As Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prepares to return to the field for the first time since Week One of the 2008 season, Pats fans are still wondering (even if they won’t admit it) whether Brady will be the same guy he was before suffering a torn ACL.
Based on the views of the man who directed Brady’s rehab, no one should be wondering about Brady’s knee.
“I’ve worked with a lot of guys, and it’s remarkable how quickly he’s rehabbed,” Alex Guerrero told Albert Breer of Sporting News. “Tommy’s been doing everything since the end of February. Take into
account the surgery in October, then the infection, and he had five
weeks of post-op before he did anything.
“He’s been able to run laterally, and do cone drills since late
February, and he’s had all these months to work on it, all of it is
really remarkable. It’s a tribute to his mental toughness.”
After checking on Brady during training camp, Guerrero feels the same way.
“I saw him go through eight straight days, and he felt fresh, he wasn’t
sore at all, there was never any inflammation,” Guerrero told Breer. “He felt
as strong Day 8 as he did Day 1. He looks really good, the same old
giddy Tommy having a good time. And when he came for treatment, it was
mostly about his arm, not the leg. That’s when I knew he had no concern
about the knee.”
Still, regardless of whether the knee is healed, the deeper question is whether Brady’s head is ready. Can he stand tall and confident in the eye of a storm of arms and legs and helmets and torsos that might hit his bad leg — or his good one?
Most importantly, will he be able to forget about the fact that his left knee is exposed to another possible low hit when winding up and throwing the ball?
He hasn’t had to deal with that in training camp or OTAs, since the quarterback is off limits. He’ll get his first sort-of taste of it tonight, and his first real taste of it in Week One.
Brady has shown that he’s got the mindset to perform well under adversity. But he’s about to face circumstances he’s never before encountered.
No one will know for sure how he’ll respond until he’s in that moment.
Including Brady himself.