Carroll Hopes He and Kraft Are on the Same Page

While New England Patriot Coach Pete Carroll could plead extenuating circumstances for Sunday’s wild-card playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars because he was without starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe, that may not be enough to save him his job, which has been rumored to be on the line.

But after the game, he was putting up a brave front.

“We’re coming back to put together a football team that can win championships,” he said. “We know we have the ingredients to do that if we can keep everybody together.”

A public plea to owner Bob Kraft?

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Mike Hollis’ final field goal of the game, his 12th in a row in the postseason, had holder Bryan Barker still shaking his head afterward.

That was because Barker figured there was no way Hollis could kick the ball.

Getting set for a 21-yard attempt in the closing minutes of the game, Barker found himself awkwardly handling a bad snap from center.

“The ball was not in the right place,” Barker said. “It came in at a weird angle. I figured he [Hollis] was going to run right by it. I was going to pick the ball up and run with it.”

That was what Barker tried to do with the ball lying flat on the ground. But before he could do so, Hollis kicked it right out from under his hand and cleanly through the uprights.

“It was unbelievable,” Barker said. “But hey, it’s three points.”

Hollis, however, was more modest.

“A strong point for me,” he said, “has always been being able to focus on that kind of situation. I’ve been good at handling bad snaps.”

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The Jaguars were hesitant to criticize Patriot quarterback Scott Zolak, who filled in for the injured Bledsoe.

But Jacksonville defensive tackle John Jurkovic wasn’t about to deny the obvious.

“Sure it was different,” Jurkovic said. “Bledsoe is a veteran with playoff experience. He’s been to the Pro Bowl. I would have been naive not to think it would be different.”

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Taylor’s 162 rushing yards was the third-highest total by a rookie in a postseason game, exceeded only by Timmy Smith of the Washington Redskins (204 yards against the Denver Broncos in the 1988 Super Bowl) and Paul Lowe of the then-Los Angeles Chargers (165 yards against the Houston Oilers in 1961).