Turning their corners

Bill Belichick's job this week has been to ignore the talk and divine a way to hand Indianapolis its first loss. (JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF)

FOXBOROUGH - A few years ago, it was the Indianapolis Colts who claimed their receivers were being boxed around by the Patriots' defensive backs. Now, the Colts credit part of their top-rated pass defense to the physical play of new starting cornerbacks Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden.

"Yeah, I think it has something to do with us being more physical," said Colts safety Bob Sanders. "I think we haven't missed as many tackles as we missed last year. Right now, Marlin and Kelvin have done an excellent job of when the receivers catch the ball, they get them down right away - not 10, 20 yards after the catch."

Patriots receiver Jabar Gaffney said the physicality of the third-year corners starts at the snap.

"Yeah, they get up in your face and they like to challenge receivers whether they're playing man or in a zone," said Gaffney. "They make you work at the line of scrimmage, and they try to disrupt you before you get out."

In Indianapolis, the Patriots' top-ranked passing attack will meet its match - at least statistically speaking. The Colts, who host the Patriots tomorrow at the RCA Dome, are allowing a league-low 165.4 yards per game, even though they replaced both starting corners (Nick Harper and Jason David) from last season's Super Bowl champion team.

Jackson and Hayden turned the corner in the playoffs last season. Jackson, who slides into the slot in extra defensive back sets, ended the Patriots' season by picking off Tom Brady in the Colts' 38-34 victory in the AFC title game, and Hayden returned an interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLI. They each have one interception this season.

"Their corners are doing a nice job outside," said Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. "They tackle very well, which I think limits big plays. When you get the ball out quickly and then you tackle well, you can eliminate a lot of catch-and-run-type plays, which they've done a nice job of. Obviously, that's a challenge for us this week - to get the ball and then doing something with it after we have it."

The Patriots have thrived on yards after catch (YAC) from their receivers. Wes Welker is third in the league in YAC with 311 and Donte' Stallworth is averaging 8.4 yards after each catch. But the Colts corners are strong tacklers. "They're pretty good. They're young guys, real feisty guys," said Gaffney. "They like to get up and challenge us, so it's going to be a good challenge for us."

Aches and pains

Tight end Benjamin Watson, who has missed the last two games with a left ankle injury, did not practice yesterday, while safety Eugene Wilson practiced for the first time all week. Watson, who returned to practice this week for the first time since the injury, was listed as having limited participation in practice Wednesday and Thursday, so his absence could have been a precaution.

Wilson, who is nursing an ankle injury that kept him out last week against Washington, had limited participation, along with linebacker Mike Vrabel (shoulder) and special teams player Mel Mitchell (groin). Watson, Vrabel, Wilson, Mitchell, and linebacker Eric Alexander (knee), who hasn't practiced all week, are all listed as questionable.

Decision time looms

Chad Jackson has come a long way since he tore his ACL playing special teams in the AFC Championship game against the Colts, causing him to open the season on the physically unable to perform list. The second-year wide receiver, who has played the role of Reggie Wayne on the scout team this week, started practicing Oct. 17, but remains on the reserve/PUP list. Jackson's 21-day practice period will end Wednesday and the Patriots have until 4 p.m. the following day to activate him, release him, or end his season by placing him on injured reserve.

Jackson said he'd be disappointed if he had to sit out the entire year. "Very disappointed," he said. "I worked so hard to get to this point, and now that I'm back feeling good about myself, it would be a big disappointment. But, I mean, it is what it is."

Here we go again

The Colts and Patriots are so familiar with each other - this will be the eighth meeting since 2003 - that on both sides of the ball there are few secrets.

"It's really kind of who can execute better [tomorrow]," said McDaniels. "Our [offensive] game plan is going to be what it is. We've got to execute it. Theirs is what theirs is going to be . . . It's not a bunch of new defensive looks that they're going to give us, most likely. You've got to go out there and execute better than they do."

Safety Rodney Harrison said the same is true for the defense. "It comes down to mano a mano, making plays man to man. You can disguise, you can do whatever you want, but it comes down to, sometimes, one-on-one matchups. Who is going to make the most plays?"

Warming to task

The Patriots, who were inside the Dana-Farber Field House for the second straight day, kept their practices up-tempo this week. "We're really trying to work on our conditioning factor because we know it's going to be hot in the game," said wide receiver Kelley Washington. "It's going to be one of those games that you have to be in tip-top shape." . . . Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked if he could appreciate the seesaw nature of last season's AFC Championship game, even though the Patriots lost. "No, I don't appreciate anything about that game," said Belichick. He added that he felt that way "about all of the games that we've lost."