Mayo on Manning, the pass rush.

[Mark Farinella]

Jerod Mayo held court at his locker Thursday at Gillette Stadium, and here's what he had to say about facing the Colts' Peyton Manning and the Patriots' efforts to muster a pass rush:

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What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to mixing it up to attack Peyton Manning?

It’s just showing the same look. We have to be good in our disguise and try to trick him, basically. He’s a great quarterback, has a great arm and can make all the throws.

Can you trick him?

It’s very difficult. He studies a lot of film, he’s a great quarterback like I said, and we’ve got to try.

Are they still doing what they’ve always done despite injury losses?

Yeah, they’re still doing the same things. (Jacob) Tamme’s done a great job coming in when Dallas Clark went down, he’s making a lot of catches for them, and those guys on the outsider are as well.

Can you disrupt Peyton’s timing?

You just have to show him different looks. Try to get a little pressure on them, send different people and see what happens.

Why has he been so hard to sack?

His pre-snap reads are amazing. He pretty much knows what’s going on before he snaps the ball. So that’s the tough part.

What was it like when you faced Peyton for the first time as a player?

It was pretty exciting. You usually play with this guy on the video games and stuff like that … in college. I go with the Patriots now. But it’s exciting.

How do make this week as good as last week?

We just have to keep moving in the right direction. There was a little hiccup in the road against the Cleveland Browns, but the four weeks previous to that, I think we were going in the right direction. We have a young defense and we’re trying to get better.

Do you know what to expect out of these guys on Sunday?

I think we played them well before and had good leads, but just kind of lost it at the end of the game. But we know what they’re going to do. They’re not going to change. They’re going to come in and do what they’re going to do.

What about your teammates?

Oh, yeah. Going through all these weeks with these guys, you pretty much know what the guy beside you is going to do.

Do you feel like the Patriots are in a good position at this time of year?

I think so. There are a lot of teams that would want our record right now. But at the same time, we’re not satisfied and I think if we start to play our best football now, we’ll be hard to stop.

Are you pressuring the quarterback the way you want to?

After last week’s performance, I would say so. But the week before that, it was kind of like not. We’ve just got to be consistent, and that’s what we’re striving to do.