Sun, Jan 18, 2004 page24

• Troy Brown still producing for New England Patriots

  • NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
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  At this stage of his career, Troy Brown no longer has the market cornered on Tom Brady passes. Times have changed. He isn't the Patriots' undisputed No. 1 receiver anymore. Some games, he isn't even No. 2. For him, gone are the days of eight, nine, and 10 catches in a game. There were more one- and two-catch games for Brown this year. Brown had 40 receptions in 12 regular-season games (third on the team) this year after catching close to 200 balls the previous two seasons.

  Not everything has changed, however. When crunch time comes, it doesn't matter if on that day Brown was receiver No. 1, No. 2, or No. 22 -- No. 83 is still the one.

  Funny how the highest complement you can pay a football player is to refer to him as just that: a football player. For a receiver, the most respected title is that of playmaker. That's what Brown is. A football player and a playmaker. "It's in my blood, man," Brown said.

  Of Brady's 21 completions in the divisional playoff win over Tennessee, only two were to Brown. But one was, arguably, the play of the game. With the game tied at 14 in the fourth quarter, the Patriots faced fourth and 3 from Tennessee's 33. Brady completed passes to 10 receivers that night. This time he went to old reliable. Brady and Brown, who beat the coverage of Lance Shulters, hooked up for a 4-yard completion and a first down. Four plays later, Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning 46-yard field goal. And Brown returned Craig Hentrich's punt 9 yards to Tennessee's 40-yard line to set up the winning drive.

  That's the essence of Troy Brown. Small gains are big plays. Whatever the situation, he gets what his teams needs.

  "Fourth and 3 in a playoff game," Bill Belichick said this week, "or handling a punt there late in the fourth quarter, and in bad conditions getting it up field and setting up the field position that ultimately led to the field goal.

  "We have tremendous confidence in Troy Brown. He's a football-playing dude, now. Whatever you want him do. Whether it's rushing kicks on field goals, returning punts, blocking, catching, running. He's a good player. That's the kind of guy you want out there at a time like this."

  "What it comes down to is, you just play ball," Brown said Friday. "It may not be as pretty as some of the other guys out there, Torry Holt or somebody. But it gets the job done."

  Brown got it done before there was a Deion Branch, David Givens, or Bethel Johnson on the Patriots. It was Brown who caught a 23-yard pass on the winning Super Bowl drive two years ago. It was Brown whose punt return for a touchdown and recovery of a blocked field goal (and lateral) against Pittsburgh the week before helped send the Patriots to New Orleans. Brady has confidence in all his receivers. But they don't have the track record Brown does.

  "When you have a guy that knows how to block everything out and come through when you need him," Givens said. "that's kind of expected of him."

  "Troy has been the go-to guy since I got here," Brady said Friday. "When Drew [Bledsoe] was here, Drew found a way to get the ball to him. He's also a factor. I think I've thrown so many balls to him, to where, at this point, I can read his body language. I always know where he is on the field. A lot of the time, he's matched up on the third corner, inside in the slot. He does a great job of getting open in man-to-man coverage, he has incredible awareness in zone coverage. He's got great hands, great elusiveness. He's tough to bring down. And he's a great leader. I think he makes that whole receiving corps better. I'm always looking for him, and when he's open, he usually gets it."

  Brown had his shin/ankle stepped on against the Browns in Week 8, and the next week hurt his hamstring. That kept him out for the next four games, including the Nov. 30 meeting with fellow AFC finalist Indianapolis. In the meantime, the team learned to get along without their most dangerous offensive weapon from the previous two seasons. But Brown isn't bitter about the hand fate dealt him.

  "Nobody wants to get hurt," Brown said. "I hated that part of it. It's been a good season. We finished the season 14-2, you can't ask for too much more than that. We're playing for the AFC Championship.

  "We have had a number of different players step up in a number of different positions to be productive," Belichick said. "I don't think there is really anything wrong with that. It's not one guy who is going to get the ball every time. We all know that. It is going to go to different people and it is going to go to wherever the coverages are light. I think there are a lot of people who have a lot of respect for Troy Brown in the league and sometimes that pulls more coverage into his area and less somewhere else."
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