White House trip allows Patriots to put 2014 behind them

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WASHINGTON, DC -- The Patriots trip to the White House will be a chance for the team to celebrate its Super Bowl XLIX victory one last time. Then it's on to 2015. 

Departing early Thursday morning for their afternoon visit with President Barack Obama at the nation's capital, Bill Belichick's club is very much aware that they should have already shifted their focus toward the season ahead. After all, voluntary workouts began on Monday.

But a quick jaunt to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is an honor in which they will happily partake, the final page in a season that ended with the franchise's fourth championship. 

"I think this kind of closes the book on 2014 and as I said, our focus needs to shift," special teams captain Matthew Slater said on Tuesday. "The other teams in this league, their focus has already shifted, and they're hungry to do what we were able to do last year."

"I think from the team aspect, it really puts everything in the past kind of," said safety Devin McCourty. "I think it'll help us focus on 2015 now, and everything  we want to do for 2015 is still out there. But we understand we have to put the work in now."

It's a delicate dance that the Patriots will perform this year. They want to put February's win over the Seahawks -- and everything that led up to it -- behind them. But at the same time, they understand that there are elements of last season that they would like to repeat. When the results were as gratifying as they were nearly three months ago, they don't want to completely forget how they got there. 

A year after winning his first Lomardi Trophy, Belichick wrote a blurb in a New York Times op-ed before Super Bowl XXXVII that was addressed to the head coach of the next championship squad, saying: "You'll tiptoe on the line between helping your players forget that they're the champions and helping them remember why they're the champions."

Belichick and his players now find themselves in the same situation. 

"Feel the same way and we have already started to address it," Belichick told Patriots.com earlier this week. "Every year is different -- we can draw from past experiences, but every team is different."

"I think it's important, as we do every offseason, to take time, reflect on the season, figure out what you did good or bad, whether you end up winning a Super Bowl or not," Slater said. "I think it's important to do that, reflect on it, and then at some point you have to close the door.

"I think there are things from last year that carry over as far as what we did well. But I think we have to understand this is a different football team with different players with a new season so we have to focus on the here and now."

But first they'll suit up -- in designer wear, not pads -- and make their way to Washington and be reminded of the ultimate result of their singular focus from a year ago. 

"I think that's a tremendous experience to be able to go to the White House and meet the president," Slater said. "I know we're all excited about it. We're gonna enjoy it. I think we should."

Both Tom E. Curran and I will be at the White House today to cover the Patriots visit. Be sure to follow along with us on Twitter as we chronicle the event. We'll have plenty of coverage here on CSNNE.com after the ceremony as well. 

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