Patriots running back Laurence Maroney wears a forlorn look while trudging off the field after New England’s 17-14 loss to the New York Giants Sunday in Super Bowl XLII.

The Providence Journal/ / Bob Breidenbach

While a small contingent of the New England media waited patiently for Bill Belichick to begin his conference call yesterday, sound bites from the team’s three Super Bowl wins entertained reporters before the Patriots’ coach came on the line.

There were highlights from Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX but none from the devastating 17-14 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday in Super Bowl XLII.

After Belichick greeted everyone on the phone, he quickly said he’s looking ahead.

“As I said after the game, it’s a disappointing end to a lot of good things that happened this season,” said Belichick. “Our players did a great job all year long and we played a lot of good football, but we’re disappointed about the way it ended. We came so close, but it just didn’t work out. It takes a lot to get to this point, but we’re starting all over for the ’08 season and it’s time to move on.”

The coach even went so far as to say he hasn’t had time to watch the game tape of the loss to the Giants, but said he eventually will watch it because it’s part of the overall season evaluation. The team arrived home at Gillette Stadium a little after 8 o’clock Monday night, and the coach said he had other business to attend to, but his coaching staff watched the game film.

When asked if it would be tough to remember the positives from the regular season and playoff games due to the loss in the championship contest, Belichick wasn’t ready to reminisce just yet.

“I’m not going to sit here and dwell on anything — good or bad — that happened in the past,” he said. “It’s over and it is what it is. We’ve played our last game of the ’07 season.”

Also part of the end-of-season routine is that all of the players are required to undergo an exit physical, and Belichick said yesterday those will be completed at the appropriate times. Then there were questions about whether players like Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison would retire or return for another season with the Patriots.

“At the end of each season, I’ve said this in previous years and I would say it really every year, I don’t think the day after the season is a great time to make decisions about anything,” Belichick responded. “I think we all need to give the end of the season a little bit of time. Whatever decisions need to be made, sometimes they’re timely decisions and you can’t wait forever on them. But I don’t think the day after the season is a great time to be making a lot of important decisions on anything.

“How those players feel now and how they might feel a week from now, or two weeks from now, or a month from now could be entirely different,” he added. “Certainly, I’ve seen that in my career as a coach and I’ve had feelings after a game that after a period of time have shifted a little bit, too, for various reasons. I personally wouldn’t put too much into anything that happens soon after the end of any season, good or bad. Immediately after a particular game, a lot of times those are emotional decisions and not really good fundamental ones.”

Belichick, a workaholic who really never has an offseason, said the first thing he’s going to do is evaluate the team and study what happened during this record-setting season. After he reviews all of the plays, players and schemes, he said it will be time to look ahead to the team-building aspect for 2008, which includes free agency, spring camps and the draft.

The Patriots wasted no time looking ahead to 2008 as the team signed four players to new contracts yesterday — guard Dan Connolly, wide receiver C.J. Jones, offensive lineman Jimmy Martin and cornerback Tim Mixon. Connolly, Jones and Mixon all finished the season on the Patriots’ practice squad.

There’s also been a lot of talk since the final seconds ticked off the play clock on Sunday about Belichick’s quick exit with time still remaining in the game, with some calling the move classless. There was one second left when players and personnel began to clog the field, and Belichick said yesterday he didn’t realize there was time left.

“I wanted to get over there and congratulate him (Giants coach Tom Coughlin) on the championship,” said Belichick. “They deserved it. There wasn’t much left at that point.”

The coach is known for his clichÉs, and one came to mind yesterday as he answered questions for 11 minutes during his conference call: You’re only as good as your last game.

jmcdonal@projo.com