Patriots duo ready to hit ground running
HOUSTON -- When asked for a surprise pick as MVP of the Super Bowl, Tom Brady didn't hesitate in coronating Antowain Smith.
Smith laughed about it, then put it right back on Brady.
"Tom Brady will be the MVP," Smith said.
With the kidding aside, Smith said, "It's nice that my teammates would think of me that way. Those guys in the locker room have faith in me that I can go out there and get the job done. Everybody else says that we don't have a running game. Who cares? The bottom line is we win games."
Smith's words certainly ring true. The Patriots don't have a vaunted running attack, but they have won 14 games in a row. And lately Smith, who was in hibernation most of the season, has sniffed the honey. In his final two regular-season games -- Dec. 20 vs. the Jets and the following week vs. the Bills -- Smith ran for 121 and 74 yards, respectively. In the AFC Divisional playoff game, he ran for 69 yards on 16 carries in the Patriots' 17-14 win over Tennessee. In the AFC Championship game, Smith gained 100 yards on 22 carries in a 24-14 victory over Indianapolis.
Smith, a Houston resident, was part of a two- and sometimes three-headed monster (with Kevin Faulk and Mike Cloud) at running back during the regular season. He gained 642 yards on 182 carries, 4 more yards on four more carries than Faulk. Smith has carried the ball more than 20 times only twice in 18 games. The Patriots ranked 27th in rushing yards per game and 30th in rushing yards per attempt, but the big improvement over last season came in the number of attempts (473), fulfilling a goal offensive coordinator Charlie Weis had of balancing the attack. In 2002, the Patriots passed 605 times and ran the ball 395 times. This season, they threw it 537 times and ran it 473 times.
Weis subscribes to the Bill Parcells philosophy: It's not necessarily how many yards you gain, but how many times you run the ball.
The running back-by-committee theory that New England adopted this season wasn't planned, according to Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli. "It's just like when we drafted Eugene Wilson to play corner for us. We weren't counting on him playing free safety for us. Sometimes things happen or evolve into circumstances. If you've got a great back . . . if you've got Ricky Williams, you'd better ride Ricky Williams. If you've got Walter Payton, you'd better ride Walter Payton. Circumstances sometimes dictate how you do things," Pioli said.
The Patriots' running game has been effective of late, and the common thread is Smith, who took over when the weather got colder.
He claims being on the back burner didn't bother him. "It don't bother me a bit," Smith said. "I'd rather take the back seat. It allows me not to have to deal with a lot of the media stuff and allows me to lay low. I don't need to be in the limelight. Once you get the opportunity, though, you have to go out there and take advantage of it. It's been up and down this year, of course, not as productive as I would have liked it. You take your bitter with your sweet. Lately they've been depending on me, and I'm just glad our offensive line is stepping up and doing the job."
The 31-year-old Smith, who signed a five-year, $21 million deal after the 2001 season, is due a $2 million payment on a signing bonus in March. The Patriots might take a young running back in the draft, but Smith's experience and size (6 feet 2 inches, 232 pounds) make him the type of runner the Patriots prefer once the northwest winds begin to blow in Foxborough.
"You can't control it so why even worry about it? I've never had a losing season in New England. I would love to stay there," he said.
Smith has the reputation of being a workhorse, but that opportunity has not often occurred.
"I don't get mad," he said. "I don't get frustrated. You will never, ever hear me say anything negative in the paper. Never have, my entire career. That's not me. It was too hard to get where I am. I had too hard of a life growing up to be mad about anything. I'm just happy to be in the NFL."
An added dimension to the running game is the ability to pick up the blitz. Smith and Faulk might do it as well as any backs in the league. You rarely see Brady on his behind because someone has come off the edge untouched.
"Hey, listen, if they hit Brady, I'm out of the game," Smith said. "You have to be able to pick up the blitz and protect your quarterback so he can make a play. That's part of the job that Kevin and I take very seriously."
Smith and Faulk have maintained a strong friendship, despite the competition for playing time. Smith knew of Faulk in college. He saw Faulk's Louisiana State squad come back from a 34-14 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Smith's University of Houston team in 1996.
"Oh, yeah, that's my boy right there. I'm still upset about that game, but we're very close," Smith said.
Faulk, who is a free agent after the Super Bowl, also has taken an unselfish approach. He was the featured back the first part of the season. "That was based on little things during the course of the week, what type of team we were playing defensively," Faulk said. "Between Antowain and me, we just need to be ready. We've got to trust each other. The coaches have to trust us to be ready no matter what the situation."
While he acknowledges a little frustration in sharing the load, Faulk sinks back into his team player mode and says, "You have to do what's best for the team."
Smith was reminded that the last time the Super Bowl was held in Houston (Super Bowl VIII in 1974), the MVP was Miami Dolphins power runner Larry Csonka.
"Larry Csonka!" said Smith. "By no means is Antowain Smith Larry Csonka!"
On Sunday, however, Brady thinks he might be.
