BB was absolutely nuts to move on from Vinatieri. We got Ghost instead, and he's a lock for the Pats' HOF. It was a pleasure to root for the guy.
 

bakahump

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Jan 8, 2001
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I know this is Ghosts Thread....but Freakin Adam Vinatieri Played last year!!! LOL Ghost came here and had a long and successful career. AFTER AV had a long and successful career here. Then he went somewhere else and had a career as long as Ghost has been here. LOL

Thats really kinda cool for both guys.
 

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
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I know this is Ghosts Thread....but Freakin Adam Vinatieri Played last year!!! LOL Ghost came here and had a long and successful career. AFTER AV had a long and successful career here. Then he went somewhere else and had a career as long as Ghost has been here. LOL

Thats really kinda cool for both guys.
It really is remarkable how long this franchise has had stellar QB, K production along with elite coaching.
 

Granite Sox

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Feb 6, 2003
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I know this is Ghosts Thread....but Freakin Adam Vinatieri Played last year!!! LOL Ghost came here and had a long and successful career. AFTER AV had a long and successful career here. Then he went somewhere else and had a career as long as Ghost has been here. LOL

Thats really kinda cool for both guys.
The K legacy in modern Patriots history is akin to LF for the Red Sox...

Thank you, Ghost.

OOT53 X 3
 

DrBlinky

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Jun 18, 2002
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The Patriots were one of the proponents for moving the PAT attempt back to the 15. I'm sure knowing he had a weapon like Ghost was a factor in that decision. And yes, I do realize there were some critical misses along the way, but he was almost as automatic as anyone outside of Justin Tucker.
 

InstaFace

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Sep 27, 2016
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I don't even understand why we got rid of him unless his injury last year is the kind you don't come back from. The dude didn't look to be slowing down in his abilities.

A core part of the Patriots success, will always think fondly about him. Even if he doesn't have the iconic moments of his predecessor, he contributed to just as many titles and great runs.
 

Saints Rest

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I imagine he was cut in large part because his cap charge wasn't worth his production. Any chance we see him back on a reduced deal? (Answering my own question), I would imagine there would be plenty of teams willing to sign him, if healthy, so I doubt he's back.
 

Cotillion

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Jun 11, 2019
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I think it was a pure salary cap move.

Will miss him. He was super steady, and he had an almost impossible job of following Vinatieri. He pulled it off well.
 

PC Drunken Friar

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Sep 12, 2003
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Ghost has one of the more unbreakable record in football (if not all of sports).

Most consecutive PAT without a miss, 523. To put it in perspective, Matt Stover had the record at 422 straight.
 

bigq

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Jul 15, 2005
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Ghost has one of the more unbreakable record in football (if not all of sports).

Most consecutive PAT without a miss, 523. To put it in perspective, Matt Stover had the record at 422 straight.
Most of those 523 were before the PAT got moved back by 13 yards. The record is truly unattainable now.
 

InstaFace

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Sep 27, 2016
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Yes, hence the first line in his post.

My favorite part about that streak, though, is that they moved the kicks back at the start of the 2015 season, and while everyone else was going nuts missing a bunch of PATs as they adjusted to the new world, he went 52-for-52 that year.

...and then failed and broke the streak at the absolutely goddamn worst possible time.
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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Jul 20, 2009
8,878
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I expect them to go cheap on a low round draft pick or undrafted free agent.
HT to @Brand Name - I think you are right in that they draft Rodrigo Blankenship (Another UGA player) on day 3. His nickname is “Hot Rod”. Pretty sure with his personality he would be a fan favorite.
 

tmracht

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Aug 19, 2009
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I am betting dollars to donuts they draft Tyler Bass.
Also a good option!
Bass: 40+ is 27/36 (75%)
Blakenship: 40+ is 29/42 (69%)

If we look at the last two years though to ignore early career:
Bass: 40-50 16/21 76% and 50+ 2/4 = 50%
Blankenship: 40-50 15/20 75 and 50+ 4/6 = 66%

And for Kickoff Prowess:
Blakenship: 85 kickoffs with 65 touchbacks (76%)
Bass: 72 kickoffs with 55 touchbacks (76%)

I think both would be pretty good shouts.
 

BornToRun

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Jun 4, 2011
17,340
The Ghost may be my favorite Patriots player, TB12 excluded, and seeing him go really stings. I always felt like his biggest fan and most ardent supporter, the ratty old #3 jersey I got all the way back in 2007 is one of the favorites in my collection. I wish him the best and consider myself lucky that I got to watch him kick here for so many years. Thanks for everything, dude.
 

BuellMiller

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Mar 25, 2015
449
We've come a long way from missin' Sisson.
Say what you want about Sisson (you know, like he's p-f-ref's all-time worst Patriots by AV at -2), but maybe if he was remotely competent, the Patriots don't get the #4 overall pick in 1994, and then maybe Edgerin James is able to score from 4th and 1 (among other plays).
 

streeter88

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Apr 2, 2006
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Dollar

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May 5, 2006
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HT to @Brand Name - I think you are right in that they draft Rodrigo Blankenship (Another UGA player) on day 3. His nickname is “Hot Rod”. Pretty sure with his personality he would be a fan favorite.
I'm wondering how crazy I am in thinking viral video star Josh Gable might be an option.

So why have Gable take up a spot on the practice squad for just two days? Belichick explained the move on Friday, and hinted that Gable could be back with the team in 2020.

“We had a spot available on the practice squad, and it gave us an opportunity to look at a younger kicker,” Belichick told reporters, before professing his confidence in Folk. “We’re going with Nick, so that’s not really – we’ll worry about that next year. But rather than just come in and do a workout, we were actually able to kick with the team and put him on the practice squad for a couple days. So, put that in the bank and maybe it comes up later on at some point in time down the road. Maybe it doesn’t, I’m not sure. We’ll see how it goes.”
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdrs0Sog9Y