FOXBORO - Matt Light treats the subject of his weight like a Vegas dancer with a penchant for Ho Hos deals with the scale.

He avoids it, downplays it and quite simply ignores it, even though he looks spectacular.

"I'm just as big as I've always been," Light said after a typical Bill Belichick-style wind-sprint session outside of Gillette Stadium in the late-afternoon August sun. "No, I'm not (skinny). Thank you, I appreciate it. Maybe, it's the white (practice jersey), maybe its the (mullett-like) hair making me look skinnier."

Not that Light is vain at all. At 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, with the typical scars of six full NFL seasons in the trenches, his pretty boy days are over.

The fact is Light has taken the weight that lingered around his waistline and re-directed it to his chest and shoulders. Even if he won't talk about it. Perhaps, he's looking to sneak up on people this year.

Maybe, he's just holding his cards close to the vest in a Belichickian style.

But Light once again looks like a young, spry athlete, like he did at his best in 2003-4.

Coming off his first Pro Bowl, Light wasted no time immersing himself, with his mates, into the offseason program.

"We work hard, man," said the former Purdue University tight end, now in the midst of 6-year, $27 million contract extension that runs out in 2010. "I'm just doing my thing."

Why the diligence?

Other than the disappointing outcome on that Sunday, January afternoon in Indy - on a day Light could hardly take blame holding Dwight Freeney to one solo tackle and no sacks - there wasn't much to complain about.

To top that off, Light was a late addition to the Pro Bowl when Baltimore's Jonathan Ogden withdrew.

Light for one, clearly wasn't satisfied with his season, individually and in conjunction with the entire offense.

"Coming off injuries last year, early on, I was just trying to get back into the rhythm," said Light, who had a string of 66 consecutive starts at left tackle stopped in September of 2005. "I was trying to pick up all the things you leave out there. I felt like last year was decent. Early on I wasn't that happy with how I was finishing plays. I was surprised ... shocked (at the Pro Bowl honors)."

As can happen in NFL circles - especially in the more subjective line spots - Light's Pro Bowl accolades probably had a lot more to do with the reputation he had built up previously.

Back in 2003 and 2004, there may have been larger, more physically imposing left tackles in the AFC than Light, but none could say they played better.

Tom Brady went three straight playoff games without being sacked following the '03 season, much in part to Light guarding his blind side.

Light scored a big-money trifecta on that run to New England's second championship, skunking the likes of Tennessee's Jevon Kearse, Indy's Freeney and a Carolina quiniela of Mike Rucker and Julius Peppers in the process.

A year later, he and the Patriots as a whole solidified themselves among the game's best, rolling through a 14-2 campaign and another Super Bowl run.

Corey Dillon carved out a solid chunk of his 1,900 yards with Light clearing the path that year. And even though Brady tasted turf seven times along the route, Light still graded favorably against Freeney, Pittsburgh's Joey Porter and Kearse.

Ankle woes ended 2005 after only three games, and Light protected his turf, reclaiming his starting spot last fall from second-year man Nick Kaczur.

Still, with the slow start, Light got the message Bill Belichick had been sending by selection Kazcur and guard-tackle Logan Mankins with two of his first three picks in the '05 draft.

No job here in New England, especially one like Light's with a salary-cap number that reportedly doubles this year from two to over five million dollars, is guaranteed.

Perhaps Light, like many NFL linemen, owns an aversion to the term skinny. A light Light isn't good news to the Patriots, Brady or their fans. But a fit Light, hungry to prove his mettle, after one aborted season - one that he termed, "decent?"

You're talking music to the ears. Even if Light chooses not to hear it.

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