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NE's TD production broken down like a 1958 Edsel
Cold, Hard Football Facts for December 22, 2007
When New England safety Eugene Wilson returned an INT for a touchdown in his team's 20-10 win over the Jets last week, he became the 21st Patriots player to reach the end zone this season.
The mark is notable because the 2007 Patriots tied the 2000 Broncos as the only teams in NFL history in which 21 different players have scored touchdowns (the 1987 Rams also boast 21 different TD scorers, but in a strike season were aided by essentially two rosters, the real team and the squad of replacement players).
Football research guru and friend of the Cold, Hard Football Facts John Dudley dove into the numbers this week to see how the TD distribution between the 2007 Patriots and 2000 Broncos compares. Then he broke it all down like a 1958 Edsel.
His findings show that there are a lot of similarities between the way the teams punched the ball into the end zone. For example, Patriots defenders have scored 10 TDs this year (including in the kick return game), while Broncos defenders scored 9 TDs.
Essentially, a slew of big plays from atypical sources were needed for the Broncos and Patriots to reach the 21 TD-scorer mark. Neither team ever went three games without scoring a touchdown on defense or special teams. (A complete list of defensive and special teams TDs for each team appears below.)
- The 2000 Broncos scored 6 TDs on defense and 3 TDs on special teams.
- The 2007 Patriots have scored 6 TDs on defense and 2 TDs on special teams.
- The 2000 Broncos scored 9 return TDs in 9 different games.
- The 2007 Patriots have scored 8 return TDs in 8 different games.
But the differences you might expect are also obvious: Denver, with its traditionally great ground game, generated 21 touchdowns from its running backs, to just 12 for New England. And the Patriots, with their historically great passing game, have generated 31 TDs from their wide receivers, to just 19 for the Broncos.
WHO SCORED? 2007 PATRIOTS vs. 2000 BRONCOS
|
TD type |
2007 Patriots |
2000 Broncos |
|
Total TDs |
67 |
58 |
|
Quarterbacks |
3 |
2 |
|
Running backs |
12 |
21 |
|
Wide receivers |
31 |
19 |
|
Tight ends |
8 |
7 |
|
Defenders* |
10 |
9 |
|
Special teams TDs |
2 |
3 |
|
Defensive TDs |
6 |
6 |
* These include TDs by defensive players who scored off turnovers, in the kicking game and while appearing on offense.
2000 BRONCOS SPECIAL TEAMS/DEFENSIVE TDs
|
Player |
TD |
|
Trevor Pryce |
28-yard fumble return |
|
Ian Gold |
12-yard blocked punt return |
|
Jimmy Spencer |
21-yard interception return |
|
Spencer |
79-yard interception return |
|
Terrell Buckley |
32-yard interception return |
|
Ray Crockett |
26-yard interception return |
|
Deltha O'Neal |
87-yard kickoff return |
|
Jason Suttle |
fumble recovery in end zone off a muffed punt |
|
Billy Jenkins |
36-yard interception return |
2007 PATRIOTS SPECIAL TEAMS/DEFENSIVE TDs
|
Player |
TD |
|
Adalius Thomas |
65-yard interception return |
|
Rosevelt Colvin |
11-yard fumble return |
|
Ellis Hobbs |
108-yard kickoff return |
|
Hobbs |
35-yard fumble return |
|
Asante Samuel |
40-yard interception return |
|
Randall Gay |
15-yard fumble return |
|
Willie Andrews |
77-yard kickoff return |
|
Eugene Wilson |
5-yard interception return |
Here's the complete breakdown by individual players.
INDIVIDUAL TD PRODUCTION: 2007 PATRIOTS vs. 2000 BRONCOS
|
2007 Patriots (TDs) |
Position |
2000 Broncos (TDs) |
|
Tom Brady (2) |
QB |
Brian Griese (1) |
|
Matt Cassel (1) |
QB |
Gus Frerotte (1) |
|
Heath Evans (3) |
FB |
Howard Griffith (2) |
|
Kyle Eckel (2) |
FB |
Detron Smith (1) |
|
Laurence Maroney (3) |
RB |
Mike Anderson (15) |
|
Sammy Morris (3) |
RB |
Terrell Davis (2) |
|
Kevin Faulk (1) |
RB |
KaRon Coleman (1) |
|
Randy Moss (19) |
WR |
Rod Smith (9) |
|
Wes Welker (8) |
WR |
Ed McCaffrey (9) |
|
Donté Stallworth (3) |
WR |
Travis McGriff (1) |
|
Jabar Gaffney (4) |
WR/TE |
Byron Chamberlain (1) |
|
Benjamin Watson (6) |
TE |
Dwayne Carswell (3) |
|
Kyle Brady (2) |
TE |
Desmond Clark (3) |
|
Adalius Thomas (1) |
DL/LB |
Trevor Pryce (1) |
|
Rosevelt Colvin (1) |
LB |
Ian Gold (1) |
|
Mike Vrabel (2) |
LB/CB |
Jimmy Spencer (2) |
|
Ellis Hobbs (2) |
CB |
Terrell Buckley (1) |
|
Asante Samuel (1) |
CB |
Ray Crockett (1) |
|
Randall Gay (1) |
CB |
Deltha O'Neal (1) |
|
Willie Andrews (1) |
CB |
Jason Suttle (1) |
|
Eugene Wilson (1) |
S |
Billy Jenkins (1) |
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