The New York Jets selected Taliaferro in the 28th round of the 1963 AFL Draft. Before joining the Boston Patriots, he spent four seasons with the New York Jets, passing for 1100 yards with eight touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also returned two punts for scores during that time.
After the Patriots lost their first two games in 1963, they traded for Sammy Baugh to be their new quarterback. Baugh led them to a 9-3 record and they made it to the NFL Championship game before losing to the San Francisco 49ers 27-24.
Taliaferro started three of the final four games that season and completed nine of 20 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 55 yards on 10 attempts.
In 1964, Baugh retired after ten seasons in the NFL and was replaced by Taliaferro as the Patriots' starting quarterback. In his first season as the starter, Taliaferro led the team to an 8-4 record and a spot in the AFL Championship game where they defeated Houston 50-13. He finished the season with 3114 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for five scores.
In 1965, Taliaferro had another strong season finishing with 3054 yards passing with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for three scores that year.
Last season, rookie Sony Michel started eight games as one of the Patriots' greatest skill position players. In an otherwise well-balanced attack, he rushed for 931 yards and scored six touchdowns. New England can anticipate similar figures from their second year back this season, but they will have a little more support this time around. Michel is joined in the backfield by fellow first-year player James White, who ended up with 705 yards and five scores himself. Both players are worth keeping an eye on as they continue to develop.
In addition to his work at running back, White also served as New England's third wide receiver last season. He caught 45 passes for 535 yards and three touchdowns. White is a proven target out of the backfield, providing Brady with another option outside of Chris Hogan and Brandin Cooks. He'll also be counted on to help take some pressure off of him at times, especially given his ability to get downfield quickly.
Another rookie who contributed right away for New England was guard Joe Thuney. The sixth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Thuney started 15 games at left guard and helped pave the way for Michel's nine 100-yard rushing performances. He also didn't allow a single sack during that span.
Thuney's performance earned him a spot on the All-Rookie team, along with teammates Danny Shelton, Malcom Brown, and Jakobi Meyers.
Brady was replaced by backup quarterback Matt Cassel. Cassel guided the squad to a victory over the New York Jets in Week 2, his first start since high school. The next week, the Pats' record 21-game regular-season winning run was snapped in a loss to the Miami Dolphins. The Indianapolis Colts shattered this record in 2009.
Quarterback Matt Cassel took over for Brady on the Patriots' second drive, which began at the 2-yard line. Cassel found Moss in the end zone from 10 yards out seven plays after a 51-yard connection to Moss from inside the Patriots' 1.
For the remaining two games of the season, he was replaced by Tom Greene. From 1961 until 1967, the Patriots' next starting quarterback was Hall of Famer Parnelli. New England's starting quarterback for the 2018 season is Tom Brady, whom the Patriots drafted in the sixth round (199th pick overall)...
Daniels was selected The Sporting News American Football League Player of the Year in 1963, with a 5.1 yard/carry average and 1,099 yards gained. He was the all-time top rusher in the American Football League and was chosen to the All-Time All-AFL Team. Daniels died at age 42 in 1975 after suffering brain damage during a game.
He played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1960 to 1964. In 9 seasons with the Rams, he finished with 4,928 rushing yards, which is second only to Eric Dickerson's 5,071 career rushing yards. He also scored 45 touchdowns on the ground, which is third behind Dickerson (82) and LaDainian Tomlinson (57).
During his tenure with the Rams, they won the NFL Championship three times: 1961, 1962, and 1963. They lost in the final game of the season in 1964.
In addition to his work with The Sporting News, Daniels was also voted by his fellow players as the AFL's Most Valuable Player in 1963. He is one of only four players who have been voted AFL MVP twice, along with Jim Brown, Orie Lemon, and Kevin Greene.
After leaving the Rams, Daniels had short stints with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings before retiring in 1969.
Past Patriots quarterbacks include Hall of Fame honorees Babe Parilli, Steve Grogan, and Drew Bledsoe. Butch Songin was the first starting quarterback for the Patriots when the team was founded in 1960. For the remaining two games of the season, he was replaced by Tom Greene. During that time, the Patriots used three different passers who were all drafted by the team: Songin, Greene, and Brian Sipe.
So, between Songin and Sipe, the Patriots had four different quarterbacks start at least one game during their first two seasons. However, due to injuries, they were forced to go with more than one quarterback during that period. In fact, they used three different quarterbacks in both of those games. So technically, there were five different players start at least one game during the first two years of the franchise.
In 1963, the Patriots drafted Bobby Douglass out of West Virginia University. They traded his rights to the Chicago Bears before the beginning of the season. The Patriots then started him in place of an injured Greene and he played well enough to be named the starter for the next game. But due to more injuries, they again turned to Douglass who led them to a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. After that game, they signed Grogan as a free agent from the Los Angeles Chargers. He had been released by the Cleveland Browns earlier in the week. Grogan went on to lead the Patriots to two more victories before being injured.
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