For Paxton, it's nothing but a snap

Lonie Paxton is a decorated long snapper, whether you're talking about Super Bowl rings or the tatoos on his arm. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Win or lose in Super Bowl XLII, there should be no debate about Tom Brady's place in the pantheon of Super Bowl quarterbacks. But when the subject of the game's best long snapper comes up, well, it's not likely to spark a robust conversation. Even among chirping crickets.

However, there should be no argument, as far as the Patriots are concerned.

After all, who brings better credentials to the job than Leonidas Earl Paxton III, who could go down in Super Bowl lore as the game's most decorated long snapper?

"You mean like 'tattoos' decorated?" said Paxton, whose arms are covered with colorful tattoo artwork.

In that respect, the term "decorated" would apply. But it was a reference to his Super Bowl accomplishments. And his Super Bowl bling.

"Oh," Paxton replied, nodding in agreement. "I've got a few, I've got a few, but we're still not done."

Signed as a free agent in 2000 out of Sacramento State, Paxton cemented a spot for himself on the Patriots' roster as the long snapper. Although it is a position that can be described as transient if not lonesome, Paxton has held it down for 125 games and won three Super Bowl rings in 2001, '03 and '04.

He will go for his fourth tomorrow against the New York Giants at University of Phoenix Stadium.

"Lonie is one of, if not the best long snappers in the NFL," said special teams captain Larry Izzo. "Every week he's consistent and he understands his role and he gets the job done."

And that, in essence, is why Paxton, 29, is considered one of the best at his position. He gets the job done.

There can be no better measure of a long snapper than that.

"I think it's just consistency," said Paxton, who helped the Patriots set a franchise record by hitting a league-best 93.9 percent of their field goals (31 of 33) in 2004, including 48 of 48 extra points, while working with Adam Vinatieri and holder Josh Miller.

This season, his second with kicker Stephen Gostkowski and first with punter/holder Chris Hanson, Paxton delivered on all his snaps in helping Gostkowski convert a franchise record 74 PATs, and 21 of 24 field goals.

"The more I can stay consistent and stay out of everybody's way, the more they'll have the confidence that I can do it and that feels good," said Paxton. "It's tough being on the sidelines a lot, then come in eight or nine times a game and be expected to do it right every time.

"If you can continue to do that, you just kind of build some confidence in the fellas and create a little name for yourself as, 'Oh, he's reliable.' "

He's done it in all elements, but which ranks as the worst?

"It's definitely wind, which poses the biggest challenge," Paxton said. "A wet ball isn't as bad as you'd think it is. But the wind, a left-to-right wind, if it's not a tight spiral, it breaks up and kicks off to the right and if it does that, it screws up the punter and his process."

But it was in the snow that Paxton immortalized himself in Patriot lore as Lonie the Snow Angel.

Although he has snapped for 10 game-winning field goals, including the 48-yarder against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, Paxton's signature moment came in the last game of Foxboro Stadium. Paxton flopped onto the snow-covered ground and made a snow angel in celebration of Vinatieri's field goal that delivered the Patriots a 16-13 overtime victory against the Oakland Raiders in an epic divisional playoff game.

"It was all fun," recalled Paxton, a Californian. "I had family in town and they were talking about doing some snow angels, because it started snowing and they started talking about if we didn't win we were going to come home and do them in the yard."

"It was pretty special, pretty special. It was against the Raiders and I'm a California fan, but I was always a Rams fan. We got to play the Rams and Raiders in the same season, so it was pretty special."Paxton will not have to worry about the elements in the climate-controlled environs of University of Phoenix Stadium, which has a retractable roof and a manicured natural turf surface.

Talk about perfect conditions. "Yup, it's 70 [degrees] and sunny everyday in the dome, huh?" Paxton said. "That's what we were working for. That's the dream of kickers and long snappers - always being inside."

As for the fourth ring? "Well, we don't have this one," Paxton said. "We've just been trying to get through every season healthy and create a spot for yourself the following year and help your chances, so rings just come with hard work."

Not to mention longevity.

"Long snappers have long careers," Izzo said. "And he's going to play a long time. He's going to end up playing a lot longer than anybody else on this team other than, probably, Junior [Seau, an 18-year veteran linebacker]."

By the end of it, Paxton could very well end up the most recognizable and decorated long snapper in Super Bowl history.

There should be no argument then.

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.