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FOXBOROUGH - This edition of Patriots training camp should be dubbed Camp Wounded Knee. Everyone is focused on the status of Tom Brady’s surgically repaired left knee, except Brady.

In contrast to the cautious optimism he offered two months ago during organized team activities, when he displayed some rust and reticence, a buoyant and bearded Brady was sanguine yesterday about his recovery from the torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments.

The franchise quarterback, speaking on the second day of training camp, said his injury and the lost season are in the past. He’s not thinking about the knee when he’s on the field.

“I’ve kind of made a concerted effort to move on,’’ said Brady. “That was last season. This is this season. I don’t think about it. I think it’s been a great learning experience for me, and I’m using that as a positive. Hopefully, I can go out this year and be a great quarterback for this team.’’

The Patriots would love nothing more than to see Brady resume the form he had in 2007, when he set NFL records for touchdown passes (50) and TD-to-interception differential (plus-42) on his way to being named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Perhaps sensing the Patriots have a chance to advance to a fifth Super Bowl since he upstaged Drew Bledsoe in 2001, Brady said he doesn’t want to hold the team back. That means he can’t hold anything back in preparing for the season.

Brady, who before his injury had started 128 straight games (regular season and playoffs), made it clear yesterday that he wants to and expects to play in the preseason; he missed all of the exhibition contests last year because of a mysterious foot injury.

“Yeah, I think I’ll play,’’ Brady said of the preseason. “Last year, it wasn’t like I wasn’t supposed to play. I would have loved to have played, but some circumstances came up where I couldn’t.

“I think it’s really important for a quarterback to be out there playing. If you’re the leader of the offense, you have to be out there leading in the preseason and the practices. I’m excited for those games, because I think we can make improvements in those games.’’

When he spoke during the OTA sessions in May, Brady acknowledged he was less than thrilled about having to wear a brace on the knee. Yesterday, however, he said it has gotten to the point where it feels like the bulky, black protective device isn’t even there.

“You forget about it,’’ he said. “It’s the last thing I’m thinking about out here. I got so many other things to think about trying to complete the ball. You put the thing on and then you take it off. I don’t think too much of it.’

Brady joked that he couldn’t be restricted by the brace because all it could do is take him “from slow to slower.’’

But for all of Brady’s bravado, the reality is that until he’s in a full-speed game nobody - not even him - will know if he’s all the way back.

“Yeah, I think that’s just part of the process,’’ said Brady. “We’ll see when that comes up. There will be plenty of guys to test it. Out here in practice there are guys flying around. I’m going to get hit plenty this year, and I’m sure it will hold up and I’ll be just fine.’’

Brady isn’t worried that he won’t be able to reestablish the magic he had in 2007 with Randy Moss, when he helped Moss set the NFL record for touchdown receptions in a season (23).

“It’s easy to have great chemistry with Randy, he’s the best receiver probably to ever play the game,’’ Brady said. “You just have to throw it where he’s running, because he’s usually open. We spent a lot of great time this offseason, also with Wes [Welker], Joey [Galloway] was here a lot, Greg [Lewis] was here a lot. I feel like we’ve got off to a really good start.’’

Almost 10 months removed from surgery, Brady is back, armed with a greater appreciation for the game and at ease with his knee and himself.

Brady, who turns 32 Monday, was almost zen-like at times as he described his forced hiatus from football as a learning experience, saying it helped him grow as both a player and a person. It was a painful but fruitful learning experience for the quarterback, who is no longer the wide-eyed kid he was in 2001, when he authored a football fairy tale.

The field is clearly a sanctuary of sorts for Brady. There, he’s not a TMZ-targeted celebrity, he’s a celebrated quarterback and teammate.

“When you leave the stadium that’s when things get a little hectic for you,’’ said Brady. “When you’re here, you’re focused on your job and your teammates.’’

Brady is focused, just not on his knee.

“I’m excited to be back out here doing my job,’’ said Brady. “That’s where I belong.’’

By Christopher L. Gasper
Globe Staff / August 1, 2009
Brady ready to put it into fast-forward - The Boston Globe

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