FOXBORO -- Given the opportunity, Tedy Bruschi wouldn't have been putting on the pads for practice Tuesday.

He would have preferred to be dressing for a game -- some real action, designed to wash the bitter taste of Saturday night's debacle out of his mouth.

``I feel the want to get back out there right away ... to get back out there, to get better, to get the pads on and get practicing,'' the Patriots' veteran linebacker said, ``because it's obvious when you watch the film, there are points on the film that we've got to get better on.''

Just about everyone connected with the Patriots agreed that there was very little positive to be gleaned out of Saturday's 31-3 preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. It's been just a little less than a year since the Patriots felt that kind of sting after a game -- last year's 31-0, season-opening loss at Buffalo, to be exact -- and even the fact that this one doesn't register in the standings didn't mitigate the disappointment of being so thoroughly outclassed.

``What happened Saturday is what happened,'' Bruschi said. ``We've got things to work on, and we see that through the films, so that's what we've got to focus on. We're not going to focus on how long it's been since this has happened or that has happened, it's what did happen.''