FOXBORO — Mike Wright had a problem: in practice, he was a standout. But during games, his mind was so filled — consumed, really — by game plans and assignments that it led to inconsistent performances.

The defensive lineman needed to find a way for Practice Mike to become Game-time Mike, too.

Judging by his three sacks through the first four games of this season, he's figured it out.

"I was over-thinking things," Wright said Wednesday in the Patriots' locker room. "I had to tell myself to relax. The games are so much faster than practice…the speed of the game is just completely different, and I was used to one speed in practice."

One of several undrafted players unearthed by the Pats, Wright started to gain confidence in the latter half of last season, when he started two games in place of Ty Warren. He believes that playing regularly and a high number of snaps worked, but he also just told himself to calm down.

Bringing his daily routine, the one he uses on practice days, to game days has helped.

"I had to relax myself and get my mind right for what's going to go on," he said.

The tricks must be working. Last Sunday against the Ravens, Wright collected two sacks on Baltimore's Joe Flacco, and with the one he had on Jets' rookie Mark Sanchez, he's already topped the career-best 2½ he notched last year.

One of Wright's takedowns of Flacco, however, earned him a roughing-the-passer penalty for making contact with the quarterback's head; as if the 15-yard flag weren't enough, on Wednesday, the league fined him $5,000 for the infraction.

The roughing call stayed with Wright throughout the game; in the second half, he was having a tough time brining down the 6-foot-5 Flacco, but rather than body slam him and probably get another penalty, Wright just held on until the whistle blew and Flacco was called in the grasp. Wright also had three other hits on Baltimore's signal-caller.

"I think I had it in the back of my mind. I just listened for the whistle," the affable Ohio native said. "It happened with AD ( Adalius Thomas) in the first game [when Thomas was determined to have slammed Buffalo's Trent Edwards to the turf during a sack]; the crowd is loud, and you're just trying to get the guy down. It's a tough situation to be in — you're just trying to play the game."

Wright, like many defensive players, laments the strict calling of the rules in regard to contact with quarterbacks, and said he had never given it much thought until he was flagged in the first half Sunday.

The fifth-year veteran has become perhaps New England's most versatile defensive player. He lines up at nose in 3-4 alignments or as an interior tackle in the 4-3; he can play end in both, and is also on several special-teams units.

With Richard Seymour now in Oakland, it may be Wright who has benefited most from his absence, and he has responded.

"I thought that I would probably get a little more playing time, but I was focused on what I had to do. I knew I'd be in there, but (how much) depended on how I performed," he said.

He's come a long way from being the slightly undersized player who walked on at Cincinnati and became a cautionary tale for NFL clubs because of his litany of injuries with the Bearcats.

"Mike's improved every year and his versatility has grown every year," Bill Belichick said Wednesday. "He's a player that I think has value on all four downs since he's played in the kicking game for us. He can run, he's got good quickness, he's strong, he's an explosive guy, he uses his hands well. He can play the run, he can rush the passer, he's good in pursuit…he's got a good skill set, works hard, tough kid."

Belichick noted Wright's improved consistency, "which is great," while adding that he continues to improve. The 27-year old credits his coaches as well as the players he had in front of him through the years, such as Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green, for helping him along the way.

When he first signed with New England, Wright knew fairly quickly that he would have as good a chance to make the roster as Logan Mankins, Ellis Hobbs, Ryan Claridge or Matt Cassel, some of the players the Patriots had drafted that year.

"This team has had good players come from all over," he said.

Like the passed-over lineman from Cincinnati, who is now pressuring quarterbacks with the best of 'em.

smanza@projo.com