FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – There are only six players remaining on the Patriots’ roster from the 1996 team that played in Super Bowl XXXI against Green Bay.

Linebacker Ted Johnson is one of that select group, which has played in three Super Bowls and won two. He says they’ve all learned that a short offseason following a Super Bowl is better than a long offseason.

“You’re staying in shape, you’re playing football longer, so football’s in your head a month more than it typically would be. So I look at it as a good thing,” he said Tuesday. “I’d love to have short offseasons from here on in.”

Johnson, drafted by the Patriots in 1995 from Colorado, is joined by fellow linebackers Tedy Bruschi and Willie McGinest, wide receiver Troy Brown, cornerback Ty Law and kicker Adam Vinatieri as the lone remaining veterans of the Bill Parcells era.

As the Patriots learned in 2002, when they went 9-7 and missed the playoffs after winning the 2001 Super Bowl, staying on top is as tough as getting there.

“Complacency is always a killer, but I have full confidence that this team will not be complacent at all,” Johnson said. “I don’t think we were complacent two years ago, things just didn’t work out for us.”

“One play or one game and we’re in the playoffs and it’s a different season,” he added. “To me, all it shows you is that there’s a fine line between winning and losing. We realize that you’ve got to stay hungry and can never just slap it out there and expect to win.”

Johnson, who has 754 career tackles, missed half of the 2003 season after suffering a broken foot in Week 3 against the New York Jets. While some thought that might spell the end of his career in New England, he picked up a $400,000 roster bonus for reporting to training camp.

Johnson, one of the team’s best run-stoppers, has yet to practice in full pads because of a sore calf muscle. But veterans such as McGinest and Law have also been rested early in camp, as Belichick, entering his fifth year as head coach, knows what to expect of them.

“This team operates the best when you don’t put the pressure of expectations on yourself, and you just go out there like you didn’t accomplish anything,” Johnson said. “I’m sure that’s how we’ll do it and all indications are that, so I’m not worried about it.”