There was a time in American football when players went both ways. In other words, they played offense and defense. Some kicked as well. But for the last five decades, the National Football League has been a game of specialists.

There are offensive players. There are defensive players. And seldom do they meet even while playing on the same team. Which is what makes Troy Brown special.

A wide receiver by trade, the 33-year-old veteran of a dozen NFL seasons this year has been playing defense as well, pressed into double duty because of injuries that rendered the New England Patriots short-handed in the secondary. And while Brown isn't a standout on either side of the ball, he is winning deserved accolades throughout the NFL especially in the locker room of a Patriots team that on Sunday will be playing Pittsburgh in a bid to reach the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.

"Troy is what you'd like to think this team is all about," Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback, recently told the Boston Herald newspaper. "He's put all his personal goals aside for the good of the team. He's the ultimate player."

When Bill Belichick, the Patriots head coach, is asked about Brown, a smile breaks across his normally expressionless face. "He's a football player," said Belichick. "A throwback." To a time long ago when players did go both ways. But back then, the game was far less complicated. Today, the mental aspect of football is as demanding as the physical nature of the game. Playing both ways means twice as many meetings for Brown, twice as many repetitions in practice, twice as many pages to review in the playbook.

"When you are mentally tired, the body sort of follows," said Brown. "You just have to get extra rest and take care of your body and mind."

Brown's double exposure is not unprecedented. Recently, both Deion Sanders and Roy Green spent some time on both sides of the ball. William "The Refrigerator" Perry used his 300 pounds to bull in for touchdowns as well as stop runners during the Chicago Bears' championship season of 1985. But you have to go back to 1960 and Chuck Bednarik of the Philadelphia Eagles to find a player to have logged more plays on both sides of the ball than Brown. Plus, Brown is also a member of several of the Patriots' special teams - the units that cover kicks and return punts (another of his jobs). Even more meetings.

Brown's two-way odyssey began in Belichick's mind in the wake of last year's 32-29 Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers. During that game, the Patriots lost two key members of their secondary - starting safeties Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson - to injury.

During the offseason, Belichick studied ways to improve the Patriots' depth. One way was to have players learn different tasks on the other side of the ball just in case of an emergency.

In preseason drills, linebacker Mike Vrabel took turns as a tight end. Defensive linemen Richard Seymour and Dan Klecko played some fullback on offense. Cornerback Ty Law caught some passes as a receiver. And Brown practiced at cornerback.

No one gave it much thought until November 7 when injuries to starting cornerbacks Law and Tyrone Poole left the Patriots extremely thin at the first point of defense against the pass. Enter Brown, who went into the game as the "slot" cornerback. That is the defender who faces the opposing team's inside wide receiver when teams go to three- and four-receiver sets on downs that call for a pass.

The 5ft 10in, 196-pound Brown has been playing both ends of the coin ever since - his wide receiver No 80 being an easily identifiable give-away any time he enters the game on defense.

Early on, Brown's appearances at cornerback were something of a novelty. But as he spent more time in the position - he finished the season tied for the Patriots interception lead with three - teams stopped laughing and began directing their attacks in the direction of what they thought might be a weak link in one of the NFL's premier defenses.

"I thought it was going to get easier with time, but it didn't," Brown said of playing defense. "I now expect to be targeted."

Brown admitted that some teams have been able to take advantage of him at cornerback. But the Patriots have responded by masking their coverages. Last weekend, for example, it looked like Brown had man-to-man coverage of Brandon Stokley, the Colts very dangerous slot receiver. Hidden, however, deep in the Patriots intricate defensive schemes was plenty of help for Brown. Brown has no pretensions about his abilities as a cornerback. There are many far better corners in the NFL. But that's not the point. The example is the point.

"What I do best is go out there, make some plays and try to set a good example for our football team," said Brown. His is a great example.

"Totally unselfish," said Belichick recently while discussing Brown's efforts and commitment. "He wants to play, he wants to help. He's a great athlete. A great example."

And Brown has also made quite a sacrifice.

His career-long game has been offense. Brown ranks third on New England's all-time list in passes caught (475) and reception yards (5,516). But his catch totals have dropped from a club-record 101 in 2001 and 97 the following season to 17 this year. Truth is, the Patriots need Brown more on defense this year than offense.

"Do I miss catching as many passes as I once did ... sure, it's only natural," said Brown. "But I'm getting a lot of reward from doing what I'm doing." Which is a lot of everything. "I'm going to give you what I've got," said Brown. "I'm going to show you the best I have." No matter where he lines up.