Jerod Mayo

Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo made his weekly appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Friday, two days before the showdown with the Ravens for the AFC championship. To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.

“There’s a sense of urgency here,” Mayo said. “We feel like we’re ready to go. We’ve got a good game plan, and hopefully we can execute it on Sunday.”

Patriots players and coaches credited the team’s practices before the Broncos game as a key to the team’s success in the blowout victory. Asked how practice has been going this week, Mayo said: “Practice has been good. We’ve put in some different things, some different looks. been working on a lot of Baltimore stuff. They’ll be a challenge. It’s all about going out there and executing, and hopefully we can get it done.”

Joe Flacco has received a lot of criticism for his play, but Mayo said statements that the Ravens quarterback is unable or unwilling to move around the pocket aren’t accurate.

“Watching him these last couple of games, he’s been moving all right,” Mayo said. “I’ve seen a couple of runs where he’s run for like 40 yards on a play. So, I don’t know where these people are getting that from. I’m not going to sit here and say he’s Michael Vick, but at the same time, he’s not immobile. He can move around a little bit.”