Foxborough, Mass. – Although the Broncos passed for only 262 yards in their 28-20 Oct. 16 victory over New England, one would have thought the Patriots’ secondary had been victimized by the ghosts of Dan Marino and Joe Montana, given the amount of criticism the unit received.
Much of the angst was based on the fact that 127 of those yards came on two plays, a 72-yard completion to Rod Smith and a 55-yard strike to Ashley Lelie. The big gains were part of a rough stretch for the New England defensive backs. Pittsburgh had gains of 85 and 49 yards earlier in the season, and the week before the Pats met the Broncos, Atlanta burned the secondary for plays of 53, 28 and 24 yards.
Some measure of secondary payback was achieved in Saturday’s AFC wild-card game, when cornerback Asante Samuel returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown. More could be in store when New England faces the Broncos in Saturday’s divisional playoff game, but the Patriots’ defenders aren’t looking at the contest as another opportunity to avenge a previous wrong.
“I don’t think revenge factors in to it. More important is that it’s an opportunity to play in the AFC championship game,” safety Artrell Hawkins said Thursday. “I haven’t heard anybody here talk about revenge. If you’re thinking about that, then your energy is going into the wrong place.
“The thing we’re concentrating on is execution. The team that executes the best is going to win.”
Fear factor
Saturday’s game will feature two of the NFL’s best kickers, Denver’s Jason Elam and New England’s Adam Vinatieri. The two are the only kickers in league history to score at least 100 points in each of their first 10 seasons.
This season, Vinatieri became the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer. He has provided the margin of victory in each of the Patriots’ Super Bowl victories, twice making game-winning kicks.
Those sorts of clutch performances are why Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he never has any doubts about sending Vinatieri onto the field, adding the same might not be said of other coaches around the league.
“When you send a kicker out on the field, you have to have confidence that he’s going to make it – period,” Belichick said. “If you don’t think he will, he probably shouldn’t be your kicker. It’s too hard to coach if you’re thinking, ‘Well, gee, this guy might miss, we’re on the 25-yard-line …’
“It’s too hard. And that goes for every player. If you put him in there to do a job and you don’t think he can do it, then you probably need to find another player, or another scheme to try to get it done. You may not like the alternatives, but you have to have confidence he can get it done.”
