He goes both ways

Troy Brown becomes the newest member of the Patriots Hall of Fame tomorrow.

I voted for Bill Parcells. Twenty times. I will vote for him next year and the year after that till the Tuna gets to put on the legendary red jacket and walk into the Patriots Hall of Fame in the shadow of the Victoria's Secret at Patriot Place. Without Parcells there is no Patriots Hall of Fame. There is no Victoria's Secret. End of story.

But I knew he wasn't beating Troy Brown. Mr. Patriot. Mr. Two-Way Player. Mr. Biggest Catch in the History of the Team. Mr. Versatile. Mr. Clutch. No way he was beating Troy. I thought Parcells should have gone in before last year's inductee, Drew Bledsoe. That would have been the proper order. In before Drew. In before Troy. And Tedy. And Lawyer. And Willie. And Ty. In before all the players that he drafted and helped to mold. It doesn't matter that he was booking his flight for New York while preparing the Pats to play Favre in the Super Bowl. He started it all.

But Bill Parcells will have to wait.

The parade of fan favorites started last year with Drew and hit full stride with Troy. The Pats' all-time leader in catches got more fan votes than any previous hall inductee. Not a surprise. His record will last till Bruschi's name is on the ballot. Among all the great players that turned the Patriots franchise 180 degrees, Troy Brown is right near the top of the list. The most talented? Hell no. But arguably the most valuable. And, without argument, the most likable. Troy Brown always played the game with a smile on his face. He was one of those rare players who combined intensity with joy. It was easy to see, even from our seats high up in the old stadium.

There wasn't a more comforting feeling as a fan than seeing #80 line up on a third-down play. You think Wes Welker is clutch? Troy Brown should have had the word embroidered on the back of his jersey. From Bledsoe to Brady (Zolak doesn't count), Brown made diving, leaping, one-handed, sliding, you-name-it catches time after time to bail his QB out. He wasn't the biggest receiver. The fastest receiver. Or the strongest. But he was the smartest. That's what separated Troy Brown. He was a football player more than an athlete. That's what separated the Pats from the rest of the league. They just had more players like that than the other team. Every other team.

But only Troy Brown went both ways. Actually, he went three ways. Offense (receiver). Defense (secondary). And special teams (kick returner). And he went all three ways well. He is the only player whose highlight reel includes great catches, huge kick returns, blocked field goals, and interceptions. He was a throwback. Another player with great football smarts for Bill Belichick to get the most out of. Like Mike Vrabel.



Brown's highlight reel includes some of the biggest plays during the team's title run. He had many clutch catches in the snow against the Raiders. The following week he almost single-handedly went into Heinz Field and beat the heavily-favored Steelers, returning a punt for a touchdown and then scooping up a blocked field goal and -- as he was about to be tackled -- pitching the ball to Antwan Harris who took it all the way for a score. The Pats won that AFC title game 24-17. Troy Brown was responsible for 14 of those points.

An even bigger play, lost in the glow of Vinatieri's kick in the Super Dome against the Rams, was the one that turned a little momentum into one of the most historic winning-drives in NFL history. Brady had moved the offense with a few seat-of-the pants plays, but the ball was only at the Pats' 46 with a mere 29 seconds to play. Second down. An incompletion or sack here and the drive may have stalled and a dynasty may have died before it was even born. Instead, Brady dropped back with Brown in the right slot. Brady made a great move to slide forward and to his left a few steps and then fired a bullet to Brown cutting across the field. He snagged the ball at the Rams' 45 and cut down the left sideline inside the 40. A 23-yard gain. Suddenly the Pats were not just in field goal range, they were in good field goal range. And a few moments later they were Super Bowl champs.

There are so many great Troy Brown plays (and one pretty funny commercial). But the one that truly epitomizes Troy Brown the player is a play in 2007 against the Chargers in the playoffs. The Patriots were  scratching to stay in the game on the road against the 14-2 Chargers. Down 21-13 with just over six minutes left in the game, Brady and the Pats faced a 4th-and-5 near midfield. Brady tried to force the ball into coverage and it was intercepted by Marlon McCree. Game over. But McCree, instead of hitting the turf to end the play, tried to run with the ball. Brown, always a step ahead of everyone else (and three ahead of McCree), moved in quickly from behind and stripped the ball away. The Pats recovered the fumble and went on to score the next 11 points, snatching the victory away from a stunned San Diego team. The Chargers -- and especially LaDainian Tomlinson -- were never the same.

That play was rated the worst moment in Charger history by NBC Sports. The worst! That's just how great a play it was. The worst for an entire franchise. The best for Troy Brown.

That red jacket will look good on Mr. Patriot.