1999 New England Patriots season

1999 New England Patriots season
Head coach	Pete Carroll
Owner	Robert Kraft
Home field	Foxboro Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	T-4th AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Terry Glenn SS Lawyer Milloy
AP All-Pros	SS Lawyer Milloy (1st team)

The 1999 New England Patriots season was the 30th season for the team in the National Football League and 40th season overall. They finished with an 8–8 record, tied for fourth place in the division, and out of the playoffs.

In May, the Patriots announced their intention to pull out of a publicly financed stadium deal in Hartford, Connecticut and instead work towards building a privately financed new stadium, which would become Gillette Stadium, at the site of the existing Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.^[1] On the field, the Patriots came into the 1999 season without second-year running back Robert Edwards; after rushing for over 1,100 yards in 1998, the rookie suffered a serious knee injury playing in a rookie beach game in Hawaii after the season.^[2] Taking Edwards' place were veteran Terry Allen and rookie Kevin Faulk, but neither player was able to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing and overall the Patriots' rushing offense was 23rd in the NFL. After beginning the season with a 6–2 record the team stumbled down the stretch and finished 8–8 and out of the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Following the season finale, third year head coach Pete Carroll was fired,^[3] while vice president of player personnel Bobby Grier was retained only until the 2000 NFL Draft.^[4]

1999 NFL Draft

1999 New England Patriots Draft Selections

Round	Overall	Player	Position	College
1[5]	17	Damien Woody	Center	Boston College
1[6]	28	Andy Katzenmoyer	Linebacker	Ohio State
2[7]	46	Kevin Faulk	Running back	LSU
3[8]	91	Tony George	Safety	Florida
5	154	Derrick Fletcher	Offensive guard	Baylor
6[9]	180	Marcus Washington	Safety	Colorado
7	227	Michael Bishop	Quarterback	Kansas State
7	241	Sean Morey	Wide receiver	Brown

compensatory selection

1999 New England Patriots Supplemental Draft Selections

Round	Overall	Player	Position	College
4	–	J'Juan Cherry	Cornerback	Arizona State

Staff

New England Patriots 1999 staff
Front Office Chairman/CEO – Robert Kraft Vice President – Jonathan Kraft Senior Vice President/COO – Andy Wasynczuk Vice President of Player Personnel – Bobby Grier Director of College Scouting – Larry Cook Director of Pro Scouting – Dave Uyrus Assistant Director of Pro Scouting – Andre Tippett Head Coaches Head Coach – Pete Carroll Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ernie Zampese Quarterbacks – Jack Reilly Running Backs – Kirby Wilson Wide Receivers – Ivan Fears Tight Ends – Carl Smith Offensive Line – Dante Scarnecchia Assistant Offensive Line – Jeff Davidson			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Steve Sidwell Defensive Line – Ray Hamilton Linebackers – Bo Pelini Defensive Backs – Ron Lynn Defensive Assistant/Defensive Backs – DeWayne Walker Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Brad Seely Special Teams Coaching Assistant – Mark Jackson Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Johnny Parker

Schedule

Regular season

Week	Date	Result	Score	Opponent	Attendance
Week 1	Sep 12	W	30–28	at New York Jets	78,227
Week 2	Sep 19	W	31–28	vs Indianapolis Colts	59,640
Week 3	Sep 26	W	16–14	vs New York Giants	59,169
Week 4	Oct 3	W	19–7	at Cleveland Browns	72,368
Week 5	Oct 10	L	16–14	at Kansas City Chiefs	78,636
Week 6	Oct 17	L	31–30	vs Miami Dolphins	60,006
Week 7	Oct 24	W	24–23	vs Denver Broncos	60,011
Week 8	Oct 31	W	27–3	at Arizona Cardinals	55,830
Week 9	Bye Week
Week 10	Nov 15	L	24–17	vs New York Jets	59,077
Week 11	Nov 21	L	27–17	at Miami Dolphins	74,295
Week 12	Nov 28	L	17–7	at Buffalo Bills	72,111
Week 13	Dec 5	W	13–6	vs Dallas Cowboys	58,444
Week 14	Dec 12	L	20–15	at Indianapolis Colts	56,975
Week 15	Dec 19	L	24–9	at Philadelphia Eagles	65,475
Week 16	Dec 26	L	13–10	vs Buffalo Bills	55,014
Week 17	Jan 2	W	20–3	vs Baltimore Ravens	50,263

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Indianapolis Colts	13	3	0	.813	423	333	L1
^(5) Buffalo Bills	11	5	0	.688	320	229	W3
^(6) Miami Dolphins	9	7	0	.563	326	336	L2
New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	308	309	W4
New England Patriots	8	8	0	.500	299	284	W1

Notable games

• September 12 at New York Jets:

The Jets lost quarterback Vinny Testaverde in the second quarter when he ruptured his left Achilles tendon, and backup Tom Tupa (a former Patriots punter) was put in; regular backup Rick Mirer was listed as emergency quarterback and was not eligible to enter the game until the fourth quarter. The Patriots rallied from down 16–10 at the half with 17 points scored in the third quarter, but the Jets stormed back themselves with two touchdowns on a Tupa throw to Fred Baxter and a Bryan Cox interception return; both times the Jets went for two-point conversions but failed. Mirer was put in late in the fourth and a throw was deflected by Ty Law and recovered by Chris Slade. Bledsoe completed key first downs to Terry Glenn and Troy Brown, setting up the game-winning Adam Vinatieri field goal of a 30–28 Patriots win. Kevin Faulk made his Patriots debut in this game, rushing ten times for 17 yards and catching one pass for eight yards.

• September 19 vs. Indianapolis Colts:

The Patriots committed 15 penalties eating up 135 yards and trailed 28–7 at halftime in Peyton Manning's second career trip to Foxboro. But Drew Bledsoe answered with touchdowns to Terry Allen and Ben Coates to tie the game late in the fourth; the two Coates scores came off a Marcus Pollard fumble and a Manning three-and-out forced by Ty Law. Edgerrin James was then stripped by Tebucky Jones, setting up the game-winning Vinatieri field goal of a 31–28 Patriots comeback. Coates's fourth-quarter scores turned out to be the last of his career.

• October 10 at Kansas City Chiefs:

Trailing 7–3 at the half, the Chiefs behind Elvis Grbac scored 13 points in the second half. The Patriots scored in the fourth on a Shawn Jefferson touchdown catch, then in the final minute the Patriots stormed down field, but a 32-yard Vinatieri field goal try on the final play bounced off the right upright, securing a 16–14 Chiefs win.

• October 17 vs. Miami Dolphins:

Dan Marino was injured after throwing an interception returned by Andy Katzenmoyer for a 57-yard touchdown and was replaced by future Patriots backup quarterback Damon Huard. Huard was picked off by Ty Law for a 27-yard touchdown, but from there the Dolphins clawed back into contention and Huard won the game in the final seconds on a short touchdown toss to Stanley Pritchett and a 31–30 Dolphins win.

• October 24 vs. Denver Broncos:

The Patriots defeated the Broncos for the first time since 1980 after going 0–11 lifetime against John Elway. Both teams rushed for 133 yards while Brian Griese of the Broncos threw for 309 yards compared to a modest 192 passing yards for Drew Bledsoe. Kevin Faulk scored on a 15-yard rushing touchdown as the Patriots rushed to a 24–13 third-quarter lead and sweated out a Broncos rally to win 24–23; the margin of victory turned out to be set by a missed 59-yard field goal try by Jason Elam.

• October 31 at Arizona Cardinals:

The Patriots mopped the floor of Sun Devil Stadium as Drew Bledsoe threw four touchdowns in a 27–3 runaway. The win, however, proved costly, for Ben Coates was held without a catch for the second time that season, a fact Coates took the media during the ensuing bye week to considerable effect. The game marked a fatal turning point to the Patriots season as Coates' public protest soured his relationship with Bledsoe and coach Pete Carroll; the Patriots fell from 6–2 to finish a dismal 8–8; Coates for his part had only sixteen catches the remainder of the season before he was let go and joined the Baltimore Ravens.

• December 5 vs. Dallas Cowboys:

The Patriots entered this game on a three-game losing streak and having never beaten the Cowboys in their history; this was the eighth career meeting between the two clubs. Both Patriot slumps ended as the two defenses kept offense to a premium; Troy Aikman and Drew Bledsoe combined for just 336 passing yards; it was the Patriots ground game that took over to the tune of 116 rushing yards led by Terry Allen's 53 yards and a touchdown in a 13–6 Patriots win. Rookie Kevin Faulk had his most productive game of the season with 36 rushing yards and three catches for 43 yards.

Final roster

New England Patriots 1999 final roster
Quarterbacks  7 Michael Bishop ^R 11 Drew Bledsoe 17 John Friesz Running Backs 22 Terry Allen 30 Tony Carter FB 35 Jerry Ellison 37 Chris Floyd FB 44 Harold Shaw FB 27 Lamont Warren Wide Receivers 82 Vincent Brisby 80 Troy Brown 88 Terry Glenn 84 Shawn Jefferson 85 Sean Morey ^R 81 Tony Simmons Tight Ends 86 Mike Bartrum TE/LS 87 Ben Coates 83 Rod Rutledge		Offensive Linemen 67 Jason Andersen C/G 78 Bruce Armstrong T 66 Ed Ellis T 64 Derrick Fletcher G ^R 63 Heath Irwin G 68 Max Lane G 77 Zefross Moss T 71 Todd Rucci G 65 Damien Woody C ^R Defensive Linemen 92 Ferric Collons DE 90 Chad Eaton DT 93 Bob Kuberski DT 55 Willie McGinest DE 98 Brandon Mitchell DE 74 Chris Sullivan DE 95 Henry Thomas DT		Linebackers 54 Tedy Bruschi OLB 99 Vernon Crawford OLB 52 Ted Johnson ILB 59 Andy Katzenmoyer ILB ^R 91 Jeff Kopp LB 96 Marc Megna OLB ^R 58 Marty Moore ILB 53 Chris Slade OLB Defensive Backs 23 Terry Billups CB 42 Chris Carter FS 39 Rico Clark CB 41 Tony George FS ^R 21 Steve Israel CB 28 Corey Ivy CB ^UR 36 Lawyer Milloy SS 31 Kato Serwanga CB 25 Larry Whigham FS Special Teams 10 Lee Johnson P  4 Adam Vinatieri K		Reserve Lists data possibly incomplete -- J'Juan Cherry CB (IR) ^R 29 Derrick Cullors RB/KR (IR) 47 Robert Edwards RB (NF-Inj.) 33 Kevin Faulk RB/KR (IR) ^R 26 Cory Gilliard S (IR) 34 Tebucky Jones CB (IR) 24 Ty Law CB (IR) -- Mitch Lyons TE (IR) -- Devon Smith TE (IR) 94 Greg Spires DE (IR) Practice Squad data incomplete Notations R: 1999 Rookie UR: 1999 Undrafted Rookie Italicized players are not on the 53-man roster.

Notes and references

1. Mcmillan, Jean (May 1, 1999). "Pats call off Hartford move". Associated Press. =The Standard-Times (New Bedford). Retrieved June 16, 2009.
2. "Edwards will miss season". Associated Press. The Standard-Times (New Bedford). February 13, 1999. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
3. "Pats fire Pete Carroll". Associated Press. Sports Illustrated. January 3, 2000. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
4. "Patriots fire Grier". The Standard-Times (New Bedford). May 2, 2000. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
5. Draft pick received in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks for the Patriots' 1999 first-round pick, 1997 third-round pick, and 1997 sixth-round pick.
6. The Patriots received third- and fourth-round picks in 1997, a second-round pick in 1998, and a first-round pick in 1999 from the New York Jets as compensation for the Jets' 1997 signing of Bill Parcells as head coach. Patriots.com summary
7. Draft pick received in a trade from the Detroit Lions for the Patriots' 1999 second-round pick and 1999 fourth-round pick.
8. Draft pick received in a trade from the Minnesota Vikings for Jimmy Hitchcock in 1998.
9. Draft pick received in a trade from the Baltimore Ravens for Lovett Purnell.

External links

• Season page on Pro Football Reference