A Stupid question. What is the name of the music that the Pats come out to at the games and a new one they played last Saturday. Hope you can write about this or e-mail me with info, Thanks
Tom Arnold
Waltham, Mass.

Stupid, huh? Not surprising from a guy who married Roseanne Barr and not a great way to get respect for your question, but I will answer it anyway. "Carmina Burana" composed by Karl Orff is the one BEFORE they run out. Then they run out to "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. As for the new song you referred to, they play new music at every game so I am not sure exactly what you are thinking about. But I hope that helps a little. You do a fine job on the Best Damn Sports Show.
Andy Hart

What is the music they play at Gillette Stadium when the Patriots make a touchdown?
Karen Langelier
Fairax, Vt.

Rock and Roll Part 2 by Gary Glitter.
Andy Hart

This may sound like a stupid question but only stupid people (like me) ask questions. Right before Larry Izzo caught the interception against the Bills at the end of the game, there was a song played over the loudspeaker that sounded like a rhythm and blues knockoff of "Hey, Hey, Hey - Good-Bye". Any idea what the name of the song and who the artist is? It's got a good groove to it. I'm an Army officer in special operations and I listen to songs like that to get me pumped up for missions. This one is definitely needed in my collection. Thanks in advance for your help.
Pete Stemniski
Alexandria, Va.

Despite the fact that this is the third music related question I am answering, surrounding a team that has the best record in the NFL, I doubt that you are a stupid person. First you are a Patriots fan, so that puts you a leg up on plenty of other fans. And second, if you are a special operations officer I will assume that you are smarter than I will ever be and know more than I will ever know about things I have never even thought of. So give yourself some credit. The music I think you are referring to is a portion of Van Halen's "A'int talkin' 'bout love." Hopefully you can put it to good use on your next mission because that would be a much greater achievement for the song than anything to do with a football game. Good luck.
Andy Hart

I have been a Pats fan since the 1970's when I was a kid. The other day We were sitting around having a few beers discussing some old Patriot players from the 70's i.e.: Plunkett, Mack Herron, Russ Francis, John Hannah etc. I seem to recall that one of the offensive linemen from the Hannah era was also a practicing dentist in the offseason I think his first name was Bill and he may have been the center. Who is this guy?
Chris Bove
Rutland, Vt.

Chris this is one of the best random questions I have had in a while. The guy you are referring to is Bill Lenkaitis. He played center in 151 games for the Patriots from 1971-1981. He is still a practicing dentist with an office in Foxborough, Mass.
Andy Hart

WHAT DAY WILL THE PATS FIRST PLAYOFF GAME BE WILL IT BE THE 10TH OR THE 11TH?
Steven Somerville
So. Barre, Vt.

Steven, when you find out could you tell me? While everyone seems to be assuming that the Patriots would play in the prime time game on Saturday night Jan. 10, nothing is official. That decision is made by the league in conjunction with CBS. While official word could come at any time, the final schedule probably won't be announced until after this weekend's wild card results. But if I were a betting man, I wouldn't make any plans for that Saturday night.
Andy Hart

Can you tell me the history of quarterbacks for the Patriots who wore the number 11? We have a picture with a QB (in the old red/white uniforms) but don't recognize the face.We would appreciate if you can provide the answer.Thank you very much

Michael
Haverhill, Mass.

The first and most obvious number 11 is quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who wore the jersey from 1993 through 2001. Others include quarterback Tony Eason who wore the number from 1983-1989, Dick Shiner who wore it for 1973 and 1974, Joe Kapp who wore it for the 1970 season and Ed "Butch" Songin who wore it in the franchise's first two seasons in 1960 and 1961. According to the Patriots media guide, those are the only quarterbacks who wore the number 11 in the regular season. I hope that helps, but there is also always a chance the photo is of a player who wore the number during a training camp and never actually played for the team. Let us know if you figure out the player in question.
Andy Hart

Who will the Pat's play after the bye week winner of the indi. game or the raven's game.thanks.

Brian
Florence, S.C.

The Patriots will play the lowest seeded AFC playoff team following the action of Wild Card weekend. That means New England could potentially play Baltimore, Tennessee or Denver depending on how the opening weekend of playoff action unfolds.
Andy Hart

I watched the Pats play last Saturday against Buffalo and was impressed by the play of reserve LB Larry Izzo, LB Matt Chatham, and CB. Je'Rod Cherry. All three played a great game. These players could be going for starting jobs. Especially Cherry who is up against Samuel at corner back. Tell me what you think.Thanks a lot.

George B.
Chepachet, R.I.

In terms of Izzo and Cherry, both are in their 8th NFL season and they pretty much are what they are at this point in their careers. They are elite level special teams players who are capable of stepping in when necessary on defense, but will never be starting type players. That doesn't mean they are not valuable and key parts of the team, it is simply their role and one that they perform at the highest level. Chatham is a little bit of a different case. He is a very good special teams player, but has played a good amount as a backup linebacker this season. In just his fourth season, he has a chance at an increased role in the next few seasons if he can continue to show improvement and take advantage of his playing opportunities as he has done for the most part this season.
Andy Hart

The Patriots use a system of passes out of the backfield when they pass. LaDainian Tomlinson caught 100 passes this season AND ran for 1645 with an average of 5.3. Can you imagine him in the Patriots system? I think the Patriots should TRY and get him, because look at him, he's 24, he already has 4564 rushing yards in 3 seasons and he has 1581 yards receiving!!! The Patriots organization should make an effort to TRY and get him! I DOUBT the Patriots will get him or even try and get him. There would be salary cap problems, etc. I would love to have LT.
Kevin O.
Boston, Mass.

Kevin, no disrespect, but keep dreaming. I am as big an LT fan as there is and don't think he's gotten enough credit for the season he has put together this year, but there is no way the Chargers would be crazy enough to allow him to get away. He is doing things that have never been done before and for a franchise that has missed twice with its last two "franchise" quarterbacks, allowing a franchise back to get away would be a tragic mistake. But I agree, it is fun to dream of LT (or someone like him) running up down the field at Gillette.
Andy Hart

Okay, so this may be a dumb question but do you know if any of the players ever check out this website or any other websites affiliated with the NFL.
Angela
Ottawa, Ontario

Boy it seems like all we get are dumb and stupid questions (the words of our emailers, not me). Just kidding. In talking to players in the locker room, yes they do visit football sites and even Patriots.com. It varies from player to player, but many of the guys are very much into the Internet and computers, even in the locker room itself. Remember, they are just people like the rest of us. Just like everyone kills time on the Internet at work on occasion, (not me Mr. Kraft, just the rest of the world) the players do the same thing.
Andy Hart

I would like a schedule of the Patriots Play Off Games and the date of the Super Bowl. Thanks
Diane
Londonderry, N.H.

The Patriots will play their first playoff game on the weekend of January 10/11. Should they win, they will play the following weekend in the AFC Championship game on January 18th. The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 1st at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
Andy Hart

I don't know if you have answered these questions already so I'm going to ask. 1) What's up with Cloud? Why aren't they using him? 2) Can the guys on IR come back for the playoffs? 3) Why isn't Pass used more? 4) Do you think the Pats will go after Keyshawn or Dillon? 5) What position do you think the Pats will go after 1st in the draft? 6) How many draft picks do the Pats have? 7) Are the Pats lucky or are they just that good? 8) Looking back do you think the Milloy move was good? 9) Who would have ever thought the Pats would go 14-2 after the way they started the season? If anyone had predicted that one I'm sure they were justifiably made fun of. 10) Why are you PFW guys so sarcastic? Don't you know sarcasm is the lowest form of humor? Oh, one last question - what's the status on Brady's leg? Do you think Brady or Belichick will reveal any details this week?
Jenifer
Loves Park, Ill.

This one falls under the if you make me laugh you get posted category. Good stuff poking fun at the writers here at PFW as well as other email questions. But Jenifer my question for you is, with all the NFL talent that comes out of Michigan why aren't they in the national title hunt more often. (A little background for our readers, Jenifer in Illinois is a regular listener to the PFW In Progress radio show on Patriots.com and is a very well informed Michigan fan.)
Andy Hart

What is the 2004-2005 New England Patriots schedule?
Khalid
South Riding, Va.

Next season the Patriots will play Buffalo, the Jets, Miami, Baltimore, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Seattle and Indianapolis at Gillette Stadium. New England will play Buffalo, the Jets, Miami, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Arizona, St. Louis and Kansas City on the road. The exact dates and times of the games will be released by the league sometime this spring, generally in April.
Andy Hart

I have a signed autograph football with 3 names on it. #45 Otis Smith, #93 Richard Seymour, and #36.However I can't read the name. Can you tell me all of the players that have worn jersey #36?

Jon Sims
Rogers, Ariz.

The player that wore number 36 in the same era as Seymour and Smith is former strong safety Lawyer Milloy. Milloy played with the Patriots from 1996-2002 and was cut just before the start of this season. As most fans are well aware, especially after last week's game, Milloy now plays with the Buffalo Bills.
Andy Hart

My question is about the Patriots running game. In 2001 I saw Antowain Smith getting huge runs for touchdowns and amazing run for giant chunks of yards. He was one of the best I had ever seen. He could be wrapped up by four guys and while being dragged down break free and run for the touchdown. The next year he sort of lost the spark. This year he's doing OK but as everybody knows the running game isn't the most reliable in the NFL. I know Smith has the speed, strength, and talent. We all saw him two years ago. What happened since then? Is it the offensive line, or some past injury? Please tell me.
Will
Richmond, Va.

Will, not to disrespect your football talent evaluations, but I think you saw Smith as a better player than he actually was. While no one will question his importance in helping this team win a Super Bowl title two years ago, he certainly would not have been considered an elite running back even at that time. Last year his carries dropped off and so did his production to some degree. This season he has split time with Kevin Faulk, although he has been much more of a productive force over the last two games. He became New England's first 100-yard rusher of the season two weeks ago against a suspect Jets defense and added more than 70 yards in last week's win over the Bills. Smith is a big, bruising back who is at his best with his shoulders squared up to the line of scrimmage, finding the quick hole and powering through it. Some of his struggles came when he appeared to not have much room to work with and looked to create on his own, not one of his strongest skills. If the offensive line can give him a gap so that he can get into the linebackers and secondary Smith can still be a productive part of this offense. But he will certainly not be the kind of breakaway, big play, playmaking type back that many teams look for to build an offense around. But as he and the Patriots showed in 2001, he doesn't necessarily have to be for this team to win.
Andy Hart

Why in the conference standings does the intra division record have such a high priority when separating Patriots/Chiefs for home field advantage in the playoffs. I can understand conference record but why take into consideration what those teams did in their own divisions ahead of strength of sched etc?
Tony
Spring Valley, Calif.
I think you got a bit confused, and don't we all, with the tiebreakers. The division record only comes into play when deciding a tie between teams in the same division, otherwise it goes to the other factors such as conference record, common games, strength of victory, strength of schedule and so on. And in the end we see now that it didn't even matter as the Patriots ended up all alone atop the standings.
Andy Hart

I moved down here to Georgia from New Hampshire because of my job and love to go to football games. Could you tell me if the Pats play the Falcons in the 2004 season? How far ahead is the schedule set anyway?
James Yoho
Acworth, Ga.

The Patriots do not play in Atlanta until the 2005 season. The NFL schedule is basically set through 2009, with each team knowing 14 of its 16 games for a given season. The only variable comes with two conference games a year that are decided by the previous season's standings.
Andy Hart

Where can I buy Patriot Attire that is XXXL or bigger? I've been to just about every website available, every sports store, and I've even called up to the Patriot Stadium Store, and it seems that size is not available. Please HELP!!!!
Robin Womack
Los Angeles, Calif.

Are you related to Antwoine by any chance? Probably not. Anyway here is the only solution I was able to track down for you from the people at the Patriots Pro Shop—"Thanks for your inquiry regarding larger size apparel items. In the past, including this year, we have carried 3, 4 and even 5X items but due to the success of the Pats this season, everything has been sold out. Truthfully, only a few items are made in the larger sizes so the selection is limited. But the best time to purchase apparel such as this, is early in the season when the inventory is usually at it's highest. You can always visit www.patriots.com and click on ProShop (our site) or you can also check www.nflshop.com, as a site that carries all the NFL teams."
Andy Hart

Who was the last team to win 12 consecutive games in one NFL season?
Mark Damiano
Silver Spring, Md.

The last team to accomplish the feat was the 1998 Denver Broncos. The team won 13 straight to open the year on the way to a 14-win season.
Andy Hart

In regards to the pro bowl situation, I definitely feel that we got screwed but I believe it will work to our advantage. I think it will motivate the team to go out and prove to the world that they're #1. This season reminds me of the 2001 season when we were underdogs all season and people still wouldn't give us credit for wining the super bowl. Friends, we're headed to Houston and we're coming home with the Lombardi!!!
Joe
Needham, Mass.

I love the way you take the positive outlook on the Pro Bowl matter, but tell that to a guy like Rodney Harrison who should be there. And what happens, and I know this isn't something we can talk about around here, if they don't win the Super Bowl? I still think a couple of more Patriots deserved to be in the Pro Bowl. But if it is used as extra motivation for a team that was already on a roll, all I can say is watch out.
Andy Hart

When will the 2004 schedule be available for review of dates. I'm planning my honeymoon and want to treat my husband to game tickets.
Michelle Everett
Springfield, Mass.

The NFL will release the schedule of times and dates in the spring, probably in April. And good luck with the marriage.
Andy Hart

If my sources are accurate, I've read several times that the Super Bowl is two weeks after the Conference Championships. Is this always something that happens? Some may say an extra week of practice and preparation might be good for the Super Bowl bound teams, but I'm going to want to see the Pats play as soon as possible. What's the deal, guys?
Brian Beaulieu
Plaistow, N.H.

Your sources are accurate; there is a two-week break this year. The NFL has used both one and two weeks between the championship games and the Super Bowl. The big advantage of the extra week is that it gives everyone—media, team personnel, coaches, players, family, etc.—more time to enjoy the experience and get prepared. But that can also take teams out of their normal routine, although all teams get a bye during the season. In the end, as Bill Belichick says, there is nothing we can do about the schedule so you just have to make the best of it. As a fan, just enjoy the two week's of hype.
Andy Hart

Was there ever a rb for the patriots with the last name nantz or something like that, because i heard that it would take most of a hole defense to take him down.
Tim
Clifton Park, N.Y.

Jim Nance played running back in 94 games for the Patriots from 1965-1971. He rushed for 5,323 yards on 1,323 carries, with 45 touchdowns. He also had 129 receptions for 844 yards. His best season came in 1966 when he gained 1,458 yards on 299 carries with 11 touchdowns. After leaving New England Nance had one season of limited success with the Jets.
Andy Hart