FOXBORO -- If Tuesday’s practice was any indication, the Patriots’ offensive line figures to get a sizable boost this week when it faces the Broncos in the divisional round of the postseason Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

Both left guard Logan Mankins and right tackle Nate Solder were present for the first time in weeks at the start of practice. Vollmer missed the final five games of the season with an injured right foot (in addition, he’s been dogged by back problems over the course of the year). Meanwhile Mankins suffered a left knee injury in the Christmas Eve win over the Dolphins at Gillette.

The presence of these two veteran linemen should provide some help in the face of one of the steadiest pass rushes the Patriots faced all season. The Broncos feature 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker Von Miller (11.5 sacks as a rookie) and 5-foot-11, 260-pound defensive end Elvis Dumervil (9.5 sacks this season, 52.5 over a five-year career), two guys who are excellent when it comes to getting after the quarterback.

According to Patriots coach Bill Belichick, the Broncos move those two pass rushers around occasionally, including shifting Miller from the outside to the inside to try and get pressure on the interior.

“It’s a tough matchup for the inside guys, because they’re not used to seeing that kind of speed and quickness inside the tackles,” Belichick said of Miller, a rookie out of Texas A&M. “Most of the time he’s outside, but sometimes he’s in there, sometimes he’s off the ball. Dumervil is usually more constant (on the outside).”

The first time the Patriots faced Denver, the offensive line was able to do an excellent job at keeping Tom Brady clean: According to Pro Football Focus, Brady was only pressured on six of his 36 dropbacks, and Miller was held without a sack, quarterback hit or pressure for the first time in his career. (Brady was sacked twice in New England's 41-23 win, including a vicious shot to the chest from Dumervil that was one of the cleanest and best hits on the Pats’ quarterback all season.)

“There were a few times where they got to us, but for the most part, we’ve faced some pretty good pass rushers all season and these two are no different,” Brady said Tuesday. “[Robert] Ayers had a great game last week. They can blitz; they blitz quite a bit and the linebackers make some sacks. D.J. Williams can get to the passer. The safeties blitz. It can really be anybody.

“Obviously Elvis and Von, they can play; they’re very good players. I’ve had the opportunity to play against Elvis a number of times, and he’s a phenomenal player.”

One of the things the Patriots were able to do the first time around against the Broncos was utilize tight end Rob Gronkowski as a blocker more than a pass catcher. Pro Football Focus had Gronkowski on the field for 76 snaps in that first game against the Broncos, and on 41 of those, he was a blocker (39 running plays and two pass plays). Almost predictably, it wasn’t one of Gronkowski’s most productive games as a pass catcher (he had four catches for 53 yards), but his work as a blocker was part of the reason Brady was able to stay (mostly) clean and throw for more than 300 yards (320, in total) for the ninth time in the 2011 regular season.

The Denver game marked the second time this season where Gronkowski spent more than 40 snaps in a game as a blocker, with the other time coming in the first game against the Jets where he had four catches for 31 yards and no touchdowns.

“You’ve got to watch them. They’re great players,” Gronkowski said of working as a blocker against Dumervil and Miller. “(They’re) both outstanding players, especially Von Miller, just being a rookie doing what he’s doing. You’ve got to be ready and watch the film on them ... and not just them but their whole defense. They’re all good. They’re all fast, and we’ve got to learn what they can do so we can be prepared when it comes down to game time.” 

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday before practice that Gronkowski has improved as a blocker since he came into the league last season, saying that “experience” has led to his improvement.

“He goes up against a lot of different guys at that position. It’s tough,” Belichick said of Gronkowski. “I think that’s one of things that he’s learned, (is that) it’s not just X’s and O’s, it’s who the guy actually is and how he would deal with a blocker like Rob. I think not knowing who to block ... I don’t want to say that’s the easy part, but that’s kind of the easy part. We can ‘X’ and ‘O’ it and get the right guys on the right guys, but actually getting them blocked based on who they are and the way they play, that’s a little different story.”