Mankins On GameDay: 'Motivated' Patriots Ready For Ravens
BOSTON (CBS) - The New England Patriots suffered a shocking loss against the Arizona Cardinals last week, and now face a difficult match up in Baltimore against the Ravens.
WBZ-TV's Steve Burton sat down with Patriots guard Logan Mankins for Sunday morning's Patriots Gameday on WBZ, who said the Pats are ready to bounce back after last week's defeat.
"It's motivated I think," Mankins said of the Patriots locker room this week. "Guys are working hard. We're trying to get better. We know our task is the Baltimore Ravens, and that's what everyone is focused on."
"It's going to be a real tough game; Sunday night football, (Baltimore) is a tough place to play anyways," said Mankins. "Ray Lewis will have the defense fired up and their offense is playing really good."
Not only will Mankins and the rest of the Patriots offensive line be tabbed with the task of keeping Tom Brady on his feet, but they'll be trying to open up holes for running back Stevan Ridley.
"He's done a really good job for us," Mankins said of Ridley. "It's exciting; he's so explosive. Give him a little crease and he can turn a four-yard run into 16, 17 or 18 (yards). That's always nice to have back there."
When asked what he likes more -- blocking for the run or protecting from the pass-rush -- Mankins didn't have to think for long.
"Everyone loves run blocking. First of all, it's not as hard, and then you don't have things like sacks coming up," he said with a chuckle. "Usually they're going to put you in the paper for giving up a sack, not missing a run block."
Tune in to Patriots Gameday Sunday morning at 11:30am on WBZ-TV for Steve Burton's full sit down with Patriots All-Pro guard Logan Mankins.
