by By STEVE BUCKLEY , The Boston Herald

First, he is so focused on the 1 p.m. kickoff on Sunday that he is incapable of thinking about anything that's scheduled for 4:01 p.m. and beyond. He cares not about hype, hoopla and wild quotes from the Joey Porters of the world. He cares about Sunday's game and Sunday's game plan. Everything else is just . . . stuff.

And second, he is as well-read a Football historian as you'll find in the game. He has an understanding and respect for all eras of Football history, from the Galloping Ghost to Joey Galloway, and he is smart enough to know that some of the games he has coached have been history-making events that will be talked about for decades to come.

But here's the thing: What happens when Belichick's appreciation for Football history and his pursuit of Sunday's game plan end up on a collision course? In other words, if you're Bill Belichick, and you're locked away in your little Football laboratory with your X's and your O's, preparing for ``the next game on the schedule,'' do you ever allow yourself to say, ``Wow, this could be one of the big ones?''

This Sunday, the Patriots travel to Indianapolis for a nationally televised showdown against the Colts. Beyond the fact each team is once again among the NFL's elite - the Patriots are 6-2, the Colts are 8-0 - there is so much more going on. This isn't a GAME we're talking about, but an era. Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. For much of this decade, games between the Pats and Colts have been must-see, stop-the-presses events, with each play, and each player, being placed under a microscope for closer examination.

Now it should probably come as no surprise that Belichick isn't all caught up in this. Not now, anyway. Remember, this is a man who could probably recite every play from the Baltimore Colts' 23-17 victory over the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, otherwise known as The Greatest Game Ever Played.

The tragedy - and, really, there's no other word that applies - is that Belichick's good friend David Halberstam, one of the greatest writer/reporters of this generation, was killed in an automobile accident while doing research on that '58 game between the Colts and Giants. Betcha Belichick would have read that book in one sitting.

Yes, someday, Bill Belichick will kick back with a snifter of brandy and a fine cigar as he reads up on those great Brady-Manning battles.

Someday.

For now?

``I think, right now, the most important thing is what it means to our Football team,'' Belichick said yesterday. ``We're 6-2 and it's a big game for us on the road. We know (Indianapolis) is an outstanding team. They are undefeated this year, they've won 18, 19 in a row - however many it's been. They're pretty good. It's a big challenge for us. That's really where we're at.''

But this particular game is really, really big, right?

And . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . cue the coach:

``I would say every game's a big game,'' Belichick said. ``The biggest game is the next game.''

It's hard not to believe him. The record says so. So, too, does the man's demeanor. Take a good look into Belichick's face at any point in any season: Nothing and nothing changes. Ever.

There are no big games, no small games. Only next games.

But know this: Twenty-five years from now, when ol' Bill does kick back with that brandy and cigar, he won't be reading much about the Bills or Lions.

- sbuckley@bostonherald.com

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