Cleancut linemen respond well to last loss

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) _ The Patriots' offensive linemen shaved their long, bushy beards. They stopped talking with reporters. <br/><br/>And in their next game their play improved. <br/><br/>After

Wednesday, January 17th 2007, 6:29 am

By: News On 6

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) _ The Patriots' offensive linemen shaved their long, bushy beards. They stopped talking with reporters.

And in their next game their play improved.

After allowing five sacks in a 21-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins, they cleaned up, clammed up and began protecting Tom Brady better. He's been sacked just seven times in the five games since then, and New England has won every one of them.

Up next for Brady's blockers is the AFC championship game Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, who have suddenly found their pass rush after finishing the regular season with 25 sacks, the second fewest in the NFL.

The Colts sacked Trent Green of Kansas City four times and Steve McNair of Baltimore twice and are tied with the Patriots for most sacks among playoff teams with six.

``It's tougher every week,'' New England coach Bill Belichick said. ``They're playing great defense.''

The Patriots blocked well last Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, who led the NFL with 61 sacks, nearly four per game. They held San Diego to just two, one apiece by NFL sacks leader Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips. The five offensive linemen got help from Daniel Graham, an outstanding blocking tight end.

``They've done a good job all year. Dan and the backs and the line, they did a good job,'' Belichick said. The Chargers are a ``good pass rushing team, but I thought they stood up to them and it wasn't perfect, but they blocked them pretty good.''

Colts end Dwight Freeney, who led the NFL with 16 sacks in 2004, had just 5 1/2 this regular season before getting two of the four against Green.

It will be up to the Patriots' line of tackles Matt Light and Nick Kaczur, guards Logan Mankins and Stephen Neal and center Dan Koppen to keep Brady upright and healthy. They've started the last nine games, including the playoffs against the New York Jets and San Diego.

``They've certainly had a great year,'' Brady said. ``I think a big part of that has been there's continuity there. For the second half of the year, most of the guys have been in there each week.

``There is a chemistry that develops. They are very good players and they are smart and they are very well-coached. That leads to success.''

So what happened on Dec. 10 in Miami against defensive end Jason Taylor and the rest of Miami's quarterback chasers?

The same five linemen started, but Brady was sacked four times, fumbled twice and threw for just 78 yards. Even backup Matt Cassel was sacked once on the four passing plays he ran.

``This team has to listen more to what the coach says,'' Brady said three days later in a rare moment of criticism toward his teammates. ``If we listen more and we did more of what our coaches told us to do, I think we'd be a lot better off. But at times I think we figure we can do it our way, and we show that there is quite a bit of inconsistency to that. We just have to keep trying to pound away.''

Not only did they listen, they also lost their whiskers and put themselves off limits to reporters. The result was only four sacks in the last three regular-season games.

``That Miami game was tough for everybody. I don't think anybody played that well,'' Brady said. ``That was a gut check day for all of us, the last time we played really poorly. Miami did that to a bunch of teams this year you know, Jason Taylor, those days, I'm trying to forget those days.''

He certainly doesn't need any reminders Sunday against an Indianapolis defense that didn't sack him at all on Nov. 5, even though the Colts won 27-20. The Patriots had a chance until Brady had a different sort of trouble. He threw an interception to Cato June _ his fourth of the game _ that gave the Colts the ball at their 35-yard line with 1:18 left.

``We didn't do very well against them the last time we played them,'' Belichick said. ``Hopefully, we'll do better.''