Brown joins receiving line

Veteran activated but role is unclear

Bill Belichick maintained all along that there would be a role for receiver Troy Brown with the Patriots. Yet as Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Donté Stallworth exploded onto the scene this year, it was hard to see where.

Belichick, despite his team being stocked with six receivers, proved to be true to his word.

With Brown's time on the physically unable to perform list ending at 4 p.m. yesterday, the team essentially had three options: 1. add Brown to the roster; 2. place him on season-ending injured reserve; 3. release him.

The Patriots went with the first option, activating the longtime fan favorite and waiving rookie defensive lineman Kareem Brown, the fourth-round draft choice out of the University of Miami who could return to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

Troy Brown, 36, is in his 15th season with the Patriots. Only quarterback Steve Grogan (16 seasons) had a longer tenure with the team.

Brown underwent offseason knee surgery and wasn't healthy enough to join the team at the start of training camp in late July. He spent the first six weeks of the season on the physically unable to perform list, and began practicing Nov. 6. The team had 21 days from that point to decide what to do with Brown.

Entering last week's action, only three other teams were carrying seven receivers: the 49ers, Rams, and Titans. The NFL average for receivers is 5.6 per team.

So the question now is where he will contribute on the field.

Moss, Welker, and Stallworth have seen the bulk of playing time at receiver, with the Patriots favoring a three-receiver offense. Welker leads the team with 81 catches while playing mostly in the slot, the role Brown masterfully filled throughout the years.

Jabar Gaffney is the fourth option and is coming off a season-high six-catch, 87-yard performance against the Eagles. Rounding out the group are Kelley Washington, who has played sparingly and is more of a special teams presence, and second-year man Chad Jackson, who opened the year on the physically unable to perform list and has been active for just one game.

Brown, the Patriots' all-time leading punt returner, could assist in that role. Welker (21 returns, 11.2-yard average) and running back Kevin Faulk (seven fair catches) are the team's returners. Brown could also be an emergency fill-in on defense.

Brown is the Patriots' all-time leading receiver with 557 career catches and is second in team history with 6,366 receiving yards.

Burned, he learned

Backup running back Kyle Eckel feels fortunate that he learned a valuable lesson in a winning effort, not a loss.

A member of the kickoff-return team, Eckel usually lines up at the 40-yard line and sprints back about 30 yards to set up a block. But in Sunday night's game against the Eagles, Eckel turned to run before David Akers kicked the ball.

The Eagles had an onside kick called, and Akers delivered a perfect strike in the direction in which Eckel was lined up. The Eagles recovered and Eckel held himself accountable.

"It's a concentration factor, and you learn from it," Eckel said. "They made a great play on it. That's something we work on all the time, and it's just keeping focus. You settle in there and wait for the ball to be kicked."

Since being promoted from the practice squad Oct. 1, Eckel has carved out a special teams niche for himself, playing in eight games and totaling seven tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted) with one forced fumble.

Picked off

With the Patriots waiving Kareem Brown, only one of the team's nine draft picks remains on the roster: first-round pick Brandon Meriweather. Sixth-round pick Mike Richardson and seventh-rounder Oscar Lua are on injured reserve . . . Monday's game against the Ravens marks the Patriots' first regular-season trip to Baltimore since 1996, but the game will be the team's first at M&T Bank Stadium, which opened in 1998. The Patriots' 46-38 win over the Ravens during the 1996 season was played at Memorial Stadium . . . Since the trip to Baltimore in '96, the Patriots have played road games against 29 other teams. The only cities the Patriots have not played in over that span are Seattle and San Francisco, both of which are on next season's schedule . . . The Patriots have a 3-0 all-time mark against the Ravens.

Second to one

Welker, fresh off a career-high 13-catch performance Sunday night, ranks second in the NFL in receptions behind the Bengals' T.J. Houshmandzadeh . . . Cornerback Asante Samuel's two interceptions Sunday night increased his season total to six, tied for the NFL lead. He has 15 interceptions in his last 19 regular-season games . . . The Patriots' plus-16 turnover differential leads the league . . . Opponents have totaled just 18 punt-return yards against the Patriots this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the NFL record for fewest punt-return yards allowed is 22, set by the 1967 Packers (14-game schedule).