In their first meeting, the Wildcat ran wild. Miami's star running back and New England's head coach tackle the unorthodox formation. Plus, news and notes from Wednesday's practice.
The Patriots head into Sunday's game at Miami tied with the Dolphins for second place in a highly competitive AFC East. The winner of the contest will answer a few questions heading down the stretch toward the postseason. For all the other questions surrounding the Patriots we bring another wide-ranging edition of Ask PFW.
After seeing the Dolphins' Wildcat formation rip it to shreds in Week 3, New England is doing everything it can to prevent a repeat performance this weekend.
Joey Porter's running his mouth again. Read all about that and the other news and notes leading up to this weekend's Patriots-Dolphins game in today's Patriots.com News Blitz.
John David Thomas was born on July 5, 1983 in Plainview, Texas ... Was a three-time member of Texas' Athletics Director's Honor Roll ... Was a lifelong UT fan who dreamed of playing for the Longhorns ... Regularly visited patients at Austin Children's Hospital with his Longhorn teammates ... Attended Frenship (Wolfforth, Tex.) High School, where he was a threeyear starter, lining up at tight end and linebacker his final two seasons and free safety as a sophomore ... First-team Class 4A All-State selection, adding District Offensive MVP and the South Plains Player of the Year accolades as a senior ... As a senior, set school records with 63 receptions for 1,130 yards and 15 touchdowns, adding six more scores rushing with the ball ... Also lettered in basketball and track ... Honor Roll student who was a member of the National Honor Society) ... Majored in Kinesiology at Texas.
Career Transactions
David Thomas was drafted by the Patriots in the third round (86th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft.
Career Highlights
Career GP/GS: 15/3 (3/1)
2006 Season
2006 (15/3/0/1): Led the team in receptions once in 2006 (at JAX) ... Led the team in receiving yards once in 2006 (at JAX) ... Made his NFL debut in the Patriots' 19-17 victory over Buffalo (9/10/06) ... Collected his first career reception, a 29-yard catch, in the Patriots' 24-17 win over the N.Y. Jets (9/17/06) ... Notched his first career touchdown reception with a diving 22-yard catch against Jacksonville (12/24/06).
Buffalo (9/10): Saw action in a reserve role at tight end and on special teams coverage units in the Patriots' 19-17 victory over the Bills. at N.Y. Jets (9/17): Played in a reserve role at tight end in the Patriots' 24-17 win over the N.Y. Jets ... Got open over the middle and hauled in his first career reception, a 29-yard catch from Tom Brady in the first quarter. Denver (9/24): Started at tight end as the Patriots opened the game in a three tight end set ... Did not record a reception. at Cincinnati (10/1): Played in a reserve role at tight end in the Patriots' commanding 38-13 victory over the Bengals. vs. Miami (10/8): Started at tight end in the Patriots' 20-10 win over the Dolphins ... Hauled in an 11-yard pass over the middle in the fourth quarter ... Registered a solo tackle on special teams coverage units. at Buffalo (10/22): Played in a reserve role at tight end and fullback in the Patriots' 28-6 road victory over the Bills. at Minnesota (10/30): Played in a reserve role at tight end ... Hauled in a 12-yard pass from Tom Brady along the sideline in the second quarter of the Patriots' commanding 31-7 road win against the Vikings. Indianapolis (11/5): Saw action in a reserve role at tight end but did not collect a reception. vs. N.Y. Jets (11/12): Played in a reserve role at tight end and on special teams return units. at Green Bay (11/19): Inactive. vs. Chicago (11/26): Played in a reserve role at tight end and on special teams in the Patriots' 17-13 victory over the Bears. vs. Detroit (12/3): Played in a reserve role at tight end in the Patriots' 28-21 comeback victory over the Lions. at Miami (12/10): Played in a reserve role at tight end and on special teams. vs. Houston (12/17): Played in a reserve role at tight end ... Registered three catches for 24 yards in the Patriots' commanding 40-7 victory over the Texans ... Grabbed an 11-yard reception from Tom Brady late in the first quarter ... Registered a special teams tackle on coverage units. at Jacksonville (12/24): Started at tight end ... Led the team with a career-high five receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots' 24-21 division-clinching win over the Jaguars ... Hauled in a Tom Brady pass and scampered for 36 yards in the third quarter ... Made a diving reception for a 22-yard touchdown, giving the Patriots a 17-7 lead with 11:24 remaining in the third quarter ... Hauled in another diving reception for a 15-yard gain at the end of the third quarter. at Tennessee (12/31): Played in a reserve role at tight end in the Patriots' 40-23 victory over the Titans.
2006 Postseason (3/1/0/0): vs. N.Y. Jets (1/7): Played in a reserve role at tight end in the Patriots' 37-16 AFC Wild Card victory over the N.Y. Jets. at San Diego (1/14): Started at tight end in the Patriots' 24-21 AFC Divisional playoff victory over the Chargers ... Recovered an Eric Parker muffed punt at the San Diego 31-yard line in the third quarter. at Indianapolis (1/21): Saw action in a reserve role at tight end.
College
Finished his college career as the most prolific receiving tight end in University of Texas history and led the nation's tight ends in blocking consistency as a senior ... Set the school's all-time career records for receptions by a tight end (98), receiving yards by a tight end (1,367) and touchdown receptions by a tight end (15) ... Owns the Longhorns' single-season record for receptions by a tight end (50, 2005) ... Set the Texas single-game record for receptions by a tight end with 10 grabs in the 2006 Rose Bowl, helping the Longhorns claim the BCS championship ... Did not miss a game in his collegiate career, starting 38 of 51 games for the Longhorns ... Of his 98 career catches, 70 were good for first downs (71.4 percent) and 34 came on third-down plays (34.7 percent) .. Averaged 13.9 yards per catch during his career and averaged 21.6 yards on his 15 touchdown receptions ... Earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors in 2004 and 2005. 2005 (Senior): Led the team with a career-high 50 receptions for 613 yards (12.3 avg) and five touchdowns ... Consensus first-team All-Big 12 selection ... All-American Dream Team selection and rated the best blocker at his position by The NFL Draft Report ... Listed as one of the top five tight ends in the nation by Lindy's and The Sporting News ... His 613 yards ranked second in the Longhorns' single-season tight end record book behind William Harris (637 in 1984) ... His five touchdowns ranked third on Texas' all-time single-season tight ends list ... Caught at least one pass in 12 of 13 games and grabbed at least three passes in 10 games ... Graded 85.6 percent for blocking consistency (best among NCAA Division 1-A tight ends), as he ranked second on the squad with 126 key blocks and 19 touchdown-resulting blocks, while leading the squad with 39 blocks down field ... Made 33 receptions that resulted in first downs, including 17 on third-down plays and one more on fourth down. He had 10 catches for at least 20 yards and also recorded two tackles while posting 19 touchdown-resulting blocks ... Grabbed a career-high 10 receptions for 88 yards in Texas' victory in the Rose Bowl, clinching the BCS championship ... Set career high with 104 yards (on six receptions) at Oklahoma State. 2004 (Junior): Earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star- Telegram ... Ranked third on the team with 25 receptions for 430 yards (17.2 avg) and five touchdowns ... His 25 catches ranked sixth on the school's season-record list for tight ends ... Saw 21 of his catches result in first downs, converting nine of them on third-down plays ... Also recorded six tackles (5 solos) ... Registered 56 knockdown blocks, including six that resulted in touchdowns ... Was a key blocker in an offense that ranked second in the nation in rushing (299.2 ypg) and seventh in total offense (464.4 ypg) ... Helped Texas register six 300-yard rushing games, the most since 1977 ... Caught season-long 49-yard touchdown receptions in back-to-back games against Arkansas and Rice... Caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown against Michigan in the Rose Bowl. 2003 (Sophomore): Selected All-Big 12 honorable mention by the league's coaches ... Shared the team's Outstanding Tight End award ... Started every game at the traditional tight end position, but also lined up at H-back and slot receiver ... Finished fifth on the team with 14 receptions for 219 yards (15.6 avg) and three touchdowns ... Nine of those catches resulted in first downs, with three coming on third-down plays ... Also recorded five tackles, caused two fumbles and returned a kickoff eight yards ... Was part of a Texas offense that set school records for points (533) and total yards (5,709) ... Hauled in a career-long 60-yard touchdown pass at Texas A&M. 2002 (Freshman): Appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman, earning Texas Outstanding Offensive Newcomer Award honors as a reserve tight end ... Caught nine passes for 105 yards (11.7 avg) and two touchdowns ... Seven of his receptions resulted in first downs, with three coming on thirddown plays ... Posted season-highs with four receptions for 59 yards in the Cotton Bowl against Louisiana State.
High School
Attended Frenship (Wolfforth, Tex.) High School, playing football for coach Bobby Davis...Three-year starter, lining up at tight end and linebacker his final two seasons and free safety as a sophomore...First-team Class 4A All-State selection, adding District Offensive MVP and the South Plains Player of the Year accolades as a senior...In his sophomore year, David made 110 tackles with two sacks, three fumble recoveries and an interception to earn All-City recognition...As a junior, he hauled in 55 passes for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense while collecting 141 tackles with two fumble recoveries, four sacks and two interceptions...In 2000, Thomas led the team to a school-record 11 wins (vs. three losses) and a spot in the Texas 4A Division I state semifinals, earning first-team All-State and All-District honors as the offense also set school records for points (593) and passing yards (3,136)...As a senior, he snatched 63 receptions for 1,130 yards and 15 touchdowns, adding six more scores rushing with the ball (all of those marks were school records)...Had a career-high 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in a regional final win against Fort Worth Boswell as a senior. He also recorded 82 tackles, two sacks and an interception on defense in 2001...Also lettered in basketball and track...Honor Roll student who was a member of the National Honor Society (NHS)...Very active in community service projects.
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