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.
27 Ellis Hobbs CB
Height: 5-9 Weight: 190 Year: 3 Yrs/Pat: 3 Acquired: D3a-05 (84th overall) School: Iowa State Major: Art and Visual Communication Born: May 16, 1983 Niagara Falls N.Y.
Personal
Ellis Hobbs III was born the son of Nettie and Ellis Hobbs on May 16, 1983 in Niagara Falls, New York ... Was a three-time Iowa State Scholar-Athlete ... Received the Academic Athlete of the Year Award and was a finalist for Christian Athlete of the Year at Iowa State ... Uncle, William Gaines, played defensive line for Florida and later competed for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins ... Attended DeSoto (Tex.) High School ... Named to the All-Dallas Metroplex Area first-team ... Offensive MVP for Texas Class 5A District 7 and selected to the Texas Sportswriters' Association Class 5A honorable mention team ... Ran for 1,701 yards on 233 carries with 29 touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns ... Majored in Art and Visual Communication at Iowa State.
Career Transactions
Ellis Hobbs III was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round (84th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft ... Signed by the Patriots (07/22/05).
Career Highlights
Career GP/GS: 31/17 (5/5)
As a rookie in 2005, Hobbs recorded three interceptions, tying for the team lead with Asante Samuel. Hobbs' three interceptions tied Tennessee's Reynaldo Hill for the NFL lead among rookie defensive backs and tied Hill and two others for second among all NFL rookies.
In his debut as an NFL starter at Miami (11/13/05), Hobbs made an impact with eight tackles, an interception, four passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.
2006 Season
2006 (15/9/0/1): Registered his first career touchdown when he returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score against Houston (12/17/06) ... Led the team or tied for the team lead in passes defensed twice in 2006 (at MIN, vs. NYJ) ... Tied for the team lead in special teams tackles once in 2006 (at JAX).
Buffalo (9/10): Started at cornerback and notched three solo tackles in the Patriots' 19-17 victory over the Bills ... Matched up with Lee Evans and limited the receiver to just two receptions for 25 yards. at N.Y. Jets (9/17): Started at cornerback ... Collected two solo tackles in the Patriots' 24-17 win over the N.Y. Jets. Denver (9/24): Started at cornerback and recorded six tackles (5 solo). at Cincinnati (10/1): Inactive. vs. Miami (10/8): Played in a reserve role at cornerback and safety ... Registered six tackles (4 solo) in the Patriots' 20-10 win over the Dolphins. at Buffalo (10/22): Played in a reserve role at cornerback ... Registered three solo tackles and a fumble recovery in the Patriots' 28-6 road victory over the Bills ... Recovered a Lee Evans fumble that was forced by Mike Wright on the final play of the first half. at Minnesota (10/30): Saw action as the nickel back in the Patriots' commanding 31-7 road win against the Vikings ... Collected three solo tackles and an interception in the victory ... Knocked the ball loose from Jermaine Wiggins causing an incompletion on a third-andthree play in the third quarter ... Snared a Brad Johnson pass at the goalline and returned the interception 70 yards late in the fourth quarter. Indianapolis (11/5): Saw significant action as a reserve at cornerback ... Registered two tackles ... Notched a special teams tackle on coverage units. vs. N.Y. Jets (11/12): Started at cornerback ... Registered two tackles and two pass defensed ... Broke up a pass intended for Jerricho Cotchery in the first quarter ... Saved a touchdown by deflecting a deep pass intended for Laveranues Coles in the end zone in the third quarter ... Stuffed Leon Washington for a 1-yard loss on a short pass in the second quarter. at Green Bay (11/19): Started at cornerback in the Patriots' 35-0 road victory over the Packers. vs. Chicago (11/26): Made the start at cornerback and notched four tackles (3 solo) and a pass defensed in the Patriots' 17-13 victory over the Bears ... Knocked down a Rex Grossman pass intended for Bernard Berrian in the third quarter. vs. Detroit (12/3): Started at cornerback and registered four tackles ( 2 solo) in the Patriots' 28-21 comeback victory over the Lions. at Miami (12/10): Saw limited action at cornerback and recorded two solo tackles ... Played primarily on special teams coverage units ... Returned a kickoff 51 yards in the fourth quarter. vs. Houston (12/17): Saw action as a reserve at cornerback and as a kickoff return specialist in the Patriots' commanding 40-7 victory over the Texans ... Notched three solo tackles and an interception in the win ... Stonewalled Andre Johnson for no gain on a short pass in the right flat in the second quarter ... Answered a Texans' touchdown drive by recording a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, giving the Patriots a 34-7 lead with 9:37 remaining in the third quarter ... Intercepted a David Carr pass intended for Johnson late in the third quarter ... Registered two special teams tackles on coverage units. at Jacksonville (12/24): Started at cornerback and recorded three solo tackles in the Patriots' 24-21 division-clinching win over the Jaguars ... Teamed with James Sanders to stop Matt Jones for a 7-yard gain on a third-and-nine play in the first quarter ... Notched two solo special teams tackles on coverage units. at Tennessee (12/31): Started at cornerback ... Posted three tackles (2 solo) and a pass defensed in the Patriots' 40-23 victory over the Titans ... Knocked down a Vince Young pass intended for Brandon Jones in the second quarter ... Gave the Patriots good field position with a 40-yard kickoff return in the third quarter.
2006 Postseason (3/3/0/0): vs. N.Y. Jets (1/7): Started at cornerback ... Registered five solo tackles in the Patriots' 37-16 AFC Wild Card victory over the N.Y. Jets. at San Diego (1/14): Started at cornerback and led the team with four passes defensed in the Patriots' 24-21 AFC Divisional playoff victory over the Chargers ... Registered six solo tackles ... Knocked down a pass intended for Eric Parker in the first quarter ... Broke up a deep pass intended for Vincent Jackson in the first quarter ... Supplied a hit on Antonio Gates forcing an incompletion near the goalline in the second quarter ... Broke up a pass intended for Jackson in the fourth quarter. at Indianapolis (1/21): Started at cornerback ... Collected three solo tackles and two passes defensed ... Returned six kickoffs for 220 yards ... Saved a potential touchdown with a diving breakup of a deep pass intended for Reggie Wayne in the end zone during the first quarter ... Provided tight coverage on Reggie Wayne in the corner of the end zone forcing a third-down incompletion just before halftime ... Answered the Colts tying touchdown with an 80-yard kickoff return down the right sideline that set up a Patriots touchdown ... Defended a pass intended for Reggie Wayne in the fourth quarter ... Set up the Patriots go-ahead field goal with a 41-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.
2005 Season
2005 (16/8, 2/2): Played in every game as a rookie and started the final eight contests at cornerback ... Finished second among all NFL rookies and tied for the team lead with three interceptions ... Recorded 42 tackles (30 solo), three interceptions, 12 passes defensed, two fumble recoveries and three special teams tackles ... Returned 15 kickoffs for 361 yards. Oakland (9/8): Made his NFL debut ... Saw action at cornerback in the fourth quarter ... Scampered 37 yards on his only kickoff return in the second quarter. Pittsburgh (9/25): Saw signifi-cant action at cornerback and notched four tackles (2 solo). Denver (10/16): Saw limited action in the secondary ... Registered a special teams tackle on coverage units. Buffalo (10/30): Saw significant action at cornerback as the nickel back ... Registered a solo tackle and broke up a pass intended for Eric Moulds in the fourth quarter. Indianapolis (11/7): Saw significant action at cornerback and collected a tackle ... Combined with Tedy Bruschi to stop Edgerrin James for a 2-yard loss. Miami (11/13): Made his first career start at cornerback ... Registered a season-high eight tackles (4 solo), four passes defensed, an interception and two fumble recoveries ... Collected his first career interception when he picked off a batted ball intended for Wes Welker in the fourth quarter ... Batted down a pass intended for Marty Booker in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to help preserve the close win... Halted a Dolphins' scoring drive by recovering a Randy McMichael fumble that was forced by Rosevelt Colvin deep in Patriots' territory in the second quarter. New Orleans (11/20): Collected six tackles (5 solo) ... Returned a kickoff for 23 yards to open the third quarter. Kansas City (11/27): Recorded two tackles and a pass defensed ... Deflected a pass intended for Eddie Kennison in the end zone on third-and-nine. N.Y. Jets (12/4): Notched six tackles (5 solo) and an interception ... Picked off a deep pass intended for Laveranues Coles late in the fourth quarter. Buffalo (12/11): Provided stride-for-stride coverage and intercepted a deep pass intended for Roscoe Parrish in the third quarter. Tampa Bay (12/17): Recorded two solo tackles and two passes defensed ... Broke up a pass intended for Joey Galloway with a big hit in the first quarter ... Broke up a pass intended for Galloway on fourth-and-one. N.Y. Jets (12/26): Collected five solo tackles and a pass defensed ... Broke up a third-down pass intended for Laveranues Coles ... Stonewalled Justin McCareins for a 2-yard loss on a screen pass on third-and-one in the second quarter. Miami (1/1): Started at cornerback and notched seven tackles (5 solo) and a pass defensed ... Batted down a pass intended for Marty Booker in the second quarter. Jacksonville (1/7): Started at right cornerback in his first career playoff game and registered four solo tackles ... Returned two kickoffs for 36 yards in the victory ... Stuffed Jimmy Smith for no gain on a pass play in the first quarter. Denver (1/14): Recorded four tackles (2 solo) ... Returned three kickoffs for 89 yards.
College
Recorded 209 tackles (155 solo), two sacks, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, 29 pass defl ections and 3.5 stops for losses of 20 yards for his college career ... Also intercepted nine balls, gaining 121 yards on returns and scoring one touchdown ... Gained 490 yards on 24 kickoff returns ... Started 38 of the 49 games in which he played, all in a consecutive streak. 2004 (Senior): Started every game at right cornerback ... Ranked third on the team with 71 tackles (53 solo) and had 1.5 stops for losses of 12 yards ... Defl ected eight passes and gained 117 yards with a touchdown on five interceptions ... Returned 12 kickoffs for 288 yards (24.0 avg). 2003 (Junior): Started all year at right cornerback ... Recorded 71 tackles (51 solo) with a 3-yard sack and two stops for losses of 8 yards ... Recovered a fumble and caused another ... Had an interception and nine pass defl ections ... Gained 111 yards on six kickoff returns (18.5 avg). 2002 (Sophomore): Started every game at right cornerback ... Finished with 51 tackles (40 solo), a fumble recovery, two interceptions and twelve pass deflections. 2001 (Freshman): Saw action as a reserve cornerback, appearing in eleven games ... Recorded 16 tackles (11 solo) and returned six kickoffs for 91 yards (15.2 avg).
Extra Points
In 2005, Ellis visited the Home for Little Wanderers in Boston and met with dozens of children who were being served by that organization. The Home's goal is to ensure the healthy emotional, mental, and social development of children at risk and their families.
Ellis was named Iowa State's Male Athlete of the Year for his performance during the 2004 season. Hobbs was also a National Honor Society member and a three-time ISU Scholar-Athlete.
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