ShareThisFOXBORO, Mass. - The New England Patriots lost a big weapon when they traded receiver Randy Moss to Minnesota last week, but coach Bill Belichick and director of player personnel Nick Caserio both said that the team's offense won't change with Moss gone.
"I think we'll still be using the same playbook," Belichick said Monday.
The Patriots are averaging a league-high 32.8 points per game.
"The offense isn't going to change," Caserio said. "What we put in in the spring, what we worked on through training camp. We're not all of a sudden going to go back and make up new plays. We have a foundation that's in place. We've installed an offensive system.
"So like we do any week, week to week we look at the team. We figure out, 'O.K., this play works against this coverage. This play works in this situation.' So from our perspective, nothing is going to change from a game-plan standpoint in terms of how we go about it."
One thing you won't hear Belichick say this week when he talks about the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday's opponent, is anything about revenge or payback. But you can bet those words are on his and the players' minds as the team prepares to take on the 4-1 Ravens.
That's because the Ravens embarrassed the Patriots the last time they visited Gillette Stadium in a 33-14 win in an AFC Wild Card Game last January.
Belichick said Monday that the Ravens look every bit as good this year as they were in 2009, if not better.
"As usual, they look pretty good," said Belichick.
"They're really solid across the board. (It's a) big test for us. Hopefully we can be a little more competitive against them than we were last year in the playoffs. (We had) a little bit of extra time to prepare, which is good because we'll need it against these guys."
When asked if the Patriots had Sunday circled on their calendar, Belichick said: "Anytime your season ends, you remember that game. Whether it's the Giants game (2007 season), the Indianapolis game (2006 season), Baltimore game (2009 season)."
When asked if the Patriots used the playoff loss as motivation in the offseason, Belichick said: "No, I wouldn't say. Not any different than the other games that I've mentioned. ... All those games, they're the last one, those are the ones you kind of remember. I think we've moved on from all those, but now we have a chance to play that team again. It's a new matchup. It's a new game. Hopefully we can learn from some of the things that happened in that game."
Ravens QB Joe Flacco completed only 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards with one interception when the two teams met in the playoffs last year, but he didn't need to have a big game. Running back Ray Rice racked up 159 rushing yards on 22 carries, with two touchdowns, and Baltimore's defense forced four turnovers.
"They've got a lot of good weapons on offense," Belichick said. "Coach (Cam) Cameron does a good job of moving around, making you defend all of them, and getting all of them involved. Wherever you're a little light, that's the guy they'll go to."
On defense, the Ravens are led by linebacker Ray Lewis, defensive end Haioti Ngata and safety Dawan Landry and once again are one of the best in the league. They are limiting teams to 257 total yards per game (ranked third) and 14.4 points per game (ranked fifth).
"(They are) real good on defense," Belichick said. "(They) pretty much lead the league in just about every (defensive) category."
(Contact Robert Lee at roblee(at)projo.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Providence Journal
