FOXBORO -- If you’re wondering how the Patriots might survive without Pro Bowl linebacker Jerod Mayo, look no further than the guy two lockers to the right.

Gary Guyton was the player who stepped in when Mayo went down early in the 2009 season, and while no one is pretending that Guyton is going to be able to bring the same attributes to the field that Mayo can deliver, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday that when it comes to assignments and responsibilities, there’s no one better to fill that role than Guyton.

“Both guys kind of can do what the other one does,” Belichick said. “They flip assignments and positions regularly on the defense just to change up the looks, just to have a different guy doing it – within the structure of the defense, having different guys doing it to make the offense read it differently and so forth.

“I think Gary has good experience, and he knows all the positions – any inside linebacker part of the defense, regardless of what our front is and so forth, he’s pretty adept and he’s a real sharp guy.”

Guyton, the fastest linebacker on the team, is known more for his work in pass coverage, but the 25-year-old out of Georgia Tech will now likely be the one with the communication system in his helmet so he can get the calls from the sidelines. The players with the system in their helmet have a green dot, and Guyton does have experience with the system, primarily coming when he filled in for Mayo back in 2009.

Belichick said that part of the transition isn’t “that big a deal.”

“We go through that in practice every day,” he said. “We have two green dots in practice so whoever is the other signal caller in the huddle – and that’s changed from time-to-time, so we have different guys doing it. We had different guys doing it in preseason.”

Mayo, who has led the Patriots in tackles in his first three seasons, entered the game against the Raiders tops on the team with 25 tackles, and made three on Sunday before he went down midway through the second quarter on a run by Oakland’s Darren McFadden. On the play, he appeared to get tangled up with Raiders offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski, and then reached down for his left knee. He had to be helped off the field, and was later carted off the field at halftime.

On Monday, Belichick said he wasn’t “going to guess” at a possible timetable on Mayo’s return.

“I saw him in there today,” Belichick said. “I’m not sure exactly where things are at -- we’ll see where we are on Wednesday.”

Neither Guyton or Mayo were in the locker room on Monday afternoon during media availability, but Belichick did discuss how things went Sunday against the Raiders after Mayo went down.

“We had our moments. There were some good things [and] there were some other things we need to do a better job of,” Belichick said. “Gary basically replaced Jerod in our regular defense, and then we had some other guys in sub defenses. So we had some different packages in there. It wasn’t a Ferris wheel of guys. There was actually a plan there, believe it or not.”

One of those guys who was in there was also in there was linebacker Dane Fletcher. He doesn’t have the experience at the spot that Guyton does -- especially when it comes to wearing the green dot on the back of his helmet -- but has made huge strides from where he was last season as an undrafted defensive lineman out of Montana State.

“I think Dane has taken a big jump from where he was last year,” said Belichick. “Last year, he came in really as a converted defensive lineman. [He] made an impact for us in the kicking game. At other points in the year, [he] did some things situationally on defense.

“This year, he came in and played inside linebacker right from the beginning of the year. He’s way ahead of where he was last year. There’s just really no comparison. He got a good year of experience and he definitely built on that. He’s a smart guy, works hard, he’s in good condition, he’s a good athlete, runs well [and] he’s physical.”

“I don’t know the severity of his injury or whatnot, so I don’t know when he’s going to be back, whether it’s this week or not. So you game plan for the worst and hope for the best,” Fletcher said when asked about Mayo. “[But] wherever they see me fit is where I’ll be in this game plan.”

Initial reports indicate that Mayo will be sidelined with an MCL injury to his left knee for roughly a month, although he returned from a similar injury he suffered in 2009 to his right knee in three weeks. Regardless of how long he is on the shelf -- and no matter what sort of job fill-ins like Guyton and Fletcher do -- the loss of Mayo will leave a sizable hole in the middle of the New England defense.

“[Mayo] is a top defender in this league,” teammate Vince Wilfork said of the linebacker. “Anytime you have a top defender on the field, it always betters your chances to win. But you know what? We’re going to have to keep rolling. We will keep rolling. The ball won’t stop, I think when the opportunities for different guys [come] to step up, they have to step up. That’s what’s going to have to happen now.”