NOTES: End could be near for Faulk
--Veteran running back Kevin Faulk has acknowledged that this could be
his final postseason and final stretch of games in the NFL.
The 13th-year running back has had a reduced role this season with
younger backs BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley getting most of
the carries.
"As a competitor, it doesn't feel the way
I want it to feel," Faulk said, "but that's life. You just to have
adjust and move forward."
--The Patriots have compiled
a 21-15 record in their 36 playoff games, and their .583 playoff
winning percentage is the fourth best in NFL history among teams that
have played at least 10 playoff games.
New England has
qualified for six Super Bowls (XX, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX and
XLII) and one AFL Championship Game (1963).
--Wide
receiver Matthew Slater, a special teams ace and Pro Bowl player in
2011, is hoping the Patriots can improve on their pedestrian return
game in the playoffs, perhaps utilizing special teams as a wild card.
"We expect more production from our return game," Slater said. "We
definitely weren't satisfied with our production this year. We have to
be more consistent. We have to learn from what we did, but we still
believe in the guys here and the scheme.
"We can't get frustrated (by the regular season).
We have a chance to get better in the postseason."
--Since their new facility opened at the beginning of the 2002 season,
the Patriots own the NFL's best overall record at home.
The Patriots are 67-13 (.838) at Gillette Stadium in regular-season
games and have a 74-15 (.831) record including playoffs.
--Saturday could be another big day for tight end Aaron Hernandez, who
had a breakout performance against Denver in the regular season with
nine catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.
Hernandez
benefitted from the Broncos' game plan of trying to stop tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Wes Welker.
"There were
plays called for me. Obviously (the Broncos) focused on Gronk and Wes.
That left me with opportunities to make plays," Hernandez said.
--The Patriots won 14 playoff games in the decade from 2000 to 2009,
tying the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys for the most
playoff victories by any NFL team in a single decade.
--New England has qualified for the playoffs 19
times in its 52-year history.
Thirteen of those playoff berths have come in the 18 seasons since
Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, as opposed to the six total
playoff berths that the team earned in its first 34 years of existence.
New England has won 14 division crowns, including nine in the last 11
seasons, and has qualified as a wild-card team on four occasions (1976,
1985, 1994 and 1998). The Patriots also qualified for the playoffs in
1982 as part of a 16-team tournament following a strike.
BY THE NUMBERS: 7 -- Interceptions by defensive back Kyle Arrington,
putting him in a three-way tie for the NFL lead this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I've been at this round before, so I'd like to go a
little bit further. That's going to be a tough task, and we're going to
have to make sure we're putting everything into it as far as
preparation and being ready to go on Saturday night." -- Offensive
lineman Brian Waters, on postseason football.
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