Curious as to Brady's thoughts about the Patriots' aggressive offseason moves? That'll just about sum it up.
"It's a little bit different in that sense," he said.
While Brady is ever so careful to say the right things, such as not diminishing the accomplishments of last year's receiving corps, his excitement is evident when the discussion turns to the weapons he'll have at his disposal this year. You can see it on the practice fields when he high-fives veteran receiver Randy Moss after connecting on a screaming missile under the goal posts for a touchdown in 11-on-11 passing drills.
Unlike last season, when the Patriots' passing game was minus playmaking weapons and Brady essentially willed the group to the brink of the Super Bowl, this year looks a lot different. Brady sounded like a quarterback who knows he has some special pieces to work with -- Moss, Wes Welker, Donte' Stallworth, and Kelley Washington join holdovers Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney atop the depth chart -- but he also realizes there is work to be done.
"Everybody's got to find a spot," he said. "And we've got to figure out what Randy is good at, what Donte' is good at, and what Wes is good at, and try to adapt our offense to their style as well. Just as much coming in for those guys to understand our system, we need to understand what they can do as well.
"For example, when Deion [Branch] left, there were a lot of things Deion did that were unique to Deion, and that's exactly how this offense needs to morph.
"I think we've learned a lot already, in six days of practice. I think we've learned about the work ethic of these guys and the attitude. I think it's a very unselfish group. They've all been a lot of fun."
