Leading role reserved for Brown

FOXBOROUGH -- It's not as if Troy Brown is a gray-haired grandpa -- he's a couple of weeks from his 35th birthday. But the first time Brown made a catch in an NFL game, Patriots rookie Chad Jackson was 8 years old.

Yet there Brown was yesterday, at the end of the afternoon session of minicamp, doing what he does very well -- catching the football.

This time he leaped to snare a Tom Brady toss with one hand after beating Hank Poteat in the end zone on a corner route. The wondrous catch on the final play of a red zone drill brought whoops and hollers from teammates, and a celebratory pat on the helmet from Brady, who ran downfield to congratulate his familiar target.

Coach Bill Belichick says a player can't earn a spot on the team (and unless his performance is horrible, lose one) at this minicamp. But mark it down: Brown is ahead of all the receivers.

If that sounds too much like Brown actually has to make the team, that's OK with him. That's his approach every offseason.

``I feel like I'm going to make it every year, but I don't come into camp thinking I have a job every year. That's when you get into trouble, when you're thinking you've got it made," Brown said. ``That's what keeps me driving and pushing hard.

``If I see somebody run some extra sprints, I have to go run some, too. If he runs five, I have to run six. It's that competitive nature that keeps pushing you."

You can search for the lost step all you like, but all his teammates see is that Troy Brown is back. Again. Sweatin' like an oldie, maybe, but enthusiastic like a rookie. And beating the youngsters, time after time.

``You have to admire a guy like Troy Brown, to come out here day in and day out for as long as he has," cornerback Ellis Hobbs said. ``This is my second year, and it's already getting long. I appreciate every day out here, but I'm only human.

``To see him come out here, day in and day out, and go through the things he's gone through, whatever the situations were personally and businesswise, he just stays focused and comes out here and does his job. He's a real good example of how to be a professional at this game.

``He's a leader by example and that's the best leader that you can have."

Brown looks around the locker room and not a single player is here when he was drafted in the eighth round (198th overall) out of Marshall in 1993.

That was back in the ``old days," as Brown describes them, when there were just 28 teams in the league (compared to 32 today).

Brown even jokes that he has to get to know his teammates fairly quickly these days, because in the age of free agency, players come and go so quickly.

Oddly, with the minicamp holdout of Deion Branch, the free agent departures of David Givens, Andre' Davis, and Tim Dwight, and the trade of Bethel Johnson, Brown is the lone receiver in camp who was on the active roster last season. (Bam Childress spent the year on the practice squad before being activated for the meaningless season finale.)

Brown is one of the few receivers from his draft class to play until the turn of the century and the only one of the 29 taken that year still in the league. The top three wideouts -- Curtis Conway, Sean Dawkins, and O.J. McDuffie -- and other notable receivers from that draft -- Glyn Milburn, Kevin Williams, and Qadry Ismail -- are out of the league.

Brown keeps returning and proving himself, year after year.

``There are a lot of things to like about Troy," Belichick said. ``Troy has been a very consistent player for us, and a very versatile one. We've asked him to do a lot of things and he's done a good job at those things. He's smart. He works hard. He's in good condition. He's unselfish.

``Every player has to reestablish himself, his performance, [and] his role each year. So there's nothing that's really any different for him, or for anybody else this year or last year. It does matter, but in another way it doesn't really matter what happened last year. It really doesn't."

For Brown, what happened last year could matter some, as he believes he is in better shape at this point, because he has known for a while that he would return to the Patriots. Last year, he spent much of the offseason contemplating signing with another team or perhaps retiring.

``I had two days to get ready for this camp last year, with everything up in the air," Brown said. ``Hopefully, those extra two months will make a difference."

The uncertainty didn't stop him from hauling in 39 passes last season (for 466 yards), more than twice his total from 2004, when he spent so much time playing defense in a depleted secondary.

He was called on to take a few snaps on defense last season as well, and says if he is asked to do so again, he'll run onto the field with enthusiasm.

``If you make the team, you're a part of the team and you have to do what you're asked to do," Brown said.

For Belichick, that attitude is part of what makes Brown special.

``Troy is very competitive," Belichick said. ``He stays on top of things. He makes very few mistakes. Football is really important to him, and when he makes a mistake, he takes it hard and works hard to correct it. I think we all have a lot of respect for that.

``He's been asked to do a lot of different things, and he's done it with a great attitude and I think that's well respected, too.

"He provides a lot of leadership. It may not necessarily be in team speeches, but just in his attitude and his work ethic and his unselfishness. Those are great examples."

PATS IN ACTION For a gallery of photos from Day 2 of Patriots minicamp, go to www.boston.com/patriots