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FOXBORO - The smile is still boyish at age 31, and there's still a touch of playfulness in the tone Tom Brady takes to deflect questions about his health or playing status.

There's probably no reason to worry about whether the two-time Super Bowl MVP will be starting at quarterback this Sunday when his Patriots take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium (1 p.m.; Ch. 4, 12) in the regular-season opener. But that didn't stop Brady from flashing that famous smile and keeping his responses at least a little cryptic, so as not to violate the confidentiality blood oath that one takes in order to be a member of Bill Belichick's band of merry men.

"If it's up to me, there's no question," Brady said Monday when asked if he would be the starter against the Chiefs, sore foot notwithstanding. "But those questions aren't always up to me. I'm always hoping I'm going to be out there and preparing the same way. I think I've been getting progressively better over the past couple of weeks, and I'm excited to start the year."

Brady did not play a single snap in the recently concluded preseason schedule, partly because of the foot injury and partly because neither Belichick nor he believed it was particularly necessary to risk him behind an offensive line that was experiencing injury-related challenges of its own.

He's not alone in skipping the preseason; the Colts' Peyton Manning spent the preseason recovering from bursa sac surgery in his knee. For players who have as many games of experience under their belts as Brady and Manning, the preseason is almost unnecessary. Or is it?

"There's nothing like playing," Brady said. "You can't replicate the speed of that, or the decision-making that needs to go into your level of energy. I think Coach tries to simulate that as best he can, by practicing situations out there so you have to make quick decisions, but you can't do that unless you're playing.

"I think the fortunate thing for me is that I've played in about 130 games," he continued. "I know that speed, my body knows that speed, and hopefully I can rely on the past history that I've had playing."

Brady is entering the realm of athletic middle-age, with eight NFL seasons already behind him. His knowledge data base is probably close to filled; there's nothing much he hasn't seen on a football field or wouldn't be able to figure out from past experience. But he probably hasn't reached the point where he absolutely needs the preseason to knock off the rust and get his timing back.

"When you go out there and start throwing the football in April or May after not throwing it for three or four months, you pick up right where you left off," he said. "Throwing so many footballs over the course of my life, it's not like I need to learn how to throw a football or take a drop or make a read. All the plays in the playbook were put in when I was here. I was a part of all those conversations about why we were doing certain things.

"It's just a matter of going out and doing it at a faster speed, which, like I said, you try to duplicate that speed out on the practice field, but you don't always get it done - especially because nobody's hitting you," he said. "It's a lot different when the defensive line is rushing you to hit you rather than just to give you a look. But I've played in a lot of those games to know what that speed is, and hopefully I'm prepared for it."

Brady said that had it been left up to him, he would have played in the preseason.

"I would have loved to have played," he said. "Decisions were made that I couldn't play. All I can do is focus on improving, getting better and being prepared."

Physically, Brady said that he could have played "in all of them" regardless of the foot injury.

"The coach takes advice from the trainers and doctors, and it was something that came up that was a bit unexpected," he said. "We've moved past that, I was out there practicing yesterday and I'll be out there practicing today, and hopefully I'll be practicing for the rest of the week and give everybody enough confidence to know that I'll be OK if I go out there." He also doesn't believe that media speculation about his physical condition will be a distraction as the Patriots prepare to face the Chiefs.

"It's as big a distraction as anybody wants to let it become," he said. "I don't think anybody will let it be a distraction."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.