Bill Belichick on Jaguars

Patriots coach Bill Belichick held a conference call with the media tonight (8 p.m.) and opened with the following statement:

“We’ve kind of been spending, of the three possible opponents, most of our time on Jacksonville over the weekend, given the fact we played Pittsburgh a month ago and played Tennessee earlier in the [pre]season.

"Jacksonville is one of the best teams in the league and they have been, over the last third to half of the season, leading the league in scoring, yards per game, defensive yards per game, third down offense, time of possession, pass defense. They’re very good at everything. Special teams. The long kickoff return against Pittsburgh the other night, that was obviously a big play. They can run it. They can throw it. They don’t turn it over. They can stop the run. They can rush the passer. They play good pass defense. They’re a sound team. They’re big. They’re physical. They’re well coached.

“We had a tough game down there with them last year, without Fred Taylor. I think Fred Taylor is one of the best backs in the league. He’s a tremendous football player. He has big speed, like [Maurice] Jones-Drew, that can take it the distance as well as pound out the tough yardage. Big receivers. Big, physical team.

“We have a lot to get ready for. They’re an outstanding football team, coming off a big win in Pittsburgh. That’s twice they’ve gone up there [and won], which is something nobody else has done. So we have all the respect in the world for Jacksonville. We know we’re going to have to be at our best, so that’s what we’re going to try to do. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. These guys are really good, and we have a lot of respect for them.”