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          New England Patriots

          Tom Brady: 'Still writing our story, hopefully we write a good one'

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterJan 4, 2018, 08:45 PM
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- It might be a playoff bye week, but New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady stressed how the team has to keep its edge, which meant going through a high-intensity, full-pads practice on Thursday.

          "It's just trying to stay sharp. It's still football season. It's not a week off at all," he said. "We worked hard to get to this point, and there's still a lot more to go. We're still writing our story, and hopefully we write a good one."

          This week's chapter was focused on an internal analysis of their performance.

          "I think it's always valuable to evaluate where you're at and what you've done, and kind of what you're doing well and what you're not doing well," Brady said. "To have that luxury is great, because usually you don't have time. It's a tight squeeze anyway to get the game plan in for the week, right up until the very end.

          "To have a week where you can kind of focus on what we've done, I think that's been really positive. We have to take those things and go use them to our advantage. That's what we're trying to do."

          The Patriots will host an AFC divisional round playoff game on Jan. 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans or Buffalo Bills (8:15 p.m. ET).

          Coach Bill Belichick had the players on the field for practices Wednesday and Thursday, and as players departed in snowy conditions Thursday afternoon, some of them discussed using their time off wisely.

          "We had a good, productive couple days, and hopefully everyone gets their body a little rest, but our mind has to stay sharp," Brady said. "Whoever we play is going to be a damn good team, and we have to go out and play well."

          As for his own health, Brady said he feels "good."

          "I'm hoping next week I'll feel great and be 100 percent ready to go. I'm excited for that," he said.

          Asked about how having injured players like Chris Hogan, Rex Burkhead, James White and possibly Malcolm Mitchell back on the field, and what it will mean to the offense, Brady said: "We'll see. Not sure. To be determined by everybody. I'd rather go out and do it and not talk about it. That's what our focus is going to be on."