FOXBORO -- If it's not Eric Moulds and Sam Adams , it's Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan . If it's not Jevon Kearse and Steve McNair , it's Ricky Williams and Jason Taylor .
Every week, the Patriots seem to face a team that leaves Bill Belichick all but pounding the podium as he sings their praises.
This week, it's Denver, which means defensive lineman Trevor Pryce , middle linebacker Al Wilson , running back Clinton Portis and wideout Rod Smith . To name a few.
"This year, we've seen outstanding groups of skill players and outstanding front sevens all the way back to the beginning of the year," Belichick said yesterday.
"Week after week, it's very good skill players and a very good defensive line or front-seven."
By and large, the Pats have withstood each challenge. The loss to Buffalo, well, what can you say? The Pats didn't show up. And the loss to Washington, that's a game loaded with ifs.
But otherwise, the Pats have been pretty good at shutting down skill players and not allowing their quarterback to get bludgeoned. Belichick just hopes his weekly speech isn't getting tired.
"It seems I stand in front of the team every week and say, 'We really have to be physical on the offensive line, we'll really be challenged by this group,' and they're sitting they're saying, 'Here we go. Another best defensive line in the league, sixth week in a row.' That's what it is, and here we go again this week, too.
"You've got [Bertrand] Berry , you got Pryce, now you've got [Daryl] Gardener , Wilson and [Darius] Holland 's playing good. They've got a good front, just like Miami had a good front, just like the Giants had a good front, just like the Browns had a good front, you can go right back to Philadelphia. We've faced some really good fronts and some really good skill groups this year."
"I don't think we'll ever catch a break in this league," said cornerback Ty Law . "Everybody's good, everybody can play. Seldom do you get weeks off. Every team has two good receivers. It's that simple. That's why corners are a hot commodity. There might be mediocre players somewhere on a team but not at receiver. If there are, somebody ain't doing their job in the front office. Because there's a lot of receivers out there."
Asked if there is simply more depth league-wide at those spots, Belichick replied, "We'll take stock at the end of the year. But there's a group of guys that are coming. The Rod Smiths and Eric Moulds are guys we're all very familiar with. We see them every year and they're still there, but there's another group of receivers coming who are going to be a problem.
"And any time you go up against a good defensive front, if you can't control them it doesn't make much difference what else is going on in the game. You wind up sacked, strip-sacked, you get balls batted at the line of scrimmage for turnovers. That's the game right there. I don't care if you have a good punt return or not, that won't make a difference. It's the same thing on offense with good skill players."
Extra points
Denver wide receiver Ed McCaffrey is listed as questionable for Monday's game. Still, the Pats are preparing to deal with all his 6-foot-5 presence. How will they counter his height? "You don't," said Belichick. "You can't play with those elevator shoes. It's the same problem we ran into with (Giants tight end Jeremy) Shockey . We don't have a guy who's 6-5, 260 that runs 4.5 and plays defense to cover him. Or McCaffrey. Some guys win on quickness, some guys win on speed, some guys win on size. Somehow you try to use your strengths to compete against his strengths . . . The Patriots red-zone efficiency has been lagging in recent weeks after a fairly effective stretch early in the year. "We've got to execute better. Some (failings) have been our own, some of it has been going against good defenses. Sometimes they made good plays, some times we screwed up. It could have been Attleboro High School out there on a couple of those plays and it wouldn't have made a difference." . . . Does Belichick sweat the altitude at Denver? "I think it will be the same for us as it will be for them," he said. "What are you gonna do? We're both playing on the same field, far as I know. I've coached in Denver. I've lived in it, coached teams in it. We've gone out and won when we played well, lost when we didn't. Three years ago, we won out there; two years ago, we lost. I don't think the air beat us, I don't think the air won for us. It's Denver I'm worried about, not so much the clouds and the air and the hydrogen."
