FOXBORO -- The Patriots now have 11 days before they face their first AFC playoff opponent, but all the time off doesn't mean they'll be sitting around twiddling their thumbs.
The time is going to fly by, says center Damien Woody .
"Now you get to work on things that you think you need to strengthen a little bit," he said yesterday before the team headed out to practice at Gillette Stadium. "There are definitely a lot of areas that we need to strengthen on our football team, and we're going to take this week to get our guys rested, to work on situational football and just try to fine-tune things as a whole so we give ourselves the best chance of winning come next week."
No one in the Patriots' locker room seemed concerned about the team losing steam. Having a week off between Denver and Dallas last month certainly didn't interrupt New England's winning streak, which was extended to 12 games with the Pats' 31-0 victory over Buffalo in Saturday's regular-season finale.
"Everybody knows the magnitude of the playoffs and everything, so as far as staying focused, that should not be a problem at all," Woody said. "Everybody knows what we're playing for, and I'm sure everybody's going to do what they have to do in order to be as well prepared as possible."
Until the Wild Card playoff games are decided this weekend, Bill Belichick' s coaching staff will be preparing for three potential opponents -- Denver, Baltimore and Tennessee.
Although they beat both Tennessee (Oct. 5) and Denver (Nov. 3) during the regular season -- the Titans, 38-30, and the Broncos, 30-26 -- the Patriots don't feel they would have an advantage if they were to play one of them next weekend.
"That's too long ago," Woody said of the previous meetings. "You can't focus on [the fact that] we beat Tennessee way back [13] weeks ago or we beat Denver [9] weeks ago. That was a lifetime ago. Those teams have gotten better. They've made changes along the line. So if we were to play one of those teams, it would be a totally different situation and our preparation would be different, too."
The urgency is perfectly clear
What type of wisdom can a player about to make his fifth postseason appearance impart upon his less-experienced teammates?
Patriots defensive captain Tedy Bruschi says he will try to help the rookies understand what "the playoff tempo" is going to be like.
"The urgency's going to be stepped up," he said. "We don't have anymore meaningless games or anything like that. We lose and we're done."
But beyond that advice, says Bruschi, "if these rookies don't know anything by now, they're pretty clueless. We've had four preseason games, the whole regular season, and now it's the playoffs. So we'll talk to them a little bit about it, but if they don't get it by now, they've got problems."
Home is not always a haven
So the Patriots have secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by virtue of finishing on top in the AFC.
Considering New England enjoyed its first undefeated home season in team history with an 8-0 mark at Gillette Stadium and is 17-3 in its last 20 home games, it certainly seems as if the Pats have gained an edge.
How much of an advantage does it really give them, though?
It all depends, says Rodney Harrison .
"The turf is bad; it's really bad," the Patriot safety said. "Fortunately for us, we're used to going out there and slipping and sliding and having the ground come up and stick to you when you plant and take off. But for us, it's only home-field advantage if you make it that way. If you go out there and you play well and you don't give up the big plays and you stay mentally focused, it's home-field advantage. To have the fans rooting for you when you're down and cheering and going crazy, we've had some success at home. But it all really doesn't matter if we don't take care of business."
And if you believe that . . .
Belichick was asked yesterday whether he had made any New Year's resolutions. "We still have a couple of days on that, right?," he said. "I will work on that."
Then the normally straight-faced coach broke out into a huge grin and said: "Probably the same as last year, to be as helpful as I possibly can to the media."
