Prop comic at work in Brady's absence?

FOXBOROUGH - The Tom Brady watch continues.

The quarterback, who is suffering from a sore right foot that has kept him out of the last two preseason games, was not at practice yesterday, at least during the media portion, after appearing at practice on Monday.

However, Brady had a good reason to be absent. He was on the West Coast attending to a personal matter. That was the explanation given at the Patriots Kickoff Gala last night at Gillette Stadium for Brady's absence from that event.

Adding intrigue - and possibly horseplay - to the situation was a set of crutches that had been propped up in Brady's locker, one day after reporters spied a walking boot there. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Monday night that Brady is dealing with a deep bone bruise on his right foot.

Before panic sets in among the Foxborough Faithful, keep in mind that Brady and his offensive linemen have been known to play practical jokes, though Matt Light sheepishly denied responsibility for the crutches.

"No, no, no. I stopped all that," said Light. "I'm turning over a new leaf."

Of course, if Brady, who has not taken a snap in a preseason game, does actually need the crutches, it's no laughing matter, and would call into question what he said Monday, when he told WEEI that he expects to be ready for the season opener Sept. 7 against the Chiefs.

On the immediate front is whether Brady will suit up tomorrow when the Patriots close the preseason against the Giants. Bill Belichick wasn't tipping his hand.

"Tom is in the same boat as everybody else," said Belichick. "Each player has his own situation and they are not all the same. Tom obviously has a lot of playing experience and has a lot of experience in this system. If they are able to play, then they will play. If they are not able to play, or we don't want to play them, then we won't. We really haven't made those decisions yet on the Giants game."

Running in place

Running back LaMont Jordan, who has not played in a preseason game since he had 19 carries for 76 yards in the opener against the Ravens and has missed practice time with an undisclosed injury, sounded eager to get back and grab a few carries against the Giants.

The veteran, who joined the Patriots July 26, said he feels good about his transition.

"I think playbook-wise, I'm right where I want to be," said Jordan. "There are still a few things I need to make sure I freshen up on, but I think playing-wise, I'm right where I want to be.

"Physically, missing those days kind of set me back a little bit, but that's what happens when you have injuries."

Jordan is part of a crowded competition in the backfield that includes Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and Heath Evans. But he said that's a good thing.

"In today's NFL, you want to make sure that you have a deep backfield," he said. "I think the thing about us is that we all bring something different to the table, which gives the defense a different look."

On the radio

Belichick said the Patriots probably will continue to experiment with the new defensive coach-to-player communication system against the Giants. They used it last week against the Eagles, with Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel designated to have the helmets with headphones in them. "We have talked about a number of different things and a number of different options on this both with players and what is the most effective way for us to use it," said Belichick. "The bottom line is, the benefits have to outweigh the operation that is added into the whole defensive communication. If it does, then great, and if it doesn't, then it is really not worth it." Vrabel said the system still needs some tweaking, for both the players and defensive coordinator Dean Pees. "I think there are some things to work through, from Dean's standpoint, from our standpoint," said Vrabel. "We really just haven't had a lot of time to work on it, so I'm sure we'll work again with it Thursday."

Among the missing

Besides Brady, the players not present at the media portion of practice were safety Brandon Meriweather (leg), tight end Benjamin Watson, wide receivers Wes Welker (ribs) and Sam Aiken (knee), cornerbacks Jeff Shoate and Mike Richardson, offensive linemen Dan Connolly and Russ Hochstein, and defensive end Le Kevin Smith. Reserve right tackle Oliver Ross, who is on the physically unable to perform list, also was not present . . . Linebacker Larry Izzo was honored with the Ron Burton Community Service Award last night. Izzo was selected in part for his "Larryoke" event, a karaoke fund-raiser held the last three years to raise money for military charities. The self-proclaimed Army brat has raised $600,000. "I thank the organization for giving me this award, and I thank my teammates for supporting the work that we do with the military," said Izzo.

Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report

 

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