Tiger Weekly - Serving Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Tiger quietly leads Pats to Super Bowl

By Chris McDonald

As the New England Patriots head into the fourth Super Bowl in the past seven seasons, a team veteran has quietly helped his team both on the field and off. No, he’s not Tom Brady or Junior Seau or even Randy Moss. He is former LSU Tiger Kevin Faulk.

The Carencro alum attended LSU in 1995 and instantly became LSU’s starting running back, rushing for 4,557 yards in 41 games. In 1999, Faulk was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the NFL Draft and finished his rookie season with 1,358 all-purpose yards in only 11 games.

Ever since then, Faulk has continuously been a locker room leader for the Patriots as he has developed in his role as New England’s third down back. But this season, Faulk has become a big part of New England’s success as they finished the season going undefeated.

“With Coach Belichick, it’s never a sense of accomplishment,” said Faulk. “It’s always what’s next, you know. Let’s watch film and see what we need to do to get better.”

In the 2007 season, Faulk rushed for 265 yards, with 383 receiving yards and a touchdown. But Faulk’s best game this year came just two weeks ago in the AFC Championship Game against the San Diego Chargers. Faulk was the Patriots’ leading receiver with eight catches for 82 yards as he became Tom Brady’s safety blanket, converting almost every catch for a first down.

“The confidence [Tom] Brady has in me,” Faulk said. “He knows I’ll be in the right spot at the right time, and that is how I help my team.”

But Faulk said that even an undefeated season won’t mean much to the team if they don’t win the Super Bowl this weekend.

“When we set out this season, our goal was to win the Super Bowl, and if we don’t win it, it won’t be a successful season,” said Faulk.

And Faulk said that being a leader for his team has been a role he has revelled in. He said that the leaders on the team knew to not look ahead and just take each game one by one.

“Whenever we were down in a game this season, the leaders would step up and try to calm down the younger guys, and say ‘Look we’ve got to put our best effort forth if we want to win,’” Faulk said.

Faulk said that Coach Belichick and the coaching staff have been a big reason for the Patriots’ success this season. He said that the coaches know when to have fun and when to get serious. He said that because of that, the team has become much like a family.

“After last week, Coach Belichick said to take a little time off and come back ready to work because he wanted to put the pedal to the metal in practice,” Faulk said.

Faulk said to stay successful in the NFL, a player has to have faith in his teammates and know that they will do their part to help the team win.

“My best advice is to just trust the guy on the side of you and know that he’ll do what he’s supposed to do and you’ll be alright,” Faulk said.

The Patriots will take on the New York Giants this Sunday in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz. at 5:20 p.m. But Faulk said he cannot help out anyone with tickets.

“Since the beginning of the season, I’ve had about thirty people a week asking me for Super Bowl tickets,” Faulk joked. “I just don’t have that kind of pull.”

Originally Published: January 30, 2008

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