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.
Willie Thedric Andrews was born the son of Walter and Thelma Andrews on November 2, 1983 in Longview, Texas ... Attended Longview (Tex.) High School, where he was selected as a first-team member of the Texas Football's Super Team as a senior defensive back ... Earned honorable mention 5A All-State honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association and was named one of the top 100 prospects in Texas by The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, Waco Tribune-Herald and Austin American- Statesman ... Added first-team All-District 12-5A honors as a senior running back, leading the district in rushing with 1,291 yards and 15 touchdowns ... Also had 13 receptions for 233 yards and one touchdown and two interceptions, giving him eight career picks ... Willie's head coach at Baylor was Guy Morriss, who played for the Patriots from 1984-87 and began his coaching career as an assistant offensive line coach with New England from 1988-89 ... Majored in Speech Communications at Baylor.
Career Transactions
Willie Andrews was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round (229th overall)of the 2006 NFL Draft.
Career Highlights
Career GP/GS: 15/0
2006 Season
2006 (15/0/0/1): Tied for the team lead with 15 special teams tackles ... Led the team or tied for the team lead in special teams tackles six times in 2006 (at NYJ, vs. DEN, at CIN, at BUF, at MIN, at MIA) ... Saw action in a reserve role on special teams during his NFL debut against Buffalo (9/10/06).
Buffalo (9/10): Played on special teams coverage units and registered one solo tackle in the Patriots' 19-17 victory over the Bills ... Stuffed Terrence McGee at the Buffalo 18-yard line with a blistering hit during a first quarter kickoff return. at N.Y. Jets (9/17): Led the team with three special teams tackles in the Patriots' 24-17 win over the N.Y. Jets. Denver (9/24): Saw action on special teams coverage units and collected a special teams stop ... Pinned the Broncos at their 2-yard line when he teamed with Lonie Paxton to stuff Darrent Williams for a 4-yard loss on a punt return in the third quarter. at Cincinnati (10/1): Tied for the team lead with two special teams tackles in the Patriots' commanding 38-13 victory over the Bengals ... Teamed with James Sanders to tackle Kenny Watson at the Bengals' 18-yard line on a kickoff return in the second quarter. vs. Miami (10/8): Inactive. at Buffalo (10/22): Played on special teams coverage units and registered a solo special teams tackle in the Patriots' 28-6 road victory over the Bills. at Minnesota (10/30): Saw action on special teams coverage units ... Tied for the team lead with two special teams tackles in the Patriots' commanding 31-7 road win against the Vikings ... Stonewalled Bethel Johnson for just a 16-yard gain on a kickoff return to the Vikings' 21-yard line in the second quarter. Indianapolis (11/5): Saw action on special teams coverage units. vs. N.Y. Jets (11/12): Played on special teams coverage units. at Green Bay (11/19): Played on special teams coverage units in the Patriots' 35-0 road victory over the Packers. vs. Chicago (11/26): Saw action on special teams coverage units in the Patriots' 17-13 victory over the Bears. vs. Detroit (12/3): Recorded two special teams tackles in the Patriots' 28-21 comeback victory over the Lions. at Miami (12/10): Tied for the team lead with two special teams tackles on coverage units. vs. Houston (12/17): Saw action on special teams coverage units in the Patriots' commanding 40-7 victory over the Texans. at Jacksonville (12/24): Played on special teams coverage units in the Patriots' 24-21 division-clinching win over the Jaguars. at Tennessee (12/31): Registered a special teams tackle on coverage units in the Patriots' 40-23 victory over the Titans.
2006 Postseason (3/0/0/0): vs. N.Y. Jets (1/7): Saw action on kickoff coverage units in the Patriots' 37-16 AFC Wild Card victory over the N.Y. Jets. at San Diego (1/14): Played on special teams coverage units in the Patriots' 24-21 AFC Divisional playoff victory over the Chargers ... Saw limited action at cornerback but did not record a tackle. at Indianapolis (1/21): Collected a solo tackle on special teams coverage units.
College
Played in 46 games with 34 starts at Baylor, setting multiple school records as a return specialist while also starting every game of his final three seasons at safety ... Recorded 219 tackles (153 solo), with 8.5 sacks, 26 tackles for losses, three interceptions and 13 passes defensed ... Set Baylor career records for total kick returns (164), total kick return yards (2,596), kickoff returns (67), kickoff return yards (1,647) and punt return yards (949) ... Ranked second in total punt returns (97), fourth in yards per kickoff return (24.58) and fifth in yards per punt return (9.78) ... Had 42 career returns of 25-plus yards (31 kickoff, 10 punt, 1 interception), including nine such returns (6 kickoff and 3 punt) in 2005 ... Finished his career with 2,654 all-purpose yards (2,596 kick return, 51 interception return and 7 rush), good for eighth on Baylor's all-time list ... Became the first player in school history to crack the all-time all-purpose list with fewer than 10 total rushing or receiving yards. 2005 (Senior): Consensus All-Big 12 Conference first-team selection, becoming the first player in school history to earn that honor twice in a career ... Started all 11 games at strong safety ... Ranked fourth on the team with 59 tackles (36 solos), including two sacks for 18 yards and 7.5 stops for losses of 29 yards ... Had four quarterback pressures and caused a fumble ... Also defl ected three passes ... Returned 11 kickoffs for 265 yards (24.1 avg) and 27 punts for 274 yards (10.1 avg). 2004 (Junior): Consensus All-Big 12 Conference first-team selection as a kick/punt returner and safety ... Set school records for kickoff return yardage (741 yards on 30 returns) and punt return yardage (443 yards on 41 returns) ... Started all 11 games at strong safety, ranking third on the team with 67 tackles (48 solos), adding three sacks for 20 yards and 10 stops for losses of 37 yards ... Credited with seven quarterback pressures and a forced fumble ... Defl ected three passes ... Returned 30 kickoffs for 741 yards (24.7 avg) and 41 punts for 443 yards (10.8 avg). 2003 (Sophomore): Started all 12 games at strong safety as a sophomore and was also one of the Bears' top kickoff and punt return specialists ... Finished third on the team in tackles with 67 tackles (46 solos) with 2.5 sacks for 37 yards and 6.5 stops for losses of 47 yards ... Caused a fumble and recovered two others, returning one 30 yards for a score ... Had five pass defl ections and intercepted two passes for 24 yards in returns ... Added 641 yards on 26 kickoff returns (24.7 avg) and 232 yards on 29 punt returns (8.0 avg). 2002 (Freshman): Played in all 12 games as a true freshman, participating at safety and as a member of the special teams ... Credited with 26 tackles (23 solos) with a 5-yard sack and two stops for losses of seven yards ... Recorded an interception and returned it 27 yards against Texas Tech ... Had a season-high six solo tackles at Texas.
High School
Attended Longview (Tex.) High School, playing football for head coach Pat Collins...First-team member of the Texas Football's Super Team as a defensive back...Earned honorable mention 5A All-State honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association and was named one of the top 100 prospects in Texas by The Dallas Morning News (43rd), Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, Waco Tribune-Herald (top 30) and Austin American-Statesman (43rd)...Listed among the state's 20 best defensive backs by Texas Football magazine and was a member of the Texas Top 300...Added first-team All-District 12-5A honors as a running back, leading the district in rushing with 1,291 yards and in touchdowns with 15...Also had 13 receptions for 233 yards and one touchdown and two interceptions, giving him eight career picks...As a junior, he caught 40 passes for 775 yards and four touchdowns, rushed 27 times for 232 yards (8.6 avg), returned 11 punts for 112 yards and returned 11 kickoffs for 292 yards (26.5 avg).
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