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It Is What It Is » Veteran center Dan Koppen offers his take on the state of the Patriots’ offensive line
While Matt Light has him beat when it comes to seniority — by roughly two seasons — no lineman is more respected by his peers than the Boston College product. A fixture in the middle since he took over for an injured Damien Woody at center early in his rookie season back of 2003, Koppen has been every bit as durable as any other center in the league: Since the start of the 2003 season, the Patriots have played 128 regular-season games, and Koppen has started 119 of them.
With Koppen as the fulcrum of the o-line, the New England offense has finished in the top 10 in total offense seven times in his eight NFL seasons. The 6-foot-2, 296-pounder earned his first career Pro Bowl selection in 2007 and was named to the AP All-Pro Second Team, becoming the third center in Patriots history to earn all-star honors. And in 2008, Koppen started every game at center as part of an offensive line that supported the best rushing season for the Patriots in more than 20 years in terms of rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and average yards per carry.
The current group was honored on Tuesday with the presentation of the Madden Protectors Award, an award that “recognizes the accomplishments of the highest performing offensive line unit and their best-in-class ability to provide consistent, powerful protection,” according to the press release. The Patriots were selected based on a combination of analysis by John Madden and fan voting.