FOXBORO – Tom Brady said he’s dealt with assorted bumps and bruises throughout his career but when he ripped open a cut on his thumb in a Wednesday practice, his world quickly took a turn he wasn’t ready for.

 "I never had anything like it," he said. "I’ve had a couple crazy injuries, but this was pretty crazy. They come up and you just deal with them, and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do on Wednesday, Wednesday night, and [...]

FOXBORO – Tom Brady said he’s dealt with assorted bumps and bruises throughout his career but when he ripped open a cut on his thumb in a Wednesday practice, his world quickly took a turn he wasn’t ready for.

 “I never had anything like it,” he said. “I’ve had a couple crazy injuries, but this was pretty crazy. They come up and you just deal with them, and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do on Wednesday, Wednesday night, and then Thursday wasn’t sure.”

 Brady returned to practice Friday and gained some confidence but “by Saturday (we were) trying to figure out what we could do, and Sunday you try to come out here and make it happen.”

 Brady said that “this was a little injury at the end of the day (but) it’s certainly a big part of what a quarterback does.”

 From the moment he took the field with a long piece of black tape on his thumb and wrist, Brady showed no ill effects. He couldn’t move the offense through much of the first half but that had more to do with a few dropped passes and an anemic running game. He ultimately completed 26-of-38 passes for 290 yards and did what Tom Brady always seems to do: deliver in the clutch. His two fourth quarter TD passes to Danny Amendola saved the day and the Patriots’ chances of repeating as Super Bowl champions.

 “I’d rather not wear it,” Brady said of the piece of tape,” but I think it sounds kind of arrogant to say, ‘Oh yeah, it bothered me,’ when we had a pretty good game. So, I wouldn’t say that. Doesn’t that sound arrogant if I said that? It’s like when Tiger Woods said, ‘That was my C game,’ and he won the tournament.”

 Brady refused to tell reporters just how many stitches his cut thumb required but he clearly wants a clean bill of health before he travels to his eighth Super Bowl in Minneapolis.

 Brady said “pretty soon, hopefully this week,” when asked when the stitches will be removed. “Then I can just get out there and get normal treatment like I always do and be ready to go.”