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FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots are a lot like Mark McGwire nowadays. They don't like to talk about the past. Ask them about religion. Talk to them about politics. Taboo subjects are fair game, within reason.

But bring up last season — about their close brush with perfection — and their lips tighten.

"Over and done with," fullback Heath Evans said.

"Erased that a long time ago," receiver Wes Welker said.

"We've kind of let last season go," defensive back Brandon Meriweather said.

"We're moving on," tight end David Thomas said.

One not-so-tiny blemish, a stunning loss in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, sullied the 18-0 record preceding it. Those 1972 Miami Dolphins, who have held the NFL trademark on the words "perfect season," toasted another year alone at the top of Mount Olympus.

The Patriots climbed to within one step of the summit, only to slip and fall.

And so they would rather not talk about how they became the second NFL team to breeze through an entire regular season undefeated, going 16-0. Or how they polished off their two playoff opponents and entered Super Bowl XLII as two-touchdown favorites. Or even how they scored more points and won more games than any team in NFL history — those '72 Dolphins included.

A 17-14 loss to the Giants took all that spectacular and good and turned it into so much squat.

The Red Sox brought a World Series title to Boston. The Celtics delivered an NBA championship. But the Patriots had to settle for second-best in their sport.

"The only thing about that is it's over and done with," Evans said. "We lost. You can't be perfect with a loss."

The day after the Super Bowl, Evans returned home to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and spent the spring and summer trying to remove the bitter taste. Meriweather returned to his hometown of Apopka, Fla., and tried to do the same.

"You don't want to forget it," Evans said. "But you don't want to dwell in it, either. Whether or not we were 18-0 at the time, a loss is a loss. You live and learn, like everything else."

The Patriots are trying to get back. A perfect season is not their goal. The only goal they have set is for their season opener Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

They are not looking forward to the following week against the New York Jets and their new quarterback, Brett Favre.

"We're trying to string it together, get another one going," Thomas said. "This is a new team with new players."

Said Meriweather: "Everything's changed. Every play and every person changed from last season."

Well, not exactly.

To be certain, the Patriots incurred several significant hits to their roster, particularly on defense. Gone are Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, who led the Patriots with six interceptions, as well as linebackers Junior Seau and Rosevelt Colvin and defensive backs Eugene Wilson and Randall Gay.

But Tom Brady is still calling the signals on offense, Randy Moss is still hauling in touchdown passes, and former UA standout Tedy Bruschi, Ty Warren and Adalius Thomas are still making tackles.

The Patriots, even if none of them want to admit it, are still the team to beat in the AFC East.

"Buffalo is the team to beat," said Meriweather, trying to deflect the attention on his team while making a case for the Bills, who went 7-9 last season, which was good for second in an otherwise hapless division that also included the Dolphins (1-15) and Jets (4-12).

Still, the Patriots have to at least pretend their five-year reign as AFC East champs is tenuous.

"If you live in the past, you're going to die in the past, and that's definitely not my goal," Evans said.