08:57 AM EDT on Monday, August 30, 2004

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

Once bitten, twice shy.

Around this time last year, the Patriots stunned the NFL and those who cover the team by releasing Lawyer Milloy. Maybe that's why this year, whenever there's any news about Ty Law, it's speculated that some kind of exit strategy for the 30-year-old corner is being planned.

Law made the trip to Carolina on Saturday night but didn't play. Conspiracy theorists wondered if there was a connection between Law sitting and his offseason of rancor with Bill Belichick. The explanation that Law's leg was tight and the team decided to hold him out seemed fishy to some media members in Charlotte.

Yesterday, when asked point-blank whether there was anything more to Law sitting out than meets the eye, Belichick was adamant, and a little indignant about the intimation.

"There's absolutely no relation to him not playing last night to anything that has ever happened," said Belichick. "I don't know how there could possibly be any connection whatsoever. His leg was a little tight; he told me how he felt. I didn't think there was any point in trying to put someone out there who was not at 100 percent. I never would question that with him. I don't know how else I could put it."

Still on bad terms

Panthers receiver Steve Smith bristled at the comportment of the Patriots Saturday night.

"This is our territory and you have [Patriots] in there dragging our linemen out [of pileups]," Smith told the Carolina media. "I'm not going to allow guys to do that to our players. This is a family. So I was just like, 'Hey, you aren't going do that.' And then [Patriots safety] Rodney Harrison grabbed me. This is team, and we're not going to let guys come in and try to disrespect us. They are just cheap-shot artists. They can say what they want and flash their [Super Bowl] rings and all that stuff, it don't matter. You can't just come in and do whatever you want to. It don't go like that."

There were several scrums Saturday night. Smith got shoved out of bounds hard by Tyrone Poole and Rosevelt Colvin; the Pats' defensive lineman Richard Seymour got into it with Carolina offensive lineman Jordan Gross; Pats' linebacker Mike Vrabel was in the middle of some pushing and shoving. In other words, things got chippy.

Another Panther receiver, Muhsin Muhammad, said, "We watched the film of the Super Bowl and we felt there were a lot of things that were not classy. It's one of them deals where you have to fight fire with fire."

On the other hand, only kind words flowed from Panthers safety Mike Minter when asked about Tom Brady.

"I tell everybody that Brady is just so good," said Minter. "I always tell everybody this guy is the best quarterback in the league right now. This guy understands the defense like no other. That is what makes him so good. He does a great job of getting it out to the hot routes. You have to try to contain him and hope for the best. This guy [Brady] picked up all we were doing and made plays."

Davey still No. 2

Belichick said yesterday that Rohan Davey remains ahead of Kliff Kingsbury on the depth chart at quarterback despite the fact Kingsbury played the fourth quarter Saturday night while Davey sat.

"I don't think anything's changed [in the pecking order]," said Belichick. "Kliff's worked hard and been with us quite a while. We felt Kliff hasn't had a chance to play too much and that we'd give him extended time this week and Ro more against Jacksonville [this Thursday]."

Squib kicks

Wide receiver Chas Gessner got some time on the field with the starters Saturday night but Belichick said that had more to do with the fact the team was short at wide receiver (David Givens didn't dress and Troy Brown got hurt) than Gessner making a major move up the depth chart . . . As for Brown, Belichick had no news on his condition. The coach also tried to make clear that, while the NFL wants more explicit information regarding injuries, the Patriots aren't going to start posting medical charts on the team Web site. "I understand the interest in a player's health, and I know the NFL rules and will do all I can to provide accurate information, but I don't want to speculate and say something that happens to be a guess. If I have accurate information, I will give it when I know it. And I'm not trying to evade or give the runaround." . . . Ben Watson's productive and multi-faceted performance Saturday night (he played tight end on the line, split out, played fullback and lined up as an H-back) was testament to the two things the rookie from Georgia was lauded for: athleticism and intelligence. "He's done OK at [learning the offense since ending his holdout]. It's not perfect and a lot of things can be done better, but he's a smart kid and he's worked hard enough to -- for the most part -- learn his assignments . . . Rookie safety Dexter Reid showed up on special teams and in the regular defense Saturday night. He's a playmaker . . . Belichick said that if offensive lineman Stephen Neal can get rid of some of the plays where he simply does either the wrong thing or gets beat, he can be a good performer. Consistency is his main challenge right now, nothing else, Belichick said.