December 4, 2007
BALTIMORE -- Normally, an offensive lineman drawing a penalty on 4th-and-1 for moving before the snap would be embarrassed and upset.
Especially if it happened in the fourth quarter, with time running out, his team trailing, and the game on the line.
But Russ Hochstein and his New England teammates were relieved when the veteran right guard was called for illegal motion at the Ravens' 30 with 1:48 left to play and Baltimore leading, 24-20.
That's because Pats fullback Heath Evans was dropped for the loss of a yard on the play, which was nullified because Hochstein had moved before the snap.
"Any time you get a false-start penalty, it's not good," said Hochstein, who's in his seventh NFL season.
"Normally," he said, "that's a terrible spot for that to happen. But it worked out, because we made a play on the next down."
The Patriots picked up the crucial first down on 4th-and-6 when QB Tom Brady, unable to find an open receiver, scrambled out of the pocket and ran for 12 yards."
Helped by another fourth-down penalty -- this time on Baltimore, for holding tight end Ben Watson in the end zone -- the Patriots were able to score the game-winning touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Brady to Jabar Gaffney with 44 seconds to go.
"We kept making play after play and kept our hopes alive," Hochstein said. "Finally we were able to score."
Posted by Jim Donaldson 
at 2:07 AM | Permalink
October 9, 2007
The Patriots added two players and subtracted one from their practice squad today, signing center Pat Ross and cornerback Tim Mixon. Defensive lineman Zach West was cut.
Ross' signing could raise eyebrows because Dan Koppen missed Sunday's game with an ankle injury, and Ross' arrival may be a sign that Koppen will be out for a longer amount of time. Russ Hochstein started at center against Cleveland.
Ross, like Koppen, played at Boston College -- he took over the job after Koppen graduated; he spent all of last year on Seattle's practice squad.
Mixon, an undrafted rookie from Cal, is a 5-foot-9, 184 pound corner; he has spent time with the Bears and Browns.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young at 4:30 PM | Permalink
