Projo Pats Blog

December 2, 2007 - December 8, 2007 Archives

From the league release:

Four Baltimore Ravens players have been fined for violating league rules prohibiting the abuse of game officials, the NFL announced today.

Bart Scott was fined $25,000 for verbally abusing game officials and throwing an official’s flag into the stands during last Monday night’s Baltimore-New England game.

Samari Rolle, Chris McAlister, and Derrick Mason were fined $15,000 each for publicly questioning the integrity of the officiating in last Monday night’s game.

“This is about the importance of sportsmanship and respecting the integrity of our game,” said NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson. “We do not tolerate inappropriate conduct between teams and game officials. This includes reminding game officials that they are to conduct themselves at all times as professionals in their dealings with players, coaches, and other club personnel.”

Anderson went to Baltimore this week to speak directly with Scott and Rolle before issuing the fines today.

“Last Monday night’s game was well officiated,” Anderson said, “and it is the obligation of both players and coaches to maintain proper respect for game officials at all times.”

In addition to prohibiting physical contact with game officials, league rules also bar team personnel from verbal or other non-physical abuse of officials and from public criticism of their integrity.

For the Patriots:

Questionable
S Rashad Baker - ankle (dnp)
G Stephen Neal - shoulder (lp)

Probable
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder (fp)

For the Steelers:

Doubtful
S Troy Polamalu - knee (dnp)

Questionable
LB Andre Frazier - groin (dnp)
LB LaMarr Woodley - hamstring (lp)

Probable
RB Najeh Davenport - foot (fp)
LB James Harrison - personal reasons (dnp)

fp - full participation; lp - limited participation; dnp - did not practice

Can you talk about what the addition of Wes Welker has meant to your team this season?
Wes has done a real good job for us. He’s come in and worked really hard. [He] was one of our off-season award winners. [He] primarily plays in the slot, although I think there are other things that he can do, but just the way that our team is, the way it fits together with our other receivers and our offense and so forth. He’s in there a lot. We had a lot of trouble with him in Miami, defending him, and we’ve tried to put him in some of those situations that we had trouble with in our offense. That’s sort of some of the things we’ve done in the past anyway, so it’s not like we redesigned the offense or anything. [We’ve] put him in the spot where we feel he can be productive and compliments our other players. He’s done a good job.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was just talking about your goal line package with Mike Vrabel and Junior Seau coming in. What are the advantages to that as opposed to Laurence Maroney behind Heath Evans?
I think there’s a lot of different players that could do different things for us. It’s just a question of really how you want to utilize your personnel and how to distribute everything, how you want to put it together. I think that’s something that we talk about on a regular basis and it’s an overall team thing - It doesn’t just come down to one guy, “Could one guy do this or one guy do that?” Certainly, but it’s just a question of how you want to put the entire team - put everything together and…There’s a lot of things that go into the decision, is what I’m trying to say. [There’s a] lot of things that go into the decision and we do what we think is best for our football team.

Is short-yardage something that Maroney needs to work on?
I didn’t say that.

Is it?
I think everybody can work on everything. I think that every player can work on every phase of his game. I wouldn’t - If Tiger Woods can go out and practice 14 hours on the driving range, I think there’s things that we could do, all of us, can do to be better. I’m not saying that. But yeah, I think Laurence can run in any situation. I think our backs have a lot of versatility.

In particular with Heath Evans, what has allowed him to succeed so much here? It wasn’t that long ago that he was released. What has allowed him to do so well here?
He’s a smart kid, [he’s] versatile, he’s got some size, he’s got some running skill, [he has] good hands, [he’s] intelligent, [he can] handle a lot of different assignments. [He’s] pretty athletic, for a big kid. I think he’s got a lot of things going for him physically, athletically. He’s tough and he’s smart. Those things all work in his favor.

You talk about Welker, Randy Moss, Corey Dillon - What are you looking for, other than talent, obviously, when you bring these guys in? What makes them fit into your system? They seem to have a lot of success when they come here.
Every time you bring a player onto your team, I think you want to have an idea of what you’re going to do with them, what you’re going to ask them to do and whether or not you feel like he can do it. Whether you draft them or sign them as a free agent or a veteran free agent or whatever the situation is, here’s what you envision this guy’s responsibilities being and what he needs to do, and then whether or not you think he has the skill, the make-up and maybe in some cases experience, depending on what that role is, to do it. There’s no magic formula for anything. It’s a very inexact science, for sure, but you try to identify what you’re looking for and then find people that fit that particular niche or role or criteria, however you want to look at it. If you feel like it will be productive, then you do it. If you don’t, then you keep looking. Sometimes you find guys that you think will and for whatever reason they’re not available or you can’t acquire them on your team for one reason or another. And then sometimes you get another shot at them at a later point in time. You say, “Hey, this guy would be a good fit here.” For whatever reason, you don’t get him - somebody else drafts him or you’re not able to sign him or whatever. And then maybe that opportunity comes up later on. Or maybe it doesn’t. It’s a regular process. We go through it on a - It’s very cyclical. We go through it many times during the year and then the next year we go through it again. Some of the same names come up; some of them don’t. There’s some new names.

How helpful is it to have a veteran reserve offensive lineman like Russ Hochstein to step in in the middle of a game?
I think all of our offensive linemen that play for us have done a good job. Ryan [O’Callaghan]’s played a lot for us. Wes [Wesley Britt] last year in the Cincinnati game did a real good job for us. Billy [Yates]’s played, Russ has played. It’s a good group. They work hard. They work well together. Dante [Scarnecchia] mixes them in in practice so they all get a lot of reps. They work together. When you’re just kind of watching the offense and you’re not really focusing all of your attention on the offensive line, you kind of don’t realize who’s in there. You might go back and look and say, “Oh, that was Wes at tackle,” or “t]That was Russ at guard.” “That was Billy at guard,” or Steve [Neal] or Logan [Mankins] or - I’m not saying they all look the same. I don’t mean it that way. I’m just saying in terms of execution that it’s not real noticeable when one player’s in there or one isn’t. They all seem to function and operate well together, and certainly Russ is a part of that unit. He’s played center and guard for us, even at times briefly tackle and tight end, in some multiple tight end packages, so he’s a versatile guy, a smart, tough kid and has played well for us when he’s had the opportunity to - As has Billy, as has Wes, Ryan and the other five guys. I think we’re very fortunate there. They all work well together. They’re unselfish, they work hard. Dante does a great job of preparing each of them individually and as a group and it’s a good group to coach.

Do you think that’s the goal with the offensive line, that they reach a point where they’re all interchangeable parts but there’s still execution?
As much as possible, yeah. You’d like to have that at every position on your team, where you have several guys and they can all go in there and play well, and if one player’s in there instead of another one, you’re still able to go in there and operate and execute the plays the way you want them to. Everybody knows what to do and you can be productive. I’m not saying there’s no difference between the players, but I’m just saying, you’ve seen all the games. There’s times when there’ve been different combinations in there through the years, back to when Dan [Koppen] got hurt a couple of years ago and the tackle situation. There have been different players there. It’s been pretty functional.

What do you attribute that to? Is it the level of the players that you bring in or the system that allows them to do well?
I think it’s a combination of things, but really it’s the players. I don’t think it’s the system, I think it’s the players. They work hard, they’re well-prepared, they have the physical skill to play and when they get an opportunity to play they play at a good level. Not perfect, but good and [they] work hard to get better. They’re well-coached, they take the coaching. When they make a mistake, they correct it, they go out there and get it right the next time. We usually don’t have the same mistakes repeat over and over again. That’s not good to have in any position, but there’s usually not too much of that on the offensive line. I think all of those things are important.

What kind of challenges is Pittsburgh’s front going to present to them?
Pittsburgh’s good on defense. They lead the league in pretty much every category on defense, starting with the most important one, which is points, so they’ll be a big challenge for us. It’s not just the linemen, it’s the linebackers, the DB’s blitz, they stunt a lot, there’s a lot of different combinations, you’re not always blocking the same guy. [Casey] Hampton [is] one of the best noses in the league. [Aaron] Smith, he does a great job. [The] linebackers are active. [Troy] Polamalu shows up there on the line of scrimmage and he’s a tough guy to block, so they give you a lot of combinations. It’s not always just a straight, one-on-one match-up. It’s guard or center or a tackle could end up blocking one of three, four or five different guys from play to play.

Do you find watching film that they blitz as much as they have in the past?
Yeah, they blitz. It depends on which game you watch, but I mean, yeah, they blitz.

Has their defense changed much under Mike Tomlin?
No.

Tom Brady said yesterday that there’s a lot of pride in the December record of this team, especially in the last three or four years. What is it about December that brings out the best in this team?
I don’t know. I’d like to think there’s a lot of pride taken around here in every game, including December. I definitely agree with what Tom said, but at the same time, we try to take pride in our performance every week, from game one to game whatever. That’s the way we do it - come in, prepare for the team, get ready to go, try to play our best on Sunday and try to win. That’s what we do every week. I don’t have any real formula for why, but the most important thing is that we maintain consistency there and we try to get to the highest level we can. I’m not saying we always do it -- we’re far from perfect, we make a lot of mistakes - but that’s what we try to do. We try to do it on a regular week. It’s not like we go along in October and November and say, “OK, we’re going to really change things here in December and try to start playing good football.” [We] try to play good football all year long. [We] try to coach well. We don’t always do it, but we’re trying.

You’ve often said if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. When did you first learn that? Was that something from your dad?
I don’t really remember putting it quite that way, but I think probably the first guy I remember saying that - I think probably one of the first people I remember really talking about that was Chuck Noll, saying you’re not going to stay the same. You’re either going to get better or you’re going to get worse. And at that time, they were pretty good, so it wasn’t something that you as a competitor wanted to hear, because the Steelers were pretty good as it was. You didn’t really - The thought of them getting a whole lot better than they already were was not a particularly pleasant thought if you had to play against them. But I think that’s probably the first time I remember hearing it, or words to that effect.

What do you see in the Pittsburgh defense?
I think they’re really good. They’re very consistent and very good at all phases of their defense. They don’t give up big plays, which to me means you’re going to have to establish long drives to get the ball moved on them. They play real physical up front [and] make it difficult in the running game, it’s a big challenge for us this week. I think they do a great job on third down. [They] get off the field well. They play tight coverage and get after the quarterback, and they’re really good in the red zone. They’ve allowed the fewest, or one of the fewest number of red zone possessions of any team in the league and that speaks to not allowing teams to put together long drives and not giving up the big plays to get down there. I think every phase that you look at-the running game, pass protection, being able to get open and convert on third down and then, ultimately, trying to get down into the red zone and put points on the board. They’re very consistent. They play hard. They’re physical and their scheme-they’ve done it for a number of years and they know exactly how to play it. They’ve got good players and they’re really well coached.

Have you seen anything different from them under Mike Tomlin?
There are probably some new wrinkles, I would say, but I think that the base of the system is what it is and what we’ve played against in the past - there may be a few little wrinkles here and there in some things that have changed since he’s been there, but I think overall the system, the basis of it, is very consistent with what we’ve played against in the past.

Is there any factor to explain Randy Moss’s decline in production the last couple of games? Is it just the defenses trying to take him out of the game?
I think there are a number of factors, whether that be play design to get them the ball against certain coverages… certainly teams have tried to do things to force us to go other places with the football and that’s always a part of it. We’re going to be willing to do that if they try to take somebody away. Then, we’ve got to be able to go somewhere else with the ball and then there’s been some poor throws, a drop here and there so I think there are a number of reasons for it and I think we’re looking to try to improve in all of those areas to try to make sure that all of our players are productive. But I would say that it’s not one factor. There have certainly been weeks when he’s had a limited number of catches, or production and we’ve done very well and, like I said, we’re going to continue to try to do what’s best for the team.

How was it that Baltimore was able to take away Moss and Wes Welker last week? How much did that hamstring you as an offense?
I mean, obviously, we want to get them involved and try to get them the ball. I think that comes back to performance. We could’ve done quite a few things better. We had opportunities to get them the ball and didn’t, like I said, for a number of reasons. They dropped a lot of guys a lot of the time and they didn’t blitz us a lot, but I think that’s something that teams are going to do to try to do to take away both the outside guy and drop guys back inside to take away some of the inside players and we have to do a better job when we have the opportunity to try to get them the ball when we can.

Are you seeing new ways that teams are bringing pressure each week?
I would that each team that we play has a style of the way they pressure. Certainly in the NFL they’ll look at games previous and if there’s something that worked they may kind of incorporate that, but, like I said, Baltimore didn’t hardly pressure us at all. I think it was 12 blitzes or 13 blitzes as opposed to other weeks when there has been a number of pressures. Pittsburgh’s got their style. They’ve got the types of blitzes they like to use, that they run very well and execute to a high degree, a high level. I would expect their blitz package to be what it is and not really take over somebody else’s identity as far as what they did to pressure us.

What has Wes Welker’s addition meant to this offense this season?
I think Wes is having a very productive season. He obviously gives an element when he’s there in the slot. He’s been able to catch and run. He’s done a decent job for us in punt returns. But what I think I’m proudest of him for is that he’s one of the finest blockers that we’ve had in the slot that we’ve ever had here. Troy [Brown] was good when he was in the slot, too. But Wes [Welker] does a great job. He really gets in there and tries to fit up whomever he needs to in the running game. He’s done a great job for us in that aspect. He’s been a very productive player for us. He’s given us an element of catch-and-run yards that don’t always get measured in practice. You throw a 5-yard completion in practice; it looks like a 5-yard completion. You throw him to him in the game and it turns into a 25-yard gain. Wes has been that type of player for us. He’s made a lot of plays for us and, hopefully, he can do that going forward.

When you said that you feel that teams are pretty set in their defense, do you at all think that they try to play more physical against this offense outside of what they normally do?
I wouldn’t say that they’re trying to be more physical than they normally have been. If a team is a split-safety coverage team, then chances are we’re going to see a lot of split-safety coverage. Philadelphia chose to do something different. Baltimore was a little bit of a different variation and I’m sure this week will be more of what Pittsburgh does. Their identity is to mix it up and bring pressure and play coverage and play split-safety and roll the corners and flip to post-safety so they do a lot of things and I wouldn’t expect that would change drastically for us because they are very good at what they do and I don’t think you go into a game and say, “Let’s abandon what’s been good for us because of the way that somebody else plays.” I think that would carry over. They have no reason to change. They’ve been very successful doing it.

What’s been the decision-making process behind consistently using Heath Evans, Mike Vrabel and Junior Seau in goal line situations?
It’s a decision that we had made going into the season and we’ve really carried it through basically every game this year. That’s been the grouping that we’ve worked with down there. I don’t think it’s any secret. That’s what ends up going into the game. Those are the guys that we feel… That package of players is going to give us the best chance to get it in down there, for a number of reasons. We feel like we’ve been able to do that off and on. We’ve been stopped a little bit more than what we would like down there, but we’re working hard to improve that area just like the other ones. Again, it comes back to what we feel like gives us the best chance to be successful when we get into that goal-line situation.

Those guys give you an option to both pass and run?
Yeah, both. Every time we get into a goal line situation, I think you want to definitely have the best threat to run or throw it that you can have. Again, it comes back to trying to make them defend everything and those guys, that’s what we feel they can do for us down there.

Did you tell Russ Hochstein to take that false start penalty on Monday?
I wish I could claim that. I did not. I did not.

This team has done so well over the last five or six years in December. How important is it that you’re playing your best football around this time?
I think you always want to play your best football this time of year. I think that gets back to preparation during the week and then going out there and putting together consistent… We’ve had too much inconsistency the last couple of weeks here, I’d say, and we’ve got to start playing on a consistent basis [and] eliminate the mistakes. That’s how you want to really play your best football in December, is not to hurt yourself and really put your best performance out there. I think it’s very important this time of year that you continue to improve, even though we’re 16, 18 weeks into the year, including training camp, and we’re still trying to improve all the little things that we can to try to carry that through the rest of the season and then, hopefully, into the playoffs. I think it’s very important to be playing well at this time of year. I also think it’s very important to try to get better on a daily basis. You can’t just say that what you’ve done in the past really matters because it doesn’t. We’re looking forward to the next week and the next practice and trying to improve.

What prompted the decision to call the pass to Jabar Gaffney against Baltimore?
There are certain things, certain packages that Jabar has been in that Donte’ [Stallworth] hasn’t or vice versa. Donte’ has certain things down there that Jabar doesn’t do and that kind of goes… There are some things that Kyle [Brady] does that Benjamin [Watson] doesn’t do and there are things with [Laurence] Maroney and [Kevin] Faulk and so on and so forth. I think there's plays that guys run and feel comfortable with and we feel comfortable with them and, at the time the selection that we were going to go with, was more of a Jabar-type of plays and he ended up in there and, thankfully, he made a big play for us.

The Patriots are on the practice field, and are inside for the second straight day, wearing shells and pants/shorts.

The only absence is reserve safety Rashad Baker, who showed up on the participation/injury report yesterday with an ankle injury.

The day is supposed to start clear, but things could get interesting by the afternoon. Click here to see the weather forecast for Foxboro.

Today's sports cover looks at some of the famous guarantees in sports history. Shalise Manza Young asks the question: Will Anthony Smith join the likes of Joe Namath, or the likes of Fred "the Hammer" Williamson? Also, Kevin McNamara reports on PC's loss to South Carolina in Philadelphia, and Sean McAdam writes on the restocked Detroit Tigers.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Patriots' receiver Randy Moss was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November, continuing New England's stranglehold on the award this year.

Tom Brady won conference offensive player of the month in September and October.

Moss had 24 receptions for 316 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and five touchdowns as the Patriots won three games in the month. Against Buffalo on Nov. 18, Brady had 10 catches for 128 yards and four first-half TDs.

It is his first Player of the Month award in Moss' 10-year career.

For the Patriots:

Limited Participation
S Rashad Baker - ankle
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder
G Stephen Neal - shoulder
DL Ty Warren - thigh

*This is the first report of the week for New England, as they did not practice yesterday. Brady was the only player on the team's last injury report, last Friday.

For the Steelers:

Did Not Participate
S Troy Polamalu - knee

Full Participation
RB Najeh Davenport - foot

*Polamalu was not on yesterday's report; WR Hines Ward, who did not practice yesterday (coach's decision), is not listed today.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Patriot veterans Rodney Harrison, left, Troy Brown, right, and Tedy Bruschi, background, run a drill at practice in the bubble at Gillette Stadium, in preparation for Sunday's 4:15 p.m. game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team has returned to the practice field after yesterday's day off to rest.

What is your first impression of Pittsburgh? The same blitzing Pittsburgh Steelers that you’ve faced in the past?
They blitz us. They blitz us quite a bit. Their style is pretty much the same. They’re a good defense, obviously, the best in the league according to the statistics and if you ask them they’ll tell you that. It’s going to be a great challenge for us, so hopefully we go out and play well.

What did you think of the bold prediction by their corner back [Anthony Smith]?
Coach always says we do our talking on Sundays. I’m glad they feel that way. I hope they feel that way. I hope they do, I hope they feel like they can win. I’d hate for them to come in here and feel like they can’t win any games. We’ll see, we’ll see who comes out ahead on Sunday.

Is it fair to say that it might be talked about a little bit this week? It might find its way on a wall somewhere? [Anthony Smith’s victory guarantee]
I’m sure yeah. We heard about it, I think everybody on the team has heard about it. It always comes down to who plays better. Well done is always better than well said -- that’s been the motto of this team.

What do you know about Anthony Smith?
I didn’t know who he was until we started preparing for them. He’s a young player and it’s obvious that [there are] guys that we’ve played in the past that we really respect on that team, Deshea [Townsend], Troy [Polamalu], Aaron Smith, Casey [Hampton] -- those guys aren’t the ones that say it. It’s a great challenge for us we’ve had a great history with them, we’ve played some very meaningful games and they’re a great team. They’re really well-coached both offensively and defensively. I just hope we play well.

Do you consider the source when you hear things like that?
I don’t know if we’ve ever come out and predicted victory or anything and we’ve won a lot of games. Whether you predict it or not, he’s got to show up on Sunday and try to guard us, play his role, do his job and we’ve going to try and make it hard for him.

Are the Steelers are doing anything differently on defense with Mike Tomlin as head coach?
Not really, not really. To me it looks like it’s the same defense, the same group of guys, same style. They blitz a lot. It’s the same blitzes. It’s the same style of play that they’ve played in the past. They always seem to play it well. I think their players are very comfortable in their scheme and I think they have players that really play their scheme well. It’s a challenge to run it. It’s a challenge to throw it, it’s a challenge to protect and get open. It’s a lot of man coverage from the outsides. We all have our work cut out for us.

What needs to improve offensively going forward?
It’s a team-wide thing and I think we all need to focus on doing our job the best we can. Not to try to correct everybody’s mistakes, we all have our own mistakes we need to correct. I need to throw the ball better, make better reads, make better protection calls and lead a bit better. I think for each of us we need to look at ourselves individually and try to make improvements for ourselves. If we do that, collectively as a team there will be improvements. We’ve won these games, it’s been exciting to win them, it was a great game the other night but at the same time you realize we made mistakes in the game that we need to correct.

Is everybody kind of refreshed after a day and a half?
Oh yeah. Can’t you see the bright and sunny faces in here? It’s a long season and I think there’s moments when you feel a little drained and moments when you feel really reinvigorated. Going into my eighth year I really felt like every year, “OK, I have it a little more figured out this yea,” and you just realize it’s a grind. Everyday you come in here you’re coming in to work hard and give everything you’ve got. When you give everything you’ve got and it’s Monday, Tuesday morning at four in the morning you are drained but you find a way over the next day and a half to prepare yourself and come in here bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to get to work. There is no better team for us to be excited about than the Steelers and the challenges they present. There’s been a lot of excitement in our locker room. We’re back home playing in front of our crowd and hopefully we play the best game we have all season.

Along those lines, every team goes through the long grind of the season, but how much easier is it for this group to get back their energy back with your record being what it is and knowing that you’re playing for something?
I think you’re always playing for something. Whether you’re 12-0 or 0-12 you have a lot of reasons to be motivated and I think we’re motivated by playing a team that presents a lot of challenges for us. We’ve got to play our own style of game, understanding what they really do well and understanding what we need to do well. It’s a very motivated group we have. [We’ve] got some veteran players that try to work hard and take the coaching and we’re coached very hard around here. I really hope we’ve listened to what has [been] preached this week and can go out there and show it on Sunday.

They are number one in a lot of different defensive categories, but particularly in pass defense. What do you guys have to do to operate at your optimum level against their pass defense?
Yeah, they play the run well. They play the pass well. I think they create disruption with their front and they get to the quarterback and push the pocket. They’ve got some guys who can really rush. It’s a lot of man coverage on the outside and they’re on those guys tight and you’ve to find ways to get open. You don’t have all day. That’s the hard part. It’s a little bit of a challenge.

Coach Belichick talked a lot about Ed Reed last week. What do you see out of Troy Polamalu? How does he affect the Steelers defense?
He really sets the tone for them. In the times that I’ve played against him, he always makes a huge impact on the game. He’s very aggressive and he’s always focused on the ball and he can really make a lot of plays. He’s a really explosive athlete. We have to account for him on every play. Every week, we’re facing guys that are the best in the league and he’s… I don’t think there are too many players better than Troy.

Have you seen more and more creative ways each week in trying to bring pressure against you?
It’s different. I think different teams have different styles. For example, Baltimore blitzed 17 times so it wasn’t a big blitz game. They dropped a lot of guys into coverage. Every team looks at different ways to approach us and some want to cover, some want to pressure. Some want to play man. Some want to play zone. It’s probably based on what they do well and what they think they have to do to stop us. I think I know how to defend us, but I think I know how you wouldn’t defend us, too, so we’ll see if they’re right.

Well, along those lines, how do you defend against you guys?
There’s your chance. You’ve got to study the film, buddy. You’ve got to study the film.

Seriously though, you set the standard so high in the first 10 games, but the last two games do seem a little bit different from the passing production standpoint. Has there been a difference? Is it because of what teams are trying to do against you? What’s been the deal in terms of what you’ve seen in the passing game?
Well, I don’t think we’ve been executing as well. I think that’s what it comes down to. We’ve been playing good defensive teams that don’t give you a lot of opportunities, or much margin for error. When you get those opportunities, you have to take advantage of them so we’ve got to play better.

We’re getting caught up here on Pittsburgh. They’re a very impressive team to watch. They really do everything pretty well. They’re good in all three phases of the game, they’re well-coached, they’re tough, they’re physical, they make a lot of plays, they run the ball, they’re hard to run against, they throw it and they’re hard to pass it against. They have a lot of good players. They have a good scheme that we’ve seen before. I think it’s very similar to what they’ve done in the past. [They have] a few new faces and a lot of the core guys that we played against in those ’04 and ’05 games, so [there’s] a lot of familiarity there, but at the same time a lot of new things that we have to get ready for. [It’s a] style of play that really we haven’t faced this type of offense or this type of defense quite the way they do it in a little while. We need a good week of preparation. We’re underway and we’ll step on the pedal here today and tomorrow and Saturday and try to be ready to go on Sunday afternoon.

You’ve seen Ben Roethlisberger since he came into the league. What progress have you seen from him from a game management standpoint from when he came into the league until now?
I think like any quarterback in a couple of years he’s matured. He does a lot of little things maybe a little better than he did a couple of years ago, but he was pretty good then, he’s pretty good now. He’s a winner. He wins a lot of games and he makes good decisions. He’s obviously a good passer. He’s strong in the pocket, [a] hard guy to bring down. Ben makes good decisions with the ball in critical situations - third down, red area, end of the game type situations. He’s certainly one of the better quarterbacks in the league, one of the better guys we’ve faced.

What sort of challenges does the Pittsburgh defense pose? What makes them different?
Just the schemes they run. We’ve seen the Jets and Dallas and San Diego [who] are all 3-4 based schemes. They don’t quite run it the way Pittsburgh runs it, that’s all. Pittsburgh has their own way of doing it and it’s unique to them. That’s who we play this week. That’s the challenge this week.

In order to study Pittsburgh, you’ve obviously had a lot of exposure to Dick LeBeau over the years. How can you tell the fingerprints of Mike Tomlin? What has he done there?
I would say it’s pretty subtle. I think that a lot of the things that they do are…What they do, that’s what they do. It’s pretty much what they’ve been doing [since] when LeBeau was there in ’92. Then, of course, he left and went to Cincinnati and Buffalo, then came back when Dom [Capers] was there and Marvin [Lewis]. They’ve had a lot of different coordinators on the defensive side of the ball, but essentially their defensive package is pretty consistent.

So kind of like it wasn’t broken so they didn’t try to fix it?
It hasn’t been [broken] for the last 15 years. But whether it was Greg Lloyd and Kevin Green and [Earl] Holmes and the different linebackers they’ve had there, the defensive line, the secondary…It looks pretty familiar to me. Now, you know, every once in awhile they’ll come to something - Early in ’01, ’02, ’03, teams started playing empty. They’ve modified their package a little bit against some empty sets and that kind of thing, but it’s because they saw it and it was new. But the stuff that they’ve seen before - the two-back stuff, the slot stuff, the one-back stuff - they kind of do what they do. They do it pretty well.

I know you have to play the schedule as it comes up, but with a short week how much tougher does that make it late in the season?
Look, I made a comment the other day that our team was tired, and I think at midnight or 1:00 a.m., whatever time it was Monday night, Tuesday morning, we were tired. But it’s Wednesday. The game is Sunday afternoon and we’ll be ready to go. At the end of a week like that and playing on the road and playing a tough game, sure, it takes something out of you. But we bounced back yesterday and we’ll be at it today and we’ll be ready to go Sunday. We play once a week. We have all week to get ready for the game, just like everybody else does and that’s what we’re going to do.

You mentioned linebackers. Can you talk about James Harrison?
Really impressive. He’s really a good football player -- very explosive, he’s got good speed, real tough, makes a lot of big plays, very physical player. I’d say one of the most physical players in the league. He plays on the coverage teams, on the punt teams, on the kickoff team. He’s made big plays in that phase of the game, too. [He] hasn’t taken anything away from his performance on defense - there’s production on defense. He’s a good pass-rusher, he’s a good run-defender, he’s good at the point of attack, he’s good in pursuit, he’s an explosive player. He’s got some of the best hits we’ve seen all year in their games that we’ve broken down. He’s an explosive, impact-player. He was very good in the kicking game when he played for them and now he’s had a chance to play on defense and he’s - Not that he didn’t play on defense before, but he’s certainly played more this year and he’s had a lot of production, but his production hasn’t dropped off on special teams, either. He’s a good football player. You have to know when he’s on the field. He makes a lot of plays.

I’ve heard you mention in the past when you have a successful run defense, the players have to have proper fits. To the layman, what does that mean?
The runner only needs one hole to go through, so however you construct your defense to handle all of the different running plays that you see - zone plays, scheme plays, inside plays, outside plays, cutback plays, power plays, all of those things - it has to be coordinated across the board. You can be good at the point of attack and a good runner will find a seam somewhere else, so you have to have however many people you have in the front, whatever technique they’re playing, whether it’s one-gap, two-gap, stunting, playing straight, penetrating, reading - whatever it is, it has to be consistent so that you can defend the line of scrimmage. So that’s what it comes down to. It’s not any one scheme or player, but all however many guys it is, six, seven, eight, however many you’re defending with, it all has to be coordinated and everybody has to do their job across the board.

Is that the top challenge every week in terms of having a productive run defense, getting all those players on the same page?
I’d say that’s part of it. That’s part of it, but there’s no running plays that are designed to not block people, so no matter who you put there somebody’s assigned to block them. Then it comes down to whether or not they block you or they don’t. It’s not like when we line up in the defense and even if we’re in proper position, they still have a player to block each one of our players, just like we have a player to block each one of their defenders. Whether we get them blocked or don’t get them blocked, and then whether you can tackle the runner, then ultimately that’s what it comes down to in the running game, is getting the guy with the ball on the ground. You can have good fits, you can be in good position [but] if you get blocked or if you can’t tackle the runner, then you’re not going to have a good run defense.

What was more the issue in the Ravens game? Was it tackling?
We’re done with the Ravens game. We’re on to Pittsburgh.

What would you like to see improve for the Pittsburgh game?
There’s a lot of things we could -- there’s things we could do better in every phase of the game. And we’ve talked about that and we’re on to Pittsburgh.

You said not a lot changed with the defense with Dick LeBeau still being there. What about the offense?
No, I think it’s -- their offense looks pretty similar to what it did in the past. They’ve worked [Santonio] Holmes in there, he wasn’t there -- or we didn’t see a lot of him when we played them a couple of years ago - so he’s a big part of their offense, and [Nate] Washington, but [Hines] Ward and [Heath]Miller’s taken a big role for them, [Willie] Parker, of course. The offensive line is good, the right tackle, [Willie] Colon, is an excellent player. He’s been a real good addition to their offensive line. I think he’s one of the better tackles that we’ve seen this year, especially in the running game. So there’s some new players, but I think overall, scheme-wise, they have their two-back runs, they have their one-back runs, they have their play-actions, they have their drop-backs, they spread the field on you on third down like they always have -- not as much four receivers, because they use Heath Miller like a fourth receiver as a flexed-out tight end and that kind of thing. It’s the four receiver passing game, but only three receivers [are] in the game. Miller’s probably as good as most receivers anyway, so they don’t really lose much with him in there. In a lot of ways they gain it, because it’s a different match-up on the defense and it gives you another protector, if you need him. It’s good.

In terms of so-called “bulletin board material,” how much do coaches consider the source?
I don’t know. I think the most important thing is for us to be ready to play the game on Sunday afternoon. The Steelers are a good football team. They’re tough. I’m sure they’re going to play hard. We’re going to play our best. That’s what it’s going to come down to.

Troy Polamalu has been back in practice this week after missing some time. What does he do to this game? What dimension does he bring for them, defensively?
He’s an impact-player. He’s a big play-maker in both the running game and the passing game. He’s got tremendous speed, [he’s] tough, [he’s a] big hitter. Last week they didn’t play their dime defense I think probably because he wasn’t in there, so they just used nickel. They’re really a dime team. He plays down around the line of scrimmage in their dime coverage package, so I’m sure that that would be a grouping with him in there that they probably would use more of. It’s one of their core defensive packages. But he’s an outstanding football player. He makes a lot of tackles, he’s hard to block, he’s very fast in the passing game, can play man, can play zone and he’s a hard guy to throw in front of because he’s so fast and he’s a good tackler. He comes up and he usually makes a play for not much of a gain after the guy catches the ball. He adds a lot to their defense. He’s a really good player.

Do you ever use so-called bulletin board material?
I think the most important thing for us is to understand what Pittsburgh -- how they play the game, how we need to play it and how we need to -- what we need to do to win. I think that’s what’s the most important thing.

So you don’t use it?
I’m just saying, we can sit around and put a bunch of stuff up on a board and write stuff down on paper and all of that. I think in the end it comes down to whether you can outplay the other team on Sunday or not outplay them. On a priority basis, that’s what our priority is -- trying to prepare well and play well.

Would it get your attention if one of your guys guaranteed a victory?
I would hope when we walk on the field, we expect to win. That’s what I would hope. I would hope that we would expect to win the game when we walk out there on the field. I would expect when Pittsburgh walks out there, they’re going to expect a win. I can’t imagine that they would approach it any differently. We expect to win, they expect to win, both teams will play hard [and] we’ll see who’s better on Sunday. I don’t know what else there is.

It just seems unlikely that one of your guys would go out and publicly guarantee a victory.
I would think every one of our players would expect to win the game on Sunday. That’s what I would think. I would hope they would prepare and go out there with the confidence that we could play well and win it. I can’t imagine playing another NFL team that didn’t feel the same way. Certainly the Steelers - As good as they are? The way they’ve played? Their record, their team - I’m sure they’re confident that they can come in here and win. I think if I was in Pittsburgh I’d feel the same way, and I think if they were here, they would feel the same way that we feel, that they would be confident that we could win. So, you know, that’s why you play the game. I don’t think either team lacks confidence. I don’t think either team’s going into the game not expecting to win it. I can’t imagine -- maybe you guys think so, but I can’t imagine anybody going in to this game not expecting that they’re going to do well and win. Based on what?

The Patriots are holding their first on-field practice of the week, and made the late decision to move inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse.

There are no absences to report, and players are in shells and shorts or pants.

Eric Alexander, Wesley Britt and Matt Gutierrez are sporting black jerseys as practice players of the week.

Pittsburgh safety Anthony Smith today told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he guarantees a Steelers' victory on Sunday in Foxboro. It pains me to say it, but Smith went to Syracuse, so he really should know better.

From the story:

"We're going to win,'' Smith said today after practice. "Yeah, I can guarantee a win.''

Smith, a hard-hitting free safety who replaced injured Ryan Clark as the starter midway through the season, said he's not worried about any motivation he might be giving the 12-0 Patriots with his words.

"Now we have our swagger back on defense and we're playing great ball and they're playing great on the offensive side, too,'' he said of the Steelers. "I think we have a real good chance to win the game and we will win the game.''

Not only that, he said while New England's receiving corps of Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth is good, it isn't as good as the one the Steelers played Sunday against the Bengals , featuring T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson and Chris Henry.

"I think we were facing great receivers last week too and we shut them down,'' Smith said. "Those three guys, I don't think it gets much better than Cincinnati's corps of receivers. We've already seen the best."

Smith added a little more lumber to the fire when he said New England's receivers haven't been hit the way they will be hit on Sunday.

"They said Baltimore was their most physical game but I think we hit harder than Baltimore, so they haven't seen nothing like us yet.

"They should be worried about us. We never worry about receivers. We're the ones doing the hitting. They have to run routes. We're attacking them, they're not really attacking us."

Because the Patriots did not practice today, they do not have a report.

For the Steelers, RB Najeh Davenport (foot) and WR Hines Ward (coach's decision) did not practice.

From the ESPN press release:

ESPN’s Monday Night Football averaged 12,529,000 homes (based on a 13.0 rating), breaking the record for household audience set last year when the network averaged 11,807,000 households for the New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys on October 23 (based on a 12.8 rating). The game was seen by an average of 17,522,000 viewers, breaking the record set by Disney Channel’s "High School Musical 2," which averaged 17,241,000 million viewers on August 17 this year.

ESPN out-delivered all broadcast and cable networks in prime time among households, persons 2+, and all key male and adult demo groups (M18-34, M18-49, M25-54, P18-34, P18-49, and P25-54). It was the third time ESPN has won Monday night overall; MNF has “won the night” in the male demos every week this season.

In Boston, the game delivered a 28.3 rating on ESPN and an 8.3 rating on WCVB-ABC, for a combined 36.6 rating. In Baltimore, the game delivered a 12.9 rating on ESPN and a 24.6 rating on WJZ-CBS, for a combined 37.5 rating.

The game’s audience peaked from 11:30 – 11:45 p.m. ET (the telecast ended at 11:49 p.m.) with a 17.6 rating, representing 16,920,000 homes and 23,865,000 people. For that quarter hour, ESPN’s share – the percentage of U.S. television homes watching TV that were watching ESPN – was 31.

What’s Ohio State doing in the title game?
Hopefully not getting blown out. They’ve got some scores to settle with that SEC.

Do you guys have the Steelers number; you’ve certainly beaten them enough times?
No, I don’t really understand that or get that. I think we’ve always played them it’s certainly been big games. It’s been in a championship game or was the opener up here. When we opened our new stadium that was certainly a big game, it was I think a Thursday night game. Just the thing that I think about with them is that it has always been an important game or it’s been a big game and we’ve made the plays in those games to win.

A lot of us saw what the Jets did to the Steelers, Mangini used to coach with you guys, and people think that you can do the same thing with better players. Is that accurate?
Well, I think the thing that you have to understand about this league, which you guys know, is that it is a copy-cat league. The film is available to everybody and you look at the film and I’m certain that’s one of the games we’ll look at. Just as we’ll look at the Bengals game and the Dolphins game and right on down the line. You have to be careful with some of those games, that’s not quite reflective of their offense. Because it is an explosive offense and sometimes playing in those kinds of conditions you don’t really truly get to see what they are capable of. But, we’ll certainly look at all the film we can.

Any advantage in being in close games the last two weeks for you guys, Mike?
I think that not that you want to have them, but there are going to be close games in the league and you have to win games in the fourth quarter. Not that it’s good or bad but there used to be a day where that’s how we played. We played games, tight games, close games and we won them in the fourth quarter. That’s how this league is. There are tight games every week. There’s teams that have a chance to win with the ball and that’s how it comes down to.

You guys made it look so easy for most of the season. Does it help you winning those close games?
Yeah, I think helps anytime you are in a position to make plays and I said this earlier in the year that there are going to be opportunities where we are going to have to make the right plays and we are going to have to perform under pressure and make the plays down the stretch to win games. We’re not just going to be up by three or four touch downs. If you make a mistake it doesn’t cost you the ballgame. We did that, we stopped them and we were able to stop them when it counted and get the ball back and the offense was able to complete the drive.

What are some of the differences with this year’s Steelers offense compared to the Steelers you’ve played in the past?
I think the running game is obviously always prevalent. The thing I think that impresses me a lot, which they have done in the past, is that Ben’s been able to get out of the pocket. He makes a lot of plays out of the pocket. He’s very consistent. I know those plays aren’t designed but as soon as he is out of the pocket, those receivers know they have a chance to make a big play, or the tight end, if they get open or uncover from their guy, he’s able to find them.

Speaking of tight ends, do you enjoy that position as much as any?
Well, it's part of what I do. Its not a big focal point, but it’s situational football that we have to do, whether its goal line, red zone, two minute, things like that. It’s just situational football and it may be comes up a couple times a game, maybe it doesn’t come up, but I have to be prepared for it.

Is this the best New England team you’ve been on?
Well, it’s the most talented. I think that nobody can say that they have the best team they’ve ever had until the season is over, until the run through the playoffs and the Super Bowl. I would look back to San Diego last year and I’m sure they thought they had a really really good team but I think if you asked them after the season they would say that it wasn’t because you have to win a championship to be considered that good of a team.

How important is it to you guys to go undefeated?
It’s not what motivates us or not what challenges us. We’re trying just like everybody else is to get ourselves in a position for the playoffs. That’s what everybody does. And obviously by winning games, the more games you win, the better opportunity you have to get home field advantage, to get a bye. So those are the things we’re trying. We won our division and we have to just keep trying to check off goals.

What was your reaction to some of Baltimore’s claims about how the referees wanted you to win?
That would be a first for me that if I ever left the game thinking that the refs wanted us to win. I don’t really pay much attention to it. We’ve been in those positions before. We need to concentrate on the Steelers.

Why was Baltimore able to have such success running the ball, and how much of a concern is that going into Steelers this week?
Well, I think it is a big concern. If we don’t get those problems fixed, I would say that Pittsburgh runs the ball on average a little better than Baltimore does. So if we don’t fix the problems that we had, I’m sure it’s going to show up again on Sunday.

Does it all affect a legacy when the league ruled you guys were cheating?
No. We’ve moved past that and I don’t think it affects our guys on this team and how we prepare or how we try to go out and play.

In some way have you used that as a motivation at all?
Well, no, I think we are past that and we are moving on to other motivating factors, playing the Steelers and the way they are playing right now and the guys that they have on their team, that’s motivation enough.

What’s Ohio State doing in the title game?
Hopefully not getting blown out. They’ve got some scores to settle with that SEC.

Do you guys have the Steelers number; you’ve certainly beaten them enough times?
No, I don’t really understand that or get that. I think we’ve always played them it’s certainly been big games. It’s been in a championship game or was the opener up here. When we opened our new stadium that was certainly a big game, it was I think a Thursday night game. Just the thing that I think about with them is that it has always been an important game or it’s been a big game and we’ve made the plays in those games to win.

A lot of us saw what the Jets did to the Steelers, Mangini used to coach with you guys, and people think that you can do the same thing with better players. Is that accurate?
Well, I think the thing that you have to understand about this league, which you guys know, is that it is a copy-cat league. The film is available to everybody and you look at the film and I’m certain that’s one of the games we’ll look at. Just as we’ll look at the Bengals game and the Dolphins game and right on down the line. You have to be careful with some of those games, that’s not quite reflective of their offense. Because it is an explosive offense and sometimes playing in those kinds of conditions you don’t really truly get to see what they are capable of. But, we’ll certainly look at all the film we can.

Any advantage in being in close games the last two weeks for you guys, Mike?
I think that not that you want to have them, but there are going to be close games in the league and you have to win games in the fourth quarter. Not that it’s good or bad but there used to be a day where that’s how we played. We played games, tight games, close games and we won them in the fourth quarter. That’s how this league is. There are tight games every week. There’s teams that have a chance to win with the ball and that’s how it comes down to.

You guys made it look so easy for most of the season. Does it help you winning those close games?
Yeah, I think helps anytime you are in a position to make plays and I said this earlier in the year that there are going to be opportunities where we are going to have to make the right plays and we are going to have to perform under pressure and make the plays down the stretch to win games. We’re not just going to be up by three or four touch downs. If you make a mistake it doesn’t cost you the ballgame. We did that, we stopped them and we were able to stop them when it counted and get the ball back and the offense was able to complete the drive.

What are some of the differences with this year’s Steelers offense compared to the Steelers you’ve played in the past?
I think the running game is obviously always prevalent. The thing I think that impresses me a lot, which they have done in the past, is that Ben’s been able to get out of the pocket. He makes a lot of plays out of the pocket. He’s very consistent. I know those plays aren’t designed but as soon as he is out of the pocket, those receivers know they have a chance to make a big play, or the tight end, if they get open or uncover from their guy, he’s able to find them.

Speaking of tight ends, do you enjoy that position as much as any?
Well, it's part of what I do. Its not a big focal point, but it’s situational football that we have to do, whether its goal line, red zone, two minute, things like that. It’s just situational football and it may be comes up a couple times a game, maybe it doesn’t come up, but I have to be prepared for it.

Is this the best New England team you’ve been on?
Well, it’s the most talented. I think that nobody can say that they have the best team they’ve ever had until the season is over, until the run through the playoffs and the Super Bowl. I would look back to San Diego last year and I’m sure they thought they had a really really good team but I think if you asked them after the season they would say that it wasn’t because you have to win a championship to be considered that good of a team.

How important is it to you guys to go undefeated?
It’s not what motivates us or not what challenges us. We’re trying just like everybody else is to get ourselves in a position for the playoffs. That’s what everybody does. And obviously by winning games, the more games you win, the better opportunity you have to get home field advantage, to get a bye. So those are the things we’re trying. We won our division and we have to just keep trying to check off goals.

What was your reaction to some of Baltimore’s claims about how the referees wanted you to win?
That would be a first for me that if I ever left the game thinking that the refs wanted us to win. I don’t really pay much attention to it. We’ve been in those positions before. We need to concentrate on the Steelers.

Why was Baltimore able to have such success running the ball, and how much of a concern is that going into Steelers this week?
Well, I think it is a big concern. If we don’t get those problems fixed, I would say that Pittsburgh runs the ball on average a little better than Baltimore does. So if we don’t fix the problems that we had, I’m sure it’s going to show up again on Sunday.

Does it all affect a legacy when the league ruled you guys were cheating?
No. We’ve moved past that and I don’t think it affects our guys on this team and how we prepare or how we try to go out and play.

In some way have you used that as a motivation at all?
Well, no, I think we are past that and we are moving on to other motivating factors, playing the Steelers and the way they are playing right now and the guys that they have on their team, that’s motivation enough.

Hey all -

We've just gotten word from ESPN that Monday night's Patriots-Ravens game was the most-watched program in cable history, topping the numbers put up by Disney Channel's "High School Musical 2" earlier this year.

We'll give you exact numbers when we get the release.

shalise

Just a quick rundown here. We got back late Monday night, so we’re going to change the schedule a little bit this week and get back into our normal deal tomorrow. [We’re] just trying to catch up a little bit today. Getting ready for the Steelers – this will be a big challenge for us. They’re very good at everything – good on offense, good on defense, real good skill people in the kicking game. They do an excellent job. They’re a very physical team. They play hard in all three phases of the game, they’re obviously well-coached and defensively they pretty much do it all. They lead the league in points and they’re good against the run, good against the pass, good on third down, good in the red area. They have a lot of three-and-out drives. Their production out of our their front seven guys…The Bengals are a team that has been scoring a lot of points and Pittsburgh shut them down twice. I think that’s an indication of how well they play. Offensively, the Steelers run the ball well and they run it more than anyone else in the league. They’re good on third down, they’re good in the red area. [Adrian] Peterson has a lot of long runs and a lot of yards. [Willie] Parker is second in the NFL to Peterson in most of those categories. I know [Hines] Ward is obviously tough. [Santonio] Holmes is a big-play guy, [Heath] Miller has been very productive for them at tight end, [Najeh] Davenport’s given them some quality snaps at running back behind Parker. Of course, you know, Ben [Roethlisberger]’s an excellent quarterback, a hard guy to tackle, big physical, keeps a lot of plays alive with his scrambling ability. We have a lot of things to get ready for this week -- [Allen] Rossum as a returner. They’re a physical coverage team, just like they are on defense. We have a lot of things to get ready for, [a] short week, and we’ll try to utilize our time the best we can to try to make sure we get all our bases covered by Sunday.

Just to double check, the guys are not practicing today?
Right.

Is that an acknowledgement of the short week and the three straight primetime games? Do you sense the guys dragging a little bit?
That’s just where we are. We have a lot of things that we’re going to cover and walk through. We’ll be on the field tomorrow.

You mentioned Willie Parker and what he’s done. Can you give a little breakdown? Would you describe him as a hard-hitting back between the tackles or a guy that can get outside?
He can pretty much go anywhere. He’s fast, he’s explosive, he’s a good inside runner, a good outside runner, he’s got excellent speed so he can turn a short run into a long one. He’s not a three-yards-in-a-cloud-of-dust guy. He’s fast, he’s athletic, plays well in space and he’s got good power.

Can you talk about the Steelers secondary in general, and Ike Taylor specifically?
Taylor primarily plays on our right being a big, physical kid, [a] good tackler, strong, physical on the line of scrimmage. In regular, the shakedowns and plays on the other side for him, Deshea {Townsend] moves into the nickel position in sub when [Bryant] McFadden comes in the game. Of course, their safeties – [Anthony] Smith and [Troy] Polamalu or [Tyrone] Carter, who’s been there for Polamalu a little bit the last couple of games -- they’re all physical, they’re all fast and they cover a lot of ground back there. It’s an overall fast secondary, physical, [a] hard-hitting group. Like I said, Taylor’s really the perimeter corner on everything and Townsend plays outside when there’s two corners in the game. When there’s three corners in the game, then he moves into the slot.

As a follow up to that, there are a lot of big-name corners out there. Taylor’s name hasn’t been mentioned with a lot of the elite guys, but he’s had a very good year so far and the Steelers have been tough. Do you have any observations on his play?
Just what I said. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s a good tackler, he’s strong. The Steelers play a lot of zone coverage, so you don’t see them in a lot of man-to-man situations. Some on third down. But that’s their style of play and I think he plays it well. I mean, their whole defense plays well.

Are you proud in any way that given the number of blowouts that that didn’t lull your team to sleep, that they’re still able to play situational football in crunch-time and execute these last two weeks? In a lot of the games you’ve played previously, you didn’t need pinpoint execution late in the game because you were already up by 35?
Each game has it’s own plays and points to it, so some of those games we went out and executed some things very well early, got some turnovers, put points on the board, took advantage of field position and so forth. This was a game Monday that there was less of that and it came down to some situational plays at the end of the game and we were fortunate to make a few more of them than they did. As you said, it was some of the different plays that some similar elements from Philadelphia, or even going back to Indianapolis. Each game is it’s own entity. We just have to deal with whatever the circumstances and the situation [are] in that particular game and try to execute it to the best of our ability.

Did you ever worry that in the blowouts the guys would lose the ability to do that, or were you confident that when it was called upon to make crunch-time plays late in the game that you never forget how to do that just because you’ve won some big, blowout games?
As I said, I think it came up in the Indianapolis game a month ago. Down by 10 with 10 minutes to go – that’s playing from behind. There were elements of it in that game and then two games later against Philadelphia, we’re down again in the fourth quarter. I hope we don’t make a habit of that. I think it’s harder to play the game that way, but [it’s a] complement to the players that they were able in those situations to make those plays, but it really requires that you make just about all of them and there’s not much margin for error when you put yourself in that situation. Fortunately, we were able to make them this week, but it’s not the optimum situation to be in. It’s not where we’re trying to be.

Can we revisit the situation with the kickoff at the end, the unusual one where it was at the 35-yard line? I’m just curious, what would have happened if Steven [Gostkowski] had kicked it out of bounds? Would they have had the option to have you re-kick? Would they have gotten it at the five yard line, and has that ever come up? I know you talk about situations a lot. It just seemed very unusual.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it come up. The rule would have been a half the distance to the goal line penalty, so it would have been on I guess the 17 and a half.

It was obviously an emotional game. Some of the Ravens were talking about the referees wanting the Patriots to win and all of that kind of stuff. Do you have any reaction to that kind of talk?
No, we’re focused on what we’re doing.

Can you talk about de