FOXBORO -- Tom Brady easily remembers the worst of his 38 throws the last time the Patriots played in Denver.
The Patriots had been leading 20-10 at halftime. Now, in the fourth quarter, with Denver ahead 24-20, Brady had the Pats in Denver's red zone.
"I remember it well," Brady said yesterday. "I even remember the play -- Ride 134 Y-out Topper. I kind of stepped up in the pocket and moved up to the right and tried to throw back across my body a little to David (Givens ) in the back of the end zone) and Denard Walker picked it off."
Ended was Brady's streak of 162 passes without an interception. Gone too was the game, which only got uglier from there as Brady threw three more picks in the fourth quarter in a 34-20 loss.
It's easy to forget in the hail of turnovers just how well Brady was playing in that game before the fourth. He finished 25 of 38.
"We want the quarterback to take responsibility for every interception, but that's really not the way it is," Bill Belichick said in Brady's defense yesterday. "He had some plays he'd like to have back. There were others that were poorly executed."
"That wasn't my best day on the field, but I think we've come a long way since then," said Brady.
He has and he hasn't. He's now in his third year as an NFL starter with a record of 29-12. Back then, he was five games deep into his career with a record of 3-2. But he's still takes good care of the football most days.
As the Pats head to Denver for Monday's game, Brady has another streak of efficiency in progress -- 132 attempts without a pick.
Reminded of the current streak yesterday, Brady cringed and rapped his knuckles against the wood of his locker for luck.
"I'm just doing a better job of seeing the concept of the play and understanding where defensive guys are," Brady said. "I haven't been making as many bad decisions and I'd like to keep that up. That's something you can be good at. Not throwing picks is not something fluky. Some guys throw a lot of picks. Some guys don't throw many picks at all. I'm trying to be one of the guys who hardly ever throws them. It's about throwing the ball in the right spot, making sure that if your guy doesn't catch it, their guy doesn't catch it either."
And for the record, Brady doesn't think he's thrown an end-zone interception on a red zone play since.
Smith takes it as it comes
Antowain Smith says he won't whimper over Kevin Faulk 's assumption of the ball-carrying workload.
"That's not me," said Smith, who carried three times for 9 yards Sunday against Cleveland after missing two games with an injured shoulder. "I never have been a complainer, I never will be a complainer. You can't control the situation. When my number's called, I get out there. And nobody's happier for Kevin than me. He deserves a lot of credit because he's doing all the work. But for me, football has never been about Antowain Smith. Never has been or will be. We win, I'm happy. I don't need to be in the forefront, and I'll never complain."
This is a pivotal year for Smith. Within a week of the end of the season, the Pats reportedly must pay Smith a $500,000 option bonus to pick up his 2004 salary of $2.4 million. Otherwise, he becomes a free agent.
"That's a management decision," Smith said yesterday. "I can't even worry about that now."
Quick kicks
Troy Brown on playing at Denver: "No big deal. We win, it counts for one win. We lose, it counts for one loss. It's tough playing on the road on Monday night, but that's what good teams do. They overcome tough things . . . Second-year tight end Daniel Graham was named the AFC's Offensive Player of the Week for his seven-catch, 110-yard game against Cleveland. Given that the offense scored nine points and Graham didn't get in the end zone, his winning the award is a little surprising, but it must have been a lean week for candidates . . . Joe Andruzzi, Je'Rod Cherry, Christian Fauria, Ty Law, David Patten, Mike Vrabel, Brady and Richard Seymour are on the injury report this week. Brady and Seymour are probable. The rest are questionable. Denver will be without linebacker John Mobley and tackle Ephraim Salaam. Wide receivers Chris Cole and Ed McCaffrey are questionable. Keith Burns, Reuben Droughns. Daryl Gardener, Danny Kanell, Kenoy Kennedy, Tom Nalen and Shannon Sharpe are all probable . . . The Pats practiced inside yesterday in their "renovated bubble." Said Belichick, "Without it, it would be a tough day to get much done outside other than snorkeling."
