12/15 — Sometimes coaches are good at repackaging a familiar idea into a new word or phrase that's a real eye-catcher and thought-provoker.

I thought Eric Mangini did that this week when he said, "As you see the benefits of absolute focus and how that translates into winning, I think that's a pretty strong reinforcement of the concept."

Absolute focus. What a concept.

Of course, one could argue that if you're not absolutely focused, you're not focused, that focus once in a while or most of the time just isn't focus. But in the game of football, the differences between players, between teams often comes down not only to talent, luck and preparation but also to how close to 100 percent of the time that player or team can stay focused on the goal ahead.

Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton echoed that focal point when he talked at his informal biweekly news conference Friday about the challenge ahead for his unit against Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and the big, bad Patriots offense.

Sutton said it will take a combination of elements on defense to slow down Brady, not just one thing such as blitzing him mercilessly or max-covering him or taking away his running game.

"You have to change up. There's probably not too many things he hasn't seen," Sutton said. "I don't think we're going to totally confuse him. But I don't think you can do one thing to Tom Brady that will totally affect him."

However, the one thing the Jets will need to go along with whatever they use to attack TB is absolute focus.

"We've got to be able to execute, because he's a high-execution guy," Sutton said, not using "execution" in the John McKay double-meaning sense, although he could have. "To me, that's the driving force when you're playing. You just have to be totally focused. You can't ever have a play where you say, 'I'm not at my best.' That might be the play he's coming to your neighborhood."

That all sounds right on. But are the Jets up to absolutely focusing on giving the Patriots a game and coming out of snowy Foxboro with an upset victory? That will be played out, perhaps under expected nor'easter conditions, in about a day. I would say the Jets are ready to give it their best shot. They know they've got a big challenge, but they're loose and they're not intimidated.

As for the week of hype that we all have been anticipating since September, it has come and gone.

"The hype, it's all right," LB Bryan Thomas told me Friday. "I expected all this to go on from what happened earlier in the season. But Friday's here. Tomorrow we'll get on a plane and head on over to New England. We'll take what we need from the game plan and go out there on Sunday and try to execute it."

Focusing absolutely.

Flag Football

It may not be an earthshaking statistic, and BT and Shaun Ellis didn't know how to explain it, but the defense has been on a hot streak when it comes to being penalized. The defense hasn't had a penalty marked off against it in the last five games.

How unusual is this? My detailed stats go back only to 1995, and there has not been a streak longer than three games without a defensive penalty in the last 13 seasons.

The only penalties that have been called on the "D" in this recent run were on the two rookie starters, David Harris for a hold of Washington's Chris Cooley and Darrelle Revis for a hold of Pittsburgh's Hines Ward, but both were declined.

This may well be just one of several manifestations of the defense's general improvement since the bye week. But Sutton said it goes hand in hand with Mangini's general stress on keeping the yellow flags down.

"We have officials there calling penalties at practice, and if you do get a penalty, you're going to be on a little jog," Sutton said. "Penalties are going to occur, but we don't want to let guys get in the habit of doing things the wrong way. They know everything's important and that nothing's going to go unnoticed."

On the Scene

I guess I'm a creature of habit. I wanted to drive up to Providence, R.I., a great little city, today as I did in 13 seasons as a Jets beat writer. I-95 is an easy drive, except for some inexplicable Cross-Bronx-type traffic around Exit 12 early Saturday afternoon. The team is in the neighborhood and we're just 20 hours away (according to the timer on the top of the newyorkjets.com home page) from Sunday's kickoff.

Here's the latest weather forecast: Snow showers will start in the Foxboro area after midnight. After 2-3 inches of snow fall, the morning will bring warming temperatures (into the upper 30s) and a wintry mix that will change to rain and freezing rain in the afternoon. All of this will be whipped up by 20-30-mph winds.

How will it affect the game? I can't begin to predict. It all sounds like a colder version of the waterlogged Jets-Pats game of Nov. 28, 1993, when torrential rain soaked the Foxboro Stadium field, high winds whipped the stands so much that some TV camera positions shook, and the Jets came away with a 6-0 victory on two short first-half Cary Blanchard field goals. But it would be hard to envision a field of quicksand or hot coals holding down the Patriots offense, let alone a mere nor'easter.

The Radar will return in the morning under the no-doubt leaden skies around Gillette Stadium.