NEW ORLEANS -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick would be the perfect fit for a best-selling espionage novel. The old intelligence operative has been called in for yet another secret operation.

David Patten came up with a big TD catch in the AFC title game.(AP)

Mission: Damn Near Impossible.

With the odds stacked against the defensive genius, he has hired a bunch of castoffs -- paid mercenaries who have stepped back into action for their old coach.

While most Super Bowl teams are lined with more star appeal than Ocean's 11, Belichick has brought in a cast of journeymen to help him with his mission. In fact, these castaways in the NFL sea make up the core of this team.

"We're the has-beens and some never-will-bes," said one such player, Mike Vrabel, of Belichick's hired help. "He brings in guys who he likes, guys he looks for to fit his plan in his system. Some people can calls us castoffs, but I like to think of us as guys who Bill likes for what he does. That's good enough for me."

The coy coach has counted on players no other teams gave so much of a sniff at before the season. Check out the names of some of his motley crew:

RB Antowain Smith: Cut by the Bills after last season and signed to play for Belichick for a meager $500,000 salary. Smith responded by becoming the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since Robert Edwards in 1998, with 1,157 yards and 12 touchdowns.

WR David Patten: Cut by the receiver-depleted Giants a couple of years ago then bounced to Cleveland before signing with the Pats when nobody else wanted the speedster. His value? In the divisional playoff victory over Oakland, he hauled in eight passes for 107 yards after the first half. On Oct. 21 at Indianapolis, he became the first player since Walter Payton in 1979 to pass, rush and catch a pass for touchdowns in the same game.

DE Bobby Hamilton: One of six Jets to bolt New York to re-join Belichick in New England and responded with a team-high seven sacks this year.

DE Anthony Pleasant: Bargain-basement signee who had six sacks this year. Big-time motor guy.

LB Mike Vrabel: Never started a game in the previous four years in Pittsburgh but has been a rock at the SAM backer slot. Signed a three-year, $5.3 million deal last March.

LB Roman Phifer: Has reached his first postseason after 11 years -- the longest drought of any active player in the NFL. Phifer was cut last February by the Jets because of his salary and was immediately scooped up by Belichick. He has started every game and ranked second on the team in tackles with 92.

CB Otis Smith: Patriots' oldest starter at 36 led the team in picks with six and scored a pair of TDs. Every year for past the five has seemed like it would Smith's last, but Belichick continues to get him to produce big at crucial times.

Belichick finished his roundup by sprinkling in guys like starting fullback Marc Edwards, guards Mike Compton and Joe Andruzzi, tight end Jermaine Wiggins and nickel back Terrell Buckley.

All have played a huge role in the Patriots' unlikely story.

"It seems like he's getting the old rat pack together," said Phifer, who has been one of the Patriots' most underrated players. "Everyone has some pride, and when you tell a guy he's no good or washed up, I think the strong character guys are going to do something about it. That's what happened when we came in here. We decided when we got here to put our mindset into saying that we can still play. We can still contribute to a team. That helped us stick together, and we've put together an aggressive hungry team. Plus, most of us played together in the past, so we're familiar with each other."

While some teams have brought in players with tremendous star appeal, Belichick finds those kicked to the curb. He picks them up, helps them lick their wounds and then oh-so-quaintly keeps reminding them how little the rest of the league felt about them.

"As a player, you're going to handle yourself if you have a point to prove," said linebackers coach Pepper Johnson, a former castoff who was brought to the Jets by Bill Parcells and Belichick for the same reason a few years ago.

"The other guys in that defensive meeting room, when guys learned some of these vets' stories, they realized they need to take a few extra steps for them. You have guys now playing for each other, locking elbows and working with each other more than ever.

"All those guys are hungry. They know they are getting what might be their last opportunity, because teams weren't exactly knocking down their door to get those guys. "

The brilliance of it is the way Belichick has employed each of these castoffs to fit a certain need. While the Rams come out swinging with stars like Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner and wideouts Tory Holt and Isaac Bruce, New England counters with players many people outside of their home city have never heard of. But each man comes with a different weapon the spymaster Belichick can utilize within each game plan.

"The biggest thing is that Belichick brought in guys who are familiar with him. Guys who have played under him already," said linebacker Bryan Cox, the leader of the castaway crew. "He knew what he was looking for and what he was getting when he brought those guys in. He knew what he was getting in Anthony Pleasant, guys like Roman Phifer, guys like myself. He knows what he can count on with each guy. He knows what each one of us will bring to the table. He doesn't have to get someone and say, 'Oh, what does he do well? How can I use him?' He knows what we're going to give him."

Familiarity breeds success.

"One thing that I remember Belichick telling me when I was in Cleveland, they picked up a lot of names via free agency and those names walked in with a lot of different attitudes," said Johnson.

"They were guys who Coach Belichick really couldn't control because they had certain things that were imbedded in them that he didn't like. Their work ethic wasn't what he wanted, so he tried to erase that slate. He came back in 1994 and grabbed some guys whose work ethic was at a high level to make it work for him. They weren't the big names and high-market guys at the time but were the guys who came in and worked under his will. We had some success in that '94 season, and that probably taught him more than anything else."

In addition to hiring a variety of talents for Belichick's use, the other crucial trait he has looked to instill with his merry band of mercenaries was leadership. Most of the players he sought out bring a certain football maturity invaluable in today's NFL.

"He did a good job of bringing in veteran guys," said defensive end Willie McGinest, one of the remaining members of Belichick's and Al Groh's 1996 Super Bowl defense. "There are very few younger guys, and most of the guys he brought in have helped us tremendously. The guys he bought in are major contributors to this team and definitely helped us get to this point where we are now."

Belichick might get more out of his group than any coach in the NFL. He garners an appreciation shown by these football orphans for giving them a home.

"This might be their last go-around, so they will lead by example and by force," said Johnson. "Those guys are going to set examples for the younger guys, and that spreads throughout the rest of the team, especially the younger guys."

"We've got some guys on this football team who are good football players whether other people see it or not," said Vrabel. "You can look at us as castoffs, but I look at it as, 'Hey, Bill Belichick thinks enough of me, enough of Anthony Pleasant, enough of Roman Phifer, enough of David Patten and enough of all these guys to bring them in and make it work."

Even if it doesn't work enough to bring home the Lombardi Trophy, Belichick's hired mercenaries have already gone above and beyond the call of duty. Now all they need to do is somehow complete their toughest mission yet.