What a difference a year makes.
Coming off of reconstructive knee surgery Patriots quarterback Tom Brady got off to a slow start last year. Fans may remember that New England's signal caller was a bit shaky early on, struggling with his accuracy and seemingly having a tough time getting on the same page with his receivers.
So far through nearly one month of training camp and two preseason games, any ill effects of his knee injury certainly aren't apparent to anyone who has seen him out on the field. He's been razor sharp, and seems to be in sync with everyone on the offensive side of the football.
Last year that wasn't the case. He was overthrowing Randy Moss, throwing behind Wes Welker, and in some cases missing guys completely. It was understandable considering he had limited work during the offseason as he suffered setbacks with his rehab, and most experts revealed that coming off of that type of a knee injury he was going to be tentative in the pocket which would have an effect on how he threw the football.
So far one year removed from injury he looks much better, and you can definitely see it. In last Thursday night's game he missed just two passes and had a touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez that he put right on his back hip away from the defender.
On paper it appears to be business as usual. If you take a look at the first two weeks of the 2010 preseason he's right on pace with where he was last year, and oddly enough save for an interception, through two weeks his numbers are similar to last preseason - albeit slightly better.
2009 Week 1: 4-of-8 for 57-yards 0 TD's, 0 INT's
2010 Week 1: 5-of-8 for 67 yards 0 TD's, 0 INT's
2009 Week 2: 10-of-15 for 100-yards, 2 TD's 1 INT
2010 Week 2: 10-of-12 for 85 yards, 1 TD 0 INT's
Overall he simply looks like he's settled back into where he was prior to the injury and appears poised for a great year. His accuracy appears to be as good as it's ever been, and with the fact that they've added talent around him one would believe that New England's offense should definitely be more prolific this year. Factor in what appears to be a re-energized running attack and things definitely appear to be heading in the right direction.
Needless to say Patriots fans should be pretty happy with what we've seen from #12 through two games, and if they're any indication of what's to come, it appears we're certainly in for quite a season.
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