Patriots Notebook: Neal always just a block away

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Stephen Neal harbors no illusions about his job description -- or the lack of glamour involved.

"I'm not good at catching touchdowns," Neal said, "so I'm going to try to block."

So far this season, the Patriots' right guard has done that as well as anyone in the NFL.

According to the Web site ProFootballFocus.com, Neal actually has been the Patriots' best offensive player so far this season. The site's analysts rank Neal as the second-best offensive guard in the NFL through eight weeks -- and he's the only guard with relatively high marks both in pass-blocking and in run-blocking situations.

ProFootballFocus.com awards players points for their performance on any given play -- and Neal's 17 total points so far this season have him slightly behind New Orleans' Jahri Evans but ahead of every other guard in the NFL.

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Neal statistically has been the standout on an offensive line that might be the best the Patriots have had since Tom Brady took over as quarterback. Brady has seen his sack totals gradually decline in each of the season's he's been a starter: He was sacked 41 times in 2001, his first season as a starter, and he was sacked just 21 times in the magical season of 2007.

So far this season, however, Brady has been sacked just eight times in seven games. If he keeps up that pace, he'll absorb a career-low 18 sacks this season.

The frenzied worry about Brady's knee -- and his shoulder after a hard hit in the team's third preseason game -- seems to have disappeared entirely. The Patriots' offensive line has taken care of that.

"I don't think I've been hit a whole lot this year," Brady said. "It's just been one of those seasons where there haven't been many sacks."

He might just be hit a few times in the next couple of weeks: The Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts, the Patriots' next two opponents, rank sixth and fifth, respectively, in the NFL in sacks.

But with the way Neal has been playing, it might not matter. The former college wrestler, who missed the first half of last season, has been as healthy -- and as productive -- as he's ever been in his nine seasons in New England.

"I'm going to have to knock on some wood now," Neal said, chuckling, when a reporter suggested he'd hit a hot streak. "I'm just trying to get out there and practice as hard as I can and go out there and play as hard as I can. Whatever happens, happens. I can't control it."

One thing Neal has controlled, though, is the line of scrimmage. Handed one-on-one blocking duty against defensive tackles as often as any player on the Patriots' line, he has more than held his own -- especially when asked to drive defenders off the line of scrimmage in running situations.

He'll have his hands full this week against Dolphins nose tackle Jason Ferguson, a run-stuffing monster in the middle of the defensive line. Ferguson was limited in practice on Wednesday with an elbow injury a week after the Dolphins listed him on their injury report with a foot injury.

"Ferguson's a good solid football player all the way around," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "He doesn't have a lot of weaknesses and for a big guy he moves well. He's very athletic. He's got good balance and he's explosive. He hardly ever gets knocked off the ball."

Neal's specialty, though, is knocking opponents off the ball. According to one group of analysts, anyway, he's been about as good at that as it gets. "Our job is to block for the running game and to not get the quarterback massacred back there," he said. "If we're not doing our job, we're going to hear about it from (the media) -- and from everybody. We've just got to go out there and try to do our jobs the best we can."

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Brian MacPherson covers the Patriots for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News.