Troy Brown

Troy Brown had three interceptions this season, to go along with his 17 receptions. Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

Necessity has made Brown, a wide receiver and punt returner by trade, into a wide receiver's enemy. It's also made him into one of the Patriots' most important players.

Brown, who still returns punts and runs patterns, started doing repetitions at cornerback in training camp as a kind of lark. But when the Pats were decimated by injuries in the middle of the season, he was converted into the team's nickel back. The supposedly stopgap solution paid off. He intercepted three passes (second on the team), broke up five more and was in on 17 tackles. He's now the regular nickel back.

Brown is not young anymore (he's 33), and at 5-foot-10, taller and stronger receivers can take advantage of him. What he lacks in size, though, he makes up for in experience. After all, who better knows routes than a receiver?

Safety Rodney Harrison says that Brown plays better defense than 80 percent of the nickel backs in the league. Brown proved it against the Colts, helping to keep Brandon Stokley -- a guy who had 68 catches for more than 1,000 yards and 10 TDs during the season -- in check during the Patriots' decisive win in the divisional round.

Brown won't see a tougher third-down receiver this weekend.

Freddie Mitchell

Freddie Mitchell had seven catches for 85 yards and a TD in two playoff games. Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Mitchell always has been a better talker than catcher. Now he's catching flak for his talk.

The Eagles' designated T.O. -- with Terrell Owens down, Mitchell took it upon himself to do the gum-flapping -- dissed New England's defensive backs last week, calling them a bunch of "no-names." He is, of course, right on that, for the most part. But Mitchell, with all of 22 catches this season, isn't exactly scaring the daylights out of opponents. No-named or not.

The problem with Mitchell is that he's never been a great route-runner. He's fast, he has good enough hands (grabbing a deflection for a TD against the Vikings in the divisional round) and he's worked himself into a good clutch-down receiver (18 of his catches went for first downs this season, and he was on the end of the famed fourth-and-26 back-breaker against Green Bay last January.)

But he's only 6-feet tall, and he weighs less than 200 pounds. Bigger, more physical cornerbacks can throw him off his game.

If Owens plays Sunday (and he says he will), Mitchell will not get a lot of chances against the Pats. If chances open up, there are a lot of Patriots who'd like to shut Mitchell down.