The kick returner is looking to become a complete back.

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – Don’t be surprised to see 5-foot-8 Kevin Faulk knock blitzing linebackers to the ground.

Primarily a receiver and kick returner in his four seasons with New England, he’s impressed Patriots coach Bill Belichick with his willingness and ability to be a complete back.

“We do blitz pickup drills. He’s the first one in there,” Belichick said. “We all know that’s not his primary role on the team, but at times he’s going to be called on to do it.”

That’s fine with Faulk, who had been used primarily as a third-down back in passing situations.

“I see myself as helping the team in any kind of way I can,” he said. “If it’s kick returning, punt returning, running the ball, catching the ball – it really doesn’t matter, just as long as I can help my team win games.”

He didn’t do that last Oct. 13 in a 28-10 loss to Green Bay.

Late in the second quarter, he dropped Tom Brady’s backward pass and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila recovered it on the Patriots’ 8. On the next play, Brett Favre threw a touchdown pass for a 14-3 lead.

“It was a bonehead play by me,” Faulk, who didn’t go after the loose ball, said after the game.

He immediately faced up to his error and didn’t dwell on it.

“I’m not one to run away from mistakes that I’ve made. You’ve got to be a man about it,” he said after practice this week.

And it led to some positive results.

“I think (it did) not just for me, I think for the whole team,” he said. “We really paid attention to detail” after that.

Since the Patriots drafted him in 1999 in the second round out of Louisiana State, Faulk has caught 130 passes for 1,131 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s also returned 136 kickoffs, two for touchdowns, and 28 punts.

But he’s carried the ball only 324 times for 1,237 yards and eight touchdowns.

“As a competitor, you want the ball more. You want to help your team,” he said.

He and starter Antowain Smith are the only two healthy running backs in training camp. Antwoine Womack is still not at full strength after knee surgery that sidelined him all last year, J.R. Redmond has bruised ribs and Mike Cloud had calf surgery on Wednesday.

So Faulk should get extra plays in practice.

“We hope that Kevin can be as productive as he was last year or maybe more so in other areas, like in the running game,” Belichick said. “He’s getting an opportunity to show that.”

Faulk said he hasn’t been told directly that the team expects him to play a bigger role, but he doesn’t need to be reminded.

“In being a veteran player, you basically know what you need to work on,” he said.

Although he’s drawn praise from Belichick, Faulk knows his fortunes can change from play to play. That happened against Green Bay, but it was hardly the lowest moment of his career.

“There’s many more and probably many more to come,” he said.

If he continues to play the way he has, there will probably be many more pleasant moments as well.

“I really have a lot of respect for Kevin because in (my) three years here he has had some ups and downs. Kevin has worked hard,” Belichick said. “I think he’s one of the most respected players on the team.”

AP-ES-07-31-03 1904EDT