Soft hands, mean streak, unblockable, and Jimmy from Indiana likes him, too.

BRISTOL, Conn. -- When the San Diego Chargers steamrolled the New England Patriots earlier this month, putting up 41 points and 183 rushing yards in a surprise defeat of the Super Bowl champions, football fans demanded to know what went wrong with the Patriots' defense.

At ESPN, one key figure who helps answer that question is Gary Horton, former director of college scouting for the Cleveland Browns who now works for a Massachusetts company called Scouts Inc. Horton pored over game footage and came to the ominous, if not terribly shocking, conclusion that the Patriots' new inside linebackers were not getting the job done.

''The interior run defense right now is alarmingly bad, ranking in the bottom third of the NFL in rush defense," he wrote in an article on ESPN.com, the main theme of which was aired on Monday Night Countdown, NFL Live, and other television shows. ''Coach Bill Belichick has a strong philosophy that you build your defense up the middle and from the inside out. Well, when you are missing both inside linebackers -- Ted Johnson and Tedy Bruschi -- and strong safety Rodney Harrison, that theory is pretty much null and void."

Fueled by its contract with ESPN, Horton's company, Scouts Inc., has become a formidable behind-the-scenes force in football. The Andover firm, staffed by 18 former coaches and scouts, has compiled a massive database on players ranging from high school wannabes to professional stars. Their goal: create a 33d NFL personnel department -- one every bit as thorough as the internal scouts for the 32 teams, but one that operates independently. Scouts Inc. sells its data to about 17 NFL, Canadian Football League and arena football teams, which use it as a second opinion on their own research.

Some teams take the relationship even further. During the NFL Draft in April, Scouts Inc.'s college football specialist, Todd McShay, fielded phone calls from several teams asking him which players they should pick. One team called him every round, he said.

Separately, the staff helps ESPN with the nuts-and-bolts football analysis on its television shows. The Scouts Inc. database fuels ESPN's coverage of the draft. Staff members appear on ESPN Radio and write articles for ESPN.com.

''There are two levels of fans: There's the fan, and there's the fan who really understands and wants to know more," said David Geaslen, Scouts Inc.'s president. ''We try to bring him inside it. Our job is to give him the best information."

Their edge, they say, is that they started as football guys first -- not commentators or reporters.

Horton, Scouts Inc.'s NFL specialist, founded the company about 10 years ago in Scottsdale, Ariz. Scouts' work for ESPN started three years ago, which the sports station enlisted the company to help with its coverage of the football draft. Since then, ESPN has steadily expanded Scouts' role.

Horton lives in Bristol, Conn., during the fall to help with ESPN's football coverage. He studies film and tells ESPN's on-air talent his opinion, but said he does not tell anyone what to say on air.

''I say, 'This is what I saw. What do you think?' " Horton said. ''Maybe I can help a guy craft how to say it."

Most of the staff from Scouts Inc. stay behind the scenes. But a few appear on air for ESPN as well. Inside the ESPN Radio studio on a recent Saturday, the hosts of its College GameDay show picked apart the performance of Florida State's football team, despite its brisk 4-0 start.

''This is just not a team I see as a legitimate contender right now," the show's host, David Revsine, pronounced, saying that the team's running backs have not put up big numbers so far, and its quarterback is inexperienced.

McShay, the Scouts Inc. college specialist who doubles as a host on the show, explained the football theory behind the numbers: ''When you can't stretch teams out vertically, and you can't throw the ball consistently, opponents don't have to respect you as much," he said. ''Then they can load up and really focus on stopping the run. That has been part of the problem."

ESPN executives said their partnership with Scouts Inc. gives them an edge among hard-core fans, who want as much scouting data and analysis as they can get. Those fans pay up for the privilege of reading: In order to see most of Scouts' reports on ESPN, viewers must pay $39.95 a year to join its ''Insider" section. Scouts is one of the primary reasons football fans join, said Patrick Stiegman, executive editor of ESPN.com.

''Our users just eat it up," he said. ''They can't get enough of it."

In its reports, the scouts pick apart the performance of players with clinical detachment. Some of their evaluations come as little surprise: Scouts Inc. gave Patriots quarterback Tom Brady a grade of 97 out of 100, while praising his ability to read the field.

But the football specialists also do not hesitate to state when they think a player comes with some negatives. They rated Patriots' backup quarterback Doug Flutie a 66. ''He is still a smart and resourceful QB," the scouts wrote. ''However, his improvisation sometimes can be a negative as he can disrupt the flow of the offense."

The Scouts recommendations weigh on players, especially during contract negotiations. When they grade a player poorly, Scouts Inc. executives field pleading phone calls from agents, who try to talk them into raising their scores.

The Scouts have no official business office -- the company headquarters is technically a P.O. Box in Andover, where its top business executive lives. Its employees work out of their spare bedrooms and basements. Four are in Massachusetts; the rest are scattered. They declined to list their NFL clients, though Jon Gruden, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is quoted on ESPN.com praising them.

''I trust that when I read a Scouts Inc., report it is based on experience, proper film study, and factual research," Gruden said.

Not every NFL team wants to use the Scouts Inc. data, though. Patriots executives had dinner with some of the Scouts Inc. executives several years ago, but ultimately told them they would prefer to keep its scouting decisions in-house, Scouts Inc. executives said.

''We prefer to develop our own opinion," said Stacey James, the Patriots' spokesman.

Sasha Talcott can be reached at stalcott@globe.com.