A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2006 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Robert Kraft |
| Head coach | Bill Belichick |
| Home field | Gillette Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–4 |
| Division place | 1st AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Jets) 37–16 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Chargers) 24–21 Lost AFC Championship (at Colts) 34–38 |
| Pro Bowlers | OT Matt Light DE Richard Seymour |
| AP All-Pros | DE Richard Seymour (2nd team) |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The 2006 season was the New England Patriots' 37th in the National Football League (NFL), their 47th overall and their seventh under head coach Bill Belichick. They finished with a 12–4 record and a division title before losing to the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs.
The Patriots entered the season without their two starting wide receivers from 2005; David Givens left in free agency while Deion Branch held out for a new contract before being traded in early September. They were eventually replaced with Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney, who was signed as a street free agent in October. Back-to-back losses in November ended the team's streak of 57 games without consecutive losses, three games shy of the NFL record.[1] The field surface of Gillette Stadium was changed from natural grass to Field Turf in time for the November 26 game against Chicago.
With a 12–4 record and their fourth straight division title, the Patriots entered the playoffs as the fourth seed. They defeated the New York Jets in the wild-card round. A close win over the top-seeded San Diego Chargers on the road in the divisional round set the Patriots up to face their rival Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game. Despite opening up a 21–3 lead, the Patriots stumbled down the stretch at the RCA Dome and the Colts emerged with a 38–34 victory, from which they would go on to win Super Bowl XLI.
As of 2024, this is the last time that the Patriots won a wild-card game.
Offseason
Staff changes
First-year defensive coordinator Eric Mangini was hired to be head coach of the New York Jets, marking the second year in a row that New England's defensive coordinator was hired as a head coach.[2] He would be replaced as defensive coordinator by Dean Pees,[3] who had been linebackers coach for the club the past two years and as secondary coach by assistant secondary coach Joel Collier. Assistant offensive line coach Matt Patricia was moved to linebackers coach to replace Pees.[4] Quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels was promoted to offensive coordinator after New England went one season without replacing former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.[5] Defensive coaching assistant Mike Judge was moved to an offensive coaching assistant, while Josh Boyer and Kevin Bickers joined the coaching staff as defensive and special teams coaching assistants, respectively.
Departures
Free agency saw multiple departures for the Patriots, including long-time kicker Adam Vinatieri signing with the Indianapolis Colts,[6] and wide receiver David Givens signing with the Tennessee Titans.[7] Linebacker Willie McGinest, the Patriots' first-round pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, was released on March 9[8] and signed with the Cleveland Browns six days later.[9] Tyrone Poole,[10] Duane Starks,[11] and Chad Brown were also released early in the offseason,[12] with Brown returning for training camp[13] before being cut again prior to the start of the season.[14] Other free agency departures were André Davis (Buffalo Bills),[15] Christian Fauria (Washington Redskins),[16] Matt Chatham (New York Jets),[17] Tim Dwight (New York Jets),[6] Tom Ashworth (Seattle Seahawks),[18] and Michael Stone (Houston Texans).[19]
The preseason also saw the eventual loss of Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Deion Branch. Branch held out all of mini-camp, training camp, the preseason and into the regular season before eventually being traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft on September 11.[20]
Also during the preseason, on August 8, offensive lineman Ross Tucker was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional late-round 2007 draft pick.[21] Two weeks later, offensive tackle Brandon Gorin was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for another conditional 2007 draft choice, which later became one of the Patriots' four picks of the 2007 sixth round.[22] As the Patriots made their final roster cut-downs, they also traded running back Patrick Cobbs to the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 1 for a conditional 2007 draft pick.[23] Both Tucker and Cobbs did not make their respective rosters and the Patriots did not receive the conditional picks.[24]
Arrivals
The offseason brought the arrival of fifth-year wide receiver Reche Caldwell from the San Diego Chargers,[25] who would become the Patriots' leading receiver in 2006. Another acquisition came during the preseason, when the Patriots signed veteran linebacker Junior Seau, who had retired just four days earlier.[26] Other arrivals were Mel Mitchell,[27] Martin Gramatica, Tebucky Jones,[28] and Barry Gardner.[29] Free agents or potential free agents Don Davis,[30] Hank Poteat,[31] Ross Tucker,[32] Artrell Hawkins,[33] Chad Scott,[34] Troy Brown, Stephen Neal,[35] and Heath Evans[36] were all re-signed, while Richard Seymour,[37] Dan Koppen,[38] and Russ Hochstein[39] all received long-term contract extensions.
On June 5, the Patriots traded wide receiver Bethel Johnson to the New Orleans Saints for defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan, the sixth overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.[40] Sullivan was arrested on June 30 in New Orleans, Louisiana for marijuana possession after being stopped for a vehicle music noise violation.[41] Neither players made their respective rosters to begin the 2006 season.[42][43]
On September 2, wide receiver Doug Gabriel was traded to the Patriots from the Oakland Raiders in exchange for the Patriots' 2007 fifth-round pick.[44]
2006 NFL Draft
| Round | Overall | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Laurence Maroney | Running back | Minnesota |
| 2[45] | 36 | Chad Jackson | Wide receiver | Florida |
| 3 | 86 | David Thomas | Tight end | Texas |
| 4[46] | 106 | Garrett Mills | Tight end | Tulsa |
| 4 | 118 | Stephen Gostkowski | Kicker | Memphis |
| 5[47] | 136 | Ryan O'Callaghan | Offensive tackle | California |
| 6 | 191 | Jeremy Mincey | Defensive end | Florida |
| 6 | 205 | Dan Stevenson | Offensive guard | Notre Dame |
| 6 | 206 | Le Kevin Smith | Defensive tackle | Nebraska |
| 7 | 229 | Willie Andrews | Safety | Baylor |
| compensatory selection |
Staff
| 2006 New England Patriots staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Coaching assistants
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Opening training camp roster
As of the Patriots' first training camp practice at Gillette Stadium on July 28, they had the NFL maximum of 80 players signed to their roster. Deion Branch did not count against the limit as he held out of training camp and was placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list. Also, the Patriots received eight total roster exemptions for the NFL Europe allocations of Earl Charles, Todd Mortensen, Rich Musinski, Zuriel Smith, Antwain Spann, Nick Steitz, and Ray Ventrone (one for each player, plus one bonus exemption because of the time Ventrone spent on a practice squad in 2006).
| New England Patriots 2006 opening training camp roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
| |||||
