Jets' Holmes at home in big games

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Santonio Holmes has a Super Bowl ring he showed around the Jets' locker room a couple of times early this season. But right now, it's locked away along with the memory of the game-winning touchdown catch he made two years ago for Pittsburgh to win MVP honors.

Rather than tell stories to his Jets teammates of what it took to win the Super Bowl, Holmes is focused on the here and now, preparing to face New England in Sunday's divisional playoff matchup. "I can't live off what I did in the past," Holmes said Thursday. "I have to make the big plays that are capable to be made right here and capitalize on the opportunities I get."

In a sense, that is the lesson Holmes learned with the Steelers, and the best way to impart it is to lead by his example. He's not into the trash-talking that has gone on this week as the Jets seek a measure of revenge for the 45-3 humiliation they suffered on their last visit to Foxborough five weeks ago.

"I don't care about that," Holmes said of the name-calling. "I get out here to play football. They signed me here to win ball games. I'll probably have more to say after the game."

Make no mistake. A game like this is exactly why the Jets traded for Holmes, and he takes pride in his big-play role. "No question," Holmes said. "I would look any one of my teammates in the eye and let them know that it's 'Tone' time. It's time to play football now. Time to get the job done."

For Holmes, it's not about proving anything to the Patriots. It's just about winning. "If we play a mentally and physically sound game and don't shoot ourselves in the foot like we did in the last game," he said, "I think the outcome would be a lot different."

The formula for beating the 14-2 Patriots is no secret. Even in a 42-point loss the Jets rushed for 152 yards. This time, they must control the ball to keep Pats quarterback Tom Brady on the sideline and finish drives with points.

New England's defense is not dominant. Rookie cornerback Devin McCourty has a league-high seven interceptions, but Holmes figures he has benefited from favorable circumstances.

"Their secondary has not given up many plays over 40 yards," Holmes said. "When they get a lead in the game, they're going to that soft cover-2 and keep everything in front of them. They've been able to make big plays that way because teams try to get greedy."

As soon as Holmes joined the Jets, he went straight to work developing a relationship with second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez. It began to pay off at midseason when Holmes made key plays late in overtime wins at Detroit and Cleveland and drew a penalty that set up a last-second win at Denver.

With 45 seconds left in the Jets' wild-card playoff game last week at Indianapolis, and needing a field goal to win, Sanchez threw two passes to Braylon Edwards and one to Holmes to position Nick Folk's game-winning kick.

"I think building that relationship on and off the field has helped us grow as a team," Holmes said of Sanchez. "He's able to relax in the pocket. He knows he has two big playmakers. We have to be guys that are capable of stepping up at the right time and making big plays."