FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Hard to believe, but Kevin Faulk is the senior citizen on the New England Patriots.

Selected in the second round of the 1999 draft, he is the only player on the roster who pre-dates Bill Belichick. He is also about to become a member of a select group of players that have appeared in five Super Bowls.

Additional Photos

Tom Brady has 16 postseason victories, tying him with Joe Montana for the NFL lead. Nothing would be better than to pass Montana in the Super Bowl. Photos by The Associated Press

Kevin Faulk (33) has been around longer than Coach Bill Belichick. Possibly hard to believe but true. And like the others, this will be a Super Bowl to cherish.

Matt Light is the man who has helped keep Tom Brady healthy all these years, an offensive tackle who has protected him from hits from the blind side.

Fourteen players have appeared in five Super Bowls — the record is six, by defensive tackle Mike Lodish (three for Buffalo, three for Denver) — including Patriots retired linebacker Tedy Bruschi and former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri.

When the Patriots play the New York Giants next Sunday in Indianapolis, that group likely will grow by three.

Quarterback Tom Brady and offensive left tackle Matt Light will start their fifth Super Bowl for the Patriots. Faulk, once considered one of the game’s best third-down options, should get in the game as a reserve.

Asked what it means that he has been around this long to play in five Super Bowls along with Brady and Light, Faulk, a religious man, chuckled.

“Somebody likes us,” he said.

Actually, he added, it speaks volumes about the careers of the three of them. Each at some point has had a career-threatening injury: Faulk a knee in 2010, Brady a knee in 2008, Light an ankle in 2005. Each has returned to play at a high level.

“It speaks about the consistency the three guys have,” said Faulk. “This is not an easy place to play for. Coming in each and every day and understanding that you’re able to still be at this place because you know how much pressure there is, it’s a great feeling.”

Brady, of course, is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and has led the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships. A sixth-round draft pick in 2000 out of Michigan (the 199th player selected, as he is wont to remind people), his legacy will be forever enshrined in Canton, Ohio, when he enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Light, drafted a year after Brady in the second round out of Purdue, has protected Brady’s blindside since he joined the Patriots. He has played in 155 games over that time, second in team history only to Brady and Faulk (161).

Belichick, who doesn’t often go out of his way to praise his players, recently called Light “a real stalwart for us all season and really for a decade.”

“He’s very professional, he works hard, he’s in good condition, always has been,” said Belichick. “Knows our game, knows our opponents’ tendencies, studies film well, practices well, is a very durable and dependable player. … He’s been here a long time and has done a great job.”

When asked after the AFC championship victory over Baltimore what it meant to return to the Super Bowl, Light said he planned to savor every minute: “The taste and the victory and the whole nine yards. When you get an opportunity to do it again, it’s incredible.”

“It’s very rare,” said Faulk, talking about five trips to the Super Bowl. “I just thank God for being able to be in this position, to have the players, the coaches, everything. And we’ve got to continue to work. That’s what it is for us work.”

Faulk’s message for the younger players and Super Bowl newcomers — of the 53 players on the active roster, only 10 have Super Bowl experience — is simple: Enjoy the spectacle but remember you’ve got a game to play.

“First and foremost, the most important thing is what got you here, and that’s playing the game of football,” said Faulk. “And understanding that comes first, no matter what.”

This has been a difficult season for Faulk. He missed the first six games of the season while still recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the second game of the 2010 season. Once he returned, Faulk was relegated to a reserve role and was inactive for several games.

But his locker-room presence is invaluable. It’s that type of continuity and faith in their players that has served the Patriots’ organization well over the years.

Brady, who is as normally reserved as Belichick in his interviews, praised the organization after the AFC championship game, saying he felt “privileged to be part of this incredible organization and to play with a great group of teammates.”

And he had a very simple explanation as to why he, Light and Faulk are about to enter the history books: “We’ve won a lot of games.”

In the end, he said, that’s really all that matters. Brady has the highest winning percentage of any quarterback since 1966 — 124-35 (.780). His 16 postseason victories tie him with Joe Montana for first all-time. His three Super Bowl championships tie him for second all-time.

He and Faulk and Light are back for a fifth time because they play in an organization that recognizes and cultivates talent in players that other organizations don’t. They’re in a fifth Super Bowl because the Patriots get their players to believe in what they’re teaching.

And they’re in a fifth Super Bowl because they’re on a team where every player believes in each other.

“I think we’ve been fortunate,” said Brady. “It’s one thing to be a good team. We’ve gotten some breaks. To be in this position, you certainly need some good fortune too. We’re relatively healthy, we’ve had a tough schedule but we fought through some adversity. It’s a mentally tough team. I think there’s some good veteran leadership and certainly the rookies have done a good job (despite) missing all of the offseason program (because of the lockout).

“It requires everybody. It’s every single player on this team, every coach, every practice squad player that has really made a commitment to each other to come out here every day for these 106 practices and give everything he can to the team. … It hasn’t been all perfect but we’re finding ways to win these games. That’s ultimately how you move on and get to this point.”

Time and time again.

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH

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