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Brady: returning to action

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It has long been a quarterback's world in the NFL. Ever since a certain Joseph William Namath created a bit of a name for himself, it has been understood that teams revolve around their QB.

And that is also most certainly the case this off-season, as teams try to integrate new signal-callers into their long-term plans (witness Matt Stafford at Detroit, Jay Cutler at Chicago, Kyle Orton at Denver, Byron Leftwich at Tampa Bay and Pat White at Miami), deal with disgruntled stars (Vince Young at Tennessee and Jason Campbell at Washington) or resolve budding starter controversies (as at Oakland, Minnesota, Cleveland, the New York Jets and San Francisco).

Or prepare to welcome back a marquee player who could raise the game to a whole new level in 2009. Yes, Tom Brady is back in the spotlight, with some media speculators expecting him to be even better, sharper and, well, more winning than ever before.

As everyone knows, the NFL was shorn of one of its leading lights just 15 snaps into the 2008 season (the 16th snap being that of his left anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments).

Brady's season was done before the end of the first quarter in the first game against Kansas City and, despite a valiant effort by the players he left behind - not least by unheralded back-up Matt Cassell, who is now, ironically, the likely starter for the Chiefs - New England failed to reach the playoffs from the ultra-competitive AFC East.

Now, with the two-time Super Bowl MVP finally back on the practice field and, by all accounts, champing at the bit for 7pm on September 14 to roll around (the Patriots' season-opener, on Monday Night Football at home to Buffalo), the thoughts are already turning to how good he might be in 2009.

Some of his comments at being back in the fold - and being able to throw darts to the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker once more - also underline the competitive fires that still burn deep within this 31-year-old, perhaps more fiercely than ever.

Try this for size (from a cover story from this week's Sports Illustrated; yes, that's right, right slap bang in the middle of the NHL and NBA Finals, and the NFL can still grab the headline feature):

"I've done everything I could to push myself. Sometimes too hard. Right now, I'm doing everything. Literally everything. There's nothing I can't do."

And then this (from the Boston Herald):

"I'm as confident as anyone could be that I'll be ready to play, back to playing normally. I want to be out there with my guys. I'm anxious just to get out there and practice. The games will take care of themselves."

Statement of intent

It is a statement of intent that will surely have made a few AFC rivals glance anxiously over their shoulders (especially those in Pittsburgh, who benefitted most from a Brady-less NFL in 2008), and it has also got the pundits scribbling and talking at full speed, irrespective of the fact this is the football world's 'off' season.

Just how good the 'new' Brady can be seems to be the gist of most people's thoughts. And every spit and cough of his first few practices have been analysed to the nth detail.

Even the thoughts of Brady's surgeon, the man who pieced together the left knee that was so severely re-arranged by Bernard Pollard's borderline legal tackle last September, have been pondered with enormous gravity as the medic in question has talked in hushed awe over his patient's recovery process.

"Tom has even exceeded what I thought he was going to be able to do," gushed Dr Neal ElAttrache. "And I was expecting big things from him." Big things, indeed. Along with most of the football world now.

Expectation

For Brady, it seems, the weight of expectation is heavier than ever. There is already the little matter of four Super Bowl appearances, three as the victor, two MVP awards and the NFL-record 21 consecutive wins over two seasons. Then there is his MVP season of 2007 - a gaudy 50 regular season touchdown passes and 4,806 yards passing.

Pshaw, say the pundits, that's small potatoes. We expect more - much more. Like another 10 years of dominance and the greatest stats the league has ever seen.

Here is the thinking: New England were still pretty potent last season, even without Brady and only missed out on post-season play by a whisker. Now they have added some new 'wrinkles' with the offence - Joey Galloway and Greg Lewis at wide receiver instead of the often ordinary Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney, and running back Fred Taylor from Jacksonville, as well as a fit-again Laurence Maroney - to give their QB more toys to play with.

And Brady himself is raring to go again, looking leaner and fitter and itching to pull the high-powered trigger on this gridiron arsenal. It is definitely enough to make a few NFL sages blink in anticipation.

You could be forgiven, therefore, for thinking the Patriots have already been crowned AFC East champs at the very least, that they have only to turn up and their foes will throw in the towel and admit they are not worthy. And that another Super Bowl appearance is only a matter of two playoff outings.

But you can also be 100 per cent sure Bill Belichick will not allow anyone within his taciturn earshot to allow that thinking to creep in for a second. And his biggest ally will be Brady himself, as Tom is absolutely adamant he is only at the half-way point of his career.

(Back to Sports Illustrated) He insisted: "I want to play another 10 years. That's a very big goal of mine. I want to play until I'm 41 and, if I get to that point and still feel good, I'll keep playing."

The rest of the league has been warned. Roll on September 14!