Troy Brown inducted into New England Patriots Hall of Fame
Troy Brown was inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame today in a ceremony at The Hall at Patriot Place. Troy is the 19th person to join this elite group, and the second player from the 2001 club that won the first Super Bowl in the franchise's history.
There are many highlight's to Troy's career, but in my mind there are a few specific plays that stand out above the others. In 2003 the Dolphins were a team that the Pats just could not beat in the heat early in the year in Miami. On the first play of the second drive in overtime Tom Brady hit Troy on the left sideline for an 82-yard game winning touchdown pass. That put the Pats in first place in the AFC East and they never looked back despite a plethora of injuries.
There is also of course the vital 23-yard reception on the game-winning drive from Super Bowl 36 against the Rams, and the 2001 AFC Championship game against the Steelers. In that victory Troy started things off with a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown and then returned a blocked field goal attempt before alertly lateralling the ball to Antwan Harris for a touchdown; he also had a 28-yard punt return that set up a short 32-yard touchdown drive.
But the one play that really exemplifies what Troy Brown was all about came in the 2006 playoffs against the Chargers. San Diego's Marlon McCree intercepted a pass which at the moment appeared to guarantee a win for the Chargers. Troy didn't just hang his head and give up though; he stripped the ball away from McCree which resulted in the Pats retaining possession, and they won the game to advance to the conference championship.
Here a few other noteworthy accomplishments from Troy Brown's career:
- 1993: drafted 198th overall in the 8th round
- Fifteen year NFL career, all with the Patriots
- Pats all-time leading receiver with 557 receptions
- At time of his retirement ranked 2nd in team history with 6,366 receiving yards
- 31 receiving touchdowns ranked 6th most in club history at time of his retirement
- Retired as career franchise leader with 252 punt returns
- Retired as 2nd most in club history with three punt returns for touchdowns
- Played in 192 games as a Patriot, 4th most in franchise history
- Played for 15 seasons with the Pats, tied for 2nd most in club history
- 2001: set what was then a club record with 101 receptions
- 2001: 1,199 receiving yards, at that time 2nd most in team history
- 2001: 18 playoff receptions, most in team history at that time
- 2001: in Super Bowl 36 Troy led the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (89)
- 2001: named to the NFL Pro Bowl
- 2002: set team single-game record with 16 receptions versus Chiefs
- 2002: 97 receptions, at that time 2nd most in team history
- 2003: led team in playoff receptions with 17
- 2003: 2nd on team with 8 receptions (including 3 on game-winning drive) in Super Bowl 38
- 2004: 2nd on team with three interceptions
- 2004: five receptions and six tackles in playoffs
- 2002-2006: five time team co-captain
- 2006: passed Stanley Morgan to become team's all-time leader in receptions
- While Troy Brown was with the Patriots the team had only three losing seasons; the Pats made the playoffs ten times, won eight division titles, won five conference championships, and won three Super Bowls.
Troy Brown joins John Hannah (1991), Nick Buoniconti (1992), Gino Cappelletti (1992), Bob Dee (1993), Jim Lee Hunt (1993), Steve Nelson (1993), Babe Parilli (1993), Mike Haynes (1994), Steve Grogan (1995), Andre Tippett (1999), Bruce Armstrong (2001), Stanley Morgan (2007), Ben Coates (2008), Jim Nance (2009), Billy Sullivan (2009), Sam Cunningham (2010), Jon Morris (2011)and Drew Bledsoe (2011) in the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Congratulations to Troy Brown!
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