FOXBORO - New England, we've been spoiled.

And I'm not even talking about the Red Sox and Celtics or the handful of losses our Boston professionals have had since the end of October.

The rest of the nation, including and especially a bus station full of ex-NFL players working on national TV, has decided they don't like Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Admit it, you've had enough you want blood. You want 50 points. You want bombs to Randy Moss. And you want it now.

Well, it isn't coming. You're going to have to settle for the consolation prize - wins and possibly another Lombardi Trophy.

The Patriots are going to do this old-fashioned way, or at least the way they did in 2001, 2003 and 2004, with precision, smarts and, of course, Tom Brady.

The Jacksonville Jaguars deserve credit. They gave the Patriots everything they could handle.

They did everything right except stop Brady and Company once (the offense scored on every possession except one, which was a missed field goal) when it mattered.

We were forewarned about this immediately after the Eagles stunned America three days after Thanksgiving by keeping it close against the Patriots.

"People should wake up," said Pats linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "This is they way it is in late November and December. It's going to be like this all of the time down the stretch. This is reality. I hope a lot of the new guys understand that. Those huge (blowouts) are abberations."

Bruschi smiled when reminded about his premonitions seven Sundays ago.

"As the season goes on, teams get better; they have more film on you," said Bruschi. "We're in January now. This is the best of the best. It's probably not going to change. And neither will our focus - to win. I don't care how many yards they ran for or passed for. This time of year, it's about winning."

The Patriots are playing to win these days. That means risks. All-out blitzes or passes to Moss in double-coverage aren't going to happen.

As long as the Patriots are in control of the game, like they were soon after Jacksonville's opening drive for a touchdown, you might as well call the Patriots "vanilla."

They will protect the ball (no fumbles and no interceptions, again). They will throw 5-yard passes underneath the linebackers until your head spins. And they will not throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at an opposing quarterback until the Patriots are absolutely sure you are throwing on third down.

Their first all-out blitz came late in the first quarter, forcing the game's only turnover - Ty Warren forced David Garrard to fumble and Mike Vrabel recovered it on the Jaguars 29. Seven plays later, the Patriots went ahead 14-7.

This was not the game or style you bargained for while buying munchies for your football party, but as we saw again last night, it works.

If anybody was perfect last night, it was Brady.

He finished completing an amazing 26 passes on 28 attempts and, quite frankly, both of those two Brady "gaffes" easily could have been catches. Add in the 262 yards and three TD passes, for good measure, and you wonder where the heck the blowout was.

It never happened. And, you know what, it's probably not going to happen next week (probably versus Indianapolis) either.

"Our offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told us the same thing about the time we were playing Buffalo for the second time," said Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth. "He said to forget about those earlier wins (when the Patriots averaged over 40 points per game). We are getting into late November. Teams are ready for us. And it's always more competitive at the end of the year. Josh was right. These games are tough this time of year."

Here are a few stats to chew on while in "worry-mode" as the Colts prepare to bury the San Diego Chargers this afternoon:

The Patriots defense, while by no means great or even very good, allowed only six points in the second half. And Moss caught only one pass for 14 yards, but still the game was never in doubt in the second half.

So accept it. Those that hate have some more fodder after last night, that the Patriots are overrated and beatable.

But by tonight there will only be three other teams remaining. The naysayers are running out of time and nothing has really changed.



You can e-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.