Belichick

FOXBORO — New England coach Bill Belichick left a lot of people scratching their head yesterday when he said at his news conference that the Patriots had prepared for a team to put a running back at quarterback like Miami did with Ronnie Brown, who scored three rushing touchdowns out of the formation and threw for another.

“We worked against it last week,” Belichick said. “That’s the formation the Jets used last week with Leon Washington and he’s thrown out of it and run out of it. We worked on it a week ago.”

They worked on it, but Brown said that the Patriots’ defense looked clueless the six times he lined up as the quarterback in a shotgun-spread formation.

“We tried to keep them off guard by showing them a different formation and get them thinking a little bit,” Brown said. “After the first time we ran it, I could see them running around and they weren’t used to it. We just tried to keep them off guard and it worked.”

So what went wrong for the Patriots on those plays?

“They executed the plays well,” Belichick said. “They executed them better than we defended them. We have to do a better job of coaching and a better job of playing.

"There are 11 guys on defense, so it wasn’t a one-on-one situation or anything — it’s team defense. It starts with the coaching and extends to everybody doing their job on the play. That’s what it is.”

Something’s missing

Patriots All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss appeared frustrated at times during Sunday’s loss to Miami, spending the majority of the first half by himself instead of with the rest of his offensive teammates.

He has yet to find the same on-field connection with quarterback Matt Cassel as he had with Tom Brady. In Cassel’s two starts, Moss has caught only six passes for 47 yards and no touchdowns.

He has 12 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown through the Pats first three games.

At this point last season, Moss had 22 catches for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns

Belichick said yesterday that he doesn’t think Moss is frustrated.

“I think Randy is one of our most consistent players,” Belichick said. “I think he’s been like that since he got here last year. On a daily basis — practice, games, preparation — I think he’s one of our most consistent players.”

Getting back in a groove

Tight end Benjamin Watson was certainly happy to be back on the field after missing the Pats first two games with a knee injury, though he said that he was a bit rusty.

“It was good to get back out there, it really was,” Watson said. “I had some plays that I wish I could get better on and some I did fine on. The important thing for me is just to get back in the groove and get a chance to go to work.”

In the right frame of mind

LaMont Jordan didn’t practice all last week with a foot injury, but he did play against the Dolphins.

“I just kept telling myself all week, ‘I’m not out there practicing but I have to mentally prepare myself to play,’ ” said Jordan, who had six carries for 22 yards. “I made sure that I paid attention and I would ask questions. When I got in the game and they called a pass play, I was like, ‘All right come on, let’s just make sure you get your protection, make sure you know who to get and know where to be,’ and it worked out.

"I wish the outcome of the game was different, but I was definitely happy to be out there.”

Jordan said that he will continue studying the playbook during the bye week and rest his sore foot.

roblee@projo.com