New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz speak to the media in New Orleans today. (AP Photos) NECN RealVideo: Belichick speaks

Belichick outlines the game plan

By Chris Begley, Boston.com Staff, 02/01/02

If the New England Patriots plan on beating the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, they need to turn in a better performance than they did during their first meeting back in November, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said today.

"The most important thing in this game for us is that our team needs to know how we play. We can't play St. Louis the same way we played them the first time or we are going to have the same result," Belichick warned. "We have to play better and have to do some things a little bit differently."

In the teams' regular season contest on November 18, the Patriots turned the ball over three times, and Rams quarterback Kurt Warner scorched the New England secondary for 401 yards passing.

The coach, in his final press conference this week, said he is pointing out specific examples of things the players need to take care of in the game.

Yesterday, the team spent part of its practice on third down situations. Today, they will concentrate on red zone offense and defense, the two minute drill, and conduct a general review.

All season the team has been very focused on the week's task at hand, and that hasn't changed here in the Big Easy.

"Everybody realizes what's at stake and I would say the concentration has been a little higher than it normally is," Belichick said.

Since their is no bye-week between the AFC championship game and the Super Bowl, the team is not getting antsy.

"What I've tried to do is make this week as much as a normal week as possible," the coach explained.

Quarterback Tom Brady practiced well yesterday, and Belichick doesn't think his ankle will be an issue on Sunday.