Patriots (1-2) at Giants (1-2)
Wed., August 29, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
* MetLife Stadium (82,566)*
New England will close out the 2012 preseason this Wednesday when they face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. The Patriots and Giants will meet for the 22nd time in the preseason and for the eighth straight time in the preseason-finale. The teams played three times last season with a meeting in the preseason, the regular season and in Super Bowl XLVI. The Giants prevailed in all three contests. The Patriots lost 18-17 in the preseason-finale at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 1, 2011 and then ended a 20-game home winning streak in the regular season when the Giants beat the Patriots, 24-20, in a regular season game on Nov. 6, 2011 at Gillette Stadium.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by the Patriots Preseason Television Network and can be seen in every New England state as well as Hawaii. The network's flagship station is WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Veteran CBS broadcaster Don Criqui provides play-by-play and is joined by three-time NFL Pro Bowler and CBS analyst Randy Cross.
PATRIOTS PRESEASON TELEVISION NETWORK
Massachusetts
Boston, Mass. WBZ-TV Ch. 4
Springfield, Mass. WWLP-TV Ch. 22
Rhode Island
Providence, R.I. WNAC-TV Ch. 64
New Hampshire
Manchester, N.H. WMUR-TV Ch. 9
Maine
Portland, Maine WMTW-TV Ch. 8
Bangor, Maine WVII-TV Ch. 7
Connecticut
Hartford, Conn. WCTX-TV Ch. 59
Vermont
Burlington, Vt. WVNY-TV Ch.22
Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii KFVE-TV Ch.5
RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 40 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 36th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action. Former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak will handle the color commentary, taking over duties for Gino Cappelletti. Cappelletti, a member of the original Boston Patriots in 1960 and the all-time leading scorer in the American Football League's history, retired from the broadcast team after 31 years as the team's iconic color analyst.
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SERIES HISTORY**
The Patriots and Giants will meet for the 22nd time in the preseason and for the eighth straight year in the preseason-finale.
The teams played three times last season with a meeting in the preseason, the regular season and in Super Bowl XLVI. The Giants prevailed in all three contests. The Patriots lost 18-17 in the preseason-finale at
Gillette Stadium on Sept. 1, 2011 and then ended a 20-game home winning streak in the regular season when the Giants beat the Patriots, 24-20, in a regular season game on Nov. 6, 2011 at Gillette Stadium.
Overall, the Giants hold a 13-8 advantage in the preseason series. The Patriots claim a 5-4 edge in the regular season play and have won four straight regular-season games against the Giants since 1996. The clubs have been frequent preseason opponents recently, squaring off in the preseason openers for three straight years from 2001-03 and resuming the series in 2005 when they started to meet in the preseason-finale.
MEMORABLE PATRIOTS-GIANTS MATCHUPS
Aug. 15, 1971— The Patriots defeated the Giants 20-14 in the opening preseason game at the old Foxboro Stadium.
Dec. 21, 1996— The Patriots rallied from a 22-3 fourthquarter deficit to clinch a first-round playoff bye with a 23-22 win at Giants Stadium.
Aug. 10, 2001— New England began its first Super Bowl championship season with a 14-0 preseason shutout of the defending NFC champion Giants.
Dec. 29, 2007— The Patriots defeat the Giants by a thrilling 38-35 score to cap off the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history.
February 3, 2008— The Patriots faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz. The Giants 17-14 win snapped the Patriots perfect season.
February 5, 2012— The Patriots faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Ind. The Giants took a 21-17 lead when they scored with 57 seconds left in the game and held the Patriots on a final drive to secure the win.
FREQUENT PRESEASON OPPONENTS
The Patriots and Giants will meet for the 22nd time this week, the patriots most frequent preseason opponent.
CONNECTIONS
New England Ties
Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin spent stints as the quarterbacks coach (1981-83) and head coach (1991-93) for Boston College. During his tenure as head coach of Boston College, Coughlin compiled an overall record of 21-13-1. * Giants Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride was born in New Haven, Conn., and earned a degree in physical education from Southern Connecticut State, where he also played quarterback and tight end. Gilbride spent two years as the linebacker coach at Tufts University (1976-77) and returned to Southern Connecticut State University as a head coach from 1980-84. * Giants Special Teams Coordinator Tom Quinn served as the defensive coordinator for Boston University (1995) and the College of the Holy Cross (1996-98). * Giants Secondary Coach/Cornerbacks Coach Peter Giunta is a native of Salem, Mass and a graduate of Northeastern University (1977), where he played defensive back and running back from 1974-77. Giunta began his coaching career in Massachusetts where he was an assistant coach at Swampscott High School from 1978-80. Following three seasons at Penn State University, Giunta returned to his New England roots and served as the tight ends/wide receivers coach (1984-85) and offensive coordinator (1986-87) at Brown University. * Giants Defensive Assistant Al Holcomb spent one season as the linebackers coach at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. * A number of Giants coaches spent portions of their coaching careers at Boston College. Running Backs Coach Jerald Ingram coached the same position for the Eagles from 1991-93. Strength and Conditioning Coach Jerry Palmieri was the director of strength and conditioning at BC from 1993-94. Quarterbacks Coach Sean Ryan spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Boston College (2001-02) and later spent a season at the running backs coach/recruiting coordinator at Harvard University (2006). * Giants WR Victor Cruz was a two-time 1st Team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection at the University of Massachusetts. * Giants Rookie WR Julien Talley was teammates with Cruz at UMass for two seasons and played in 45 games for the Minutemen. * Giants LS Zak DeOssie is a native of North Andover, Ma, attended Phillips Andover Academy and graduated from Brown University where he played linebacker for the Bears. He is the son of former Patriots LB Steve DeOssie (1994-95). * The Giants have four former Boston College players on their roster: LB Mark Herzlich played football was First Team All-America and ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008; G Chris Snee was a standout offensive lineman for the Eagles from 2001-03; TE Ryan Purvis played at BC from 2004-08; and former first-round draft pick (2006) LB Mathias Kiwanuka recorded 245 tackles (155 solo) and set school record with 37.5 sacks for inus 215 yards and 64.5 stops for losses of 297 yards. * Giants T Will Beatty played football at the University of Connecticut from 2004-08.
Former Patriots
- Giants Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Markus Paul served the same function with the Patriots from 200004.
- Giants Assistant Special Teams Coach Larry Izzo played for the Patriots from 2001-08 and was a three-time Super Bowl champion.
- Giants Tight Ends Coach Michael Pope coached running backs and tight ends for the Patriots from 1994-96. Pope was an assistant coach for the Giants from 1983-1991, including eight years while Bill Belichick was on the staff (1983-90).
- Giants WR Isaiah Stanback appeared in six games for the Patriots in 2009. Stanback registered three catches for 22 yards in his brief stint with New England.
Former Giants
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spent 12 seasons on the Giants' coaching staff, and was the team's defensive coordinator for their victories in Super Bowls XXI and XXV. Belichick joined the Giants as the special teams coach on Ray Perkins' staff in 1979, and during his tenure coached special teams (1979-82), linebackers (1980-84) and the secondary (1989-90), while also holding defensive coordinator responsibilities (1985-90).
- Patriots Defensive Line Coach Pepper Johnson was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He won two Super Bowls and twice earned Pro Bowl honors during his career with New York.
- Belichick and Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin coached together with the Giants from 1988-1990.
- TE Jake Ballard played for the Giants from 2010-11 and was a key contributor on the 2011 Super Bowl team.
- TE Visanthe Shiancoe was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2003 draft. Shiancoe played for the Giants from 2003-06 and played in every game during his tenure in New York.
- S Derrick Martin was a key special teams contributor on the 2011 Super Bowl championship Giants team.
2012 WHAT TO LOOK FOR
BILL BELICHICK
Bill Belichick (192) needs one more win to tie Chuck Knox (193) for 8th place all-time and 10 more wins to move past Dan Reeves (201) into seventh place all-time.
Belichick (17) needs one more postseason victory to move out of a second place tie with Joe Gibbs into sole possession of third place all-time in postseason wins. Tom Landry (20) is in first place followed by Don Shula (18).
TOM BRADY
Tom Brady (39,979) needs 21 yards passing to become the 14th player in NFL history with 40,000 career passing yards.
Brady (124) needs one more career win to move into sole possession of fifth place for most career wins as a starting quarterback. He enters 2012 tied with Fran Tarkenton for fifth place. Peyton Manning is in fourth place with 141 career wins.
Brady enters the 2012 season in a fifth place tie with John Elway for most career touchdowns passes with 300. Fran Tarkenton is in fourth place with 342 career touchdown passes.
Brady enters the 2012 season in 8th place all-time with 45 career 300-yard passing games. Warren Moon is in seventh place with 49 300-yard games.
If Brady reaches 30 or more touchdowns passes in 2012 he will become just the fifth player in NFL history with at least 30 or more touchdown passes in four seasons.
Brady needs one more postseason victory to set the NFL record for most career postseason wins by a starting quarterback. He enters 2012 tied with Joe Montana with 16 career postseason wins.
Brady needs one more AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor to tie Peyton Manning (21) for the most player of the week honors in NFL history.
If Brady reaches 4,000 passing yards in 2011, he will be just the fifth player in NFL history to reach 4,000 yards in five or more seasons: Peyton Manning (11), Dan Marino (6), Drew Brees (6) and Brett Favre (6).
Brady enters the 2012 season with at least one touchdown pass in 32 straight games. Brady's 32 straight games with at least one touchdown pass are fourth all-time, behind Johnny Unitas (47), Drew Brees (43) and Brett Favre (36).
Brady had at least one touchdown pass in all 16 games in each of the last two seasons. Brady and Brees are the first two quarterbacks to throw for at least one touchdown pass in all 16 games for two straight seasons.
ROB GRONKOWSKI
Rob Gronkowski (10 touchdowns in 2010 and 18 in 2011) can become the first tight end in NFL history with three straight 10-plus touchdown seasons. Gronkowski and Antonio Gates (13 in 2004 and 10 in 2005) are the only tight ends to have back-to- back 10-plus touchdown seasons.
If he has another 10-touchdown season in 2012, he will join Randy Moss (2007, 2008 and 2009) and Corey Dillon (2004, 2005, 2006) as the only Patriots with three straight 10-plus touchdown seasons and three 10-plus seasons overall.
WES WELKER
Wes Welker enters the 2012 season with 554 receptions and needs four receptions to pass Troy Brown (557) and become the Patriots all-time reception leader.
Welker (6,105) needs 262 receiving yards to move past Troy Brown (6,366) into second place on the New England all-time receiving yards list. Stanley Morgan is in first place with 10,352 yards.
If Welker reaches 100 receptions in 2012, he will become the first player in NFL history with five 100-catch seasons.
Welker enters 2012 tied with Cris Carter and Reggie Wayne for fourth place all-time with 14 10-plus reception games. Jerry Rice is in first place with 17 10-reception games, followed by Marvin Harrison (16) and Andre Johnson (15).
TROY BROWN INDUCTED INTO PATRIOTS HALL OF FAME
Troy Brown was voted by the fans as the 18th player and 19th member to enter the Patriots Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held outside The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 at 5:00 p.m., the day before the Patriots 2012 regular season home opener.
Brown spent his entire 15-season NFL career with the Patriots (1993-2007) after being drafted by the team in the eighth round (198th overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft. The 5-foot-10-inch, 196-pound receiver, punt returner and defensive back retired as the Patriots' all-time leading receiver with 557 career receptions and as the team's all-time leading punt returner with 252 career returns. He finished ranked second in team history with 6,366 career receiving yards and was tied for the franchise record with three punt returns for touchdowns.
