Brady claims he is "ready" for season opener

Sep 1, 2008 - 7:45 PM FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- After a relatively inactive preseason, Tom Brady says he is ready to get back on the field.

Brady said Monday that he wants to play in the New England Patriots' season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But the record-setting quarterback, who has been nursing an injured right foot throughout the preseason, did not indicate whether he definitely would play Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

"If it is up to me, there is no question," said Brady, last year's league MVP. "But those questions aren't always up to me. I am always hoping that I am going to be out there and preparing the same way. I think I have been getting progressively better over the last couple of weeks."

Brady, 31, did not play in any of the Patriots' preseason games last month - all losses.

"I felt like I could have played in all of them," he said. "I practiced the entire preseason pretty much. I practiced all those weeks; I just didn't get the opportunity to play. The decision was made, 'OK Tom, you are not going to play.' I was fine with that. I said, 'OK, if that is what you guys feel is best then that is what you guys feel is best.'"

Brady passed for 4,806 yards and a league-record 50 touchdowns last year for the Patriots, who became the first team in NFL history to complete a 16-0 regular season.

A two-time Super Bowl MVP, Brady has started 127 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in NFL history.