By Howard Ulman
The Associated Press

The struggling New England Patriots looked nothing like the team that won the Super Bowl less than seven months ago.

Their performance in Saturday night's 31-3 exhibition loss at Cincinnati was so bad that coach Bill Belichick wants to see a return to basics for a team that won its last 15 games last season.

"We've got to show the ability to do the fundamental things right consistently before anything else can happen," Belichick said Sunday. "We didn't do a very good job with those last night at all."

The Bengals scored on their first three possessions and led 21-0 before New England had a first down. They led 28-3 at halftime behind strong performances from quarterback Carson Palmer and running back Rudi Johnson. And they seemed much stronger than the Cincinnati team that went 8-8 last season and missed the playoffs.

"I'm not concerned about anybody's record last year or anything else. I don't think that's what it's about. It's about being prepared for your opponent," Belichick said in a conference call. "They were on their game, and we weren't on ours."

He gave his players today off before they prepare for next Saturday night's game at Carolina, the team the Patriots beat 32-29 in the last Super Bowl on Adam Vinatieri's 41-yard field goal with :04 left.

Vinatieri also kicked a field goal Saturday night. But his 25-yarder made the score 21-3 in the second quarter and ended a drive in which the Patriots had a first down at the Cincinnati 3-yard line.

"They scored, stopped us, scored. So, certainly, there was some adversity," Belichick said. "Collectively, we didn't do much to change that course."

The passing game was disappointing for the second straight game. Tom Brady was 8-for-13 for 126 yards and one interception, and backup Rohan Davey, who struggled in the opening 24-6 win over Philadelphia, played poorly again.

The defense allowed 276 yards in the first half, although Belichick said the play of nose tackles Keith Traylor and Vince Wilfork was "probably the least" of the team's problems on defense.

"Every time they handed the ball off, they got 4 or 5 yards, and you can't stop anybody like that," Belichick said. "We had problems in a lot of different positions and we missed some tackles and we didn't key and read things well."

The Pats have less than three weeks to correct their problems before the regular-season opener against Indianapolis on Sept. 9 in Foxboro.

Perhaps teams are just geared up to play harder against the defending Super Bowl champions, who had won eight straight exhibition games before Saturday.

"We expect every one of our opponents to play their best. That's what we expect every week. That's what we prepare for," Belichick said. Otherwise, "you're setting low expectations for your opponents, and I don't think that's a good idea."

Return to Bengals front page...