FOXBORO -- With Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia laying down to laud the Ravens offense this week, the next step was to see if the Patriots players were listening.
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich and safety Steve Gregory answered a few questions Wednesday for New England's defense.
What makes Baltimore such a tough place to play?
SG: "Probably a crowd noise thing. When they're away, obviously the crowd can be a little bit louder when they have the ball. When they're at home they can control that, so it does make a bit of a difference."
You guys have started your seasons in a similar way: Blowout win, tough loss. Is it difficult to get a read on Baltimore with the big week-to-week differences you can see this year?
RN: "We played them a lot in the last couple of years, so we kind of know personnel. That's the one good thing about having played them so many times in the past -- we know how physical a game it usually it is. Every time we play them, they play tough, they play the whole game, four quarters.
"And even last week they lost by one point so you know they're always in the game every week. You have to really make sure you're on top of preparing and just looking at anything they've changed from last year's playoff game to preseason and the first two games of the season."
How much can you even look at last year's AFC Championship game in preparation?
RN: "Not really that much. They're doing a little bit more of an offensive hurry-up, no-huddle which is something different to them. But again, that's something you just look at the preseason and the first two games to try and get a feel for what they're trying to do. But they obviously still have Ray Rice, a guy that can run and catch the ball."
Are you spending a lot of time this week on handling a no-huddle offense?
SG: "We've got to be ready for it, we'll practice for it. A lot of teams are doing it now in the game of football, so you always have to be prepared for it.
How have you seen Joe Flacco progress?
SG: "Yeah, he's definitely had some experience. He's a heck of a quarterback. He seems to be going through his reads pretty well, spreads the ball around. He's an experienced, really good quarterback.
But he's not the most mobile QB you'll face, is he?
RN: "He's one of those guys that wants to stay in the pocket and throw the ball, so the more you can put pressure on him and get him uncomfortable off his spot is going to help us out.
Last week against the Eagles, Baltimore showed some big-time inconsistency on offense. Flacco's last drive -- a potential game-winner -- featured zero no-huddle offense and six incomplete passes. What do you take from that?
RN: "I think you look at what they've done so far, obviously they have some good things. The things they didn't do at the end of that game this past game, that's something they didn't think was going to happen in that situation. So they're going to throw the ball, try and get it to some of their playmakers they're leading the league in big plays down the field, so they're obviously trying to take those shots because those are big opportunities for them to change the momentum of the game.
"If they hit a couple of those -- especially at their place where it's going to be a real loud environment -- they're going to try and take that energy. I think the incomplete passes sometimes that happens with what the defense is showing you all game then they change it up on you. They're a good team and we're going to have to have a great week to prepare for them."
What about the inconsistencies your own team showed last week?
SG: "We're just focused on one day at a time right now. Get better from where we were last week, get things corrected, and focus on this game, focus on today of getting better today. That's our focus today, is to go out, have a good practice, and get better.
"There are some good things that we can build off of, but we need to get the things that we didn't do so well corrected. That's what we're going to be working on, obviously, working on our game plan and getting ready to play against Baltimore."