Seems like just yesterday that he delivered the first of the New England Patriots' three championships with that epic drive in Super Bowl 36. Hmm, 36? That number sounds like it should mean something to me...
The quintessential pocket passer, Brady belongs in an era long since passed - yet, in a time of transition for quarterbacks from the relics of that golden age of football to the hybrid option variety, he dominates and intimidates with a steely glare that someday will be immortalized on his bust in Canton.
He may belong in the 1970's, but so does his running game - as do his receivers and especially his offensive line. Bill Belichick is old school as well, and what he's done is to surround his stoic gunslinger with a supporting cast that can run over any defense that any other team can throw out there to try and stop them.
A far cry from the animated jack-in-the-box that won three NFL Championships in four seasons, Brady played his best football in 2012 - maybe not statistically, but in poise and leadership in running that hyper-tense, no huddle, up tempo offense that no one else in the NFL could run to the effictiveness that Brady does...
...and it's true. When Brady gets on a roll with that up tempo offense it is almost as beautiful as a new set of snow tires - and people in New England know how gorgeous a set of those puppies are, bad as the weather gets right around the time for the AFC title game.
It's a tired and worn out chiche, but it is absolutely true: As long as the Patriots have Tom Brady running that offense, the Patriots will be a contender...
...and that's pretty solid base to start the 2013 training camp on.
We are into the second week of the New England Patriots training camp - No Wes Welker, no Aaron Hernandez, no Danny Woodhead or Brandon Lloyd...no problem. Anyone who still questions how devastating an offensive attack the Patriots will bring to the field have only to take a peek at the position battles to become certain.
With no Rob Gronkowski in camp because of his well publicized forearm and back surgeries, Brady still has a bevy of tight ends - including one undrafted rookie free agent who is proving to be a unique talent that Brady seems to be becoming more and more comfortable with. At 6' 7" tall with 4.71 speed, Zach Sudfeld plays faster and more nimble than on might expect from a dude his size.
When you're clicking with Brady, it's going to be very apparent - and when he's comfortable laying a ball into a spot, confident that Sudfeld is going to go get it, the big kid with sticky fingers may develop into a star right before our eyes - and with Michael Hoomanawanui and Daniel Fells having a nice camp, Gronkowski's absence is a little more tolerable for Patriots' fans...
...which is a lie, of course, but it certainly doesn't leave Brady without weapons to work with - and with the best offensive line in the league returning pretty much intact with solid depth behind them, and a running game returning perhaps even more dangerous than in 2012, the interior of the offense looks all set, with the battles being not so much for roster spots, but for pecking order on the depth chart.
Gronkowski's status is a mystery - and we've seen him on the sidelines during camp, which just adds to the intrigue. If he's ready for the active roster when the preseason is over, he will be on the roster at the expense of someone like Fells or even Ballard - but if not, the team has the option of placing him on the inactive PUP for the first month and a half of the season, which will give him time to fully recover from his surgeries and get into game condition.
Either way, we probably won't know until the final roster is constructed.
But the real question mark coming into camp was with the receiving corps, as Brady had just one familiar face to throw at left over from last season - and that one face, belonging to Julian Edelman, began camp on the PUP list and has had just a few practice days.
But Edelman hit the ground running and looks to be in fantastic shape, showing no ill effects from the broken foot that was so troublesome for him to recover from this offseason.
So with Edelman mended and Danny Amendola coming as advertised, that leaves - at most - four roster spots open, with one of those going to special teams' ace Matthew Slater, and unless draft picks Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce completely tank the rest of camp or suffer an injury, that leaves seven receivers vying for one roster spot...
...the early money coming in on rookie free agent Kenbrell Thompkins, who is playing like a seasoned veteran. That said, it will be tough for names like Kamar Aiken and Michael Jenkins to overtake the pure athleticism and talent of Thompkins and they will likely find themselves on the outside looking in when the end of August rolls around.
Worth mention is the fact that running back Shane Vereen has been seen taking reps at various locations in the formation, including split out wide and in the slot - so the speedster from Cal should be included in the pass catcher mix.
It may be too late for rookie free agent Mark Harrison to make any sort of an impact in camp, so the Patriots may place the big kid on the IR or inactive PUP list to stash him away for next season, or he may even be a candidate for the practice squad should he be activated from the active PUP list in the near future - other than that, it will take a minor miracle for any of the other receviers in camp to start the season catching passes from the birthday boy...
...hey, that's why the number 36 was supposed to mean something to me - so Happy Birthday, Tom Brady. From the looks of things, your coach has given you a lot of weapons to unwrap...
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