Brown has it double covered

FOXBOROUGH -- Troy Brown has tried not to be torn by his loyalties to his Patriot teammates. But they have made the versatile 12-year veteran a prized possession in a playful tug-of-war between the offense and defense.

The guys on offense want him to remain with them, as the ranking member of the receiving corps.

The guys on defense want him to be part of their secondary, as a ball-hawking nickel back.

Special teams? Forget it. They have no shot at Brown's services, as long as Bethel Johnson is healthy and able to return kicks.

"He's just a great player and teammate," defensive end Richard Seymour said. "Whatever the coaches tell him to do, he just goes and does it. He's just a joy to be around.

"It's funny, but [he used] go to offensive meetings and then you'll see him in defensive meetings," Seymour added. "I ran into him one day in the locker room and said, `Who are you going to be with today?' and he says, `I'll come with y'all today.' "

So what did Brown do in Sunday's 35-28 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium?

He didn't choose sides. Brown served both factions.

He assisted the offense by stepping up in the absence of wideout David Givens (a late scratch with a leg injury) and injured tight end Daniel Graham. Brown made a pair of catches for 27 yards, including a long gain of 20 yards to the Bengals' 34 with 2:04 left that enabled the Patriots to run out the clock and clinch a playoff berth as winners of the AFC East.

"That's what I've been asked to do -- just try to step up and give my best effort," Brown said. "We called the play right there and we talked about it in the huddle before we ran it, it was a huge play in the game. If we don't get it right there, we're looking at third down and they can come at us with their two-minute [offense]. It was just a big, big play."

On defense, Brown intercepted a Jon Kitna pass intended for Chad Johnson in the end zone to thwart a Cincinnati scoring threat with 12:30 left that would have enabled the Bengals to pull within a touchdown. The interception was Brown's third of the season, tying him with Eugene Wilson for the team lead.

"Troy hadn't been playing much on offense lately," said quarterback Tom Brady, sounding like someone who was lobbying for Brown's services. "He is doing more defensive stuff. He doesn't sit in offensive meetings anymore, which I don't like very much. But then he comes over and comes out there making some huge plays for us."

The one mistake Brown made on his interception, though, was deciding to run it out of the end zone instead of taking a knee for a touchback.

"I should've caught it and got down, you know?" Brown said. "But my offensive mentality took over. When you get the ball in your hands, you run with it, you know? So it was just a bad play by myself."

Instead of taking possession at their 20, the Patriots were forced to start the drive from the 4. But the interception was nonetheless crucial.

Brown's transformation into a nickel back began in training camp, when it appeared coach Bill Belichick was conducting some mad experiment by giving his veteran receiver repetitions on defense.

"It was just to create some depth in the secondary," Belichick explained. "We used other players at other positions before. We hadn't used Troy in the secondary before."

The experiment worked in a 29-6 victory over Buffalo Nov. 14 when Brown made several plays. He made three tackles and recorded his first career interception against, of all people, his former quarterback, Drew Bledsoe.

"I'd say he's got more interceptions per defensive play in the history of the NFL," Brady said. "I mean, he is barely out there but he's got three. That leads the team. It is pretty unbelievable. But he is always around the ball. That is the way he is on offense, too. You always see him getting open.

"On defense, he always has a great feel for who is getting the ball and it seems like he's always at the right spot at the right time."

Asked if he referred to himself as a defensive back or a receiver, Brown laughed.

"Man," he said, "I'm a football player."