Patriots' Harrison has been on the money all season.(Rodney Harrison)

The $5 bill appears to have logged plenty of pocket miles and wallet time before landing in Rodney Harrison's locker, where it is tacked up for display as if it were the first ch-ching on the register at the safety's little shop of horrific hits. Harrison follows your eyes, as if you're an NFL quarterback staring at a receiver, and he intercepts your sight line with an answer before you can complete the question.

"Five is five," says the Patriots' strong safety and impact-maker on defense.

You see the red handwriting on the bill, but you still can't understand. "It's a coverage," he explains. "And after we blew it early in the season, (a Patriots coach) put this in my locker." That's one way to get the message across. Harrison sees it every day in his locker, but he is realizing how other ways of communicating are turning this New England defense into the best in team history.

"Even in 1998 when we had a great defense in San Diego, we didn't have the input that (defensive coordinator) Romeo Crennel allows us to have here," Harrison says. "We are screaming stuff out, and we're able to give our opinions. He is very open-minded. They're so open to whatever suggestions we have, and we're speaking out loudly. This is in a meeting or when we're going over film. It's tremendous. The communication is there, and that's what you need to be a pretty good defense."

These speak-their-mind Patriots do more than talk a good game on defense, finishing No. 1 in the NFL by allowing 14.9 points per game this season. At Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots will play in the AFC championship game Sunday against the Colts, New England has put the freeze on visiting offenses, shutting out three opponents and allowing 9.1 points per game, including Saturday's 17-14 playoff victory over the Titans. That ...