FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s been said so much about the New England Patriots over the last three seasons, it has almost taken its place alongside other well-worn sports clich?s and catch phrases like “110 percent, take it one game at a time, play our game,” and “there’s no ‘I’ in team.”

Still, they – sportswriters, sportscasters, fans, opposing coaches and players, and certainly the Patriots themselves – keep using it, over and over: This is a team, not a bunch of individuals.

And sometimes they’ll also throw in something about there being no stars on the team and that each outstanding individual effort is a result of the unsung effort of others.

While most of that may be true, one thing is not. The Patriots do have stars on the team. Not pampered, spoiled, selfish, self-absorbed stars, but stars who make the clutch plays and come up with the highlight-reel performances.

So do other teams.

So what has made the Patriots so special the last few years?

Well, in addition to stars, the Patriots also have role players, substitutes, two-way players, specialists, and iron-men types who will do their job and any other that needs to be done. Saturday night’s American Football Conference wild-card playoff game was a case in point.

New England’s 28-3 dismantling of Jacksonville not only showed how the Patriots blend all of those disparate talents, egos and personalities together into a cohesive, effective unit, it also points to another edge they have used better than any other team in the NFL.

“Every guy who dresses for the game is prepared to play the whole game, and that’s different than any other team I’ve been with,” said linebacker Chad Brown, who signed with New England last May as a free agent after playing 13 seasons with Pittsburgh and Seattle. “I’ve never gotten that feeling before from expectations, meetings, during the week, or a game-day standpoint either.”

Strong words from a guy who has the background to back them up.

“I think when people come here, they realize their role’s not set and it’ll evolve over the course of the season, week to week, and sometimes even during a game,” the three-time NFL Pro Bowler explained. “So you have to prepare yourself to be ready.

“I’ve played almost all the linebacking spots this season, and I’ve been able to rush from defensive end and nickel. When it comes time for me to fill in, I usually know what I’m doing out there and it also helps me because I know what the other guy’s doing since I played there.”

And then there’s that other factor that every team pays a lot of lip service to: pride.

Leave it to the Patriots’ other Mr. Brown, who also happens to be a 13-year NFL veteran and a versatile player, to explain that one.

“I like the way we play around here and the way things go. I don’t know. I just … You’ve got a lot of pride,” said wide receiver and sometime defensive back Troy Brown, who hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to get the Pats off and running and made four tackles – his first four of the 2005-06 season.

Hmmm… So you have a Pro Bowl receiver who played a significant portion of the 2004 season on defense (recording three interceptions and 17 tackles) play primarily on defense for the first time this season and make a TD catch? Just another day in the life of a Patriotic player.

“You’ve got to play with a lot of pride when you play here and not everybody can do it,” said Brown, who ranks second on the Patriots’ all-time receptions list with 515 but doesn’t balk about playing defense. “You’ve gotta check your egos at the door, and we do that every day when we come to work.”

The Browns aren’t the only multi-talented players on the New England roster. How do they find these jack-of-all-trades, throwback types?

“I wish I could answer that question. We just come in and try to do our job. Our mindset as a team is to be tough and smart,” said running back and special teams player Kevin Faulk, who had a typical Patriot effort Saturday with four catches for 45 yards and six carries for 51 yards. “When you talk about what we do and the attitude we have and the cooperation we show, it sounds like you’re talking about a team.

“I mean that’s just the way the organization is set up. We know what our roles are and you have to get your role done.”

And they know many others’ roles as well.

“I’ve been trying to help this team any way I can,” said Chad Brown, who helped out in more than one way by tallying a solo tackle, an assist, and a pass defended as well as a tackle on special teams. “But I’m not the only one doing that. We have a lot of guys doing that.”

And they’ve had a lot of wins along the way as a result.

Hmmmm… Maybe this team thing isn’t such a clich? after all.