Tom E. Curran • E-mail

FOXBORO, Mass. – Hey Bill Belichick, wanna rehash that Super Bowl loss?

"I'm not worried about last year anymore."

OK. How about this year, then ... ?

"It's time to have a good practice. I thought we had a good practice this morning. We'll make the corrections this afternoon. Put in some new stuff and practice it tonight."

What about further out, like maybe past tomorrow ... ?

"What do you want me to do, sit here and talk about November? I don't even know who's going to be playing in November. For us or them. Whoever it is. Our deal is what's in front of us. What's behind us we can't do anything about."

Welcome to New England Patriots Training Camp 2008, where the past is passed and tomorrow might as well be a decade away.

At a recent practice, Belichick unveiled his talking points for dealing with lingering questions about the Patriots heart-stopping, dynasty-derailing loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

See above.

He also divulged his long-term plan for exacting revenge on the NFL and restoring luster to the team of the '00s.

Also, see above.

It's football business as usual in Foxboro, a point amplified by Belichick's attire —a cutoff gray sweatshirt with an equally exquisite pair of cutoff gray sweatpants. Those looking to kick through the smoking rubble of 2007 won't find it here. It's all been cleared away. Good as new. 

Can it really be that easy though? Can the Patriots just forget they were the best team in NFL history until the final 25 seconds of their 19th game? Can they swallow the fact that – despite all they accomplished – that team is actually the 43rd best team ever? Can they take another season of scrutiny similar to what they endured in 2007 when the franchise went from revered to reviled because of Spygate?

How do they resign themselves to pushing the proverbial rock all the way up the hill again after they got it to the summit last year only to have it roll back over them?

"I'm sure it's what everyone wants to know," said venerable inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi, back for his 13th season. "Every question is, 'How do you move on, how do you move on, how do you move on?' Well, you'll see. You'll see how we move on."

The stunning conclusion to the Patriots 2007 season has caused people to forget how utterly dominant they were.

They had the greatest offensive season in NFL history. Most points scored (589). Most touchdowns scored (75). The single-season record for touchdown passes (Tom Brady's 50) and receptions (Randy Moss' 23). Most wins (18). The first 16-0 regular season. Point spreads over 20 on a regular basis. They scored 38, 38, 38, 34, 34, 48, 49, 52, 24 and 56 in their first 10 games and beat eight of the 12 teams that made the playoffs.

But the punctuation mark at the end of the regular season and the Spygate fallout that carried over into this offseason — changed the way the Patriots are perceived. The Super Bowl left them looking vulnerable. The controversies — Spygate, running up the score, player arrests in this offseason — made their model franchise reputation questionable.

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And the swirl of negativity has placed the all-important Patriots "brand" in a place it hasn't been since 2000. Damaged. 

It all becomes kind of ironic. The 2007 Patriots turned in one of the most awe-inspiring performances in the history of American team sports and we're all show up asking them if they can "get over it"?

In this case, perception is not reality. The Patriots haven't gotten appreciably worse in this offseason. And none of the league's other 31 teams has gotten appreciably better. The edge the Patriots had over the rest of the league for 18 games, 58 minutes and 25 seconds hasn't been sufficiently diminished.

Unfortunately for the rest of the league, the perceived vulnerability of the Patriots will inevitably turn up as a kind of motivation for the always-looking-for-disrespect Pats. If he hasn't already, Belichick will eventually seize on the notion that people don't think his team is mentally tough enough to recover from one loss. This he will pass onto his team, a team led by players like Bruschi, Brady, Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison who know how to turn small slights in blunt-force attacks.

The resolve to shut people up will build. And the rock — the same one they got rolled over by in February — will get the shoulder put to it again.

"One meeting at a time, one practice at a time, one day at a time," said Belichick. "We're just trying to keep getting better."

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