New England Patriots Links 1/17/12 - A Fine O-Line Separates Winning and Losing

Wes Welker is asked about the mindset of the team as it prepares for the Ravens.

That we need to get back to work. We had a good performance this weekend and we're going to have to repeat that and even do more to have a chance this weekend. That's kind of our mindset of understanding that we have to play really well this week in order to win the game.

Matthew Slater talks about how focused the team is with just four teams remaining.

"It has to be even higher than it was last week, and it was high last week, but it has to be high. It has to be a one-day-at-a-time thing. You don't win the game on Sunday, you win it throughout the course of the week and it starts today by how you prepare and then obviously you have to go play well on Sunday. Giving ourselves a chance to have success starts today."

Rob Ninkovich doesn't take any motivation from what the media says about the Patriots defense.

You really can't listen to anything outside of the locker room. We're a tight-knit unit. The defense has kind of had their ups and downs this year, but in the big picture of things, I think that we've done really well in the turnover ratio. Especially with the way our team is made up, our offense is so potent, that if you can get them the ball obviously they're going to do something with it. Really, the more times you can get Tom [Brady] the ball and let him do what he does best - and that's to throw the ball around and make big plays. Obviously, we've let up some big plays that you don't want to do as a defense and yardage that you don't want to have. But when you look back on the season, we're still 13-3 and the points, we didn't let up a lot of points which obviously, if you're letting up a lot of points, you're not going to win. Turnovers and points I think we did pretty good at.

TEAM TALK

• Press Conferences: Wes Welker (9.50 min. video), Rob Ninkovich (9.26 min. video) and Honorary Captain,Troy Brown (18.04 min. video)
• Player Interviews: Nate Solder (1.58 min.), James Ihedigbo (3.19 min.) and Matthew Slater (2.19 min.)
• Patriots Locker Room Quotes.
• Patriots Today - Bring on the Ravens. (3.17 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Erasing memories of 2009. (2.31 min. video)
• Patriots Today - A complete 60 minutes. (2.20 min. video)
• Locker Room Uncut - Monday thoughts from the Patriots. (2.32 min. video)
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (18.17 min.), Rob Ninkovich (10.58 min.), Deion Branch (12.11 min.), Vince Wilfork (14.58 min.) and Bill Belichick (22.47 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Kirk Minihane tells us why the Patriots will win on Sunday.
• Ian Rapoport sees this year's Patriots team as the opposite of the 2009 team that lost to the Ravens in the playoffs.
• Mark Daniels looks at the history behind the Patriots vs. Ravens matchup.
• Mike Reiss points to the offensive line as a key factor in the upcoming game against the Ravens.
• Greg A. Bedard focuses on the stellar line play from the Patriots, with Tom Brady having all day to throw.
• Christopher Price gets one scout's take on this week's AFCCG: 'Ravens don't have effective counterpoint to Patriots' TEs'.
• Mike Reiss reports that Wes Welker isn't taking anything for granted, especially after 2007.
• Bill Reynolds hears the clock ticking on Tom Brady's years in New England.
• Gerry Callahan sees the stars aligning for the Patriots and says the path to Indianapolis couldn't be clearer.
• Christopher Price emphasizes the play of the versatile and valuable LB Rob Ninkovich.
• Dan Shaughnessy wants to see a Super Bowl rematch between the Patriots and the Giants.
• ESPNBoston asserts that against the Patriots, teams have to pick their poison.
• Mike Rodak says the Patriots are looking to 'out-prepare' the Ravens.
• Mike Reiss believes the Patriots know better than to think they can breeze past the Ravens.
• Mark Daniels notes all eyes will be on Baltimore RB Ray Rice this week.
• Julian Benbow reports the Baltimore Ravens are a bit testy when it comes to their regular-season road record, and confident about their chances in Foxborough.
• Mike Reiss points out the Patriots have the 27th pick in the first round, now that the Saints' season has ended.
• WEEI highlights Tom Brady's weekly call-in to the Dennis & Callahan show.
• Mike Reiss looks at the snaps played by Patriots defenders Saturday and tells us what it means.
• Tedy Bruschi posts the transcript of his weekly online Patriots chat.
• Michael Whitmer Patriots Notebook: Troy Brown will be one of four honorary captains this Sunday, 15 years after the 1996 team advanced to the Super Bowl; The loud home field crowd earned raving reviews from the players; Zoltan Mesko gave Tom Brady's punt a good review; Denver's mayor wore a Brady jersey during Sunday's Nuggets-Jazz NBA game, after losing a bet with Boston mayor Tom Menino.
• Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Players glad they play at home, especially with how loud the fans were last week; Nate Solder doesn't have much NFL experience, but isn't fazed by having to battle the likes of Ray Lewis Terrell Suggs; Wes Welker plans on taking full advantage of this playoff run.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Michael Lombardi (NFL.com) Brady's clinic put Tebowmania to shame; more notes.
• John Clayton (ESPN) AFC playoff Q&A: Patriots sitting pretty.
• Joe Posnanski (SI) Offense first: Patriots looking to accomplish rare playoff feat.
• Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots stock report: Divisional round.
• Jamison Hensley (ESPN) Quick take: Ravens at Patriots.
• Les Carpenter (Yahoo! Sports) Real test awaits Ravens in New England.
• Elliot Harrison (NFL.com) Early thoughts on each conference title game.
• Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) NFL playoffs: Championship preview.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) John Harbaugh: Offensive output has to improve to beat the Patriots.
• MJD (Yahoo! Sports) Divisional weekend's five most valuable players.
• PFW Staff (Pro Football Weekly) PFW/PFWA 2011 All-NFL team. Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Matthew Slater make this team.
• Video (ESPN) Tomlinson's view of the Patriots. (1.10 min. clip)
• Joe Juliano (Philadelphia Inquirer) After Patriots' playoff game, Bill O'Brien makes time to meet Penn State recruits.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) League needs to take replay review out of referee's hands.
• Staff Poll (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Would you rather... Baltimore or New England win the AFC Championship game?

VIEW FROM BALTIMORE

• Mike Preston (Baltimore Sun) Ravens need to keep winning ugly: There is no reason for them to be cute against the Patriots.
• Mike Preston (Baltimore Sun) It's time for Cameron and Flacco to prove their worth.
• Jeff Zrebiec (Baltimore Sun) Ravens know onus is on offense to dictate pace vs. Patriots.
• Matt Vensel (Baltimore Sun) Ravens' offense needs help of its 'big brother," the defense.
• Peter Schmuck (Baltimore Sun) Ravens won't have to rely on odds when they face the Patriots.