Brown: Catching a rising star

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

EW ORLEANS - From DNP to MVP.

Five years ago, in this very same place, with the Patriots playing for these very same stakes, Troy Brown was a nobody. A nobody, as in nobody anybody was dying to talk to or talk about. As in nobody anybody outside of New England (and West Virginia and the Carolinas) knew very much about. As in nobody whose status warranted a reserved booth or riser when holding court with the media during Super Bowl week. As in nobody who was the subject of feature stories in hundreds of newspapers and magazines and on hundreds of television stations around the country.

Basically, nobody who was expected to be a factor.

The reason? Brown was somebody who had been drafted in the eighth round in 1993, who had not started a game and caught a total of 37 passes (none for touchdowns) in four seasons, and who had been cut once already. Above all, he was somebody whom an injury would keep inactive for the Patriots' 35-21 loss to the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI.

Now ...

He's a somebody worth double-teaming, as the St. Louis Rams most certainly will do tomorrow. Brown will play every play on offense and play with the motivation of a man intent on making certain that this time around, he will have some sort of say in the game's outcome. Tom Brady will look for him almost every time there are orange 3s on the down markers. Brown will return each of the Rams' punts (come to think of it, ''punts'' could turn out to be ''punt''), and he'll make several big plays in key situations.

In other words, he'll do what he's done all season, which will end a week from today at the Pro Bowl in Honolulu. Brown (101 catches in the regular season, eight more in the AFC Championship game, three punt returns for touchdowns, including one in the conference title game) will come through in the clutch the way he's done so often this season. He is recognized by most teammates and Patriots fans as the team's most valuable player. And if he plays tomorrow the way he played last week in Pittsburgh, he may turn out to be Super Bowl MVP as well.

DNP to MVP. Has a nice ring to it, huh?

''Troy Brown is my hero,'' said kicker Adam Vinatieri, who has pulled off some heroics of his own this postseason and was joking not one bit when expressing his admiration for Brown. ''My father is my biggest hero, but Troy Brown's definitely No. 2 on the list.

''Because he's the type of person that goes out and kicks butt every day; that's just the type of guy he is. If I had my vote for league MVP, no disrespect to Kurt Warner or any of the other guys, but it would go to Troy. He means so much more to our team than any other player means to any other team.''

Back in '96, Brown meant much more to the Patriots' special teams than he did to their offense. He returned kickoffs as well as covered them, the latter causing him a hernia that kept him from doing either in the Super Bowl. Desmond Howard became the first special teams player selected Super Bowl MVP. Coincidence?

Perhaps. This we know for sure: On his 99-yard kickoff return in the third quarter, Howard ran right through an opening on the left side that would have been occupied by Brown had he not been watching in pain from the sideline.

''It was in that general area, so I'm sure I would have been somewhere around there,'' said Brown, forgetting to add that had he been close, he would have found a way to make the tackle.

''I was disappointed I didn't get to play,'' Brown said. ''It's definitely thrilling for me right now because these opportunities don't come too often. I've got a second chance to be here. To be able to play is a great feeling for me.

''Dan Marino played, what, 17 years or whatever, and didn't get a chance to come back after the first time he made it. So it definitely doesn't come by very easily.''

Tedy Bruschi, a rookie linebacker in '96 who didn't start during the season but produced two sacks of Brett Favre in the Big Game, also began his career as a special teamer. He, too, gets a kick out of Brown's chance for redemption.

''I relate myself to Troy,'' Bruschi said. ''We both had to play special teams [both still do] and come up through the ranks. It really makes me feel good for both of us. And to have Troy as one of the main reasons we're back here, probably the team MVP, to me is nice.''

Said running back J.R. Redmond, ''Troy Brown is just the best, period. Vote him for president.''

Later. Right now, he's up for another kind of vote.