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By Mike Lowe Thursday, December 28, 2006

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Is he hurt? Is he healthy? Will he play? Will he sit? If he plays, how long will he play?

These are the questions New England Patriots fans are asking about quarterback Tom Brady this week.

The one irreplaceable player on the team of replaceable parts -- be honest, how comfortable would you be with second-year backup Matt Cassel taking the snaps? -- caused all of New England to shudder Sunday when he didn't get up after a hit to the upper back by Clint Ingram of Jacksonville in the fourth quarter.

Television announcers called it a spear, meaning Ingram hit Brady with his helmet, but no penalty was called. Brady sat out only one play, came back and finished a clinching touchdown drive in the 24-21 victory.

Wednesday, he tried to allay any fears about his health.

"It's doing better. It's doing better," he said about his back. "It's just, you know, you take a good hit on it, it's always probably a little bit sore. But I'm doing a lot better.

"I'm doing a lot better than I was a couple of days ago."

Good news for Pats fans. Good news for the Patriots.

But that still doesn't answer the question of whether Brady will play much or at all Sunday in Nashville, Tenn., against Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans, who have won six consecutive games and have a slim, slimmer, slimmest chance at making the playoffs.

The Patriots (11-4) already have clinched their fourth consecutive AFC East championship and will be home for a playoff game Jan. 6 or 7.

Last year, in a similar situation, Coach Bill Belichick sat Brady for the final three quarters of the season finale, a loss against Miami.

Belichick wouldn't hint either way Wednesday on Brady's playing time Sunday, saying only that the team would "approach this game just like we do any other game. We're going to prepare for it and prepare to win."

For his part, Brady said he's looking forward to playing.

"That type of thing never enters my mind," he said, when asked if he would consider sitting out some of the game to stay healthy for the playoffs.

"I mean, it's the best part of the week for me, Sunday is. I'm not ready to give that up. All that (stuff) that you do during practice is for that one day.

"So you don't want to give up those Sunday afternoons, because that is what it is worth for the player. That's why you work out all summer long, so you can play. To think of taking a day off I'm just not up for any of that."

Brady admitted the shot he took was as hard as he's been hit in a while.

He was scrambling toward the left sideline -- he set a career high with 31 yards on 10 rushes -- when he dove headfirst toward the turf to pick up extra yardage.

As he twisted, Ingram came in from behind and hit him just under the shoulder blades, causing Brady's head to snap back.

"It's part of the game," said Brady.

"You just try to be smart and I think in that situation, you just try to do everything you can to get the first down and it just comes up that he gets you in the right spot. But I'm doing good. I'm moving. I'm feeling good."

The hit shocked Brady.

It was, 'What the hell was that?' because I didn't see the guy," said Brady.

"I haven't been hit that hard in a long time and he's a big man that hit me. I rolled over and once I realized I was OK, I just said, 'All right, well I'm going back in, so let me hang out here for a little bit and catch my breath,' rather than get up and rush to the sideline and be out for a few plays."

His ability to come back after missing only one play surprised some, but the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Brady is one of the more durable quarterbacks in the NFL. He has started 104 consecutive games, the third-longest streak among active quarterbacks, behind Peyton Manning (152) and Brett Favre (a record 256).

But Brady realizes he avoided a devastating hit had the blow been inches higher, to his shoulder.

"Let me tell you, you're always fortunate in this game," he said. "I try to play hard. I try to do the right thing. A guy like Rodney (Harrison), a guy like Tedy (Bruschi) you're just trying to play hard and play to the whistle and play tough and it is such a physical game. It's part of paying the price.

"You do everything you can in the offseason to try to prepare for that. You try to strengthen every part of your body. You try to stay in great shape, limber, you try to be flexible, and you know, (I've tried) to do a lot of those things over the years and incorporate a bunch of different things to my training programs so that when those things come up, you're not one hit and out of the game."

"So," Brady continued, "I think I've always said I'm real proud of the fact that I've hung in there as a guy who, the knock on him coming out (of college) was, 'too skinny, too weak, can't run, can't do any of that.' At least I feel like I've tried to overcome a lot of those things. I've been in there, hung in there a bunch of games in a row, knock on wood. So we'll just try to keep that up and try to keep that streak alive."

And with that, Brady answered the most important question.

Yeah, he plans on playing.

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: