01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, November 30, 2004

By TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Josh Miller has a message for anyone out there who booed him during an off-day of punting Sunday.

He doesn't blame you.

"[The booing] is part of it," Miller said yesterday. "They pay good money to come in there. If I was a face painter I'd be booing No. 8 [Miller's uniform number]."

After punting brilliantly over the Patriots' first 10 games, Miller was off his game on Sunday. He averaged 32.1 yards on eight kicks, with a net average of 25.6. He had boots of 28, 16 and 29 yards mixed in.

The poor performance dropped Miller down to a tie for seventh in the AFC in gross punting average (42.5). His net average of 35.1 dropped him all the way from third to 12th.

Miller did have one sharp punt of modest length -- a 29-yarder that stopped inside the Ravens' 5 before being downed. After that kick, Miller headed to the sideline and grudgingly took a couple of fist-knocks, but he didn't appear overjoyed.

"I was livid," he said. "It was just an awful, awful night. I'm glad I'm still [mad]. I'm 34 years old and I still have six years left of punting. If I came into the locker room [Sunday] all happy, I'd say [to my wife], 'Honey, I think I'm losing it.'

"I'm [mad]. I want to get better, and that's how I know I still want to play the game."

Miller went through tough times during his stint in Pittsburgh, as coach Bill Cowher often rode him hard. He didn't say whether that period has helped him to better deal with difficult times, but he did say he insists on leaving poor performances on the field.

"If you take it personally, then you come to the locker room and you're mean to cats like Rohan [Davey, who lockers next to Miller] for no reason," Miller explained. "Then you go home and have a 3- and a 1-year-old and you're not a good dad because you take it home. It's a bad day, you acknowledge it, you learn from it, and move on.

"If I heard two years of [booing], medication would probably come into the picture. But right now you have to ignore it, blow it off and move to next week."

Not even a limp

The news on Matt Light may not be as bad as initially feared. The Patriots' left tackle, injured in the fourth quarter of the team's 24-3 win over Baltimore, was in the locker room yesterday walking with neither a brace nor a limp after his left foot was rolled over.

Last night, on WSKO radio's Sports Beat, Light said the injury looked much worse than it actually was. "It's a relief to know it's not going to be a season-ending injury or anything like that," said Light.

Squib kicks

Through 10 games this season, Corey Dillon has 1,121 yards and seven touchdowns. Through the first 10 games of last season, the Patriots had run for 897 yards as a team and gotten into the end zone on the ground six times. Antowain Smith had run for 337 yards through 10 games last season and Kevin Faulk had 331.

Dillon is third in the AFC in rushing, behind Edgerrin James of the Colts (1,186 yards) and the Jets' Curtis Martin (1,171). Dillon is averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Willie McGinest leads the Pats with 6.5 sacks. Rosevelt Colvin and Richard Seymour have four, Ty Warren has 3.5 and Rodney Harrison and Mike Vrabel have three each.

The Patriots are first in the NFL in red-zone defense, allowing touchdowns on just 32.4 percent of their opponents' trips inside the 20. Of a possible 238 points they could have allowed on those 34 trips to the red zone, they've allowed 111.

Troy Brown played about 20 plays on defense Sunday and also returned punts in the second half. Asked how much he can handle, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said, "If he was playing every play on offense, every play on defense, and returning all of the kicks, yes, I think that'd be stretching it too far. But that is not what he's doing. He's playing situationally on defense and in the kicking game. Until it becomes a problem, I think we'll be able to keep doing it. So far, we've been able to manage [the situation], and what's on his plate he's been able to manage. I think he's been able to manage it effectively and do a really good job for us. In fact, he's been asking more about returning punts lately. When a player is asking to do more, I don't get the feeling that he feels like he's overloaded."