Reflection on his mind

INDIANAPOLIS -- Following last night's 38-34 loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship game, Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said he needs time to reflect before making a decision on his football future.

"Right now, I've been so much into the season," he said. "In my past few years, I just go year to year. I'm really emotional right now, so to say anything would be wrong. I need to sit back and I just want to reflect on this season."

The 33-year-old Bruschi, who just concluded his 11th season, was asked if he thinks about seeing the finish line of his career.

"You can't play forever," he said. "That's what all of us do at the end of every year -- you take inventory and see how you're feeling. Right now, my plan is to reflect on this year."

Bruschi acknowledged that he was suffering from flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to the game, but said he felt better by kickoff.

Bruschi congratulated the Colts, noting he spoke with quarterback Peyton Manning, running back Dominic Rhodes, and offensive tackle Tarik Glenn after the game, before turning his attention to the players in his locker room.

"The season was successful up to this point. To come up short, you feel down about it. Right now, that's all I'm really feeling," he said. "I'm going to think about the season, reflect on it, and that's all. I know this one's over, and I'm proud of these guys in this locker room. I think we can do a lot of things next year also."

The Patriots made a surprising defensive change, moving Mike Vrabel to outside linebacker and inserting second-year player Eric Alexander on the inside.

The start was the first of Alexander's career. The 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pound Alexander, who opened his college career at Louisiana State as a safety, added more speed to the front seven, which was important against a speedy Colts offense and with the game being played on a fast, artificial surface.

Alexander finished with a team-high 10 tackles and one sack. He was in coverage on a key play on the Colts' final scoring drive, as tight end Bryan Fletcher got behind him for a 32-yard gain.

"I was man-to-man and I should have been deeper," Alexander said.

The insertion of Alexander into the lineup meant Tully Banta-Cain, who had started the team's first two playoff games at outside linebacker, was relegated to a reserve role, mainly playing in obvious passing situations. Banta-Cain, who was held without a tackle in the team's divisional-round win over the Chargers, had three stops.

"I think it gave us the best opportunity to set the edge over there on the left, and they weren't able to run much, and maybe get more pressure," Vrabel said. "That was our thinking. Eric inside, I thought he flew around, made some big plays, some big hits. He'll get other opportunities, he's developed into a nice football player."

Cornerback Asante Samuel's 39-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter was the third interception that he's returned for a touchdown in his 11-game playoff career. That ties Oakland's Willie Brown for the highest career playoff total in NFL history. Brown achieved the total in 17 career games.

After the game, Samuel said he wasn't sure where his future was headed. He's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, although the Patriots could elect to keep him by placing the franchise tag on him.

"I don't know. I'll talk to [coach] Bill [ Belichick] and see where it goes from there," Samuel said. "This is my first home and I love the guys in the locker room. I'd love to stay under the right circumstances."

Receiver Reche Caldwell dropped two crucial passes, one in the end zone that would have been a touchdown in the third quarter, and another in the fourth quarter. The latter drop forced the Patriots to settle for a field goal to go up, 34-31, instead of potentially prolonging a touchdown drive. "I dropped a few critical balls I should I have," he said. Caldwell was one of just four receivers dressed for the game, as Kelvin Kight and Bam Childress were deactivated . . . Defensive lineman Richard Seymour left the game with a leg injury on the Colts' first offensive play, when he ran to the sideline to get in on the tackle of a 6-yard Joseph Addai run. Seymour was replaced by Jarvis Green, missed eight plays, then returned . . . The Patriots were the NFL's best team on fourth down during the regular season, converting 16 of 20 chances, and they continued their strong play in that area last night. The team converted two fourth-down chances on each of their first two scoring drives -- first on a 35-yard Corey Dillon run in the first quarter, and then on a 27-yard catch by Troy Brown early in the second . . . Logan Mankins's touchdown gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead, marking the 10th time that they have scored first in 11 playoff games. The only playoff game in that stretch the Patriots didn't score first was Super Bowl XXXIX, when the Eagles took an early 7-0 lead before the Patriots won, 24-21 . . . Dillon's 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave him four career playoff rushing touchdowns, ranking second on the Patriots' all-time list, trailing only Curtis Martin (5) . . . The Patriots fell to 15-1 when leading at halftime of the playoffs . . . Quarterback Tom Brady now has a 62-3 career record when leading at halftime . . . As they did in Super Bowl XXXVI before their victory over the Rams, the Patriots were introduced as a team before the game . . . Former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who is now serving as head coach at Notre Dame, attended the game . . . The Patriots won the opening coin toss, marking the 13th time in 19 games this season (including playoffs) that they won the toss.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.