After the 31-3 thrashing at the hands of the Bengals, coach Bill Belichick says the team will focus on fundamentals as it prepares for Saturday's game against Carolina.

08:05 AM EDT on Wednesday, August 25, 2004

BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

AP photo Bengals running back Rudi Johnson, left, is chased down by cornerback Asante Samuel of the Patriots in the second quarter of Saturday's rout at the hands of Cincinnati, which has prompted coach Bill Belichick and his team to go back to the fundamentals in practice.

FOXBORO -- Okay, it's been a couple of days now.

Everyone in Patriots Nation should be getting past New England's Saturday night preseason pasting at the hands of the Bengals.

The Pats' players have. It's time to learn and move on.

Yes, it was the first time in nearly 11 months that the Pats had lost a game of any kind, and while it was a sound, 31-3 defeat made more embarrassing by the fact that it came at the hands of the NFL's recent poster child for mediocrity, even the most rabid New England fan would admit that it was unrealistic to think the team would never lose another game.

"It felt the same as it did after every time you get your lunch handed to you," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "People tend to forget, but we've had times before where we had bad days like that. It's not the first time, and it's probably not the last."

After rattling off 12 straight regular-season wins and three victories for their second Super Bowl title in three years, it became all too easy to think New England could beat anyone, any time.

But as Ty Law said yesterday before practice, the Bengals beat the Pats "like we were some kids. They were the grown men that day."

Asked whether the game -- in which Tom Brady and Rohan Davey each threw an interception, Corey Dillon lost a fumble, and the first-team defense played so uncharacteristically poorly it was still on the field in the fourth quarter -- should serve as a wake-up call, head coach Bill Belichick's answer was to the point.

"I would hope that game got somebody's attention," he said. "We'll find out."

Belichick said the team will have to focus on fundamentals as it prepares for Saturday's nationally televised Super Bowl rematch at Carolina. Bruschi said that means a tough week for the players.

"It's going to be physical (in practice) this week. Bill talked about getting back to basics and fundamentals; that means we're going to hit," he said, emphasizing "hit."

"We're still technically in training camp," Law said. "It's still the preseason. We can't get too complicated. If we don't have the basics down, like we proved in Cincinnati, we can't get too fancy. We can't move on to complicated things we like to run if we can't get the basics right."

Belichick said the team will practice this week like it does during a normal regular-season week, with emphasis on red-zone, goal-line and two-minute-drill plays.

He didn't put a lot of stock in the idea that the third preseason game, as this weekend's is for the Patriots, is a dress rehearsal for the regular season.

"I think every time you step out onto the field and the team has a chance to improve, you have to take advantage of all of those opportunities," Belichick said. "We want to utilize that the best way we can, but we feel the same way about the other games, too.

"With different opponents, there's different points of emphasis, depending on who the opponent is. There will be some elements in this game that will be great opportunities for us as a team, and some of the individual matchups will sharpen our game before the regular season."