New England’s offensive line has the task of providing the protection that will be crucial to quarterback Tom Brady during Sunday’s Super Bowl.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — They’re big.

They’re hairy.

And they’re charged with protecting the league’s most valuable player.

The New England Patriots’ offensive linemen make up a unique group comprising a player who never played a down of college ball (Stephen Neal), another considered a bit undersized (Dan Koppen), one who spurned his country’s native sport (Nick Kaczur), one considered a reach at his draft position (Logan Mankins), and one who loves to be the prankster (Matt Light).

But working in the trenches, the most physical and inglorious job in football, they keep Tom Brady upright so he can throw to his cadre of receivers, and they open holes for Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk.

This year, they’ve been darned good at it.

“They’ve had an incredible season,” Brady said yesterday during New England’s media-access period at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, the team’s home for the week.

When the Pats played the Giants in the regular-season finale last month, they did so without Neal (shoulder) and Kaczur (foot), who were held out of the game to rest their injuries. In their stead, against New York’s fearsome pass rush, were Russ Hochstein and Ryan O’Callaghan.

Though he was pressured several times, Brady was sacked only once.

“You miss guys who have been starting for you all year,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “There is a difference. But I thought Ryan and Russ played pretty well in that game. They allowed us to do a lot in that game because we pass-protected pretty well and threw the ball well.”

But Neal and Kaczur will be back at their spots at right guard and tackle, respectively, against the Giants on Sunday, back with their hirsute brothers.

“They’ve been (mostly) healthy and together all season. That’s great for an offensive line because the communication they need … that offensive line is one group,” Brady said. “They’re coached that way, and they’re always together. It’s not like you coach the left tackle in one meeting room and the right guards in the other. They’re all in the same room together, and the more they understand how to communicate and work effectively together, the better they are.”

Kaczur, who grew up in hockey-mad Canada, agreed that continuity and familiarity on an offensive line is key.

Brady was sacked only 21 times in the regular season, a New England low for a 16-game season; he’s been brought down three times in the postseason, twice by the San Diego defense.

The quarterback, of course, loves those games when his uniform stays clean, and knows how important his linemen are to his health — and success.

“Football is a team sport, but there’s no glory in (playing) offensive line. It’s just a dirty job,” Brady said. “Someone’s got to do it, and I think we’ve got five guys that relish that opportunity. They don’t get the ball; they celebrate in the success of the team and the success of the offense. Whatever their job is that they’re called to do, they go out and do it as best they can.

“They take a lot of pride in making sure I don’t get hit.”

Chosen as the world’s best-dressed man during the season, Brady’s grooming habits are the antithesis of his linemen. The group — with the exception of O’Callaghan and Hochstein, who say they are incapable — has been growing beards for the entire season, with Mankins’ an unruly (and to his wife, especially, unattractive) mess that will be shaved come Monday.

But it was done in the spirit of solidarity — and what’s a little hair between friends?

“We like to do a lot of things, off the field as well, to get together with our families,” Kaczur said. “I think that’s a big part of being an offensive lineman. You have to be close as a group to play well. It’s not an individual type of position.”

One for all, and all for Brady.

smanza@projo.com