EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Ellis Hobbs would like to make one thing perfectly clear -- to the guys on the Patriots special teams, to all his teammates and coaches, to the opposition, to the media, to the fans, to everyone: If you kick the ball to him, he's going to run it back, no matter where he catches it.

"I tell the guys: 'I'm bringing it out,''' he said. "I'm out there for a reason. This isn't high school. This isn't college. They don't pay me to take a knee. They pay me to make plays."

Hobbs made the longest play in Patriots history yesterday when he took the second-half kickoff eight yards deep in his own end zone and proceeded to run 108 yards to the Jets' end zone.

"It was one of those deals," said Pats wide receiver Wes Welker, who was Miami's leading kickoff and punt returner the past three seasons, "where you go: 'No, no no!' Then, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah!'''

Hobbs was back-pedaling when he caught Mike Nugent's kickoff near the back of the New England end zone. He didn't hesitate to run it out.

Justin McCareins just missed making a diving tackle around the 10, Hobbs bounced off David Bowens near the 20, and then Hobbs then ran untouched the rest of the way down the left sideline, in front of an excited New England bench.

If Pats coach Bill Belichick was initially distressed by Hobbs' derring-do, he certainly didn't say so afterward.

"He's aggressive, and he made it work," Belichick said, "so nobody is going to say anything to him."

"It was a calculated risk," said Hobbs, who must have calculated his chances in a milli-second. "I want to be aggressive. I understand the dangers. But I turned out to be a hero."

What helped tremendously, he said, was that "nobody turned around to look at me to see what I was doing. They just went downfield and made their blocks."

That's because they knew Hobbs was thinking touchdown, not touchback. He doesn't want to take a knee. He wants to take the ball to the "house."

He returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown last year against Houston, and also had an 80-yard return that set up a touchdown in the AFC Championship Game at Indianapolis.

While Hobbs never looked back yesterday, he admitted to sneaking a peek at himself on the big-screen video as he neared the Jets' end zone.

"When I knew I was out of danger -- that I had guys behind me to block anyone who was chasing me -- I looked up at the screen," he said, a bit sheepishly. "When I got to about the 25, I took a peek. I didn't stare. I kept running."

And you can count on him to continue running back kicks, even if he catches them eight yards deep in his own end zone.