FOXBOROUGH - As of last Monday, Stephen Spach was preparing to spend the rest of the year as a substitute teacher. He wasn't giving up on his hopes of playing in the NFL, but he figured the opportunity would have to wait until next year.
So one can understand why Spach, 25, was shaking his head in semi-amazement after the Patriots' 20-10 victory over the Jets yesterday.
Signed to a two-year contract Wednesday, Spach wasted little time in his transition from school lesson plans to football game plans. He ended up playing 33 of 64 snaps, and while he didn't finish with a reception, he was one of the surprise stories of the game.
The Patriots were already thin at tight end entering the game, with Benjamin Watson inactive because of a left ankle injury. Then when veteran Kyle Brady hobbled off with an ankle injury in the second quarter, it was only Spach at the position, along with tackle-turned-tight-end Wesley Britt.
It was the type of script that even Spach, a native of Clovis, Calif., couldn't have imagined.
"It happened fast, there wasn't a lot of time to think about it, I just had to do it," said Spach, who wore No. 82 but wasn't even listed in the GameDay magazine sold at the stadium because of his late signing.
"It was kind of a whirlwind of a week and I had to cram the game plan. I was a little bit nervous, but once you get out there playing, you're just a football player again."
The 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound Spach (pronounced "Spock") mostly performed duties as an in-line blocker yesterday, helping pave the way for the team's 131 rushing yards. At times, quarterback Tom Brady had to instruct him where to line up, but it was notable that Spach - who hadn't played in a regular-season game since 2005 - was not called for a procedure penalty.
A teammate of current Patriots Logan Mankins and James Sanders at Fresno State, Spach had been waiting all season to hook on with a team after getting cut by the Vikings at the end of training camp. He entered the league in 2005 as a rookie free agent, suiting up for 13 games with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Yet he didn't make the Eagles' roster in 2006 and spent that year out of football. After he was cut by the Vikings this summer, it was looking as if it would be two straight years without playing a game.
Did he doubt that the 14th contest would ever come?
"When you're waiting around, those thoughts kind of creep in a little bit," said Spach, who is also an accomplished singer. "I just kept hope."
Which makes his performance yesterday all the more improbable.
