Another fine mess: practice makes perfect? Pffft. New England overcame bad practice conditions, bad practices and a bad start.

For two weeks, Patriots coaches stressed the importance of pass rushers containing Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. They knew too well what might happen if one of their defenders lost containment on the edge or jumped to try to block a pass. During a preseason game between the teams last August, McNabb pulled the ball in and took off for a nice gain.

Still, in Friday's practice the temptation to leap was too great for linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. Scout team quarterback Rohan Davey, imitating McNabb, baited Colvin off his feet, and practice erupted with teammates giving it to Colvin. Coach Bill Belichick added his two cents: "Don't worry, that won't be on SportsCenter."

As the AFC pool reporter for the Pro Football Writers of America, I was the lone representative from the print media allowed to watch the Patriots prepare each day. After that practice, Belichick still was disgusted. "You can't play this guy up in the air," he said. "You have to have your feet on the ground. Try to block a pass? They haven't blocked any all year on him."

Belichick and his defensive coaches took no chances with their Super Bowl game plan, building it first around McNabb's feet. "He's so explosive," Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest said, "we put in a totally new defense just to stop the guy."

The Patriots veered from their usual 3-4/4-3 hybrid front and played a four-man front that used five linebackers. McGinest, Colvin and Mike Vrabel essentially were defensive ends for a day. They called it their Cali-front.

Additionally, the Patriots blitzed as much as they had all year, according to Belichick. "We didn't want McNabb to run around," he said. "We were trying not to create a lot of space."

McNabb didn't run much; he was sacked four times and didn't rush for a single yard. He was able to pass for 357 yards, in part because the Patriots' game plan also took a radical turn in regard to coverage. Instead of relying on the zone defenses that got them to the Super Bowl, the Patriots threw inexperienced cornerbacks Randall Gay, Asante Samuel and Troy Brown into the fire by playing them in man-to-man coverage about 98 percent of the time, according to Gay.