01:00 AM EST on Monday, November 8, 2004

ST. LOUIS -- The Patriots really showed us something yesterday.

Something? How about a little bit of everything?

They showed us a kicker throwing a touchdown pass off a fake field goal to a wide receiver who spent much of the afternoon playing defensive back.

They showed us heart.

They showed us a linebacker making a highlight-film catch in the end zone for a touchdown.

They showed us character.

They showed us another linebacker -- 32 years old and 270 pounds -- dropping in man coverage against speed-merchant wide receiver Torry Holt and deflecting a pass, which was intercepted by another linebacker, and then converted into a touchdown when running back Corey Dillon left a would-be tackler grasping at air.

The Patriots showed ingenuity, creativity, adaptablity, and resiliency.

They showed how, with both starting cornerbacks sidelined by injuries, and then another going down on the first pass thrown by the Rams, they could adjust and limit one of the NFL's most wide-open offenses to just two touchdowns.

The Patriots showed yesterday why they're the defending Super Bowl champions, and winners of two of the last three NFL championships.

It would be a huge overstatement to say this victory was more impressive than the last time the Patriots beat St. Louis, nearly three years ago, in Super Bowl XXXVI. That was a much better Rams

team -- one that was favored by two touchdowns. To beat that team required a brilliant defensive scheme, executed almost flawlessly.

But it's also hard to overstate just how impressive this 40-22 rout of the Rams was, even coming as it did against a team that lost its last game to Miami, 31-14.

"I'm really proud of our football team," coach Bill Belichick said.

Belichick says that just about every time the Patriots win. Which is to say, just about every week.

This week, however, it was more than merely a cliché. He had every right to be very proud of his Patriots, who should take as much pride in this victory as any they've had in this 7-1 season.

"There were so many guys that stepped up -- that made big plays and came through for us -- I don't know where to start," Belichick said. "It was probably as complete a team victory as I've ever been around."

Roll that thought around for a while.

Belichick has won two Super Bowls in New England. He was the defensive coordinator on New York Giants teams that won two others.

Yet yesterday's victory, he said, was probably as complete a team victory as he'd ever been around.

You can spend a lot of time around the game and not see the kinds of things the Patriots showed yesterday.

Where to start?

How about with Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law out of action, along with Tyrone Poole, the Pats' other starting corner? How about then having 185-pound Asante Samuel forced to the sidelines when he hurt his shoulder bouncing the Rams' 288-pound tight end, Brandon Manumaleuna, out of bounds on the Rams' second offensive play?

Which resulted in this lineup when the Patriots went to their "dime" coverage, employing six defensive backs: Randall Gay, an undrafted rookie free agent; Earthwind Moreland, who was signed from the practice squad Saturday; Dexter Reid, who was drafted in the fourth round this year; veteran strong safety Rodney Harrison; starting free safety Eugene Wilson, who's in only his second year in the league; and Troy Brown, a wide receiver pressed into action as a defensive back for the first time in his 12 years in the NFL.

"The Rams throw the ball very well," Belichick said. "They have a great receiving group. But Earthwind, and Gay, and Troy went out there and battled. That's what this team is all about -- being prepared to step up when called upon."

Step up, Mike Vrabel, and take a bow -- not just for stretching out to make that touchdown catch in the second quarter, but also for coming down in bounds.

It would have been a fine catch for a wide receiver, an excellent one for a tight end, or a running back. But Vrabel's a 261-pound linebacker, which made his catch exceptional.

"He made a great catch," quarterback Tom Brady said. "I laid it out there for him, and it looked like he stretched out for it, and kind of tapped his toes."

Speaking of toes . . . Adam Vinatieri, who's kicked the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of two Super Bowls, is the NFL's best clutch kicker.

After booting four field goals in the first half yesterday, he caught the Rams by surprise when, after lining up for a fifth midway through the third quarter, he took a direct snap from Lonnie Paxton and lofted a 4-yard TD pass to -- who else? -- Troy Brown.

"We hoped to catch them sleeping, and we did," Vinatieri said. "It's one of those things that you put in, and it just has to come up at the right time, the right opportunity.

"I kind of glance over there to make sure he's not covered. We snapped the ball before they noticed him, and I just threw it out there. I knew if I got it anywhere close to Troy, he'd catch it."

Willie McGinest isn't supposed to be able to stay close to wide receivers, especially when they have speed like Holt. But the Pats' 32-year old linebacker was running right there, alongside, to deflect a pass that wound up in the hands of 36-year-old Roman Phifer, who returned it 26 yards to the St. Louis 21.

Four plays later, Dillon, who rushed for 112 yards on 25 carries, left Rams cornerback DeJuan Groce grasping at air as he danced into the end zone for the score that gave the Patriots an insurmountable, 33-14, advantage.

"Today was a total team effort," Dillon said. "Some people were doing things there were unaccustomed to doing. They came through in the clutch. That's the mark of a good team, a true team."

When the Pats last played St. Louis, in Super Bowl XXXVI, the Rams were known as "The Greatest Show on Turf."

But even that talented Rams team never staged a show to compare with the one the Patriots put on yesterday.

The Pats really showed us something. Something? Make that a little bit of everything.