The tension between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady appears to be growing ... with the Patriots coach refusing to talk about his star QB because Tom didn't show up to voluntary workouts this week.
"I'm not gonna talk about the people who aren't here," Belichick said when asked about Tom ... "The guys that are here are improving, they're working hard and those are the guys we're gonna focus on."
"All the guys that are out here working are improving."
Tom no-showed at OTAs (organized team activities) on Monday and Tuesday ... despite preaching the importance of OTA workouts in previous years.
Remember, Tom recently griped that he didn't feel appreciated by the team -- and there are reports of discord behind the scenes.
So, how will this affect the season? We'll see ...