Brady, Patriots Bounce Back With Big Win

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tom Brady hadn't seen it all week.

But then, as the New England Patriots quarterback sat in his hotel room Sunday morning in New Jersey, a few hours before he and his teammates were to leave for Giants Stadium to play the New York Jets, there it was -- a replay of his boneheaded gaffe that led to Monday night's stunning loss in Miami.

So Brady sat and, finally, watched himself flipping the ball directly to Dolphins linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo as he ill-advisedly tried to make a throw while being taken down by defensive end Jason Taylor. It was one of four interceptions thrown by Brady that night, and it was the key component of the Patriots' uncharacteristic late meltdown in a 29-28 loss in which they squandered an 11-point lead in the final three minutes.

"The first time I saw it was [Sunday morning] watching HBO,'' Brady said Sunday evening. "I was flipping through the channels and there was our game, the play before it. I said, 'Oh, man, I have to watch this three hours before I have to go play?' I knew I made a stupid play. Everybody knew I made a stupid play. I just didn't want to keep beating myself up.''

Brady was able to shake off the image, returning to his old, reliable self Sunday by throwing for 264 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. The New England defense shut out the Jets until 5-1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter, and the Patriots (13-2) cruised to a 23-7 triumph. They clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. And, with a dominating performance against a likely playoff team, they re-established themselves as a virtual co-favorite in the AFC, alongside the Pittsburgh Steelers, entering the playoffs.

They were the Patriots again. And Brady was Brady again. His coach, Bill Belichick, said of the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback: "There isn't anybody else I'd want more than him.''

Belichick, as usual, acted like he was guarding state secrets when he was at the podium for his postgame news conference. Asked about clinching a bye, he shrugged and said he and his club would show up and play whomever they're told to play, whenever and wherever they're told to play. No big deal, right?

Wrong. Brady had a different take on the week, saying that when Belichick addressed his players Wednesday to begin preparations for the Jets game, the coach made securing the bye the team's entire focus for the week. "He came in and the first thing he said was, 'We win, we get the bye,' '' Brady said. "He kept the heat on all week.''

And the Patriots told themselves that Sunday's game was a test of their championship mettle, a sign of whether they have the grit and resilience for another Super Bowl run.

"Going in, we thought of this as the determining point of the season,'' Brady said. "It was such a tough week last week, and we came back and played well against a good team. . . . In that locker room, that's an elated group of players. It was just a great all-around team win. . . . We were coming off a tough week. We were really intent on coming out here and playing our best. At 12 o'clock when we had our meeting [Sunday], we said at 7 o'clock we'll know what this team is all about.''

The Patriots have won two of the last three Super Bowls because their players have bought into Belichick's program and have been the sport's most selfless group; because they have shrugged off injuries and other setbacks better than any other team; because they play tough and creative defense; because Adam Vinatieri is as dependable as kickers come; and because Brady has been as efficient as just about any quarterback in the game, getting the job done week after week without piling up the sort of eye-catching numbers that sometimes can get in the way of winning.

This season, they have added the rugged running of tailback Corey Dillon to the mix, and they put all of those elements on display Sunday. Brady completed 21 of 32 passes and found tight end Daniel Graham and wide receiver Deion Branch for touchdowns. Dillon ran for 89 yards and set a single-season team rushing record. Vinatieri kicked three field goals. The defense sacked Jets quarterback Chad Pennington three times and intercepted him twice even while playing again without cornerback Ty Law, who missed an eighth straight game because of a broken bone in his foot.

"That's who we are,'' said middle linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who ended the Jets' opening drive with an interception. "A lot of people talk about who isn't there. We aren't concerned about that. All we're concerned about is who is in there and who's going to get the job done. . . . We don't dwell on victories too much, and we don't dwell on losses too much. We move on. Maybe it was good [the loss to the Dolphins] was a Monday night game. It gave us less time to think about it. We came in Wednesday and started focusing on New York.''

Brady said: "You just play with what you've got. Every team deals with [injuries] every week. The teams that deal with it the best are the best teams.''

The Steelers locked up home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs Sunday. That's significant because Steelers Coach Bill Cowher never has won a playoff game on the road. But it's also significant that the Patriots, who have won 28 of their last 30 games, are feeling like themselves once more. They likely will get Law back for the playoffs, and the defeat in Miami was reduced to a one-week detour rather than being allowed to grow into a trend.

"All the guys were embarrassed, ticked off, frustrated,'' Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. "You can't blow leads like that going into the playoffs. You want to be playing better than that heading into the playoffs. It was a humbling experience for us, but we came out and performed like the Patriots should perform.''

Said Belichick: "I'm really proud of our football team. Those guys did a great job of coming back. They stepped up and showed a lot of toughness and played a solid football game.'' . . .

About the only negative for the Patriots on Sunday was that three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour injured his left knee. Although Seymour was able to walk off the field under his own power, Belichick was guarded, as always, about injury information. "Hopefully it won't be too bad,'' he said. . . .

Dillon finished the day with 1,519 rushing yards for the season, breaking the previous Patriots record of 1,487 yards by Curtis Martin in 1995. It will be interesting to see how Dillon is used in Sunday's meaningless regular-season finale at home against the San Francisco 49ers. He has a $475,000 incentive in his contract for reaching 1,600 rushing yards. Belichick actually has shown some leeway this season in helping Dillon reach statistical milestones, reinserting him into one game to get him a 100-yard rushing day. Dillon earned a $375,000 incentive Sunday for topping 1,500 yards for the season. . . .

Brady was sacked only once even though the Jets employed a variety of tactics to try to pressure him. "They were bringing some blitzes we really hadn't seen,'' Brady said. "We got everything from those guys.'' . . .

Law made the trip but appeared to suffer some discomfort after a misstep during pregame warmups while perhaps trying to convince the coaches that he was ready to play, and he was placed on the Patriots' inactive list for the game. Asante Samuel and Earthwind Moreland started at cornerback. Linebacker Don Davis filled in at safety when Eugene Wilson was knocked out of the game temporarily by an injury, but Wilson returned and provided a fourth-quarter interception. . . .

The Patriots appear to be closing in on a long-term contract extension with Vinatieri. The deal has been in the works for months. . . .

Belichick was among the many people in the league to express grief about the death of former Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers great Reggie White on Sunday.

"Reggie was awesome,'' Belichick said. "I coached against him when he was in his prime, really, both in Philadelphia and Green Bay. I recruited him when I was in Cleveland and free agency was starting in '93 and got a chance to meet him and his family, and my condolences go out to them. It's tragic to see with a person who is that young and that talented and has contributed that much, not only in football but to all his causes. He's a great person, a great human being. It's sad to lose someone who has contributed as many positive things as Reggie has, as many off the field as on the field.''

Jets Stumble

Martin set a single-season club rushing record for the Jets but was limited to 33 yards on 13 carries Sunday. And the Jets gave a dud performance when they could have clinched a playoff berth with a win. "This is the worst we performed all year,'' Martin said.

The Jets still can clinch the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs with a victory at St. Louis in Sunday's regular-season finale. But they would be squeezed out by tie-breakers if they lose to the Rams while Denver and Buffalo win next weekend to create a three-way tie for the two AFC wild-card spots at 10-6.

The Broncos control their destiny and would get into the playoffs with a victory over the Indianapolis Colts at home Sunday. They would win a two-way tie-breaker with the Bills by virtue of their superior record against AFC opponents.

The Bills host the Steelers on Sunday, and Pittsburgh already has clinched the top seed and might rest quarterback Ben Roethlisberger because of his rib injury.

The top four seeds in the AFC playoffs now are set -- the Steelers first, the Patriots second, the Colts third and the San Diego Chargers fourth. That means, if things hold true to form, the AFC semifinals will have the Chargers playing at Pittsburgh and the Colts playing at New England in a rematch of last season's conference-title game.

In the NFC, the Eagles have clinched the top seed. The Atlanta Falcons have clinched the No. 2 seed, and Green Bay has clinched the No. 3 seed. Seattle has clinched a playoff spot.

A loss by the Rams to the Eagles tonight would clinch the NFC West title for Seattle and a playoff spot for Minnesota as a wild-card team. If the Rams lose tonight, they'd be eliminated from playoff contention and the winner of next Sunday's New Orleans at Carolina game would get the conference's second wild-card spot.

If the Rams beat the Eagles tonight to remain within a game of Seattle for first place in the West, they still could win the division title because they hold the tie-breaker over the Seahawks by virtue of beating them twice this season.

The Rams would still be in the wild-card chase with a win tonight. But no matter what happens tonight, the NFC has been spared the indignity of having a team with a losing record qualify for the playoffs, unless the Saints-Panthers game Sunday ends in a tie.

It'll Be Saban vs. Belichick Now

When he announced Saturday evening in Orlando, Fla., that he was accepting the Dolphins' offer to become their head coach, Nick Saban credited Belichick with helping to make him the sort of coach who would end up having such opportunities. Saban was Belichick's defensive coordinator with the Browns between 1991 and '94 before leaving the NFL for the college ranks to become the head coach at Michigan State, then LSU. Saban led LSU to a share of last season's national championship but is set to return to the NFL after agreeing to a five-year, nearly $25-million contract with the Dolphins that will give him total control over football operations.

Saban said he has remained in touch with Belichick but didn't speak with him about this Miami opportunity because it might have put Belichick in an awkward position. The Dolphins are an AFC East rival of the Patriots, and Belichick was readying to play the Miami game as Saban was awaiting an offer from Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga. Now, Saban will be facing his former boss twice per season.

Saban said Saturday night that he will speak to Dolphins interim coach Jim Bates about the possibility of remaining on Saban's staff in Miami as defensive coordinator. Saban indicated that he and Bates have remained close since Bates served as the Browns' linebackers coach for one season and defensive ends coach for two seasons under Saban and Belichick.

Saban was to be in Miami today, then return to Orlando to coach LSU in its meeting with Iowa on Saturday in the Capital One Bowl. But he postponed today's introductory news conference until after the Dolphins' season. It's unclear whether Saban will attend the Dolphins' season finale next Sunday in Baltimore.

Belichick's coaching disciples are all the rage these days, with Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis having accepted the head-coaching job at Notre Dame. Two more members of the Belichick coaching tree, Kirk Ferentz and Romeo Crennel, could be in demand as NFL head-coaching candidates in the coming weeks. Ferentz, the Iowa coach who will face Saban on Saturday, was Belichick's offensive line coach in Cleveland, and Crennel is the Patriots' defensive coordinator who probably would have landed an NFL head-coaching job last offseason if he hadn't been kept, in effect, off the market by New England's run to a second Super Bowl title in three years.

Both could be top candidates in Cleveland. Ferentz's candidacy perhaps would be boosted if the Browns hire Phil Savage, the personnel director for the Ravens who once was a defensive assistant coach under Saban and Belichick in Cleveland while Ferentz was coaching the offensive line, as their general manager. Savage appears to be the leading candidate. . . .

Saban was asked during Saturday's news conference about retired Dolphins tailback Ricky Williams. Saban said he didn't know Williams or know enough about the situation to say much, but added that he always regarded himself during his NFL days as a coach who would do his best to further his players' careers and make players want to play for him.

It's probably too early to know whether the Dolphins' new regime will have any better luck convincing Williams to return to football than the previous regime did, or if the new regime even wants to attempt to have any better luck in that regard. But Williams has been critical of former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, and it seems reasonable that the coaching change might improve the chances of Williams returning to the NFL at some point.

Williams abruptly retired just before training camp last summer, and he recently rejected a proposal by the NFL under which he would have served his pending four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy in the final four weeks of this season and then would have been eligible to play at the outset of next season. Williams's rejection of that deal left his representatives assuming that he would remain retired for good. But they also acknowledged that they had no way of knowing for certain because Williams's behavior is so unpredictable, and Williams has said publicly that while he has no desire at this point to return to football, he isn't ruling out playing again at some point.

Williams remains under contract to the Dolphins. Some Dolphins players have criticized him sharply, and Huizenga reportedly was furious about Williams's sudden departure. The two sides continue their legal haggling over an arbitrator's ruling that Williams owes the Dolphins approximately $8.6 million for breach of contract.

But the Dolphins fell apart this season without their offensive centerpiece, costing Wannstedt his job. If Saban does want to make an attempt to lure him back -- either to keep him or to trade him -- Williams could be eligible to play in the fifth game of next season if he waits until July to end his retirement. At that point, he would face only a four-game suspension for his third violation of the substance-abuse policy, reportedly for testing positive for marijuana. Under NFL rules, Williams would face an additional one-year suspension if he attempts to return from his retirement in less than a year.

Attorney David Cornwell negotiated the more favorable deal with the league on Williams's behalf, but Williams refused to sign off on it. And even if Williams does decide to return and Miami or another team wants him, there are questions about whether he could remain eligible to play, given the recent reports that he has continued to use marijuana during his retirement. His next positive drug test would produce a one-year suspension by the league. . . .

The Dolphins lost a candidate to serve as Saban's front-office chief when the Eagles extended the contract of Tom Heckert, their vice president of player personnel, on Friday. Miami's candidates apparently still include Tennessee Titans General Manger Floyd Reese, who might want to part ways with Titans Coach Jeff Fisher, and Falcons assistant GM Tim Ruskell. Rick Spielman, the Dolphins' current general manager, probably will be dismissed or reassigned within the organization.

It is possible that Heckert still could be a general manager candidate in Cleveland, if he wishes. The Browns' GM likely will have the final say over the organization's football-related decisions. The job thus would be a promotion for Heckert, since Eagles Coach Andy Reid has the final say on personnel decisions in Philadelphia, and league protocol would enable Heckert to leave for the position if he wants it and can get it. The Dolphins' job would not be a promotion for Heckert, since Saban will have the final say on football decisions and will report directly to Huizenga.

Turner Staying in Oakland?

Many people around the league are assuming that Oakland's Norv Turner will be among the NFL coaches to be fired after the season. The Raiders are 5-10, and Turner wasn't even owner Al Davis's first choice for the job last offseason. Davis tried to hire Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Sean Payton but couldn't agree on contract terms with him. Over the weekend, however, one person close to the situation said that Davis has remained supportive of Turner in the Raiders' internal discussions and the owner understood all along that the club was in for a rebuilding season.

Vikings Pick Up Tice's Option

Vikings owner Red McCombs informed Coach Mike Tice in a telephone conversation today that the team is exercising its $1 million option for next season in Tice's contract.

That virtually ensures that Tice will return next season as the Vikings' coach. The Vikings would have to pay Tice $800,000 of that $1 million if they fire him after exercising the option.

Under the terms of Tice's contract, the Vikings had until Saturday to decide whether to exercise the option. The contract was designed for that decision to come after the regular season. But because this season started so late, the deadline comes the day before the club's regular season finale against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field.

Tice's contract would have expired Jan. 31 if the option hadn't been exercised. McCombs had wavered in his public pronouncements about Tice's status, saying at some times that he definitely would exercise the option and at others that he would not make a decision until after the season. At one point, the Vikings reportedly expressed interest in having Tice push back the deadline until after the season.

Tice is the NFL's lowest-paid head coach, with a $750,000 salary for this season. He recently expressed interest publicly in the University of Washington's head-coaching job, but the school hired Tyrone Willingham. The Vikings have lost six of nine games since a 5-1 beginning to the season, and they lost at home to Green Bay on Friday with the NFC North title on the line. Still, they remain on the verge of a playoff berth.

Last season, they lost seven of their final 10 games and missed the playoffs after a 6-0 beginning. They are 23-25 since Tice took over for Dennis Green as the team's head coach with one game remaining in the 2001 season.