COLUMN: Steve Solloway

Questions now, answers soon for Bruschi

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - As he approached his locker at the end of the long clubhouse, Tedy Bruschi's walk slowed. He eyed the waiting media mob.

They had questions and he wasn't sure he had answers. He took a deep breath and exhaled, the air puffing out his cheeks.

He shouldered his way past the cameras and microphones to his personal space, turned and faced the mob. OK, guys.

After a week off, the Patriots resume their schedule Sunday night. The Buffalo Bills, a division opponent, are coming to town.

Will Bruschi play a little or a lot? At linebacker or special teams? Will he play at all?

His teammate, Tom Brady, may be New England's favorite jock. Maybe Red Sox slugger David Ortiz makes that claim.

But hands down, the most beloved active athlete is the guy with the wide smile, the passion for football and the three adorable young sons. The guy with the tiny hole in his heart that you pray was really fixed.

That's why the mob waited for him Wednesday before practice. The Tedy Watch, Day 7. It was last week when he announced the mild stroke he suffered last February was history. He was ready to play again.

But when?

"I'd like to play Sunday," said Bruschi. "I'd like to get out there and see, but it's out of my control. I've always believed and trusted my coaches, ever since I was in high school. Whatever my coaches decide, I trust that."

Coach Bill Belichick didn't say much during the verbal pingpong that was his daily press conference.

Question: Can you talk about Bruschi's progress?

Answer: No setbacks. Moving along.

Question: How game-ready do you think he is?

Answer: I don't know.

Question: Will you use him as you always have?

Answer: I don't know. We'll take it day to day (in practice) and see how it goes. I don't know.

Question: Has Bruschi done anything extra? Has he come in for extra work?

Answer: Sure, he probably did. We don't have one of those bracelets on him that tracks him through the building. I don't know.

At this point, Belichick smiled. Understand that radio and television sound bites rarely do him justice. He did talk at length Wednesday about the Bills, praising parts of their offense and their improvement.

Which meant he was spinning, rather than offering an objective critique.

On the other hand, Belichick spoke movingly about his former boss, Wellington Mara, the Giants owner who died this week.

Belichick is not insensitive to Bruschi's standing among the coaching staff, his teammates, and football fans. But how do you discuss a man's future when you're still grappling with his present?

"I think any player that hasn't played football for a while and then comes back and tries to catch up to a lot of guys who have been playing on a regular basis - they're behind.

"They have to be. If they weren't, you could just cancel all the practices and show up for the game. But he's an experienced player. It's not like we're starting from scratch."

Back in the clubhouse, fellow linebacker Mike Vrabel noted the media mob. "Welcome back, Tedy," yelled Vrabel as he retreated from the area.

Bruschi could have joined Vrabel, somewhere away from the questions. Instead he tried to answer.

Expectations? He doesn't have any.

"I'm sort of doing something I've never done before," he said. "Today, tomorrow, the first game, that's really new to me, jumping into a season six or seven weeks in."

Excited? Not yet, he said. Probably during Saturday's walk-through practice.

Vrabel stood to the side. He and Bruschi are brothers, just as most teammates are. No one knows what will happen when Bruschi makes his first tackle in his first game back, or his 20th tackle two or three weeks later.

They've put their trust in modern medicine, their own spirituality and the decision one man made to rejoin his teammates.

"It's good to have him back," said Vrabel. "I don't mind all the attention he's getting and all the questions. It's not a distraction.

"Tedy's presence is always a positive."

Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at:

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