Here's a look at the Patriots roster and how they were regarded coming out of high school by Rivals.com. The more stars a player receives the higher level that player is expected to achieve.
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
Oct. 10, 1971. Patriots 20, Jets 0After trading wins during their initial meetings, the Jets won nine in a row during their heyday in the late 1960s, but the Patriots snapped the streak at Schaefer Stadium. After a scoreless first half, Jim Plunkett tossed two TDs in the third quarter and Jim Nance added a 50-yard TD run in the fourth. The Jets were held to just eight net passing yards.

Sept. 9, 1979. Patriots 56, Jets 3Steve Grogan completed 13 of 18 passes for 315 yards and five touchdowns as the Patriots dominated from start to finish. Stanley Morgan caught three passes for 102 yards and two TDs and Harold Jackson snagged three passes for 121 yards and three TDs.Â

Sept. 30, 1984. Patriots 28, Jets 21New England posted its first win in New York in four years thanks to QB Tony Eason, who had a hand in all four Patriots TDs. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a six-yard score.Â

Dec. 28, 1985. Patriots 26, Jets 14, AFC Divisional RoundThe "road warrior" Patriots kick-started the first of their three playoff wins en route to Super Bowl XX by defeating the Jets at Giants Stadium. Tony Franklin kicked four field goals and the Patriots forced four turnovers, highlighted by Johnny Rembert's 15-yard fumble for a TD on special teams.Â

Sept. 21, 1987. Jets 43, Patriots 24The Jets turned a close 6-3 halftime lead into a blowout, scoring 37 points after the break on "Monday Night Football." Prior to the start, the players shook hands in solidarity in anticipation of the NFL players strike.

Sept. 14, 1997. Patriots 27, Jets 24, OTJust seven months after guiding the Patriots to the Super Bowl, Bill Parcells returned to Foxborough – as coach of the New York Jets. NY tied it on Keyshawn Johnson's 24-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter, but on the Pats' second possession in overtime, Drew Bledsoe led a nine-play, 62-yard drive, capped by Adam Vinatieri's game-winning 34-yard field goal. Â

Dec. 2, 2001. Patriots 17, Jets 16Trailing 13-0 at halftime, the Patriots rallied for the win. Antowain Smith and Marc Edwards each had four-yard TD runs and Adam Vinatieri's 28-yard field goal with 6:28 to play proved the difference.Â

Sept. 23, 2001. Jets 10, Patriots 3Although it wasn't the outcome that Patriots' fans hoped for, the game marked the return of football and helped the nation heal following the tragic events of Sept. 11. Former Patriots RB Curtis Martin snapped a 3-3 tie with an eight-yard TD run in the third quarter that proved the difference. Tom Brady, who came into the game on the final drive with just over two minutes left after an injury to Drew Bledsoe, completed 5 of 10 passes for 46 yards.Â
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
Dec. 26, 2005. Patriots 31, Jets 21During his illustrious career, linebacker/tight end Mike Vrabel caught 10 touchdowns, two of which he snagged in the first half to help the Patriots build a 21-7 halftime lead. Corey Dillon added a pair of one-yard TD runs for New England.

Jan. 7, 2007. Patriots 37, Jets 16, AFC Divisional RoundLeading by just one TD midway through the fourth quarter, the Patriots pulled away with two TDs in a span of 22 seconds in the second playoff game between the AFC East rivals. Kevin Faulk caught an eight-yard TD pass from Tom Brady with 5:16 to go and Asante Samuel returned a Chad Pennington pass 36 yards for a score with 4:54 left.

Sept. 9, 2007. Patriots 38, Jets 14The Patriots kicked off their 16-0 regular season in style with a one-sided win in New York. It was a coming out party for newly-acquired WR Randy Moss, who caught nine passes for 183 yards, including a 51-yard TD. Tom Brady was nearly perfect, making good on 22 of 28 passes for 297 yards and three TDs.

Dec. 6, 2010. Patriots 45, Jets 3Tom Brady threw for 326 yards and four TDs and Devin McCourty, Brandon Spikes and James Sanders each had an interception as the Patriots jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead and cruised form there on "Monday Night Football."

Oct. 21, 2012. Patriots 29, Jets 26After Stephen Gostkowski hit a go-ahead 48-yard field goal in overtime, the Jets had a chance to tie or win. Mark Sanchez helped the Jets pick up a few first downs, but Rob Ninkovich's strip sack sealed the win. Gostkowski nailed a 43-yarder with no time left that forced OT. Rob Gronkowski had two TD catches and Devin McCourty returned a kickoff 104 yards for a score.

Nov. 22, 2012. Patriots 49, Jets 19The Patriots feasted on Thanksgiving with a big win over the Jets in New York, scoring three TDs in 52-second span early in the second quarter. Share Vereen caught an 83-yard TD pass from Tom Brady, Steve Gregory returned a fumble 32 yards for a score, and on the ensuing kickoff, Julian Edelman returned a fumble 22 yards for a score. Edelman added a 56-yard TD catch, giving the Pats an insurmountable 35-3 halftime lead.Â

Sept. 12, 2013. Patriots 13, Jets 10In a defensive battle in the rain, the Patriots picked off Geno Smith three times, including one by Aqib Talib that sealed the win with 38 seconds to go. It was Talib's second interception of the game.

Oct. 16, 2014. Patriots 27, Jets 25Chris Jones blocked a 58-yard field goal attempt by Nick Folk – who hit four field goals during the game – on the final play for a thrilling Patriots win. Tom Brady threw three TD passes, two to Shane Vereen.Â

Oct. 25, 2015. Patriots 30, Jets 23Trailing by four in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady led the Patriots back with a go-ahead eight-yard TD pass to Danny Amendola with 7:16 to go. He padded the lead with a 15-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski (11 catches, 108 yards) with 1:16 remaining.Â

Nov. 27, 2016. Patriots 22, Jets 17Down by a point with 5:04 to go, Tom Brady led a nine-play, 83-yard drive, capped by an eight-yard TD pass to rookie WR Malcolm Mitchell with 1:56 to go. It was Mitchell's second TD of the game. The Jets attempted to rally by Chris Long stripped Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trey Flowers recovered to seal the win.Â
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Wednesday is National Signing Day and all across the country there will be high school football players making their college choices known. Various scouts and other experts will parse through each school's list and determine which ones have the strongest recruiting classes and which ones failed to attract the necessary talent to compete at this highest level.
You'll hear a lot about stars – as in, five-star recruit. Rivals.com is a recruiting service that ranks the players, and the more stars a player receives the higher level that player is expected to achieve.
With this in mind we thought it might be fun to take a look back at the Patriots and determine how many stars they received when they were far away from the lights and glamour of the NFL and just getting serious about their football careers as they were set to begin college.
Here's a look at the Patriots roster and how they were regarded coming out of high school. (Note: Tom Brady and Steven Jackson entered college before the rating system existed).
NAME | POSITION | COLLEGE | RIVALS STARS |
---|---|---|---|
Brown, Malcom | DL | Texas | 5 |
Easley, Dominique | DL | Florida | 5 |
Blount, LeGarrette | RB | Oregon | 4 |
Bostic, Jonathan | LB | Florida | 4 |
Branch, Alan | DL | Michigan | 4 |
Brown, Tarell | CB | Texas | 4 |
Coleman, Â Justin | DB | Tennessee | 4 |
Derby, AJ | TE | Arkansas | 4 |
Fleming, Darius | LB | Notre Dame | 4 |
Gaffney, Tyler | RB | Stanford | 4 |
Grissom, Geneo | DL | Oklahoma | 4 |
Gronkowski, Rob | TE | Arizona | 4 |
Hicks, Akiem | DL | Regina | 4 |
Hightower, Dont'a | LB | Alabama | 4 |
Mayo, Jerod | LB | Tennessee | 4 |
Ryan, Logan | CB | Rutgers | 4 |
Vaughters, James | LB | Stanford | 4 |
Williams, Michael | TE | Alabama | 4 |
Amendola, Danny | WR | Texas Tech | 3 |
Andrews, David | C | Georgia | 3 |
Bolden, Brandon | RB | Mississippi | 3 |
Cannon, Marcus | OL | Texas Christian | 3 |
Collins, Jamie | LB | Southern Mississippi | 3 |
Fleming, Cameron | OL | Stanford | 3 |
Flowers, Trey | DL | Arkansas | 3 |
Gibson, Brandon | WR | Washington State | 3 |
Harmon, Duron | DB | Rutgers | 3 |
Harper, Chris | WR | California | 3 |
Jackson, Tre' | G | Florida State | 3 |
Johnson, Leonard | DB | Iowa State | 3 |
King, Brandon | DB | Auburn | 3 |
LaFell, Brandon | WR | Louisiana State | 3 |
Lewis, Dion | RB | Pittsburgh | 3 |
Martin, Keshawn | WR | Michigan State | 3 |
Mason, Shaq | OL | Georgia Tech | 3 |
Ninkovich, Rob | DE | Purdue | 3 |
Richards, Jordan | DB | Stanford | 3 |
Sheard, Jabaal | DL | Pittsburgh | 3 |
Slater, Matthew | WR | UCLA | 3 |
Snyder, Kevin | LB | Rutgers | 3 |
Solder, Nate | T | Colorado | 3 |
Stork, Bryan | OL | Florida State | 3 |
Vellano, Joe | DL | Maryland | 3 |
Vereen, Brock | DB | Minnesota | 3 |
Waddle, LaAdrian | OL | Texas Tech | 3 |
Watson, Dekoda | LB | Florida State | 3 |
White, James | RB | Wisconsin | 3 |
Wilson, Tavon | DB | Illinois | 3 |
Barker, Chris | OL | Nevada | 2 |
Chandler, Scott | TE | Iowa | 2 |
Chung, Patrick | S | Oregon | 2 |
Dobson, Aaron | WR | Marshall | 2 |
Edelman, Julian | WR | Kent State | 2 |
Freeny, Jonathan | LB | Rutgers | 2 |
Garoppolo, Jimmy | QB | Eastern Illinois | 2 |
Gostkowski, Stephen | K | Memphis | 2 |
Iosefa, Joey | RB | Hawaii | 2 |
Johnson, Rufus | LB | Tarleton State | 2 |
Jones, Chandler | DE | Syracuse | 2 |
Jones, Chris | DT | Bowling Green | 2 |
Kitchen, Ishmaa'ily | DL | Kent State | 2 |
Kline, Josh | OL | Kent State | 2 |
McCourty, Devin | DB | Rutgers | 2 |
Milton, Keavon | OL | Louisiana-Monroe | 2 |
Roberts, Darryl | DB | Marshall | 2 |
Siliga, Sealver | DL | Utah | 2 |
Thompson, Cedric | S | Minnesota | 2 |
Wendell, Ryan | OL | Fresno State | 2 |
Allen, Ryan | P | Louisiana Tech | -- |
Brady, Tom | QB | Michigan | -- |
Butler, Malcolm | CB | West Alabama | -- |
Cardona, Joe | LS | Navy | -- |
Carter, DeAndre | WR | Sacramento State | -- |
Develin, James | FB | Brown | -- |
Ebner, Nate | DB | Ohio State | -- |
Fletcher, Dane | LB | Montana State | -- |
Jackson, Steven | RB | Oregon State | -- |
Melvin, Rashaan | DB | Northern Illinois | -- |
Tyms, Brian | WR | Florida A&M | -- |
Vollmer, Sebastian | T | Houston | -- |