Givens gets handle on role

Look at him now.

Suffice it to say, Givens's prayers -- along with those of a grateful Patriot Nation -- have been answered. In one short year, Givens has gone from No. 5 receiver to a key component of New England's passing attack.

After yesterday's 31-0 rout of the Buffalo Bills before 68,436 at Gillette Stadium, it was apparent Givens had emerged as one of the surest pair of hands in Tom Brady's corps of sure-handed receivers.

"David probably made the most improvement of anybody on the team in one season," said Brady, who spread the ball around to six receivers in completing 21 of 32 for 204 yards and four touchdowns, but connected with Givens a team-high seven times for 80 yards, including a 10-yard TD that gave the Patriots a 28-0 lead in the second quarter.

"He was the fifth receiver last year and now he is starting," Brady said. "He is a big strong kid who runs excellent routes. He has great hands, is smart and very aware out there. He keeps running all the routes and stuff, and I think it is fun to have him in there. Plus, he throws his body around out there like a fullback sometimes in the run blocking, but he has done a great job all year."

Each week, it seems, Brady and Givens have built upon their comfort level with each other, Brady's confidence in Givens growing with each game and each completion.

"Tom's getting more and more balls to me and I would definitely say there's more confidence," Givens said.

Asked if his confidence in Givens continues to grow, Brady said, "Yes. I mean, I never wane in confidence with those guys. They're all awesome football players. They are all awesome receivers. If I could just throw it to 'em and get it to 'em, they're going to catch it."

Yesterday Givens was positively brimming with confidence after he nearly matched his season output of his rookie season a year ago (9 catches, 92 yards, 1 TD) in one glorious afternoon against the Bills.

"It means a great deal," Givens said, reflecting on how far he's come. "Coming in as a rookie, I was a late-round pick. I definitely don't think I should've been drafted where I was, but because of our system [at option-oriented Notre Dame] that's how it works sometimes. I was fighting for position my rookie year and I definitely worked hard and I definitely improved in all aspects of the season and now I'm one of the starting guys and I'm basically just trying to do what it takes to help the team win."

Givens entered the game ranked fifth overall in receiving yards (430) but owned a team-high five TD catches. He made a career-high two in Week 16 against the Jets, but his two biggest came in a 19-13 overtime win at Miami where he made an acrobatic catch to score a 24-yard TD that tied the game, 13-13, and in a "Monday Night Football" 30-26 victory at Denver where he hauled in a winning 18-yard TD with 30 seconds left.

"It's a great feeling to be out there contributing," he said. "But it's all about winning."