1997 New England Patriots Roster
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 10-6
Finishing 1st in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference
Postseason: 1-1 Lost Division Playoff
Coach: Pete Carroll (10-6)
Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts
1997 New England Patriots StatisticsTeam Record: 10-6
Finishing 1st in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference
Postseason: 1-1 Lost Division Playoff
Coach: Pete Carroll (10-6)
Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts
1997 New England Patriots Results
The New England Patriots of the National Football League ended the 1997 season with a record of 10 wins and 6 losses, finishing first in the NFL's East Division of the American Football Conference. The team compiled a postseason mark of 1-1.
New England ran up 369 points, while the defense gave up 289. Drew Bledsoe led the charge, throwing for 3,706 yards. Ben Coates caught 66 passes, while Shawn Jefferson accumulated 841 receiving yards.
Curtis Martin rushed for a team-best 1,160 yards for the Patriots.
The ball-hawking defense led the way with 32 turnovers. Willie Clay picked off 6 errant tosses from the opposition. Chris Slade sacked opposing passers 9 times, part of an overall team total of 44 sacks.
Pete Carroll coached the team. The 1997 New England Patriots lost in the Division Playoff.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | Bruce Armstrong | LT | September 7, 1965 | 6'4" | 295 | Louisville | Miami, FL USA | 16 | 16 |
| 86 | Mike Bartrum | TE-C | June 23, 1970 | 6'4" | 245 | Marshall | Gallipolis, OH USA | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | Drew Bledsoe | QB | February 14, 1972 | 6'5" | 238 | Washington St. | Ellensburg, WA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 82 | Vincent Brisby | WR | January 25, 1971 | 6'3" | 190 | La-Monroe | Houston, TX USA | 16 | 4 |
| 80 | Troy Brown | WR | July 2, 1971 | 5'10" | 196 | Marshall | Barnwell, SC USA | 16 | 6 |
| 54 | Tedy Bruschi | LB | June 9, 1973 | 6'1" | 247 | Arizona | San Francisco, CA USA | 16 | 1 |
| 41 | Keith Byars | FB | October 14, 1963 | 6'1" | 245 | Ohio St. | Dayton, OH USA | 16 | 8 |
| 26 | Chris Canty | DB | March 30, 1976 | 5'9" | 185 | Kansas St. | Voorhees, NJ USA | 16 | 1 |
| 42 | Chris Carter | DB | September 27, 1974 | 6'1" | 201 | Texas | Tyler, TX USA | 16 | 0 |
| 32 | Willie Clay | FS | September 5, 1970 | 5'10" | 193 | Georgia Tech | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 87 | Ben Coates | TE | August 16, 1969 | 6'5" | 245 | Livingstone | Greenwood, SC USA | 16 | 16 |
| 59 | Todd Collins | RLB | May 27, 1970 | 6'2" | 248 | Georgia | New Market, TN USA | 15 | 15 |
| 92 | Ferric Collons | LDE | December 4, 1969 | 6'7" | 290 | California | Belleville, IL USA | 5 | 5 |
| 99 | Vernon Crawford | LB | June 25, 1974 | 6'4" | 245 | Florida St. | Texas City, TX USA | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | Derrick Cullors | RB | December 26, 1972 | 6'0" | 195 | TCU | Dallas, TX USA | 15 | 1 |
| 61 | Damon Denson | G | February 8, 1975 | 6'4" | 305 | Michigan | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 1 | 0 |
| 90 | Chad Eaton | DT | April 6, 1972 | 6'5" | 303 | Washington St. | Exeter, NH USA | 16 | 1 |
| 66 | Ed Ellis | T | October 13, 1975 | 6'5" | 325 | Buffalo | New Haven, CT USA | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Tony Gaiter | WR | July 15, 1974 | 5'8" | 169 | Miami (FL) | Miami, FL USA | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | Sam Gash | FB | March 7, 1969 | 6'0" | 242 | Penn St. | Hendersonville, NC USA | 16 | 5 |
| 67 | Mike Gisler | C | August 26, 1969 | 6'4" | 295 | Houston | Runge, TX USA | 16 | 2 |
| 88 | Terry Glenn | WR | July 23, 1974 | 5'11" | 195 | Ohio St. | Columbus, OH USA | 9 | 9 |
| 35 | Marrio Grier | RB | December 5, 1971 | 5'10" | 229 | Clemson | Charlotte, NC USA | 16 | 0 |
| 31 | Jimmy Hitchcock | RCB | November 9, 1970 | 5'10" | 190 | North Carolina | Concord, NC USA | 15 | 15 |
| 63 | Heath Irwin | G | June 27, 1973 | 6'4" | 300 | Colorado | Boulder, CO USA | 16 | 1 |
| 21 | Steve Israel | DB | March 16, 1969 | 5'11" | 194 | Pittsburgh | Lawnside, NJ USA | 5 | 0 |
| 84 | Shawn Jefferson | WR | February 22, 1969 | 5'11" | 185 | Central Florida | Jacksonville, FL USA | 16 | 14 |
| 83 | Dietrich Jells | WR | April 11, 1972 | 5'10" | 186 | Pittsburgh | Erie, PA USA | 11 | 0 |
| 52 | Ted Johnson | MLB | December 4, 1972 | 6'4" | 253 | Colorado | Alameda, CA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 96 | Mike Jones | LDE | August 25, 1969 | 6'4" | 290 | North Carolina St. | Columbia, SC USA | 16 | 7 |
| 68 | Max Lane | LG | February 22, 1971 | 6'6" | 315 | Navy | Norbone, MO USA | 16 | 16 |
| 24 | Ty Law | LCB | February 10, 1974 | 5'11" | 200 | Michigan | Aliquippa, PA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 38 | Steve Lofton | DB | November 26, 1968 | 5'9" | 180 | Texas A&M | Jacksonville, TX USA | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | Curtis Martin | RB | May 1, 1973 | 5'11" | 210 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 13 | 13 |
| 55 | Willie McGinest | RDE | December 11, 1971 | 6'5" | 270 | USC | Long Beach, CA USA | 11 | 11 |
| 27 | Mike McGruder | DB | May 6, 1964 | 5'11" | 185 | Kent St. | Cleveland Heights, OH USA | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | Dave Meggett | KR | April 30, 1966 | 5'7" | 190 | Morgan St. | Charleston, SC USA | 16 | 2 |
| 36 | Lawyer Milloy | SS | November 14, 1973 | 6'0" | 210 | Washington | St. Louis, MO USA | 16 | 16 |
| 98 | Brandon Mitchell | DE-DT | June 19, 1975 | 6'3" | 290 | Texas A&M | Abbeville, LA USA | 12 | 0 |
| 58 | Marty Moore | LB | March 19, 1971 | 6'1" | 244 | Kentucky | Phoenix, AZ USA | 16 | 0 |
| 77 | Zefross Moss | RT | August 17, 1966 | 6'6" | 325 | Alabama St. | Tuscaloosa, AL USA | 15 | 15 |
| 85 | Lovett Purnell | TE | April 7, 1972 | 6'3" | 245 | West Virginia | Seaford, DE USA | 16 | 2 |
| 60 | Scott Rehberg | G-T | November 17, 1973 | 6'8" | 325 | Central Michigan | Kalamazoo, MI USA | 6 | 0 |
| 71 | Todd Rucci | RG | July 14, 1970 | 6'5" | 296 | Penn St. | Upper Darby, PA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 51 | Bernard Russ | LB | November 4, 1973 | 6'1" | 238 | West Virginia | Utica, NY USA | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Sedrick Shaw | RB | November 16, 1973 | 6'0" | 214 | Iowa | Austin, TX USA | 1 | 0 |
| 53 | Chris Slade | LLB | January 30, 1971 | 6'5" | 245 | Virginia | Newport News, VA USA | 16 | 16 |
| 74 | Chris Sullivan | LDE | March 14, 1973 | 6'4" | 279 | Boston Col. | North Attleboro, MA USA | 16 | 10 |
| 95 | Henry Thomas | RDT | January 12, 1965 | 6'2" | 277 | LSU | Houston, TX USA | 16 | 16 |
| 19 | Tom Tupa | P | February 6, 1966 | 6'4" | 225 | Ohio St. | Cleveland, OH USA | 16 | 0 |
| 75 | Danny Villa | T-C-G | September 21, 1964 | 6'5" | 304 | Arizona St. | Nogales, AZ USA | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Adam Vinatieri | K | December 28, 1972 | 6'0" | 202 | South Dakota St. | Yankton, SD USA | 16 | 0 |
| 97 | Mark Wheeler | LDT | April 1, 1970 | 6'3" | 285 | Texas A&M | San Marcos, TX USA | 14 | 14 |
| 25 | Larry Whigham | DB | June 23, 1972 | 6'2" | 205 | La-Monroe | Hattiesburg, MS USA | 16 | 0 |
| 64 | Dave Wohlabaugh | C | April 13, 1972 | 6'3" | 296 | Syracuse | Hamburg, NY USA | 14 | 14 |
| 72 | Devin Wyman | DT | August 29, 1973 | 6'7" | 290 | Kentucky St. | East Palo Alto, CA USA | 6 | 0 |
| 16 | Scott Zolak | QB | December 13, 1967 | 6'5" | 230 | Maryland | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 4 | 0 |
