How long should it take for QB Tom Brady to return to form? How much longer before he’s excelling on a consistent basis? When does Brady regain the confidence in his reconstructed knee to the point he doesn’t think about it anymore?

 

In years past, it took two full years to be back to normal after ACL and MCL surgery – a year to heal and another year playing on the knee to regain confidence and feel. That’s not the case anymore, with San Diego’s Phillip Rivers tying for the league lead in touchdown passes last year after ACL surgery in January.

 

After five games it seems unlikely that Brady will reach 34 TD passes this year. With his up and down play so far, he’ll have a hard enough time reaching 30 scoring tosses.

 

Brady clearly is frustrated by his inconsistency. For every solid game played (65.6 pct 258 yds TD vs. Bal), Tom put up a stinker (48.9 pct 216 yds Int vs NYJ). For each bounce-back second half (83.9 pct 219 yds 2 TD vs. Buf), Brady couldn’t hit his targets to save his life (35.7 pct 63 yds vs. Den).

 

At this point in his recovery, the knee should be physically fine. Brady moves around in the pocket well and Brady’s passing form should be more consistent. But for now he’s just a little bit off. The deep passes are a little too long and everything else is a little off the numbers.

 

This shouldn’t go on for the rest of the season, but impatience is building within Patriot Nation. They’re waiting for the Brady of old, but don’t know when he’ll show up.

 

A comparison was made earlier this week putting this year side-by-side against Brady’s 2007 five games in. That’s unfair because that ’07 season is arguably the greatest season in NFL history by a quarterback. Only two other seasons can be compared to it: Dan Marino in 1984 and Peyton Manning in 2004. Any other year and it’s not even close.

 

The best way to gauge Brady’s recovery is against his peer, which is Peyton Manning. Last year Manning returned from surgery to remove an infected bursa sac and a follow up procedure to “ensure the complete and swift resolution of the bursal problem.”

 

He got off to a poor start, throwing three touchdowns and four interceptions after three games. Indianapolis was 1-2. The next two games were Manning-esque as he carved Houston and Baltimore for five TDs and just one pick in two wins.

 

At the same point, Brady is off to a better start than Manning. Through five games, Brady has six TDs and just two interceptions compared to Manning’s eight TDs and five ints. Might Manning’s ’08 be a clue to how Brady’s season progresses?

 

Let’s hope, but understand there still might be a couple of setbacks left. After two weeks of encouraging play, Manning completed just 50 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions in a loss to Green Bay. That was followed by a loss to Tennessee where Manning completed a high percentage, but threw two picks along with two scores.

 

From week eight on, the Manning that puts fear into opposing defenses was back. He threw 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions, winning every game.

 

The possibility of Brady regaining his groove soon looks good. Tennessee has the 31^st-ranked pass defense and Tampa Bay isn’t much better at 21^st, while allowing 12 TD passes, third worst in the league.

 

Sweeping the second half of the schedule is asking too much. New Orleans, two games against Miami, and the highly anticipated rematch with the Jets, are four games that are far from automatic.

 

But hopefully by the time the Patriots return to action after the bye, we will see the Brady we’re used to.

 

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