The Sooner, the Better for Brady

It’s no surprise that QB Tom Brady wants to play in the opening preseason game. He loves to play so much that he can’t wait to experience live action again, even if it’s in a glorified practice.

It will be eight months since his last pass in game conditions. Brady can practice all he wants, but nothing matches the feeling from a game. He wants that rush.

There’s also a functional reason, and that’s to get game-ready. Brady pushed as hard as he could through rehab, mini camp, and now training camp. The knee is good enough for live action. And Brady needs to exercise his mind as well as his body to do the things he expects of himself.

Brady’s mind will be behind his body during this recovery. That will be the hardest thing to recover for the Franchise.

Players recovering from major knee injuries have to mentally “get over it.” Brady’s mechanics - from dropping back to shuffling in the pocket to releasing the pass - could be perfect right now. But his execution will be compromised until Tom puts the injury behind him.

Players tend to lack the confidence to use their injured knee like they used to. They’ll fear planting hard, afraid something bad might happen again. It’s a natural concern.

Years ago I fractured a bone in my hand playing basketball on a freak reach-in on a defensive play. It was in a splint for six weeks and I had to go through rehab to strengthen the hand again.

I was a nervous returning to the court, worried about another freak break. The only way to put those thoughts out of my head was to get back into the game. By the time I was part a pile of three dudes after deflecting a pass out of bounds, I had a smile back on my face. It felt great to be back playing and being my old self. I wasn’t worried about the hand anymore.

This is what Brady has to go through. It will take longer than one game, especially since this is only the preseason, but Tom wants in now to begin breaking though the mental barrier.

And there’s never a better time than the present. Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning had two off-season knee procedures in 2008. He didn’t miss a game in the regular season, but his first half was very uncharacteristic as he threw nine interceptions. He was the Manning with surgical precision in the final eight games, as Peyton threw 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Brady will make a similar turnaround. How long it takes is the question. If getting extra reps during the preseason accelerates the process, then Brady will spend less time stumbling over his own feet when the games are real.

Mental recovery varies from player to player. Coaches can run a passer through extra reps or even bop the QB with tackling dummies when they drop back, but it’s not the same as a live pass rush. Brady will get a taste of that real soon, and the more, the better.

If playing in four preseason games means four less regular season games of Brady regaining his confidence and feel, then I’m all for it.