Boston.com / Sports / Bruins

Patten turned into a good catch

By Michael Smith, Globe Staff, 2/4/2002

EW ORLEANS - All week he had been the forgotten man, his inspiring story of perseverance reduced to a footnote. This Super Bowl was about speedy and accomplished wide receivers named Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim, Ricky Proehl, and Troy Brown. Even Marshall Faulk was getting more props as a pass-catcher.

But today, only Proehl can boast what David Patten can: That he helped decide the outcome of Super Bowl XXXVI. Patten had one reception in the game, but what a big reception it was.

The scenario: Thirty-six seconds to go in the first half. Patriots leading, 7-3, and looking for more. Ball at the Rams' 8. Patten split wide right. Dexter McCleon in his face. Patten sprints forward, then breaks out. Tom Brady pumps. McCleon bites. Patten heads to the corner. Brady lofts the pass.

Catch. Tuck. One foot down. Two feet down. Buttocks. Hand.

Touchdown.

The automatic challenge was no good. The extra point was. Score at intermission: Patriots 14, Rams 3. Score at the end of the night: Patriots 20, Rams 17.

''Tom made a great throw on the play,'' Patten said. ''I was able to make a good adjustment on it. You have to expect yourself to make those kinds of plays this type of game. It was a total team effort. I can't take any glory. A total team effort.''

A free agent signee from Cleveland in the offseason, Patten was a bit of a long shot to win four available jobs with more than eight other competitors in training camp. But after outplaying almost everyone in August, and watching most of the others get their walking papers and Terry Glenn eliminate himself from the team's plans, the 5-foot-10-inch Patten emerged as the starter opposite Brown.

Patten, who, in addition to five years of NFL service has experience in the landscaping and coffee business as well as the Arena Football League, caught 51 passes for 749 yards and four touchdowns this season - numbers bettered on the team only by Brown. Patten saved his best for the playoffs, catching eight passes for 107 yards in the second half and overtime against Oakland and a first-half touchdown against the Steelers in the AFC title game.

He carried a reverse 22 yards and just missed a few long passes last night against St. Louis.

''That lets me know there's nothing too hard for my God,'' said Patten, whose commitment to the game is surpassed only by his commitment to his religion. ''I dedicated my life to him five years ago, and look where he's brought me from.''

By emerging as a capable complement, Patten helped bring the Patriots from worst to first and Brown make the Pro Bowl. Some of the highlights from his joy ride: In an overtime win over San Diego in Week 5, he caught seven key passes for 73 yards. The following week, he became the first player to run for a touchdown (29 yards), catch a touchdown pass (91 and 6), and throw for a touchdown (60) since Walter Payton did so 22 years earlier. Though Patten's play - aside from TD grabs against Denver and St. Louis - the rest of the regular season matched his quiet demeanor, he made lots of noise in the playoffs.

Against Oakland in Round 2, Patten caught three passes in the fourth quarter on New England's only touchdown drive, and his 13-yard grab from his knees with 1:47 to go set up Adam Vinatieri's dramatic tying field goal. On the ninth play of overtime, he caught a 6-yard pass to convert a fourth and 4. Six plays later, the Patriots were off to Pittsburgh.

There, Patten continued his playoff productivity, catching Drew Bledsoe's 11-yard touchdown pass with 58 seconds left in the first half for a 14-3 lead over the favored Steelers.

Only one person can say they expected Patten to go from Arena League obscurity to Super Bowl glory.

Patten.

''I was going to make it,'' he said during the week. ''No question about it.''