FOXBORO — On the Patriots’ offensive line, change comes at a glacial pace.

While new faces have popped up now and again over the last few seasons, no positional group other than the offensive line has essentially had the same basic elements in place over the last five years: It is the only position on the team that can boast of having two players (left tackle Matt Light, right guard Stephen Neal) who stretch all the way back to Super Bowl XXXVI. Left guard Logan Mankins and right tackle Nick Kaczur are the relative youngsters of the group … and both are entering their sixth season with the Patriots. There are Supreme Court justices who can’t boast of that kind of workplace stability.

While Sebastian Vollmer — entering his second season — will almost certainly challenge for playing time at either tackle spot in 2010, it’s a group that’s had a remarkable run of durability for a position that features, in the words of Neal, several “car accidents” a game. Among the group, it’s a point of pride that while there are question marks about any number of positions, the offensive line remains as stable as ever.

“It’s nice coming into the season to know, but it’s something we can’t rely on,” said center Dan Koppen, who will start his eighth season with the Patriots this fall. “You want to be out there. You get into a rhythm and develop the trust with people.

“It’s tough to stay healthy in this league. Really, from Day One, no one is at 100 percent. If you can go out there and you can be out there every game, that says something about you.”

That level of consistency and familiarity may have been one of the reasons why, when Koppen was asked about Mankins’ contract situation on Thursday, he sounded relatively confident something will get done.

“That’s between him and the Patriots,” Koppen said when asked about Mankins. “It doesn’t concern me at all. It’s one of those things where I’m not negotiating the deal on either side. I’m sure the Patriots are doing what they feel is right, and Logan is doing what he feels is right for him and his family. So whatever he decides or gets done is his business.”

While Mankins’ future with the Patriots remains a question mark, there are no such concerns for Neal. The veteran right guard openly speculated about retirement in the wake of the playoff loss to the Ravens, but ended up returning to New England. It was a decision that pleased Koppen, both on a personal and professional level.

“I was happy,” Koppen said. “I talked to Steve a couple of times and really, toward the end there, he didn’t know what he wanted to do. But that’s understandable. He’s earned that right to take some time at the end of the year to re-evaluate and talk with his family and see what he wants to do and when he’s coming back.

“And just to have him back and the type of player that the guy is in that locker room … just a good friend. I know we’re lucky to have him back.”

When it comes to overall pass protection, the Patriots’ offensive line is coming off one of its finest seasons as a group in recent memory — quarterback Tom Brady was sacked just 16 times, the lowest total of his career and the second-lowest total for any full-time starter in the NFL. While the rushing game struggled at times, it still produced 4.1 yards per carry, the third straight season where New England running backs averaged at least four yards a carry. As a result, for the third time in the last four seasons, the Patriots sent at least one offensive lineman to the Pro Bowl (Mankins).

But regardless of the numbers the offensive line was able to produce in 2009, the stain of the 33-14 home playoff loss to Baltimore was still a bitter way to go out.

“Yeah, going out like that … you just take a few weeks. It stirs in you. It’s kind of hard to shake,” Koppen said. “I think there’s a recommitment here, and I think everybody’s on the same page with what we need to do and what we need to get back to. Just go out there, have fun and play football.”