Kraft is positive about all this

Don Davis, out for the season with a knee injury, is hopeful about a return next year. (ROBERT E. KLEIN/FOR THE GLOBE)

FOXBOROUGH -- Another December, another push to the playoffs. Owner Robert Kraft will take it, considering the Patriots' position in the NFL when his family purchased the club.

"I think back to that first year before we bought the team, in 1993, if we were told we'd be going into December with three games left and we'd be 9-4, we'd probably take that and be ecstatic," Kraft said last night at the Salvation Army and New England Patriots Children's Holiday party at Gillette Stadium.

"I think sometimes we're a victim of our past success. This league is so difficult to win consistently. I'm very proud of our people and our organization for what they've been able to do.

"The drive towards parity and making us all equal in the league is so great that to differentiate is so hard. You have injuries that are such a factor in this game, and there are so many factors that you can't plug in, like a science. I'm pretty happy with what our personnel people and coaching staff have been able to do."

Asked about the status of coach Bill Belichick's contract, Kraft said, "Bill and I have an agreement that we don't discuss his contract."

However, a team official did confirm a Globe report from last January that said any representation that 2006 is the last year of Belichick's contract would be incorrect.

Kraft was recently named the NFL's most effective owner by Sports Business Journal, a distinction that he said was an "organizational effort."

As he watched defensive lineman Ty Warren, safety Artrell Hawkins, and others at the holiday party, Kraft remarked that he enjoyed hosting such an event.

"I love to see the way the players react and interact with the kids, especially after the shellacking we took Sunday," he said.

Davis isn't done

Linebacker and special teams standout Don Davis, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday with a knee injury, is leaving the door open for a return next season, assuming the team is interested. Davis, an 11th-year veteran, turns 34 Sunday. His contract expires after the season.

"Basically, I'm going to get my knee taken care of, and then I'm going to see," he said. "A lot of people have come back and been stronger, especially under [strength coach] Mike Woicik's program, and that's what I plan on doing. It all depends on how the knee responds."

Davis, who totaled a career-high 25 special teams tackles in 2005, was also a backup at inside linebacker, a spot at which the Patriots are thin. His game is predicated on speed.

"At any point if I don't think I can keep up, or if I'd lose a step, then I wouldn't be willing to play," said Davis, who has spoken in the past about becoming a strength coach. "I've been fast, but if that's gone, I'm pretty much done."

Davis said the knee had been bothering him for some time, and it reached a point late last week where he "could no longer go and be competitive."

"I battled through as much as I could," he said. "You take one hit sometimes and if it's a good enough hit, boom, that's the way it happens and that's it. A hit put me over the top."

Davis, one of the leaders in the locker room, plans to stay around the team as much as possible.

"I'll encourage the guys and be there spiritually," he said. "As far as on the field, there is not a way to help, but at this point, everyone is a veteran and they have to step up and play well."

Rookie linebackers Corey Mays and Pierre Woods figure to see more time on special teams in Davis's absence.

Clinch within reach

The Patriots can clinch the AFC East title with a victory over the Texans Sunday, combined with a Jets loss or tie at Minnesota. In the unlikely scenario that the Patriots and Texans tie, and the Jets lose, the team would also clinch.

With a 9-4 record, staring up at the Chargers (11-2), Colts (10-3), and Ravens (10-3), the Patriots appear headed for a No. 3 or 4 seed, assuming they win the division. They have a 5-4 record in AFC play, which is a top tie-breaker.

As for the Jets, who are still alive for the AFC East crown, they have road games at the Vikings and Dolphins before finishing the season with a home date against the Raiders.

No word on Wilfork

Nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who injured his right leg in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Dolphins and didn't return, made his regular television appearance yesterday on "FSN Sports Tonight." Asked how he was feeling, Wilfork said he was good, although he didn't say whether he would play Sunday.

Wilfork later touched on the team's performance and its mind-set coming off the loss.

"Point blank, you want to win, I don't care when it is," he said. "We know how important it is to win at this point in time in December. There are a lot of teams fighting to win; look at the Colts and what happened to those guys. We're not the only ones.

"It was a tough, tough loss, especially going down and getting shut out, that hurt us the most. Bill said it best: A lot of teams wish they were 9-4 right now. We don't have it as bad as we think we do. But there are a lot of things we can clear up."

Moving parts

The Patriots signed safety Guss Scott and defensive back Justin Phinisee to their practice squad yesterday, and released cornerback James Patrick from the practice squad. Scott was a third-round draft choice of the Patriots in 2004 and was with the team in 2006 training camp before being released Sept. 2. Scott played in five games for the Texans before being released Nov. 21. He was briefly with the Jets but didn't appear in a game for New York. Phinisee, a seventh-round draft choice of the Buccaneers in 2006, was cut before the season and spent just more than a month on the Chiefs' practice squad this year before being released Nov. 7 . . . In what appears to be the team covering its bases should Benjamin Watson be sidelined after injuring his left leg Sunday, the Patriots worked out free agent tight ends Lamont Hall and Walter Rasby yesterday. Rasby, an 11-year veteran, was with the Patriots for a stretch of training camp in 2006 before being cut. Hall, a seven-year veteran, played with the Saints last year.

Never seen 'em

The Texans, who entered the league as an expansion team in 2002, will make their first trip to Gillette Stadium Sunday. The team is coming off a 26-20 overtime loss to the Titans that had some extra sizzle because former University of Texas quarterback Vince Young -- whom some Texans fans hoped the team would select No. 1 in the draft -- scored the winning touchdown . . . The Patriots and Texans have met just once, with the Patriots recording a 23-20 overtime win Nov. 23, 2003 . . . Sunday's game marks the first of three straight against the AFC South, the only division in which the Patriots have a winning record against all four teams: Texans (1-0), Jaguars (5-1), Titans (20-16-1), and Colts (43-26) . . . The 16 touchdowns scored against the Patriot defense this season represent the lowest total in the NFL . . . When Dolphin Sammy Morris scampered 44 yards in the fourth quarter Sunday, it marked only the second run of 20 yards or more against the Patriots this season.