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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady visited the turf more than the end zone during last seasons AFC championship game against the Broncos.Blitzed and harassed throughout the 20-18 loss, Brady was sacked four times and hit a total of 23 times as injuries and a lack of continuity caught up with the New England offensive line, which struggled to find consistency during the season.An offseason coaching shake up and some personnel changes have helped the Patriots do a much better job protecting their 39-year-old quarterback.But theyll find out just how much progress theyve made Sunday as they head to Denver for a rematch against the NFLs top-ranked pass defense and arguably its best pass rusher in Von Miller. In his last five games against the Patriots, Miller has 7+ sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and interception.They bring a lot of challenges, Patriots left tackle Nate Solder said. Theyre exceptional pass rushers, and they do well on the run, too. Its a real challenge all-around.New England has allowed only 21 sacks through 13 games this season, tied with Dallas for the 25th fewest in the NFL. By comparison, the Patriots gave up 38 sacks during the 2015 regular season, 14th most in the league, and their most since allowing 40 in 2013.Theyve been most impressive over the past four games, allowing only two sacks. Rookie left guard Joe Thuney and right tackle Marcus Cannon have yet to allow a sack on Brady this season.Thuney also has been one of the teams ironmen in 2016, starting all 13 games along with center David Andrews. Cannon, Solder and right guard Shaq Mason have each missed only one game.Its been a whole group effort, Thuney said. Theres still a lot I can improve on, trust me. I try not to think about that stuff and try and improve on something little every day.Thuney has been everything the Patriots hoped he would be when they selected him in the third round in the draft this past spring. He shined during offseason workouts and training camp, supplanting Josh Kline, who was released in September.The Patriots also liked what they saw out of Andrews in his 11 starts last season enough to part ways with Bryan Stork. Meanwhile, Solder has held his own at left tackle with Sebastian Vollmer on the physically unable to perform list.Perhaps the biggest thing thats aided in the turnaround has been the return of veteran Dante Scarnecchia as offensive line coach. He was lured out of retirement by coach Bill Belichick to replace Dave DeGuglielmo, who was let go in the offseason.Scarnecchia, among other things, has cut down on the rotations that were staples of DeGuglielmos approach. Keeping guys on the field longer together helped the group develop chemistry faster.So far, Belichick is a fan.I think just the overall coordination of the group and function of the group together, just working together, communicating together, seeing things, just reacting, that split-second reaction can make all of the difference in the world, Belichick said. The better we are at that, the better those guys are at doing it together, those are all positives.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightowerCheap NBA Jerseys China . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Authentic Cheap Jerseys . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. http://www.wholesalechinajerseys.net/ . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Supply NFL Jerseys . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Wholesale Jerseys From China .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner.SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Gabe Vincent scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half when UC Santa Barbara built a 14-point lead, and the Gauchos defeated Sonoma State 75-51 on Thursday night for the their first victory.Vincents only points of the second half came on his fifth 3-pointer of the night and put the Gauchos (1-5) ahead 55-33 with 12:16 remaining. The lead remained in the 20s.Vincent finished 5 of 6 from the arc. Jalen Canty added 12 points and nnine rebounds with Alex Hart scoring 11 points.ddddddddddddEric Childress 3-pointer snapped a 7-all tie and UCSB led thereafter. An 8-3 run to end the half, including a pair of Vincent 3-pointers, gave the Gauchos a 39-25 lead after shooting 53.8 percent.Nate Molony-Benjamin scored 10 points for the Division-II Seawolves (4-3). ' ' '