FOXBORO — Since Bill Belichick took over the head coaching duties of the New England Patriots in 2000, he has implemented a day-to-day routine for his players to follow.

It consists of meetings, practice and weight training, to name a few priorities that are on his daily to-do list.

The schedule rarely changes.

But there will be one big modification that the Patriots will have to adjust to over the next nine days.

They will have to follow Belichick’s script in California instead of in the cozy confines of Gillette Stadium.

Belichick and the rest of the Patriots’ coaching staff believe that it is better to stay out in California to train for a week rather than fly back to Foxboro after tomorrow’s game in San Francisco and then fly back out to San Diego next weekend for their highly anticipated showdown with the Chargers.

They won’t be sightseeing on their extended road trip. It will be all business. San Jose State University will be their home away from home.

They plan on returning to Foxboro with two victories.

“Team bonding? I don’t know if we are going to get in a circle and sing ‘Kumbaya’ or anything like that,” quarterback Matt Cassel said. “We are going out there and we are going to play football.”

Yesterday’s departure was a day earlier than for a normal Sunday game. Because of the six-hour flight and a three-hour time-zone change, Belichick said that it was better to leave yesterday than today so that the Patriots would have all day today to shake off any jet lag, and could have a full practice today.

“If you fly out on Saturday, then you are spending the whole day in the air and you can’t get your normal Saturday routine done unless you wait until you get it all done here,” Belichick said. “It’s a one o’clock game out there, so we felt that was the best schedule to put our team on.”

Cassel, who is from Northridge, Calif., said he was treating this like a business trip so he won’t have a lot of time to catch up with some of his friends and family.

“I am looking forward to it, but for us it’s a business trip,” Cassel said. “I don’t think I am really going to get to experience the California scene or spend as much time with my family as I would like to.”

Receiver Randy Moss, who played two seasons with the Oakland Raiders, said was looking forward to playing football more than anything else. “I think I’m more just glad to get back into football,” said Moss. “Last week was kind of off for us because we didn’t play on Sunday, so I’m just getting back in the flow of it. I’m just glad to be back playing football.”

That’s how many of the Patriots feel.

“I’m excited personally to get back out there and to get back into the groove of things…. I’m pretty excited to get to this game,” Ellis Hobbs said.

This is not the only extended trip to the West Coast that the Patriots have on their schedule.

The Patriots play Seattle on Dec. 7 and then Oakland on Dec. 14. This is the first time in team history that the Patriots will have to play four games on the West Coast during the regular season.

The Patriots last played in San Francisco in 1995. It is just their fourth time visiting the 49ers in team history. The 49ers are one of only two teams that the Patriots have never beaten on the road (0-4).

The Washington Redskins (0-2) are the other.

The Arizona Cardinals recently stayed on the East Coast between games with the Redskins and New York Jets and lost both games. The Jets also play four times on the West Coast this season.

roblee@projo.com