He always gives them a leg up

They know they do not have to drive to the 15- or 20-yard line to assure themselves a solid chance at victory when, as it was yesterday, the score is tied and the clock is running down. Just get it in the same zip code as the stadium, it seems, and Vinatieri will take care of the rest.

''Adam is the most clutch kicker in the game," quarterback Tom Brady said, after once again reminding us what clutch means himself by going 12 for 12 in the fourth quarter, including 3 for 3 for 37 yards in the final drive to set up Vinatieri's 43-yard game winner with one second on the clock. ''In those situations you call the best stuff you've got but you also know you're within field goal range if you just get to the 30-yard line."

In theory, you could say the same about a lot of professional kickers. They've all made kicks from beyond 40 yards so there is reason to believe they can do the same with a game on the line. But will they? In most cases, only Norman Vincent Peale is sure about some of Vinatieri's contemporaries around the league because none of them have done what Vinatieri has done in situations like yesterday's. None have made so many kicks at the most crucial moments, in the biggest games, made them so often that there is a belief in him among his teammates that seems to set his offense free.

''With some teams, even if you get it in range you're sweating bullets," wide receiver Troy Brown said after Brady and Vinatieri had combined to get the Patriots out of Pittsburgh with a stirring 23-20 victory on a day when many other things had gone wrong. Key players like Rodney Harrison and Matt Light went down with what appear to be serious injuries. Enough mistakes were made to sink a ship or a football team. The running game hobbled for the third straight week, with Corey Dillon averaging under 3 yards a carry for the third straight game.