Despite the lack of pedigree, New England's offensive line has been a model of consistency during the team's 17-game winning streak.

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, September 24, 2004

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- Explanations for the New England Patriots' success on offense usually revolve around the players whose hands hit the football.

The quarterback, Tom Brady, gets credit for his accuracy, decision-making, toughness and poise. The receivers -- Troy Brown, David Givens, Deion Branch, David Patten and Daniel Graham primarily -- are lauded for their ability to get open and haul in Brady's throws. Corey Dillon gets credit for being the powerful and shifty running back that he is, and Kevin Faulk is recognized for his knack of making big plays at crucial moments.

Often underrated is the work of the Patriots' offensive line. It's been that way for the Big Uglies probably since the game began. Nobody knows who blocked for Jim Thorpe or Red Grange. There's little discussion about the guys who kept Dan Marino upright all those years.

Here in New England, though, the lack of respect might be even more pronounced because there's a distinct lack of pedigree among the team's linemen.

The right side of the line -- guard Joe Andruzzi and tackle Tom Ashworth -- went undrafted out of college. Center Dan Koppen was a fifth-round pick, as was left guard Russ Hochstein. Left tackle Matt Light, a second-round pick, qualifies as a blue-chip prospect in this group. Meanwhile, another second-round pick, Adrian Klemm, and a kid who never even played college football -- Stephen Neal -- are rotating in and out at guard and tackle on both sides.

Yet last season, on 695 attempts, Brady went down just 32 times. For those who like stats, that's 4.6 percent of the time. There have been 4 sacks on 70 attempts this season -- not quite as impressive as 2003, but not embarrassing, by any stretch.

So where's the love?

Two things are at work here. First, because so many of these guys came into the league as uncelebrated players, it's a hard label to shake. They're not good, the thinking seems to go, just competent. Meanwhile, the shuffling lineman experiment does give the impression that these linemen are fairly replaceable. You start to get the vibe that some outfit could run a Patriots Lineman for a Day contest and, even if the lucky winner couldn't throw a block on a hard-charging squirrel, Brady would still throw for first downs on third-and-11 and Dillon would still crease holes and break tackles.

"I think the offensive line has been underrated for quite some time," Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said yesterday. "Between Dante (Scarnecchia, the team's offensive line coach), Jeff (Davidson, coaching tight ends) and Ivan (Fears, coaching running backs), those guys who are involved in blocking and protection often go unnoticed. You only notice them when something bad is happening, not when something good is happening."

And, on a team that's won 17 straight games, there's usually more good than bad transpiring on any given Sunday (or Thursday, Monday or Saturday).

Weis can have the greatest schemes for moving the football ever hatched, but if the Patriots' offensive line doesn't open holes or give Brady time, none will work.

How often in the last few seasons have Patriots receivers been running virtually alone across the middle of the field? A lot. In order to get so open, though, a play has to develop past three or four seconds so that coverage loosens or breaks down. And that's where the offensive line needs to be credited.

"A lot of times the offensive line gets hung out to dry because the quarterback gets sacked and people say, 'The offensive line gave up a bunch of sacks.' Well, if nobody's open and the quarterback holds the ball . . . and it still goes back to the offensive line," Weis added.

When it comes to moving the ball through the air, the Patriots have players who complement each other extremely well. And there is unity among the linemen, backs, tight ends, receivers and Brady. Dillon has shown himself to be an excellent blocker in blitz pickup, for instance. Graham is a powerful blocker at tight end. Brady does know how to move in the pocket, and his added strength makes it harder to tackle him.

In other words, getting the quarterback to the point of releasing a pass doesn't simply fall to the linemen. Even so, they are the main catalysts.

So why, Weis was asked, weren't these capable players drafted earlier?

"(When drafting players), the first thing is ability," Weis explained. "Sometimes the guys drafted at the top of the round from the offensive line are the height, weight, speed guys. The guys with the measurements. The stud athletes. But now (the question) comes, 'How do they play and how do they play with the other four guys?' With any offensive line, chemistry has a lot to do with your success and failure."

And since there's been a lot more of the former than the latter in Foxboro, there's little question that -- underrated though they are -- the Patriots' Big Uglies are also indispensable.