FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- I felt like I'd smuggled a spy into the New England Patriots' compound.
But we both were wearing club-issued media credentials, just a couple reporters watching Wednesday's minicamp session.
The major difference, though, was that she's a lot smarter than I am. ESPN's injury expert, Stephania Bell, sat with me in the metal bleachers above the Patriots' upper practice fields and provided running commentary of how Tom Brady looked through her trained eyes.
Bell got her first glimpse since Brady's left knee crumpled last year on opening day. What she saw exceeded her already high expectations.
"The thing that's most impressive to me is how fluid he looks, that three-step drop, his motion, transitioning from the drop to throwing across his body," said Bell, a physical therapist who specializes in athletes and performing artists. "There's no hitch. There's no halting. It's all very smooth."
