Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will face off again on Sunday. (AP)

FOXBORO — The five most important things to know from the Patriots on Wednesday:

1. Tom Brady did not practice. The Patriots quarterback was not present for the beginning of practice — at least, for the first 10 or so minutes of the session the media is allowed to watch.

Brady, who was limited in practice last week because of a foot sprain, didn’t show any ill effects from the injury in Sunday’s game, and on Wednesday, he stood while taking questions at his locker for just under 10 minutes. Given the ease with which he was maneuvering around the locker room after the game on Sunday and earlier on Wednesday, it might simply be a case of a veteran getting a day off, but we should know more when the injury report is released at 4 p.m. (Other players who were missing were safety Jarrad Page, who has been dogged by a calf injury, and defensive lineman Myron Pryor, who has been dealing with a back problem.)

In other practice-related news, the following players were wearing black on Wednesday, signifying the fact that they were named Practice Players of the Week: quarterback Brian Hoyer, wide receiver Julian Edelman, safety Ross Ventrone, center/guard Ryan Wendell, tight end Aaron Hernandez and tight end Carson Butler.

2. Brady recalls how it all started against the Colts. Brady now has 105 career wins as a starter, and was the fastest to 100 wins of any quarterback in the Super Bowl era. However, he got his first win as a starter Sept. 30, 2001, against Indianapolis at Foxboro Stadium. It was a game he talked a little bit about on Wednesday morning.

“I was pretty nervous. That was a great day. They came in undefeated,” said Brady, who finished 13-for-23 for 168 yards in the 30-10 win. “It was a windy, cold, blustery day in Foxborough and we played a great game. That’s kind of what you need to do against these guys. Our defense really set the tone that day and we scored quite a few points that day.

“I remember meeting Peyton before the game. I was surprised he knew me, as a matter of fact. He said, ‘Hi Tom, I’m Peyton,’ as he was out there warming up, which I thought was pretty cool.”

3. Danny Woodhead still leans on Kevin Faulk. Woodhead, who has stepped into the role occupied by Faulk — third-down running back who is also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield — has also managed to learn a few things from the veteran, especially when it comes to blitz pickup. Faulk, acclaimed as one of the best in the league when it comes to providing protection, has managed to pass along a few details to Woodhead.

“I try to pick his brain about anything, because I mean anyone who’s in this area knows the type of player Kevin is,” Woodhead said. “It could be about catching the ball, it could be about running the ball, it could be about running routes. I have a lot of people I can ask questions of. I can ask Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor, Benny [BenJarvus Green-Ellis]. We all talk. And that’s the great thing about the running back room is we talk things through.”

Woodhead has shown a knack for the job on several occasions, including a memorable play earlier this season against the Ravens when he jacked up Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis who was flying up the middle to try and get after Brady. While he sounds comfortable with several aspects of his game, he’s not ready to give himself a thumbs up quite yet.

“It’s not really a question I think I could answer,” he said on how he’s doing when it comes to blitz pickup. “I think the coaches are the ones who grade me. It’s something I’m continually trying to get better at, every single day. That’s really all I’m worried about, is trying to get better every day.”

4. The return of Pierre Woods. Woods, who was cut by the Patriots before the start of the season, was working as a groundskeeper at the University of Michigan before he got the call to return to the Patriots.

“It was just something to do,” said the outside linebacker. “I didn’t want to collect unemployment. It was work. I worked and worked out.

“I was excited [to return to the Patriots]. Why wouldn’t you be? In your job, if someone was going to call you, how would you feel? You would be pumped. So I was excited. It was a blessing.”

Woods, who had been released by the team on Sept. 4, is a 6-foot-5, 255-pounder who joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Michigan in 2006. He played four seasons with New England before his release. Known primarily as a special teamer, in 52 games, he has 48 tackles on defense and 62 on special teams.

The roster spot became available when Shawn Crable was released Tuesday, and as of Wednesday morning, he was occupying Crable’s old locker.

“I’ve been working out twice a day for the past two-and-a-half months,” said Woods, who had a workout two weeks ago with Kansas City. “You’ve got to be ready. You’ve got to be ready — stretch well, take care of your body, eat right. That’s what I’ve been doing. The guys at Michigan have been taking care of me. Big ups to those guys out there. This is my first day back, so we’ll see how it goes.

While he was away, Woods said he kept tabs on his old mates.

“They’ve done a great job,’ Woods said. “I texted guys and I [told] them, ‘Good luck’ and things like that. No ill will with me. None of that. That’s why I think they brought me back or not. I’m here to do a job, and I’m going to do my job, and that’s it.”

The 28-year-old Woods said he didn’t allow himself to think that his career might have come to a close.

“You just don’t think like that. You have to stay positive,” Woods said. “I have positive people around me I view as real, being real. Once you stop playing, there are a lot of people who stop calling. The people that stop calling, I know where they are. I ain’t gonna trip. I know it’s a blessing to be back. I’m here to work.”

5. It’s been an eventful couple of days for James Sanders. Sanders was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday for his four tackles and interception in Sunday’s 39-26 win over the Steelers. Of course, in the same game, he belted Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward on a first-quarter pass play over the middle, knocking the wide receiver out of the game with what appeared to be a helmet-to-helmet hit. (After the game, Ward said he had suffered a concussion.) There has been no announcement from the league as of yet on a possible fine for the veteran safety.

Sanders wasn’t in the locker room during media availability on Wednesday. But the 27-year-old, who has been shuffled in and out of the starting lineup over the last few years as younger players like Brandon Meriweather and Pat Chung have stepped to the fore, remains, in the words of Belichick, “one of our most professional and dependable guys.”

“James has been a key guy for us for a number of years. Even at the beginning of the season [when] all our safeties were playing, we had a lot of guys rotating in,” Belichick said. “James is, as usual, one of our most professional, well-prepared players. He works really hard every week. He’s always one you can count on to be on top of everything you ask him to do, whether it’s kickoff return, the punt team, kickoff coverage, nickel defense, goal line. Whatever it is, he’s very dependable and very professional.

“It doesn’t surprise me that when he gets the opportunity to take advantage of a situation and make a play that he’s in the right place at the right time and makes it. That’s kind of the way he’s been for us since he’s been here.”