Now that Bill Belichick actually has pronounced the name "Eric Mangini" -- not just once, but several times this past week, and without even gritting his teeth -- it's time to name some other names pertinent to the playoff game on tap this afternoon at Gillette Stadium:

ADAM VINATIERI

It's a name that should be whispered, and not simply because he is revered (which, as long as we're dropping names, has nothing to do with Paul -- even though he too was a Patriot) in New England for having kicked game-winning field goals in two Super Bowls. There was the 48-yarder as time expired that beat the heavily-favored Rams, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, and then there was the 41-yarder with four seconds remaining that defeated Carolina, 32-29, in Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.

Even more memorable than those clutch kicks, however, was the 45-yarder he drilled on a low line through the swirling snow with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter that sent the 2001 conference semifinal game against Oakland into overtime in the last game ever played at the old Foxboro Stadium. The Patriots won it on Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal, and went on to win their first NFL championship.

There also was the 46-yard field goal with 4:06 remaining that sent the Titans down to a 17-14 defeat at Gillette Stadium in the 2003 conference semifinals. Kicking that ball was like kicking a rock, because the temperature that afternoon was 4 degrees, making that game the coldest in franchise history.

And, while we're at it, we may as well mention that Vinatieri's 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville turned out to be the margin of victory in a 24-21 win over the Eagles.

When asked to name the greatest clutch kicker in NFL history, Vinatieri is the man who should be mentioned.

All of which leads us to another name:

STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI

Who has kicked exactly none -- zip, zero, nada -- game-winning field goals as a rookie this season with the Patriots.

The fourth-round draft choice out of Memphis believes he can come through in the clutch. So does Belichick. And Gostkowski's teammates say they believe in him, too. But until he actually does it, Patriots fan are going to have to take it on faith. And has there ever been a kicker to have more faith in with the game on the line than Vinatieri?

CHAD PENNINGTON

On the subject of faith, there weren't many who believed Pennington could bounce back from a couple of surgeries on his throwing shoulder and lead the Jets, 4-12 in 2005, to a playoff berth this season.

That's why he was named last week as the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year.

"Our success this year was not a surprise," Pennington insisted. "The reason it wasn't is because we believe in our hard work. We believe in our preparation. It may have surprised people on the outside, but for us inside the locker room, we expect to be successful. We don't come to work thinking we're going to be 6-10, pack it up on New Year's Eve and go home."

Pennington and Jets know they have their work cut out for them in trying to beat the Patriots twice on the road in the same season.

"We understand that we're playing a veteran playoff team, a successful championship team that knows how to win these types of games," he said.

TOM BRADY

Pennington's opposite number -- OK, OK, Brady's number is 12, and Pennington is number 10, but you know what I mean -- has won 10 of 11 postseason games, including three Super Bowls. And he was MVP in two of those.

"He's a special guy," said Mangini, who predicted Brady would be "going to the Hall of Fame" when his playing days are over.

Not exactly going out on a limb there.

"He does a tremendous job of orchestrating the whole offense, getting them into good plays, getting them out of bad plays, understanding what the offense is doing, and directing the protection," said Mangini, who was the Patriots' defensive coordinator in 2005.

Protection was a problem when the Pats lost to the Jets in November in Foxboro, 17-14. Just ask . . .

DAN KOPPEN

"They were bringing pressure, and we didn't do a good job of recognizing what they were bringing at us in crucial situations," the Patriots center said. "That's why we lost."

DAN MARINO and PEYTON MANNING

We mention those names, as the Patriots head into the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, and the fifth time in the last six seasons, as proof positive of the truth of the old adage that "Defense wins championships."

Manning and Marino are the two most prolific passers in NFL history. Although they each set a slew of records, they have nary a single championship between them. Indeed, the only Super Bowl appearance by either was in the 1984 season, when Marino and Miami lost to Joe Montana and the 49ers in Super Bowl XIX.

BOBBY JONES

What's the name of a golfer -- even one of the greatest golfers of all-time -- doing in a column about the Patriots and the playoffs?

It's because, in his book "Down the Fairway," Jones wrote: "You may take it from me that there are two kinds of golf; there is golf -- and tournament golf. And they are not at all the same."

The same can be said of the NFL postseason: There is football -- and there is playoff football. And they are not at all the same.

Four weeks from now, the name of just one team will be inscribed on the Lombardi Trophy. It's not expected to be, for what would be the fourth time, that of the New England Patriots. But they weren't expected to win in 2001, either.

Can you suggest a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

jdonalds@projo.com / (401) 277-7340