FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- James Harrison, a 39-year-old linebacker, looked up and saw his 40-year-old quarterback walking by in the New England Patriots' locker room on Friday.
"Look, there's Tom Brady," the media-shy Harrison said, perhaps hoping the group of reporters at his locker would leave him alone and chase down "The Gloved One."
No such luck. The crowd stuck to him.
While the pregame attention has focused on Brady's injured right hand/thumb -- it's "handemonium" in the New England region -- it would be wrong to dismiss Harrison.