FOXBOROUGH - What was left to say? As far as Ryan O'Callaghan was concerned, there wasn't much he could add to the discussion of the Patriots' historic 16-0 regular season. So naturally, the reserved O'Callaghan balked at making grandiose comments yesterday at Gillette Stadium.
"I don't know if what I have to say is always the best," O'Callaghan said, somewhat sheepishly.
But the 6-foot-7-inch, 330-pound offensive tackle certainly added to the emphatic statement of perfection the Patriots made in a 38-35 victory last Saturday night over the New York Giants.
Filling in for injured starter Nick Kaczur at right tackle, O'Callaghan helped the offensive line blunt the NFL's top-rated pass rush in a game in which the Patriots threw 42 times and allowed just one sack, a 10-yarder by linebacker Reggie Torbor in the fourth quarter.
Missing two starters on the right side of the offensive line, the Patriots went up against the Giants needing Russ Hochstein to fill in for the injured Stephen Neal at guard and O'Callaghan to go toe-to-toe against Michael Strahan, a battle-hardened 15-year veteran.
"That's a credit to those guys, because they step up every week and they come to practice and prepare like they're going to play every snap," Pro Bowl-bound center Dan Koppen said of Kaczur and O'Callaghan. "We know what we have in them and we know what to expect from them and they know what to expect of themselves, more importantly."
The contributions O'Callaghan made helped give quarterback Tom Brady enough time to complete his assault on the NFL record book. Brady threw for 356 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to Randy Moss, the second of which gave Brady the record for most TD passes in a season (50) and Moss the league's season TD reception record (23).
So, yeah, it was safe to assume O'Callaghan had something of a say in the matter.
"I've felt like I had a big part of it," said O'Callaghan. "My job this year, besides the times I've played at tight end, has been to be ready if somebody gets hurt. I just happened to get in the last game and had a week to prepare and, hopefully, I did a pretty good job."
Given the circumstances, Patriots coach Bill Belichick seemed to think so.
"Our offensive line went up against a very good defensive line and they made some plays," Belichick said. "We made some plays, but it was competitive. Certainly, Strahan, Osi [Umenyiora], and [Justin] Tuck are three of the better pass rushers in the league, all on the same team, so it's pretty good."
With all that was at stake, O'Callaghan went about his preparations leading up to the game in his customary workmanlike fashion. Not once, though, was he ever fazed by the daunting task of facing Strahan. "I knew the situation and I knew what I was going against and I knew what I had to do," O'Callaghan said. "Collectively, I think we handled it pretty well."
Koppen was impressed.
"Last week was a great, great thing for him," Koppen said. "He went out and he played well against a really good football player."
It was something to which O'Callaghan was accustomed during his college playing days at California. A four-year starter, O'Callaghan missed just one game. As a senior, O'Callaghan was awarded the Morris Trophy as the most outstanding offensive lineman in the Pac-10, an honor that carried extra weight since it was determined by a vote of the league's starting defensive linemen.
Asked how far he's come since the Patriots selected him in the fifth round (136th overall) of the 2005 draft, O'Callaghan paused. "I've just tried to be a little more consistent, be ready when my name's called, and, hopefully, I've been getting better all the time," he said. "If you're not getting better, you're getting worse."
And if that happens? "Then you're fired," O'Callaghan said.
But O'Callaghan has no reason to fear getting a pink slip.
"When you get into a game, no matter who you're playing, whether it's the best team in the world or one that's not, you settle into a rhythm," O'Callaghan said. "You kind of figure out what's going on and what kind of moves a [defensive lineman] is going to use that day and what we're doing as an offense and you start to look for different things."
When it was all said and done, and the Patriots had cemented their place in the record books with their perfect 16-0 regular-season record, O'Callaghan recalled feeling one thing over all else: complete and utter exhaustion.
"I hadn't played that much in a while, plus playing against a player like Strahan, it had been a while, so I was pretty exhausted," said O'Callaghan, who made six starts in his rookie season. "I was glad it was over with, as far as that game, but it's all starting over right now. We have the same expectations [in the playoffs] as any team: win every game. It's one game at a time, play our best, and hopefully get to the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl."
If it comes to that, O'Callaghan, despite his reserved nature, hopes he'll get the opportunity to have a say in the outcome.
Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.
