Most valuable Patriot: hard working Troy Brown can beat you in lots of ways--even with a lateral.

Rarely is a common man capable of such uncommon accomplishments.

The beauty of New England wide receiver Troy Brown is he appears no different from you and me. His presence wouldn't cause a buzz in a shopping mall. He's not particularly tall or thick. His speed is on the south side of ordinary.

He barely was invited into the NFL, in a round of the draft (eighth) that no longer exists. He was told he wasn't good enough, when he was cut by New England before the 1994 season. Fortunately for the Patriots, they changed their minds and re-signed him two months later. He had to sit out the biggest game of his life, Super Bowl 31, because of a hernia. His paycheck this season was smaller than the paychecks of seven of his offensive teammates, including three backups.

Yet Brown, 30, could be poised to make the country's grandest stage his own Sunday. This lunch-bucket receiver is the embodiment of the overlooked, underrated, scrappy Patriots.

"If there is a more valuable player on his team in the league than Troy Brown, I don't know who it is," Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe says. "Without Troy Brown, I don't know what our record would be this year, but we certainly would not be standing where we are right now. I would say he's by far the most valuable player on our team."

Steelers strong safety Lee Flowers, who was part of a defense that surrendered eight catches, 121 yards and five first downs to Brown in the Patriots' 24-17 win in the AFC championship game, had this advice for the Rams: "Key on that guy right there."

Other teams have been keying on Brown all season, but that hardly has slowed him. He made his first Pro Bowl (as an injury replacement for Rod Smith) not by making the spectacular play but by making the first down. He made 59 of them while catching 101 balls.