Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Patriots' run truly is special

New England's special-teams unit boasts a plethora of starters and is responsible for much of the team's success.

By ROGER MILLS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 1, 2002

NEW ORLEANS -- How does that old football adage go? Offense sells tickets. Defense wins games.

Well, here's a third installment often forgotten: Special-teams units win championships.

The Patriots, who began the season 0-2, played with their $103-million quarterback on the bench, suspended their primary receiver and had their quarterbacks coach die in training camp, are proof.

Take the past two weeks. Against the Raiders in the divisional playoffs, Adam Vinatieri, ignoring a blizzard that would have slowed most New England postal carriers, kicked a tying 45-yard field goal with 27 seconds left.

Vinatieri won it with 8:29 left in overtime with a 23-yarder.

"It was a situation that I was very fortunate to be able to be in," Vinatieri said. "Our team fought back real well and a lot of things had to happen for me to even have the opportunity to kick that at the end of the game. I was happy to play my role. That is kind of the way the whole season has been going this year." In Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Steelers the Patriots special teams proved just as valuable.

Punt returner Troy Brown, who also starts at receiver, broke a scoreless tie with a 55-yard touchdown return. Ahead 14-3 early in the third quarter, the unit struck again, only it was a three-man effort. Defensive tackle Brandon Mitchell broke through the line of scrimmage and blocked a 34-yard field-goal attempt by Pittsburgh kicker Kris Brown.

"Someone asked me if it's a letdown to ask starters to play on special teams and I had to tell them, "No!' " said Mitchell, a starter. "We're trying to win a championship and so you don't allow your ego to get in the way. We all have roles and if you only get in there for one play, it's still your role. I tell you what, when I got my hand on the ball, I couldn't think until they scored. If we hadn't scored it wouldn't have been the same."

Brown pounced on the loose ball, scampered a few steps and pitched it to safety Antwan Harris, who ran 49 yards for the back-breaking touchdown.

"In pro football there is such a fine line between winning and losing, you are trying to get every edge you can and the kicking game can be a huge edge," Patriots special-teams coach Brad Seely said. "So, I think (special-teams play) has become more of a focus because people understand that it can tip the scales in your favor really quickly. You have to be able to be successful in that area."

This season, the coaching staff continually has stressed that it won't minimize the significance of special teams. To ensure that, it uses as many starters as possible Seely said the Patriots starters account for about 75 percent of the snaps on special teams, a percentage believed to be the most in the league.

"That's probably true," Seely said. "That comes back to Bill Belichick in the sense that whoever we have to use and whatever we have to do to get it done. So, that doesn't mean just because you're a starter that you can't play on special teams.

"There is a reason they are starting, they are the best football players we have. So, let's get them out there on the field. Troy Brown is a great example, let's get him out there on the field to give him an opportunity to make more plays than just on offense."

Added starting safety Lawyer Milloy: "It's a total team effort. That is the one thing that everybody has ignored about this team. That is the thing that makes us a dangerous team. We don't care about individual stats and all that."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright