Originally published Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 12:00 AM

AFC Playoffs | Patriots will stick to what they know

The Patriots did not go 16-0 in the regular season by running the football. So don't expect them to start now, especially against a team...

By David Heuschkel

The Hartford Courant

Today

Jacksonville @ New England, 5 p.m., Ch. 7

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. — The Patriots did not go 16-0 in the regular season by running the football. So don't expect them to start now, especially against a team that does a better job stopping the run than the pass.

The Jaguars should expect Tom Brady to throw early and often, attempting to exploit Jacksonville's suspect secondary tonight in a divisional playoff game at Gillette Stadium.

The winner will take on either the Colts or Chargers Jan. 20 in the AFC Championship Game.

If playoff experience counts for something, this might not be a contest. The Jaguars have nine players who have played in three or more playoff games. The Patriots have nine players who have played in at least three Super Bowls.

"It's think it's probably the greatest collection of talent in coaching that's ever been assembled," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said this week.

It would seem that Jacksonville's best chance would be to keep Brady on the sideline. This can be accomplished by sustaining drives and eating up the clock. They must also convert every red-zone possession into a touchdown, a tall but not impossible order against a Patriots defense that ranked 27th in red-zone defense.

Coach Bill Belichick and his coaching staff drilled the physical and aggressive nature of the front seven of the Jaguars' 4-3 defense into the players' heads.

"You have to block them until the play is completed or else they're going to get to the quarterback, or they're going to get in the backfield and create a problem in the running game," Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said.

The Jaguars' running game is led by Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, who combined for rush for 1,970 yards, the most by any AFC backfield tandem.

Jaguars QB David Garrard has thrown 40 passes once in 31 career starts. The Jaguars ran the ball more than they passed it in 10 of their 16 regular-season games, and the Patriots passed it more than they ran it in 11 games.

As for the quarterbacks and their receivers, there is no comparison. Including the playoffs, Brady is 98-26 (.790) as a starter and Garrard is 20-11 (.645).

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