Last modified: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 12:04 AM EDT Tedy Bruschi barks out a play during Monday's training camp at Gillette. (Staff photo by KEITH NORDSTROM) Bruschi has plenty left in the tank BY MARK FARINELLA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF FOXBORO - Tedy Bruschi could have gone the Mark Twain route, and told reporters that the reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated. But the senseless, Internet-spread rumor of his death that made the rounds of New England last week was no laughing matter to the Patriots' veteran linebacker, who politely asked reporters to dismiss the topic once and for all upon meeting with them for the first time in this year's training camp. "I don't want to address that, please," he said after practice at the Gillette Stadium training complex. "That's something I really don't want to address. And I think you would understand why." If there is such a thing as a "beloved" athlete, Bruschi has reached that level of regard among the football fans of New England for his hard-nosed play, leadership, unquestioned stature as a family man and for the courage and perseverance he displayed as he battled his way to the playing field after suffering a life-threatening stroke in February 2005. That's what made the rumor of his death so painful to so many as it spread throughout the region from last Monday night through Wednesday. Bruschi has become a symbol of the Patriots, an iconic figure in whom the success of the franchise since he was drafted in 1996 is personified. But all good things come to an end eventually, and as Bruschi sees other players of his "era" starting to leave the game, it gives him pause to think about the passage of time and how his own career may be impacted by it. The offseason retirements of former teammates Drew Bledsoe and Curtis Martin have really hit home, he said. "(Martin) was Wonder Boy here," Bruschi said. "We sort of related, being the younger guys, up and coming and trying to make a name for ourselves and get a spot on the team. Seeing Drew retire and seeing Curtis retire, you can't play this game forever. I know that. But I'm having a lot of fun still." Bruschi said he gave no thought to retirement after the Patriots' loss to the Colts in last season's AFC Championship Game, even though many believed he might after having won three Super Bowls, and having to balance the responsibility of family life against the medical scare he endured in the past. "Not really," he said. "After every year you just re-evaluate and see how your body feels and then you start thinking about the next year. Right away I started thinking about the offseason program, how much time we had off. I really feel like we can still do some special things here." But he also knows that the clock is ticking - not only for him, but for the other members of one of the most seasoned linebacking corps in the league. "Junior (Seau) is 18 (years in the league) … Chad (Brown), what is he? Sixteen or something? Me 12. Everybody's up there," he said. "We've got a veteran crew, a true veteran crew at linebacker. I think that's good." With time comes a heightened risk of injury. Bruschi suffered a broken scaphoid bone in his right wrist early in last year's training camp and was hampered by it for most of the year as it affected his ability to grasp, clutch and wrap-tackle his foes. The wrist is heavily taped in this training camp as well, but only as a precaution, he said. "Right now this is what I have on it," he said. "Shoot, it's what it is. Coming back from anything, even just a year later, you still want to put a little bit of protection on it. That's all I'm doing." Bruschi was the Patriots' leading tackler last year (124 total, 67 solo) for the first time in his career, but some suggest that the bulk of his tackles came well after the line of scrimmage, making him a less effective run-stopper than he had been in the past. "I need to get better. I know this," he said. "That's all I'm focusing on. I'm out here at training camp practicing to get better. You're talking to me about what other people are saying, I can't focus on that. I've got to focus on what I've got to do out there, and that's all I can focus on. "The past is past," he said. "We're trying to move on. That's what Bill (Belichick) is pushing. He's pushing it to everybody, and I'm hearing it just as much as everyone else is hearing it - that you have to think about the next meeting, the next practice, and that's what I'm doing." One thing that should help his aging position group considerably is the addition of former Baltimore standout Adalius Thomas, one of the more versatile linebackers in the pro game. "You just look at Adalius, he's a big, strong guy, and he can do a lot of things," Bruschi said. "We're talking about versatility. That's the first thing you have to talk about of the many things that he can do. Right now we're seeing it. "I think the person who's going to have the most fun with it is Bill," he said of Thomas' ability to play inside or outside. "He'll find ways to use guys in different spots. He'll tweak something. I'm looking forward to Wednesdays during the season and then looking at a game plan and seeing what he'll plan. A lot of guys do have flexibility." Bruschi said he was also pleased that all of the Patriots' high-profile additions on either side of the ball made the effort to get to Foxboro for the offseason programs and start the process of team-building as early as they possibly could. "You sign a free agent and the first thing you want to do is get to know the guy, maybe on a personal level," Bruschi said. "Sometimes with a lot of teams, it doesn't happen until training camp. But all our free agents - Wes (Welker), Sammy (Morris), Adalius, Randy (Moss) - they were here in the offseason. "Once you get to know them, you know what to expect from them maybe in the weight room and off the field," he said. "And all of a sudden it's a little bit easier because you know them when you're out on the field. I think that's a credit to their work ethic, to be dedicated and come in here and work in the offseason." Nowhere will that chemistry be more important than in the linebacking corps, Bruschi said. Despite the experience of many of its members, chemistry building remains an ongoing effort. "Chemistry is building from the minute you get into the meeting room," he said. "To have guys on the field at the same time, to know what calls they're going to make and hear them make them, it always helps." MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com