"In a short time, young receivers Julian Edelman and Brandon Tate have begun to notice what Torry Holt brings to the table. Listening to the veteran wideout, and watching him in the offseason program, they see how perfectly he meshes into what they've come to know as the Patriot Way.

Edelman and Tate already have soaked up Holt's words like sponges, because they know he has priceless wisdom and guidance to share.

And if they can't hear it, they can see it. All Holt has to do is hold up the deformed middle finger on his left hand, and tell the story behind it. It's a lesson to behold.

"It's a part of me," Holt said proudly of the warped finger yesterday. "It's a symbol of my work."

The finger has been dislocated countless times. Holt never opted for surgery, shoving the digit back into place more times than he cares to remember. But that's what tough-guy football players do with mangled fingers. They deal with it no matter how painful or grotesque.

"I'm representing the old school players," Holt said, "the Deacon Jones', the Merlin Olsens', because old school players played with these.""