01:22 AM EDT on Friday, September 30, 2005

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Amos Zereoue looked Kevin Faulk in the eye this week and told him, "Listen, my opportunity's come. I'm just going to take care of your position until you get back."

Zereoue looked Faulk in the eye because, well, he can. The newest addition to the Pats is -- like Faulk -- a stockily built 5-8 back.

And he could tell Faulk his spot would be well-tended to because Zereoue is similar to Faulk in many ways. While not as quick as Faulk in tiny spaces, Zereoue is probably a little faster and a little stronger than the LSU product, who broke a bone in his foot Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

"He has some experience," Bill Belichick said of Zereoue, who spent last year in Oakland after playing for the Steelers from 1999 to 2003. "We felt like that -- with our needs and our options -- he was the best fit. He's had some experience. He's good running the ball.

He's built kind of like Kevin. Not the same, but similar. Short, thick, strong legs, good balance. He's probably had more production running than receiving, but I think he can also be in the passing game."

It's hard to guess whether Zereoue, 28, will be available Sunday against San Diego.

"The level of expectation here is pretty high, and you want to meet them," said Zereoue, a native of Africa (Ivory Coast) who came to the United States at the age of 10 and was a terrific back at West Virginia. "You can never get prepared in football shape unless you're playing football. As far as catching up with those guys, it was pretty rough yesterday."

The workout Zereoue had Tuesday with the Pats was the only one he had since being released by Oakland. It forced him to be a little introspective.

"Any time you're sitting at home watching guys play it's a difficult situation if it's not something you are ready for. At one point when I was home, I sat back and reflected on the fact that I'm still young," said Zereoue, who makes his home on Long Island. "To be out of the league this early -- for me to be sitting at home was kind of difficult for me. I felt I wasn't ready. The talent is still there, and I didn't know why I was home."

When the Patriots called, he needed no persuading -- to the disappointment of his former teammates in Pittsburgh.

"When I was in Pittsburgh, I always had this feeling we could beat this team," he said. "Somehow it just didn't turn out that way. I got a couple phone calls from Steelers guys who were upset at me for signing here. (They said), 'You could have signed anywhere else, why there?'

"I just said, 'Hey, I needed a job, what am I gonna do? You going to pay me.' "

Vrabel slams Castillo drug use

Don't anticipate any pregame niceties between Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel and San Diego rookie defensive lineman Luis Castillo. Castillo was caught with androstendione in his system when the league took urine tests at the NFL Combine in April. The player owned up to taking them to help recover from an arm injury. When the Chargers took Castillo with the 28th overall pick in the draft, Vrabel -- in a roundtable draft-day discussion on ESPN -- hammered Castillo, saying, "It sends a terrible message. He cheats. He cheated the system and got away with it." Vrabel's point was that Castillo took the andro to preserve his chances of being a first-round pick, and that it worked.