Boston Sports Then and Now

Gronk and Hernan may be the Patriots next dynamic duo.

Its only the preseason, but Gronk and Hernan have been quite impressive for the Patriots.

You don’t know who Gronk and Hernan are?  If don’t know already, you will.

Rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez may be New England’s next offensive dynamic duo since Moss and Welker.

When the Patriots selected Gronkowski in the 2^nd round and Hernandez in the 4^th round in this year’s draft, fans may have been scratching their heads. Okay maybe one tight end but two?

New England hasn’t utilized the tight end position in their offense since the retirement of Ben Coates for the most part. Since 2000, Ben Watson(48 catches in ’06) and Daniel Graham(38 catches in ’03) have been the Patriots biggest “threats” at the tight end position.

After the release of Watson and the failed experiment, Chris Baker the Patriots had a gaping hole at the end of the line. Besides the addition of Gronk and Hernan, New England added veteran depth by signing Alge Crumpler. Crump was brought in to be more of a blocker that will assist in the running game. He will not be relied upon offensively, he’ll leave that to the young guns.

Read the rest of this entry →

Coming of their successful 1994 campaign, optimism for the Patriots was at an all time high.

Patriots running back, Curtis Martin gained at least 1,000 yards from 1995-1997.

They had the owner in Kraft, the coach in Parcells, and the franchise quarterback in Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe was able to lead the New England Patriots to the playoffs for the first time since the 1980’s.

What did 1995 have in store for this up and coming franchise?

The Patriots drafted University of Pittsburgh running back, Curtis Martin in the 3^rd round of the NFL draft.

Martin proved to be far more than just a third rounder.

The 1995 season did not start how the Patriots wanted. They started to repeat the team’s inconsistent ways.

Overachieving one year and underachieving the next.

The team started off 1-5 and never was able to emulate the magic from the previous playoff season. New England finished a very disappointing 1995 campaign with a 6-10 record.

However, not all was lost in 1995.

Read the rest of this entry →