By Tom E. Curran
Tom Brady indicated he'll play professional football until the game is pried from him.
Wes Welker could have told you that.
"In every decision he makes, in everything he does, in what he eats to what he drinks to what his travel schedule is, everything is centered around football," said Welker, who's grown very close to Brady since coming to the Patriots five years ago. "It's almost sickening. Its almost like an illness he has. But every decision is toward making him a better football player and I commend him on it because it's not hard. It's not easy to eat the way he does, to train the way he does and do the things he needs to do to be better. especially in the postion he's in. He does't have to but he loves it. It's what he strvies for and what he loves."
Brady's work ethic has been questioned around here in past seasons based on esoteric observations about where he spends his down time (next to runways at fashion shows, Ibiza), what he does to his armpits (shaves them) and whether or not he's still got a prime parking spot in Foxboro, Massachusetts based on how much he worked out in the offseason.
But, to quote my friend Jerry Thornton,"You know what defines 'fire in the belly'? It's climbing down off your supermodel wife at her mansion in the tropics and flying back to Foxboro in mid-March so you can take part in a voluntary workout."