"Now it's about trying to move on with the normal getting ready for the season," Brady said at the West End House Boys & Girls Club, where he was providing 1,000 laptops to children as part of the One Laptop Per Child program, through the Patriots Charitable Foundation. "I'm going through as if this was our offseason conditioning program. I'm lifting and running and fo cusing on strength and working on the game film and those types of things. It's exciting to be back doing things that I like and enjoy."
Asked if he could forecast his availability for the opening week of the season Sept. 10-14, Brady said he believes he'll be ready.
"Yeah, you certainly think so. There is no reason why I shouldn't," he said. "It's just a matter of getting to that time. I wish it was right around the corner. I wish it was here now. It's not, but the competitor in me has to sit back and wait and continue to work and try to get stronger. We have to build a foundation as a team. There have been a lot of changes."
In balancing family obligations and his football career, Brady has been splitting time between California and Gillette Stadium. He said he was working with new Patriots quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien as recently as Tuesday, and he also worked out with fellow quarterback Matt Cassel last weekend. He said he'll be excited to see the rest of his teammates in March when they return for offseason work.
Brady loosened his arm a bit yesterday, lofting some passes in a gymnasium with children from the Boys & Girls Club, and later dropped to the floor to do pushups with them.
"I'm feeling great. I'm feeling really good. Everything is progressing just as I expected," he told reporters before being asked if he had had a setback.
"I think initially I said there was," Brady responded, referring to his infection. "Since then, there has been nothing."
Brady reflected on the time he learned of his infection, and indicated that he never considered his career to be in jeopardy.
