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FOXBORO - Tom Brady was asked Wednesday if he was used to having the pressure and national attention that a 9-0 record has brought.

Not surprisingly, the two-time Super Bowl MVP and three-time winner of the NFL's championship game chuckled.

"It's been that way for six years," Brady said to a cluster of reporters gathered in front of his locker. "I think I'd rather be in this position that any other position, but it all comes down to how you play on Sundays. It all comes down to the way you practice and prepare and, ultimately, how you go out and execute."

The Patriots are preparing for their rematch against the improved Buffalo Bills this Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The game was shifted from a 1 p.m. start to the "Sunday Night Football" starting time of 8:15 p.m. on NBC (Channels 7 and 10 locally) because the Patriots are the hottest thing since sliced bread in the NFL, on track to threaten the 1972 Miami Dolphins' status as the only undefeated team in the history of the league.

Brady not only acknowledged the pressure Wednesday, he embraced it. "I think the pressure is to win every time out," he said. "I think the pressure is to perform better than we performed during the first nine games of the season because the challenge is that each team now has that much more data on you and we've got to find ways to make improvements.

"We had a good off week and we evaluated some things that we haven't done quite so well," he said. "We're going to need to clean those things up, or else they'll come up in the end to really bite you."

Brady is known as a very competitive individual who is just as likely to give a total effort in a pickup game of hoops as he is on the field for the Patriots every Sunday. That sort of competitiveness sustains him when the games reach their current level of importance, he said.

"I try to win every single time I take the field," he said. "Every time I try to win in backgammon. I try to win in cards. I try to win driving to the bubble, when we practice in the bubble. If that's pressure, then that's kind of competition and being an athlete.

"If you don't want to be in that position, you might as well quit the game," he added, "because if it's too much that you're winning and all of a sudden there's pressure this probably isn't the right sport for you."

New shirts

Patriots' defensive tackle Jarvis Green was passing out new T-shirts to his teammates emblazoned with a logo proclaiming the wearers to be "60-Minute Men." That seizes upon the Patriots' latest mantra of playing a full 60 minutes in each game.

Green paid for the shirts through his own foundation. They come on the heels of "humble pie" shirts ordered by linebacker Adalius Thomas a few weeks ago.

Not enough rest?

Linebacker Eric Alexander (knee) and safeties Mel Mitchell (groin) and Eugene Wilson (ankle) missed practice Wednesday, according to the Patriots' first midweek injury report since the bye week. Cornerback Eddie Jackson (knee), guard Stephen Neal (shoulder), linebacker Mike Vrabel (team decision) and wide receiver Wes Welker (team decision) participated in a limited basis, as did Brady (perpetually sore right shoulder).