FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -Ellis Hobbs is sending his shoes to the Hall of Fame and a little something to all the players blocking for him on his record-setting kickoff return, too.
The New England cornerback said Monday he would give all the Patriots who were on the field during his 108-yard return a gift of $108 to thank them. Asked if $108 was enough of a tip, the third-year pro with a $435,000 base salary smiled and said, “I’m not a millionaire yet. I don’t get paid the big bucks yet.”
Hobbs took the opening kickoff of the second half 8 yards deep in the end zone and ran it all the way for a touchdown on Sunday in New England’s 38-14 victory over the New York Jets. On Monday, he said he didn’t fully realize what he had done until watching a replay for the first time that morning.
“Me, I’m like (moving on to the) next play,” Hobbs said. “Older guys are coming up to me and saying, ‘That’s really special.”’
Hobbs said he’s keeping the ball from the play and having it autographed by the teammates who were on the field with him. The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, has asked for the shoes he was wearing.
“That’s an honor right there,” Hobbs said. “I’m going to make a trip there if I can.”
Many teams have guidelines that tell returners to take a touchback so deep in the end zone, but coach Bill Belichick said a lot depends on how high the kick was and whether the coverage is converging on the receiver.
“I think Ellis made the decision that he thought was the best one at that time. It worked out OK, so that’s good,” Belichick said. “Those are the decisions that players have to make in that situation and they’re all different. I think if you’ve been around the kicking game in this league long enough, you know it’s hard to have a hard and fast rule and be right every time. You could have a rule, but I don’t think you’re going to be right every time.”
But Hobbs has his own rule: “We’re bringing them all out.”
“I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t care to know,” he said. “I’m paid to make plays.”
Belichick praised Kevin Faulk’s decision to fair-catch the first Jets punt on the Patriots 9-yard line, even though most players try to let anything inside the 10 bounce into the end zone for a touchback. Sometimes, that can result in the ball being downed at the 1, Belichick said.
“I thought it was a good decision,” Belichick said. “You can put your heels on the 10 and you can have a hard and fast rule. … I think it would be dumb to get away from the ball, let it hit on the 9 and roll down to the 1. I don’t think that would be a good play.”
But asked if he thought Hobbs’ decision was also a good one, Belichick wouldn’t answer.
“I said I thought that Ellis makes that decision, just like Kevin makes it. If it’s a gray area, a situation that could kind of go either way, then you count on the player to make the decision that he feels like is the best one. I wasn’t standing back there catching it.”
The kick return turned a 14-7 halftime lead into a two-touchdown advantage for the defending AFC East champions.
The previous record for longest kickoff return was 106 yards, held by three players: Green Bay’s Al Carmichael in 1966, Kansas City’s Nolan Smith in 1967, and Roy Green of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1979. The play also tied the record for the longest in NFL history, matching the 108-yard missed field goal returns by Chicago’s Devin Hester last season against the Giants, and the Bears’ Nathan Vasher the previous season against San Francisco.
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