FOXBORO — A bit of panic swept across New England when then-starting left guard Damien Woody suffered a partially torn right MCL in the AFC divisional playoff game against the Tennessee Titans in January of 2004.
Any injury that happens after the new year can have that effect. But Woody’s replacement, Russ Hochstein, felt the opposite. There were nerves, sure, but he felt excited and, most of all, prepared, to help the Patriots win two more games and earn the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship, which is exactly what they did without allowing a single sack that postseason.