By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com
Have a holly, jolly Christmas . . . just don't let it get in the way of the damn football game. So sayeth Bill Belichick - though not in as many words - during a conference call Tuesday afternoon. Asked how hard it is to keep young players focused when the chaos of Christmas and the holidays are swirling, Belichick said,"I think thats important for every person, every member of the organization, not just the young players, but all of us. To maintain our focus, keep our eye on the target, and not worry about anything but Buffalo. That's really all there is right now. Take everything else, and push it to the side a little bit, and try to make sure we do a good job on our preparation, and make sure we don't take anything for granted. Do all the little things that we need to do, and put all our energy and emphasis into that."The Bills are 4-11 and the threat is there that they won't capture the attention of the Patriots. Kinda the way a 2-11 Dolphins team didn't get the 12-1 Patriots' best shot back in 2004. The result? A 29-28 loss. "We all can potentially be distracted," Belichick added. "Everybody's job is important. I think that's a message for everybody this week.What has experience taught him, in dealing with the process? Basically, to treat this holiday week like every other week."Last week is no different than this week," Belichick said. "This week is no different than last week or next week. We still need to put everything we have into each game, take advantage of our opportunities, whether it's film study, meetings, walkthroughs, practice . . . and just maximize that."
Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran