FOXBORO -- As Bill Belichick has been fond of saying of late, there isn't a player in the NFL who is feeling 100 percent physically at this point in the season.

But then again, how good would anyone feel after going through so many car accidents in such a relatively short amount of time?

"Car accident" is the term safety Artrell Hawkins used when talking about how he recovers after a game. Surprisingly, Hawkins said it is easier for him to feel better at this point in the season than it did earlier, say after Week One.

But his opinion was different than some of his teammates. Daniel Graham said that by Wednesday, three days after the game, he's in just good enough shape to practice, and a few days after that is another Sunday and the cycle starts all over again.

It's not for the faint of heart, clearly. But all of the players have come to learn that proper maintenance can help lessen the impact of a game's worth of hits.

"If you asked me right now, I think my body feels how it should feel," defensive lineman Ty Warren said. "But I think a lot of it is how you take care of your body -- massages, ice tub, hot tub, those type of things."

When he came into the league four years ago, Warren watched his older teammates and sought their advice on how best to maintain his body. He has a definite system for recovery: on Monday, or the day after a game, he lifts weights and gets a massage; Tuesdays, the team's day off, he stretches and spends time in the hot and cold tubs in the morning, then tries to stay off his feet the rest of the day. On Fridays, he gets another massage and begins to really hydrate with water and Pedialyte (an electrolyte solution developed for children), and continues to stretch and alternate between the hot and cold tub.

Still just 25 years old, Warren said it doesn't take him too long to feel better again, but hints that he knows what's down the road: "I'm still in my youth so I'm OK right now."

Eighth-year running back Kevin Faulk, who plays the position that likely takes the most hits, said the soreness and knocks are "the nature of the game," but that how he feels in the days after a game depends on the game itself.

"You can't stop the soreness, you just try to maintain it," he said.

Heath Evans, who opens holes for Faulk, Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney, said players have to find the routine that works best for them.

"People like to blanket everyone. Some guys never hit the cold tub. Me, I'm in there two to three times during the week, and other guys, every day they're in the hot tub and cold tub," Evans said.

The fullback also eats generous amounts of protein -- about 250 grams a day, twice the minimum amount for a man his size -- and his teammates rib him for always having a protein shake in his hand.

For Evans, Mondays aren't so bad; Tuesdays are when Sunday's hits, well, hit him, and he gets a deep tissue massage. Earlier in his career, Evans used to get two massages a week, but he said getting one later in the week made his legs feel weaker.

Once the buildup of Sunday has passed, that's when Graham starts to feel the bruises.

"(After a game) you still have that adrenaline going, but Monday is when you feel all the injuries. It doesn't take longer (to get out of bed), but you feel it when you get out of bed," said the fifth-year tight end, adding, "It's really important to maintain the small things; small things turn into big things if you don't stay on top of them."

At a different end of the spectrum from most of his teammates is Hawkins, who has a tougher time physically during training camp than now, when it's 15 weeks into the regular season.

"Right now, I think your body is more adjusted to what you're doing," he said. "I think (I'm sore) less than I was in Week One or Week Two. Even if you work out prior to training camp, you're still not doing as much -- as much running, as much hitting -- as you're doing in training camp, so it takes a good five or six weeks for your body to get used to it."

Hawkins has a new trick this season: he's upped the number of full-body massages he gets to three times a week, on Monday mornings, Wednesday night and Saturday morning. He calls the Saturday session the "tune up" for the next day. Hawkins puts in time in the cold and hot tubs as well.

Despite all the work he does to keep the aches and pains to a minimum, Hawkins said he's never questioned why he continues to play.

"I truly believe it's just in me. You don't question your first love," he said. "I never ask why, but I do wonder about the effect it will have later, because the body isn't built for that pounding."

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