Neither quarterback Tom Brady nor coach Bill Belichick is saying whether Brady will definitely be ready for the opener.

The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

FOXBORO –– Not that one would expect it to be played any other way, but Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were coy yesterday when asked if Brady will be starting in Sunday’s season-opener against Kansas City.

The quarterback, who did not take a snap during the team’s preseason games, has been dealing with a sore right foot. He practiced yesterday, and did not appear to be hampered during media access, which consisted of stretching and a set of drills.

“If it’s up to me, there is no question,” Brady said about starting. “But those questions aren’t always up to me. I am always hoping that I am going to be out there and preparing the same way. I think I have been getting progressively better over the last couple of weeks.”

Belichick, the one who makes those decisions, wasn’t telling if Brady is the starter.

“We will prepare all the players during the week. We will give you the injury report on Friday; we’ll give you the practice report after we practice,” he said.

Brady has been under center for every game since he became the starter for Week Three in 2001, a span of 127 games. He said he could have played in any of the preseason games, but that the team erred on the side of caution; the “condition”, as he called it, came up unexpectedly.

And Brady showed that he isn’t immune to Belichick’s comments: asked to give a percentage on how healthy he is, he said that Belichick has given him flack for doing so in the past so he’s not going to do that any longer.

“Write that, so he reads that, too,” Brady quipped.

While he acknowledged that there is no way to replicate the speed of the game in practice, Brady feels that his prior experience will come into play when he steps onto the field.

“I’m pretty confident that I have played a lot of football games and I think I know the situations and understand what it takes to move the team and get the ball in the end zone,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of confidence lacking from my standpoint and with the ability of what our team has.”

On Sunday, Randy Moss said “the whole team is ready” for the reigning NFL MVP to make his return.

Quick kicks

In addition to veteran cornerback Deltha O’Neal, the Pats announced the acquisitions of TE Jason Pociask off waivers from the Jets and T Mark LeVoir off waivers from the Rams. TE Tyson DeVree and OL Jacob Bender were signed to the practice squad and TE Stephen Spach was released. … New England punter Chris Hanson drew Belichick’s ire for a miskicked punt against the Eagles two weeks ago, and seemed to have better hang time against the Giants last week. But maybe Hanson has reason to worry: the Boston Globe reported that punters Adam Crossett and Waylon Prather were at Gillette for tryouts yesterday. Both are rookies. … The team also reportedly worked out guard Evan Mathis, a former third-round pick who spent the first three years of his career with the Panthers.

smanza@projo.com