Branch, Brown could make up for running problems

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.picayuneitem.com/articles/2006/01/13/sports/02pats.txt

They were the NFL's defending champions, but coach Bill Belichick kept telling them they weren't.

“His main thing was that we are not defending anything because we don't have a title. We won that last year,†said wide receiver Deion Branch, wearing last year's gray Super Bowl championship sweat shirt bearing the Patriots' logo.

Belichick wanted them “to work at climbing that mountain, which we have been doing,†Branch said Wednesday. “We still have a pretty long way to go.â€
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To get there, Branch and the other wide receivers may need big games because New England had one of the worst running attacks during the regular season. Only eight teams rushed for fewer yards, and Denver allowed the second-fewest yards rushing in the NFL.

“When we thought that the running game was down, it's almost like an injury to a key player,†Branch said. “When that key player goes down, that next person has to step in and fill that role.â€

The Patriots do have Tom Brady, the two-time Super Bowl MVP and league leader in yards passing this season. His main target is Branch, who followed last year's Super Bowl MVP performance with a career-high 78 catches.

And there's always Troy Brown, the longest-tenured Patriots player and the club's second-leading receiver with 514 career catches.
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The second starting receiver is David Givens, who also is in his fourth season. He caught a career-high 59 passes and Brown caught 39. Each of them scored a touchdown in last Saturday night's 28-3 wild-card playoff win over Jacksonville.

Brown even played cornerback in that game and made four tackles.

“It's very impressive,†Brady said. “I sit there in the captains' meetings with Troy, and Belichick will say, ‘Troy, are you ready to go on dime (defense) this week?†And Troy will say, ‘Yup, OK.' That's all it is.

“That speaks to his level of commitment and to his levelof talent.â€

 

[Fanfrom1960]

“It's very impressive,†Brady said. “I sit there in the captains' meetings with Troy, and Belichick will say, ‘Troy, are you ready to go on dime (defense) this week?†And Troy will say, ‘Yup, OK.' That's all it is.[

I think if you asked Troy brown to play center, he'd come back with ‘Yup, OK.' Well, not quite, but this guy is definitely not afraid to go out there to a position in which he could be exposed/embarassed a lot.

 

[PatsWorldChamps]

“It's very impressive,†Brady said. “I sit there in the captains' meetings with Troy, and Belichick will say, ‘Troy, are you ready to go on dime (defense) this week?†And Troy will say, ‘Yup, OK.' That's all it is.[

I think if you asked Troy brown to play center, he'd come back with ‘Yup, OK.' Well, not quite, but this guy is definitely not afraid to go out there to a position in which he could be exposed/embarassed a lot.

actually, i think troy WOULD go play center, and do his best... i hope he comes back for one more year... he is actually very valuable to this team.

 

[Fanfrom1960]

actually, i think troy WOULD go play center, and do his best... i hope he comes back for one more year... he is actually very valuable to this team.

He probably would. Problem arises when you get a noseguard right on your, well, nose, that weighs what Vince Wilfork weighs. Poor Troy! :bricks:

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

What can Brown do for Pats?

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-06/01-14-06/c07sp904.htm

Some more on Troy's defensive adventures.

 

[PatsWorldChamps]

TB will never make the hall of fame, but he should be in the pats HOF, or ring of Honor, or whatever they want to call it.