FOXBORO -- Tom Brady is just kicking back and taking it easy this camp. He'll take things seriously when the games mean something. He is, after all, a superstar. Right, Mr. Brady?

"I think you always have insecurities as a player," the Patriots quarterback said yesterday. "You don't forget where you come from. I realize that there are always people nipping at your heels. You either get better or you get worse every time you step on the field.

"If you're just going out there to pass time . . . [you need to remember] each of the guys in the league are getting better. Why do certain guys get better every year, like Peyton Manning? Because he works really hard at it. It's a decision; I think it's a choice. You just can't show up and play this position. You have to be able to work hard at it."

After being on the field for just the first drive in the preseason opener, Brady worked all but a few plays in the first half last week against the Cardinals. He's a good bet to work into the third quarter tomorrow against Washington. He's 18-for-24 for 173 yards in the two games.

Being competitive is "how you choose to live your life," he said. "I think being competitive in the offseason program is really important for me. I think being competitive on the practice field is important. It's not like you can turn that switch off.

"When I go play backgammon, it's not like I can just say [this doesn't matter]. No, you want to win. You want to win in basketball, in whatever you do. You want to get every test question right when we have tests. You want to get every blitz right when you're out on the field, try to identify it. I'm just wired that way."

Gostkowski was better

Coach Bill Belichick didn't want to delve deeply into the decision to lop Martin Gramatica from the roster and give the kicking job to rookie Stephen Gostkowski.

"Martin has kicked well, but we felt like Stephen kicked better and that's who we're going to go with."

Belichick did explain that the team felt Gostkowski had shown enough after making all of his kicks in two preseason games.

"We made (the decision) when we felt we knew how it was going to go," said Belichick. "There was no time frame on it though."

Struggling starts

Two defensive players who haven't grown into their expected roles may be sweating come Tuesday when the Pats need to cut down to 75 players (84 with some roster exemptions from NFL Europe).

Linebacker Monty Beisel and defensive end Marquise Hill haven't done much at all during the preseason, thanks to injury. Neither have they done much when healthy. Hill was a second-round pick in 2004 out of LSU. He's got nine tackles -- in his career.

Belichick was diplomatic when he asked if Hill has fallen behind because of his training-camp injury.

"I wouldn't necessarily say players fall behind with time they miss," Belichick explained. "I think that the players who practice and continue to play just move ahead. If other guys are out there practicing and doing the things that help themselves at their position, then they're just getting more opportunities.

Beisel's shortcomings last season have been well chronicled but he figured to have a leg up this year after learning the ropes at inside linebacker. But he too has been held up by injuries.

"Monty missed some time this week but he's been out there this week. . . . He's starting to do things better after missing a couple of days," Belichick explained. "He's starting to come back and do things better. You can see it as the practice goes along, especially on Tuesday. That's starting to trend back up."

Receiver cut

The Patriots released rookie wide receiver Erik Davis. Davis, 22, was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent. He played in the first two preseason games this season and caught one pass for 15 yards. He went to Vanderbilt.

tcurran@projo.com / (401) 277-7340