Brown pulls double duty for defense

ST. LOUIS -- It was bad enough that Bill Belichick had to design a defensive game plan with Asante Samuel and Randall Gay at cornerback. But four minutes into the game, the Patriots coach watched in dismay as Samuel went off with a shoulder injury that sent him to the locker room.

Belichick must have wondered how he could slow the potent Rams offense with not only his regular starters at cornerback out, but his backup plan now compromised.

After the game, Belichick stood outside the Patriots' locker room following a convincing 40-22 victory and was asked if he had to scramble to adjust his defense.

"Tell me about it," said Belichick, who used wide receiver Troy Brown in the secondary in passing situations.

It was vintage Belichick.

"So many guys stepped up and made big plays," said Belichick, whose defense sacked Marc Bulger five times, intercepted a pass, and caused him enough problems to keep the Rams' offense off balance all day. "They battled the whole game."

That they did: From Samuel, who came back late in the game, to Brown, who made three tackles, broke up several passes, and nearly had two interceptions, to cornerback Earthwind Moreland, who signed off the practice squad.

"There were so many guys that stepped up that made big plays for us," said Belichickd "We moved guys around in different positions, but they just hung in there and kept fighting."

The Patriots fought and scratched their way to an early 6-0 lead, then fell behind twice before pulling away. Tom Brady was on target (18 of 31, 234 yards, 2 TDs, no interceptions), Corey Dillion was up and running (112 yards, 25 carries, 1 TD), and Adam Vinatieri was a sure thing (4 for 4 on field goal attempts).

The Patriots also used deception, with Vinatieri executing a fake field goal for a touchdown.

That play, which extended the Patriots' lead to 26-14, got the Rams' attention.

"[Brown] ran out there and I could see it from the sideline," said Rams coach Mike Martz. "Where was he going? To the john? He was running all the way to the corner. I am standing on the sideline and I could see it. I was running trying to call a timeout obviously because we didn't see it. That is ridiculous."

Brown's exploits on defense drew praise from his teammates. "He came in and was really big for us," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "He was able to get some coverage on those receivers."

One reason for the good coverage was the pressure up front on Bulger. "That is the thing," said Bruschi. "When you know that you have some young guys back there, other guys have to step up a little bit. You know that they may need a little bit of help, so try to get a bit more pressure on Bulger. You have to get in his face and sack him."

With toughness, chicanery, versatility, and some solid football, the Patriots erased the bad karma of last week's 34-20 loss to the Steelers and re-established their winning ways.