FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t make too many jokes during his press conferences, but he did make one — or at he least tried — before his team practiced Tuesday at Gillette Stadium.
The Baltimore Ravens use a zone-blocking scheme more often than most NFL teams, and when asked if cut blocking is part of that strategy, Belichick answered in a rather weird way.
“Is the Pope Catholic?,” Belichick said. “Yeah, they cut. The same offense they ran in Denver, the same offense they ran in Houston is the same offense (Gary) Kubiak runs in Baltimore. So all the characteristics from those other teams are the same characteristics in Baltimore.”
Cut blocking, while legal, is frowned upon by many NFL coaches and players because it often results in knee injuries, sometimes serious ones such as ligament tears. It’s one aspect of Baltimore’s rushing attack that New England certainly will prepare for ahead of Saturday’s divisional-round matchup in Foxboro.
The Patriots’ defense has improved over the last eight weeks, and the Ravens rushed for just 49 yards on 25 carries in their 30-17 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend.
