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

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS -- "I told them they'd run that play," said Rams offensive lineman Grant Williams. "I said 'Watch out for the fake field goal.' "

The Rams listened to Williams, a former Patriots lineman who was on the 2001 Super Bowl team. They talked about the play where a receiver stands off to the side on a field-goal attempt, steps over the line and receives a pass from kicker Adam Vinatieri. But talking and listening weren't enough.

The Patriots pulled it off as Vinatieri, cool as a cucumber, hit Brown with a momentum-shifting 4-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to make the score 26-14 in favor of New England.

Yesterday was the best game of Vinatieri's very solid season. He drilled all four of his field-goal attempts and is now 18-for-19 this season. The Rams have got to be tired of Vinatieri. Their fans sure are. Vinatieri was booed every time he came on the field yesterday at the Edward Jones Dome.

Not that he minds a bit. The rock-steady kicker reveled a bit after the game.

"I was saying, 'Let's snap it, let's go,' " he said. "I'm sure I was pretty wide-eyed trying to get the play going because when you see him wide open you want to get it to him."

How did the play work?

"I glance out to see that he's not covered and if he's not (long snapper Lonie Paxton ) snaps it to me and I throw it out there," Vinatieri said of his first-ever NFL pass. "It's not that difficult a play. I just wanted to make sure I caught it and threw a decent pass. I know if I get it anywhere close to Troy he's going to catch it because he has such good hands. I'm just happy to get the opportunity."

An opportunity he isn't sure will arise again.

"I'm sure teams will be looking for it from now on," he said.

Ruthless rushers

Some of the credit for the Patriots' success in limiting the St. Louis offensive unit to 15 points has to go to the defensive pass rush. The Patriots had five sacks yesterday (one each for Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest, Ty Warren, Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green ).

Asked about the surprising work of the Patriots secondary, Rams coach Mike Martz snapped, "You were at the game, I imagine. You saw the sacks and the holding penalties. I would like to think about the four wide receivers (of the Rams) but (the offensive line) is getting used to the three-man rush."

Clearly, Martz wasn't happy with the protection afforded his quarterback, Marc Bulger. The Patriots came committed to making Bulger sweat in order to help out their green cornerbacks.

"Anytime you've got somebody who hasn't been in (a game situation), you want to take the pressure off them, and getting to the quarterback was the easiest thing to do because if you get to the quarterback he can't get it downfield," said outside linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. Added Bruschi: "You know you have some young guys back there and other guys need to step up because you know they're going to need just a little bit of help. So you try and get more pressure on Bulger, get your hands up and sack them."

The Patriots now have 19 sacks on the season.

Zoned in

One of the more remarkable plays turned in yesterday came from McGinest in the third quarter when he ran with Rams wide receiver Torry Holt on an intermediate crossing route and tipped a pass from Bulger into the air that was picked off by Roman Phifer and returned to the Rams' 21.

"We studied it on film," McGinest said of the play. "I didn't have him man-to-man. It was a zone call. Bill [Belichick] told us to watch for that formation and what they'll do out of it. It's called a man-zone. I was looking out for it and they ran it out of the exact formation."

Squib kicks

The Patriots placed right tackle Tom Ashworth on injured reserve, ending his season. Brandon Gorin started in his place for the second straight week. . . . The Patriots added Earthwind Moreland, a cornerback, to the regular roster off the practice squad. . . . Tight end Jed Weaver dressed for the first time yesterday. . . . Asante Samuel wasn't the only Central Florida alum to get dinged up yesterday. His backfield mate from college, Travis Fisher, cracked two teeth in the second half and sat out the rest of the game. . . . Yesterday was the first time the Pats scored 40 points since the third game of the 2002 season when they beat Kansas City in overtime, 41-38.