Strong, silent types

FOXBOROUGH - Bill Belichick is friendly with St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. Yesterday, the Patriots coach sounded like one of La Russa's former players, Mark McGwire, when answering questions about his punishment by the NFL for illegally videotaping the New York Jets' defensive signals last Sunday.

He wasn't talking about the past, even if it was the past week.

Thursday night, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced he'd fined Belichick $500,000, the Patriots $250,000, and stripped the team of a first-round draft choice if it makes the playoffs, and second- and third-round choices if it doesn't.

Despite promising further comment after a ruling, Belichick consistently referred to the written statement he issued Thursday night, in which he apologized for what he called "my mistake" and said his interpretation of the video rule was "incorrect."

"My focus is on the Chargers," said Belichick of tomorrow night's opponent at Gillette Stadium. "Look, I understand there is interest out there. I understand there are a lot of stories, but everything is in the past. It's been decided. It's over with and we're heading to San Diego.

"There's nothing you can do about the past."

The written statement was enough of a mea culpa for at least one person, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who issued a statement yesterday supporting Belichick.

"I believe that Coach Belichick always tries to do what is best for the team and he is always accountable for his decisions," said Kraft. "He has been a very important part of what our organization has accomplished over the last seven years.

"In this case, one of his decisions has resulted in a severe penalty for our franchise. He has paid a heavy price and so has our organization. He has apologized for his actions. I accept his apology and look forward to working with him as we move forward."

In his seven-minute press conference, Belichick said the phrase "moving on" at least nine times, and only Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell's fictional newscaster from the movie "Anchorman," laced more sentences with the words "San Diego."

Belichick's one admission was that there will be no Patriots staff member videotaping tomorrow night at Gillette Stadium. "That's correct. We will change our procedure on that," Belichick said matter-of-factly.

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said Belichick's actions have opened him up for comparison to San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds.

"We seem to have tarnished Barry Bonds," Dungy said yesterday. "We've pointed out that, even though he's a great player and he's hit a lot of home runs, because of what some people that work around him have done, it seems to have tarnished him in the court of public opinion. We'll see."

Belichick's guilt certainly subjects the Patriots' run of success to further scrutiny. Running back Kevin Faulk, one of the team's seven captains, said he doesn't care what other players and coaches around the league say.

"A lot of people are entitled to their own opinion, their own thought process," said Faulk. "You can't worry about what people think. If that's the case, I'd be worried about what my lawn care guy thinks about what I'm doing in my yard. It doesn't bother me."

However, Kraft acknowledged in his statement that the Patriots' image had taken a hit.

"This has been an extremely difficult week for our organization," he said. "The most troubling part for me, personally, is the impact these actions have had on our fans. We have spent the last 14 years developing and building a franchise that people could embrace and support.

"The loyalty of our fans has been the most rewarding aspect of owning the team. I am deeply disappointed that the embarrassing events of this past week may cause some people to see our team in a different light."

The question is, what had the Patriots gained? In his statement, Belichick said, "We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while a game was in progress."

Goodell backed up Belichick's assertion, leaving it open as to why the Patriots would videotape at all. Belichick shed no light on his thinking for taping or its advantages.

"He made his ruling, so I think what he had to say was self-explanatory," said Belichick. "I wouldn't want to speak for him. The whole situation is behind us and we're moving on to the San Diego Chargers and that's where we're at."

Patriots players weren't in a much more talkative mood, weighing in carefully on Belichick's punishment.

"I love Bill, so anything negative that goes his way obviously we're unhappy about," said fullback Heath Evans. "But that's not for me to say the penalty was too stiff or not hard enough because I just don't know."

As for the surveillance scandal being a distraction, Belichick acknowledged it took time away from his preparations for the Chargers. However, the players said it was business as usual for them inside Gillette. Only the outside world has been buzzing about what has to be one of the more bizarre episodes in NFL history.

"If it was, I never treated it that way," said Faulk. "It's how you treat a situation. I never treated it as something bizarre because we still went about our business preparing during the course of the week for the San Diego Chargers."

All in all, everyone associated with the Patriots has had their share of football, spies, and videotape. Now, they want the focus back on football.

"We've got a big game coming up. That's the last thing on my mind right now is worrying about all that other stuff," said receiver Donté Stallworth. "I've got to worry about that Shawne Merriman guy and that [Shaun] Phillips guy coming after me when I catch the ball. That's my biggest concern."

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com; material from the Associated Press was used in this report.