On Football: Pair has caught on with Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Tom Brady preached patience and now that patience has paid off.

Despite early struggles in the passing game, the New England Patriots quarterback remained confident that his corps of wide receivers -- all of them new to the team except Troy Brown -- would eventually find their way in the Patriots offense.

Boy, have they.

Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell have come out of nowhere to form a solid one-two punch as the Patriots top receivers in the playoffs. The tandem has combined for 30 catches for 337 yards and two touchdowns.

Not bad for a couple of guys who had never even been to the playoffs before.

"They're two very dependable guys who have performed extremely well in the postseason and have performed well, really, late in the year," Brady said. "And I think that's why this offense has shown as much improvement as it has."

The Patriots (14-4) visit Indianapolis (14-4) at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday in the AFC Championship game. The Colts have two marquee receivers in Reggie Wayne and future Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison.

Yet through the Colts two playoff games, Harrison and Wayne's combined numbers pale in comparison to Caldwell and Gaffney. Harrison has six catches for 93 yards and Wayne has 10 for 87 and a touchdown. That's 14 fewer total catches, 157 fewer yards and half as many touchdowns as Caldwell/Gaffney.

The formula for success goes back to patience. Caldwell and Gaffney (who were not present during yesterday's open locker room period) have put the time in and it is paying off.

"Those guys have come to work every day and really worked hard to make those improvements," Brady said. "I think any time you can put together 110 practices, then you count the 22 games we've played this year, you can see why Reche has really progressed and why Jabar, at this point, has really taken those steps forward. The receiver position has become very much a strength of this team."

Caldwell came over as a free agent from San Diego, where he had been a forgotten part of the offense, grabbing just 76 catches for 950 yards and seven touchdowns over a four-year span.

A Florida product just like Gaffney, Caldwell caught a team-high 61 passes for 760 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season and has added 12 for 130 and a score in the playoffs.

►Pundits pick on the Patriots

"Reche has worked hard. There's no doubt about his work ethic," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "He's done a lot of things all year really. He's shown up making plays a lot and I think, obviously, the more that a quarterback and a receiver work together, the better it is."

Gaffney's rise to prominence is even more surprising considering that he didn't join the Patriots until October and was a healthy scratch for two weeks before taking the field on Oct. 30 at Minnesota.

A castoff after four quiet years in Houston, Gaffney joined the Patriots and caught just 11 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in seven regular season games. Through two playoff wins, he has led the team with 18 grabs for 207 yards and a TD.

"He's done a good job of learning our system, which he had a little bit of background in from Houston, terminology wise," Belichick said. "I think he's a hard-working kid. He has some talent and he's had some opportunities to be productive and he's taken advantage of those."

It hasn't all been rosy for new receivers. Doug Gabriel, acquired in a trade, was a bust and was released. Another Florida product, rookie Chad Jackson, has been slow in developing.

But with Caldwell and Gaffney breaking out and the always-reliable Brown, Brady has a lot more to work with now than it appeared earlier in the season.

Sometimes, a little patience pays off.

INJURY UPDATE: Safety Rodney Harrison (knee) has been upgraded from "out" to "doubtful" for Sunday's game. He isn't likely to play, but the upgrade hints that if the Patriots make the Super Bowl in three weeks, his chances to play then improve greatly with that extra rehab time.

SAN DIEGO POSTGAME REACTION: San Diego's star running back LaDainian Tomlinson still has not backed down from his postgame comments where he said that the Patriots lacked class for the way they celebrated at midfield.

One player who was called out by the Chargers is Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs. A San Diego TV station aired footage of Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers calling Hobbs "the sorriest corner in the league" in the postgame fracas.

Hobbs refused to address the San Diego incident, but did talk about the emotions that come with a big win.

"Emotions take over. There are no rules and regulations for that. When you win you can celebrate," Hobbs said. "In the playoffs, you're overwhelmed by a lot of emotions, so obviously things are going to be a lot different than a regular season win."

Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips stated he would forever hold a grudge against the Patriots. The teams will meet next season in Foxborough, which should be interesting.

Ian M. Clark covers the New England Patriots and pro football for the Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is iclark@unionleader.com.