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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – There’s a lot riding on the shoulders and the rest of rookie center Dan Koppen’s 296-pound frame, but then, that’s been the way it’s been most of this season.
The fifth-round draft choice out of Boston College wasn’t a good bet to survive all the cutdowns and stick on New England’s 53-man roster, let alone see much playing time.
He not only stuck, he stuck in the minds of coaches and became a starter the second week of the season. Since Koppen’s insertion into the starting lineup, the Patriots are 15-1 and on a franchise record 13-game win streak.
This Sunday at 3 p.m., when the Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts for the AFC Championship, Koppen’s play will be no less key to the team’s fortunes as he and guard Joe Andruzzi, the only Patriot lineman to start all 17 games this season, anchor a line which has again been altered by injury.
With left guard Damien Woody, another Boston College product, out with a leg injury, Russ Hochstein is Woody’s likely replacement.
The lineup shuffle seems to bother Koppen about as much as the challenge of making the team and stepping into the lineup did.
“I think the coaching that we’ve got at BC was big [in helping prepare for the NFL]. We ran a pro-style offense, so that really helped me too,” Koppen said. “Because of all that, coming into this league wasn’t that big an adjustment. It was an adjustment, but not as much of one as it could have been if I hadn’t gone where I did.”
The 24-year-old Whitehall, Pa., native has that same confident, blue-collar outlook on Sunday’s challenges.
“We know we just need to focus on the technique and know the assignments,” he said. “You just have to play a mentally smart game.”
You’d think it would be hard for a Boston College grad to maintain his focus this week, given the game’s importance and the ticket crush created by fans, friends, and family all wanting to secure a ticket through any possible channel. But Koppen hasn’t had that much pressure for ticets.
“Not as much as you would think,” said Koppen, who has visited Maine [Kittery] just once. “My friends have done a really good job of standing off at this point because they realize I’ve got a job to do.”
Each player has been given 14 tickets to distribute to friends and family. That leaves Koppen a few extras after doling some out to the other five members of his family.
If I’ve got the tickets, fine, but they understand if I just can’t get it done,” he said.
Patriots’ Poole of confidence
When veteran free agent cornerback Tyrone Poole signed a contract to play for New England back in March, many fans and “experts” alike wondered why the Patriots would be interested in a 5-foot-8, 188-pound corner when the trend in the NFL is to get bigger to combat the ever taller crop of wide receivers coming into the league.
Seventeen games later, Poole is one of four defensive starters to start every game for the Patriots and is tied for the team lead in interceptions with six – the second-highest total in the AFC.
So how does one of the smallest players on the roster, and in the NFL, come up with such big performances and numbers?
“My Lord and savior and my spirituality are what guide me,” said Poole Friday. “The Bible tells me I can overcome all things if I call upon His name. I take that as my foundation and that’s how I play, with a winner’s mentality.
“I don’t allow circumstances to control me. I can control my circumstances, but first it starts in the head. If you’re not strong-minded, it doesn’t matter how big you are. You’re not going to succeed.”
Talking to Poole is like talking to motivational speakers like Tony Robbins or Dr. Phil, only Poole does it with everyday language and a straight up approach.
“I don’t know about those guys. I can only talk about myself,” said the 31-year-old Poole. “It starts with my religion and hanging around other people with positive thoughts because if you hang around with negative people, you’re going to start to buy into that concept and think every day’s going to be a bad day.”
His attitude meshes perfectly with that of his teammates on a team most figured would have a tough time compiling a winning record, much less make the playoffs after a 31-0 blowout loss to Buffalo in week one.
“Everyone here is positive and it’s easy to stay positive when you’re winning, but we’ve had our valleys throughout the year and we’ve remained positive and that’s a good attribute to have,” Poole said. “As the season progresses, especially in the playoffs, if your team is not strong enough mentally to overcome adversity, then problems are going to snowball and you’re going to fold, but we don’t allow that.
“We stay at an even level and we believe in each other.”
Cool customers
You’ve heard of sweating it out? Well, 50 people from the Boston area took the polar opposite tact in trying to score a couple of tickets to Sunday’s Patriots-Colts game.
They all showed up at Big Dog Sports Zone tavern in Lynnfield wearing nothing but bathing suits to compete in a test of hardiness, endurance and foolishness sponsored by Boston radio station WBCN (104.0 FM). The last one to remain outside in Friday’s teeth-chattering cold would collect the tickets.
Well, that was the idea anyway, and it followed that format for the first 17 minutes before city emergency medical officials ordered an end to the contest, according to a tavern employee contacted Friday night.
“It was really quite a scene, so we ended up not doing it the way we planned,” he said.
What they did instead was award three pairs of tickets to three randomly drawn winners whose names were picked out of a hat.
Tavern employees did not have the winners’ names, but a male employee reached Friday night said the breakdown was one woman and two men.
And you thought Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had ice water in his veins.
Clearance for Smith?
It’s not clear whether the employees at the Patriots Pro Shop located at Gillette Stadium know something that management and the coaching staff don’t, or haven’t said, but one of the sale items in the store certainly gave fans a reason to wonder.
Alongside the 20 or so home and away authentic jerseys bearing the name and number for former Patriots’ safety Lawyer Milloy, which were hanging on a rack below a “Clearance” sign for $75 off the regular price were several No. 32 Antowain Smith jerseys for the same clearance price ($150).
Without having a chance to ask Smith if he thought anything was up, the customers’ guesses were as good as his, but fans are hoping it’s just a case of ordering too many jerseys and/or having supply exceed demand.
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