| | Selfessness makes Pats' special teams special
By Joe Lago
ESPN.com
NEW ORLEANS -- Bill Belichick likes to refer to the demolition derby that is NFL's special teams play as "organized chaos."
"There are certain things that happen on a kicking play that are somewhat structured, but once a ball is kicked, all hell breaks loose," the New England Patriots head coach explained. "Everybody's going in different directions."
The Patriots get their 11 players on return and coverage teams to work in unison better than most teams. Chalk that up to all 53 players being committed to one common goal.
Belichick and special teams coach Brad Seely accomplished that by convincing New England's players to check their egos at the locker room door. Nothing embodies the Patriots' selfless attitude more than their special teams, which aren't just made up of coverage specialists and second-stringers. Running alongside the Larry Izzos could be a Lawyer Milloy and a Ty Law.
|  | | Troy Brown returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Steelers. |
"Our guys haven't been reluctant about getting on special teams," Brown said. "We've got guys like Lawyer and Ty who are begging to get out there and hold up gunners on special teams, and they probably just came off a long series of defense. That's what it's all about.
"That's the kind of attitude you have to have on a team that expects to win a lot of football games. We don't have any prima donnas that are too good to be on special teams, because it is a vital part of the game.”
It's the main reason the Patriots are in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Two special-teams touchdowns helped New England stun the Steelers 24-17 in the AFC championship game and earn a trip to New Orleans. Brown returned a punt 55 yards for the game's first score, and Brandon Mitchell's field-goal block led to Brown's recovery and lateral to Antwan Harris for a 49-yard touchdown return.
If there is one area in which the 14-point underdog Patriots hold a decided advantage over the mighty St. Louis Rams, it's special teams.
"I think if you watched them in this last game, I think that's got to be a very big concern for us," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "They're very good in their special teams."
Said Izzo, the 2001 Pro Bowl special teamer who joined the Patriots as a free agent this season: "It seems like our special teams built up slowly throughout the year. We kind of peaked last week."
Belichick paid his dues early in his NFL coaching career working with special teams on the Lions, Broncos and Giants. Hence, it's no surprise the Patriots place so much importance on kickoff and punt coverages and returns.
"We treat special teams just like offense and defense," Harris said. "We study film and we work on it real hard."
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You know (the Rams are) going to score points. That's why you've got to cover kicks against them to keep them out of good field position. ” |
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— Troy Brown, Patriots receiver/returner |
Izzo, Harris and Je'Rod Cherry represent the core of New England's kickoff and punt units. They're joined by Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Tebucky Jones and Mike Vrabel -- starters who don't leave the field when a fourth down arises.
So just how special are the Patriots? Their punt average net of 39.4 yards ranked third in the NFL, and their inside-the-20-yard-line percentage of 37.8 was second best. But New England made its mark on punt returns. Brown led the league with a 14.2-yard punt return average, and his two touchdowns were tops in league. On the other side, opponents averaged a league-low 39.5 yards (and 33.5-yard net) per punt against the Pats.
"Brad Seely has done a great job all year long -- putting guys in the position to make plays and recognizing an opponent's weakness and exploiting it," Izzo said. "Going into a game, he lets guys know exactly what their roles are, so when you get out there on Sunday, it just comes natural to you."
"It's two years in a row that our special teams have been a real strength of our team," Belichick said. "We've gotten great leadership from Larry Izzo and some of the other veterans on the team, not just special team players but starting players, linebackers like (Roman) Phifer, Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi, and guys in the secondary like Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law and Otis Smith. We have a lot of starters who participate on those teams and they contribute well to them. .. It really is team football."
For the Patriots to pull off one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, they'll need their kicks and punts to be perfect and their coverages to be air-tight. Essentially, the Patriots' special teams must be extraordinary. New England likely will need them to contribute a touchdown or two to keep pace with the Rams' offense.
"You know they're going to score points," Brown said. "That's why you've got to cover kicks against them to keep them out of good field position. It's a huge part of the game, man. People always say that special teams isn't that important, but it's a huge part of the game."
Joe Lago is the NFL editor for ESPN.com.
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