Walker gets away again

FOXBOROUGH -- We can resist the urge, however strong, to ask the obvious: Why can't the Patriots get players like Javon Walker? (You think they could use him right about now?)

The answer is that the Patriots almost did get the talented wide receiver, but, well, almost is not good enough in football. In April, the Patriots were days, hours, maybe even minutes away from getting Walker to Gillette Stadium, at least in the version that Walker related after his two touchdown, 130-yard evening in Denver's 17-7 win over New England last night.

``I was in the airport [in Philadelphia] on my way to New England," Walker said. ``We had tried three or four times to get there, but this time, I was at the airport, sitting at the gate, on the phone to Tom Brady. Then I got another call from some friends who told me that I had been traded to Denver. So I hung up and went to find a TV at the airport and there it was.

``Now, I'm finally making that trip to New England."

Ouch. Denver gave up a second-round pick to Green Bay to get Walker, the 37th overall. Immediately before that pick, the Patriots selected wide receiver Chad Jackson, who was injured (hamstring) and didn't play last night.

Walker only made three receptions all night, but they were, as the saying goes, quality receptions. He was the perfect counterpoint to a bruising and effective running game (144 yards, 123 of them by Tatum Bell) in Denver's victory. But Walker stood out because he represents what the Patriots currently lack in addition to the fact that he came pretty close to at least kicking the tires in Foxborough.

Walker's first TD catch came with only 50 seconds left in the first half. It was a third-and-one and receivers love those because it can lead to man on man coverage. Walker outmaneuvered Ellis Hobbs in the right corner of the end zone. It marked his first touchdown of the season for his new team.

But it was the second touchdown that was the killer. The Broncos were pinned back on their 17-yard line and Jake Plummer found Walker down the left sideline, sandwiched between James Sanders and Asante Samuel. Walker caught the ball, faked out both players, and motored the rest of the way, almost untouched, to make it 17-0. It was the ninth longest touchdown pass in Broncos history.

``Sometimes it comes down to making a play," Walker said matter-of-factly. ``As a wide receiver, if your number is called, you are going to try and make a play. If they give me that opportunity, I take pride in that. That's what the game is all about.

``It seemed like that it took me years to reach that end zone. But at that point, all you're looking to do is make the catch and move those chains," he said.

The Broncos got a competent and generally efficient game from the notoriously erratic Plummer. He had been taking some heat after the Broncos' first two games, but, last night, he was the Good Jake, connecting on 15 of 30 passes for 256 yards. He was not intercepted. He was not sacked.

``He has thick skin," wide receiver David Kircus said of Plummer. ``But he has the guys in the locker room behind him."

He also has an important ally in the coach, Mike Shanahan. He said he thought Plummer ``managed the game well," especially against a defense that can be confusing. ``He made a couple of big plays," Shanahan said. ``We made some big plays at some opportune times."

Bell was a big play maker as well. He had been told by Shanahan before Saturday night's team meeting that he would get the lion's share of work at running back. In the first two games, Shanahan had alternated Mike Bell and Tatum Bell. Tatum Bell rushed 27 times last night; he had 31 rushing attempts in the first two games. He had 172 yards in the first two games.

``Tatum had earned the right [to play more] the way he had played against Kansas City," Shanahan said. ``I thought he showed a lot of maturity and toughness. That's what you're looking for."

All in all, Shanahan got what he was looking for on both sides of the ball.