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FOXBORO - Into every life, some rain must fall.

And when it comes down in buckets, with lightning flashing and thunder crashing all about, even the most fearless of football heroes head for cover at full speed.

So it was that the first practice of the 2009 NFL season for the New England Patriots came to an abrupt and premature end on Thursday, with players, coaches and a large contingent of media representatives scurrying for the safety of the concourses at Gillette Stadium and nearly 4,000 fans racing for their cars when a gullywasher turned additionally violent at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday.

That nipped in the bud the plans of that media assembly to interview quarterback Tom Brady after his first full-pads practice since he tore two ligaments in his left knee in the 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady passed on the opportunity to trek up to the press box, and is now supposed to offer his thoughts to the public after today's morning workout.

But that didn't stop several other players from talking about having their field general back in place after a long absence. "Any time you have your best player on the team back, it's a great thing," wide receiver Wes Welker said. "So we're happy to have him back, obviously, along with many of the other guys that were hurt before the season was over."

Welker's comments were an indication that he and his teammates

ceived a little public-speaking coaching Thursday morning before the on-field coaching began - a little reminder, perhaps, to minimize the "all-Brady, all-the-time" pursuits of the media by reminding them that other Patriots missed a lot of last season as well.

For instance, veteran running back Kevin Faulk was asked if it felt good to see his quarterback back behind center again.

"Of course it does," he said, " just like it does (to see) Adalius Thomas, Laurence Maroney and all the guys that were hurt before the season got over last year. It was great to see them out there doing their job and doing what they love to do."

Not much later, Belichick appeared before reporters for the first time this season and underscored the theme of the day.

"You know it's always good to see Tom out there," he said. "It's good to see all the players out there. Tom's worked very hard to get back out on the field in his rehab and doing what he did in the spring. He's certainly a big presence on our team and it's good to see him back out there.

"But all the other players - Terrence Wheatley, Adalius Thomas, Laurence Maroney - we can go right down the line. It's good to see a lot of those guys out there that didn't finish the season for us," he said.

Brady did his share of throwing along with fellow signal-callers Kevin O'Connell, Matt Gutierrez and Brian Hoyer. He looked good at times and not so good at others, as one might expect from the opening minutes of training camp, but he received rousing cheers from the fans each time the ball found its way into a receiver's hands.

Welker said Brady's effort Thursday was just another step in a process that began in the minicamps and organized team activities. "We've been through minicamps," the wideout said. "We've seen him then. I've been working with him this whole offseason, so it's no surprise how he's able to come out there and kind of get in the flow of things pretty early on."

Newcomer Fred Taylor said he got an appreciation for what Brady brings to the Patriots long before he joined the team as a free agent.

"Playing these guys a few times here in the playoffs, you look over and you're like, 'ah, we can go and beat that team. What do they do that we can't do? We can go and win this game,'" the former Jacksonville Jaguars' running back said. "And when you get here, you see his passion, you see the way he studies, you see how demanding he is of his players and the leadership, and right in front of you, it just jumps out and you see why he's a proven winner."

Another newcomer, former Eagles' wide receiver Greg Lewis, has been getting an up-close-and-personal look at Brady every day since he joined the team on March 5.

"I just like his attitude, his command of the huddle, his fire and his competitiveness," Lewis said. "I like to compete a lot and I like to win at everything I do. To have a guy out there that's doing that same thing, that's trying to get the best of his guys, his team, that just makes you want to give it all you've got and lay it on the line for him and the other guys.

"It just gives you that burst or that feel that, 'I want to go out there and get it don't because this guy is giving everything he's got and I want to do the same,'" he said.

No doubt, it will be some time before Brady starts looking as if he's back to the form he displayed in the record-setting 2007 season. That should come as no surprise, given his long layoff.

Belichick was asked if he expected to see rust on Brady in camp, but as usual, the coach included everyone in his response.

"I think for every player - certainly quarterbacks, any quarterback, skill position players - the start of training camp is the start of the season," he said. "As much preparation there is in the offseason and even in the passing camps, the lag time between passing camp and training camp and all the individual work that goes on in the offseason, compared to all the teamwork that goes on in the regular season, it takes everyone awhile to get to where they want to be.

"There's a kind of cliche of midseason form," he continued, "but I think there's a lot of truth to that. The players in this league at the middle of the season are at their peak performance and none of us are there yet - no player, no coach. We've only been out there one day. How all that comes together and how each player progresses on an individual basis, that's something we will monitor as we go along and I don't know how that's going to turn out for anybody, including myself. It's something you go through a day-by-day process and evaluate it as it comes.

"We've all got a long way to go," he said. "Certainly, nobody in this league is anywhere close to that point yet."

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.