The Patriots' quarterback is thrilled to be back at practice with wide receiver Deion Branch, one of his longtime friends whom the Pats reacquired from Seattle this week.
"I've thrown him thousands and thousands of footballs," Brady said Wednesday. "The relationship I have with Deion on the field has always been a great one. I think there's always been a natural chemistry. I hope we'll be able to rely back on that a little bit."
Brady said the 31-year-old receiver looks like the same guy who played in New England from 2002-05, and the quarterback called Branch "reliable, consistent, tough [and] competitive," among other things. Brady also said Branch is smart enough to smooth out the transition from one team to another.
With Branch now in the mix and Randy Moss in Minnesota, the Patriots' offense figures to continue making that transition toward the throwback version that won three Super Bowls. Brady even recited one of his most famous lines from that era, mentioning, "You throw it to the guy that's open."
They might not have the high-flying, downfield threat of Moss, but the offense could be more about longer possessions and better ball distribution. Brady sounded A-OK with that.
"If it's dink and dunk and score touchdowns, I'm fine with dinking and dunking," Brady said. "I don’t care. Whatever it takes to get the ball into the end zone. If we hand it off every play, I'm fine with that."
Brady, who spoke to the New England media en masse for the first time since the Moss trade, also fielded a handful of questions about the record-breaking receiver. When asked if Moss was a bad influence in the locker room, Brady said, "No, not at all," before glowing about their personal relationship.
"We get along great," Brady said. "We always have, since the day he got here.
"And he never made fun of my hair when everyone else seems to want to make fun of my hair," Brady added. "But he never has."
Also, Brady gave the stock response to dealing with a week full of roster-rattling moves.
"The roster is always in transition with players getting injured and players moving," Brady said. "I think it's something we're all used to."
Well, it's not exactly common for a team to trade a Hall of Famer in the middle of the season. So, with that in mind, Brady was asked if something happened to provoke such a trade.
"I've moved on," Brady said. "We all have. I really don’t want to talk about it anymore."
