Patriots players return to the practice field five days after their last practice, as preparations for Sunday's playoff opener against the Jets shift into a higher gear.
"We'll treat it kind of like a Monday night game," coach Bill Belichick said Monday on sports radio WEEI. "We'll start on Tuesday [with practice] instead of Wednesday, and be ready to go Sunday."
Here is a look back at how Belichick, who hoped to strike the right balance between rest/recovery and self-improvement, handled the bye week:
Sunday (Jan. 2): Beat Dolphins, 38-7
Monday (Jan. 3): Players off
Tuesday (Jan. 4): Players off
Wednesday (Jan. 5): Full-pads practice
Thursday (Jan. 6): Full-pads practice
Friday (Jan. 7): Players off
Saturday (Jan. 8): Players off
Sunday (Jan. 9): Players off
Monday (Jan. 10): Players in for workouts
When players are off, some still come in to the facility to work out, but there are no scheduled practices that day.