Brownie points are well earned

Troy Brown played, didn't he?

A lot of things get oversimplified in sports, but some things are just truer than true, and one of those things is this: The Patriots' offense goes up a notch or two when Troy Brown is in the lineup.

The irreplaceable wide receiver and punt returner had last played against Denver on Nov. 3, and not very much. He had sustained an injury in the previous Friday's practice and was very limited in what he could accomplish in that victory over the Broncos. The truth is that Brown didn't catch any passes that night, and in order for that to happen, either the Patriots have to forget he's in the game or he's almost at the point where he needs the last rites. And since the former could never happen, we'll operate on the latter assumption. We can operate on any assumption we'd care to, since exactly what had kept him out of the last four games (and don't forget to factor in the bye week) is the subject of conjecture.

For the record, Bill Belichick has referred to it as a "leg injury."

Most people assume it is a pulled right hamstring, but following yesterday's 27-13 conquest of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mr. Brown was classically evasive, as only a Belichick-trained player can be.

"So, may we assume it was a hamstring?" Brown was asked.

"My whole right side," he said, smiling. "A whole leg injury."

Whatever the nature of his ailment(s), he had recovered sufficiently to make four catches, including one for a touchdown (season No. 3 and career No. 23) and a pair of first downs, one of which was, typically, the biggest play in a drive that culminated in a 22-yard second-quarter Adam Vinatieri field goal.

That would be his first catch, a 23-yard reception on a third and 20 at the Jacksonville 45. The score was 7-3, Patriots, so it wasn't exactly garbage time. "I was excited to get that first catch," Brown admitted. "It seemed like forever since I had caught a ball. It was important to know you could still catch a ball and take a hit. It gave me a lot of confidence. You just don't know what it's going to be like until you do it."

But that was only a little buzz compared with the exhilaration he experienced when he caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Tom Brady, a play that so excited the quarterback he raced down the field to yell "Welcome back!" at his favorite receiver. It was third and 8 at the Jacksonville 10 when Brown made his move to the left corner of the end zone and Brady found him for a score that made it 20-6 a little more than four minutes into the quarter.

"Tom made a good read," Brown explained. "I gave it a good stick at the top of the route and made it to the top of the corner."

It being his first game back and all, the veteran wasn't sure how many plays he'd be participating in. But one thing's for sure, he never dreamed it would be as many as it was. That's because he was only one of four wide receivers dressed by Belichick (Bethel Johnson was an interesting scratch), and that number shrank to three when Deion Branch sustained an arm/hand (Hey, these are the Patriots, you expecting full disclosure?) injury in the first quarter and was lost for the game. Ready or not, Brown was going the route in this one.

"So much for easing back in," he shrugged.

Though he may have had fresh legs and a somewhat unbattered body after not playing for six weeks, there was a predictable downside. "I wanted to be fresh at the end of the game, too," he reminded. "I didn't feel I was in the game condition I should be. But overall it was a pretty good day for me, with Deion going down and all. I didn't expect to be out there for that many plays."

Neither, we can be sure, did Brady, who would like to be identified as a paid-up member of the Troy Brown Fan Club. Brady's predecessor once declared that he would throw to Troy Brown "any time," and that confidence has been passed on to the current Patriots QB. The way Brady sees it, every play he calls that includes Brown on the field is a good play, indeed.

"Having Troy out there, he is my go-to guy," said Brady. "I mean, he has been for the last two years. I love having him out there. He is just so dependable. He runs great routes, [has] great hands, [has] great awareness. He is just an awesome player."

As you might expect, these past six weeks have not been easy ones for Brown, who has been reduced to the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer role, watching his buddies have all the fun while he's been standing on the sideline. Making it worse was the fact that his condition was a constant medical tease. He's been close to returning, but at no point in the past three weeks or so was there a consensus among the medical staff, Belichick, and, of course, the man in charge of Troy Brown's body as to the exact state of his readiness to participate in something as strenuous and dangerous as an NFL game. The flip side is that the play of his fellow receivers was making it easier to bear. Watching your friends lose is a lot more excruciating than watching them win.

It's been all very nice that the Patriots have continued to win games based on defense, special teams, defense, defense, defense, an occasionally opportunistic offense, and, yes, defense, but a little more offense would be welcome, and since the Patriots won't be picking up any new players, the only man available who can make the Patriots into a better offensive team is No. 80.

Brady isn't the only one who should have been welcoming back Brown. That cry should have been heard throughout Gillette Stadium, and in every living room and sports bar in New England. A team that's been pretty good for the last 10 weeks has just gotten a whole lot better.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is ryan@globe.com.