David Givens

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Half an hour after the Patriots had won their third championship ring, after the fireworks had been set off and the confetti had settled, after he'd been named the most valuable player, Deion Branch still had his gloves on. You never know when Tom Brady might fling another ball his way. "I don't think they were looking to throw me the ball that many times," said the human Venus flytrap, after he'd caught 11 passes for 133...

FOXBOROUGH - This was more like it. Those shootouts, like the one they survived with Tennessee last week, are OK once in a while, but that isn't Patriots football. Too, you know, pretty. Their brand of ball is gritty. Grimy. Not attractive. Just effective. When they aren't a pleasure to watch, as the Giants learned yesterday on a muddy, rainy afternoon at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots can be a pain to play. New England won, 17-6. Had the score been 170-6, it still would have been anatomically impossible for Bill Belichick to wear a wider grin.

FOXBOROUGH - This was more like it. Those shootouts, like the one they survived with Tennessee last week, are OK once in a while, but that isn't Patriots football. Too, you know, pretty. Their brand of ball is gritty. Grimy. Not attractive. Just effective. When they aren't a pleasure to watch, as the Giants learned yesterday on a muddy, rainy afternoon at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots can be a pain to play. New England won, 17-6. Had the score been 170-6, it still would have been anatomically impossible for Bill Belichick to wear a wider grin.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Half an hour after the Patriots had won their third championship ring, after the fireworks had been set off and the confetti had settled, after he'd been named the most valuable player, Deion Branch still had his gloves on. You never know when Tom Brady might fling another ball his way. "I don't think they were looking to throw me the ball that many times," said the human Venus flytrap, after he'd caught 11 passes for 133...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In the summertime in New England, screens are important, especially in blackfly country. Last night, screens were again important in New England, even though it's the dead of winter. The New England Patriots used the screen pass to nullify a swarm of nasty blackflies called the Philadelphia Eagles, beating a blitz that was pressuring Tom Brady and forcing New England into some uncharacteristic mistakes and penalties through much of the first half of Super Bowl XXXIX.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Last night's postgame buzzword for the Patriots was improvement. Granted, when you're coming off a 31-3 loss, it doesn't take much to utter such a word. But they were correct: In last night's 20-17 exhibition loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Patriots looked closer to regular-season form than to their inept output against the Cincinnati Bengals a week ago. Consider that the Patriots' starters played three quarters, and when they were done for the evening, New England was ahead, 17-10.

FOXBOROUGH -- Tom Brady has arrived at the point of the season he cherishes. "It's my favorite time of year," he said yesterday at Gillette Stadium, as the Patriots kicked off preparations to face the Jets Sunday in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs. "You look over the course of the 16-game season, and you come to this week and you are so fatigued from 16 games, but you definitely get a second wind. It's just a different feeling, different approach. " Brady probably could have added that 2006 has been a different type of season for him. There was the time after the opener when he...

MIAMI -- Asante Samuel had chest bumping in mind, and there was no shortage of teammates willing to oblige. Defensive linemen, linebackers, even offensive players who were coming onto the field so that Tom Brady could take the required kneel-down, offered flying chest matches for the Patriots cornerback. It was time to rejoice in triumph. Twice on this day -- and for the first times this season -- a New England opponent ventured into the red zone and came away without points.

FOXBOROUGH -- Of course there was no need for panic, probably not even apprehension, but you could not help but hear concern in the voice of Patriots offensive players during training camp. Poor pass routes, bad throws, and apparent miscommunication were more prevalent than perfect execution. Tom Brady even pointed out -- only a touch facetiously -- that the goal of winning three consecutive Super Bowls should take a back seat to putting together three straight quality practices.

FOXBOROUGH -- Bringing in Reche Caldwell, even as a No. 2 receiver to Deion Branch, looked like an iffy proposition. Caldwell never had more than 28 catches in a season and had an injury history that dogged him since he left the University of Florida to fanfare and great expectations. Bringing in Caldwell as a No. 1 receiver, after the departure of Branch to Seattle, looked even more dicey. But 10 games and eight starts into his Patriots career -- his most starts in a season -- Caldwell has become a receiving threat for New England, most recently with his wide-open 54-yard...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In the summertime in New England, screens are important, especially in blackfly country. Last night, screens were again important in New England, even though it's the dead of winter. The New England Patriots used the screen pass to nullify a swarm of nasty blackflies called the Philadelphia Eagles, beating a blitz that was pressuring Tom Brady and forcing New England into some uncharacteristic mistakes and penalties through much of the first half of Super Bowl XXXIX.

HOUSTON - Like many of the first- and second-year Patriots, Deion Branch was in awe of Super Bowl week. He did the video camera thing. As the Patriots' leading receiver, he was usually a featured player in the daily interview sessions. He answered all the dumb questions. He dreamed of scoring the winning touchdown. "I think a lot of people dream it, but you have to do it to make it a memory," Branch said. "I think you make memories as a team anyway, but everyone wants to make the big play, catch the big catch.

NEWTON - He heard too many different things from different doctors and trainers. None of them were comforting. Then there was the time therapists were forcefully tugging on his leg, pliers in hand, attempting to remove the stitches from his mangled left knee with no success. If only they knew that the stitches, under the skin, had been tied in a knot. The sight of David Givens biting a towel between screams of agony should have tipped them off to that. This was when it all crashed for Givens, who played wide receiver for the Patriots from 2002-05 and was an integral part of two Super Bowl...

FOXBOROUGH -- Tom Brady has arrived at the point of the season he cherishes. "It's my favorite time of year," he said yesterday at Gillette Stadium, as the Patriots kicked off preparations to face the Jets Sunday in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs. "You look over the course of the 16-game season, and you come to this week and you are so fatigued from 16 games, but you definitely get a second wind. It's just a different feeling, different approach. " Brady probably could have added that 2006 has been a different type of season for him. There was the time after the opener when...

FOXBOROUGH -- Bringing in Reche Caldwell, even as a No. 2 receiver to Deion Branch, looked like an iffy proposition. Caldwell never had more than 28 catches in a season and had an injury history that dogged him since he left the University of Florida to fanfare and great expectations. Bringing in Caldwell as a No. 1 receiver, after the departure of Branch to Seattle, looked even more dicey. But 10 games and eight starts into his Patriots career -- his most starts in a season -- Caldwell has become a receiving threat for New England, most recently with his wide-open...

FOXBOROUGH -- When the Patriots overhauled their wide receiver group -- mostly because of the losses of David Givens (planned) and Deion Branch (unplanned) -- they knew it might make more work for, say, Tom Brady or receivers coach Brian Daboll. But they likely didn't think about how much more work it would create for Troy Brown. Though Brown ranks fourth on the team in receiving yards, the additional work has come from the help he has to give to his fellow wideouts. As the only receiver with prior experience with the Patriots, Brown has become a sounding board for the newbies,...

FOXBOROUGH -- No one was more surprised than Tom Brady when his fourth-quarter across-the-body sling into a crowd of players in the end zone found the waiting arms of Doug Gabriel, providing the finishing touch on a 28-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Instead of celebrating, Brady stood on the right sideline, bemused, putting his hand on top of his helmet and staring ahead blankly, as if to say, "What did I do?" What he did -- by his own admission -- was throw the ball into a crowd of defenders when he shouldn't have.

FOXBOROUGH -- When the Patriots overhauled their wide receiver group -- mostly because of the losses of David Givens (planned) and Deion Branch (unplanned) -- they knew it might make more work for, say, Tom Brady or receivers coach Brian Daboll. But they likely didn't think about how much more work it would create for Troy Brown. Though Brown ranks fourth on the team in receiving yards, the additional work has come from the help he has to give to his fellow wideouts. As the only receiver with prior experience with the Patriots, Brown has become a sounding board for the...

FOXBOROUGH -- No one was more surprised than Tom Brady when his fourth-quarter across-the-body sling into a crowd of players in the end zone found the waiting arms of Doug Gabriel, providing the finishing touch on a 28-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Instead of celebrating, Brady stood on the right sideline, bemused, putting his hand on top of his helmet and staring ahead blankly, as if to say, "What did I do?" What he did -- by his own admission -- was throw the ball into a crowd of defenders when he shouldn't have.

Appearances can be deceiving. Take, for example, the case of Tom Brady, which was so thoroughly scrutinized last week. Since the Patriots' loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday, there has been more talk about Brady's body language than Eva Longoria's, yet the New England quarterback's true problems have nothing to do with his psyche, his disposition, or his arm. One play two weeks ago in a game against the New York Jets symbolizes the real problem...