Brady confirms second surgery

FOXBOROUGH - Patriots quarterback Tom Brady confirmed last night that he had a second surgery on his injured left knee for a "very treatable" infection, releasing a statement on his website, TomBrady.com. The Globe reported the second surgery Friday.

"Unfortunately, in the week following the [initial] surgery, I developed an infection," Brady wrote. "The infection is very treatable and, through a course of antibiotics, it will be knocked out of my system. We were proactive with the infection and the doctors went in for a second procedure this past Wednesday to clean and to test the wound. The results of the tests have all been positive . . ."

Brady also confirmed that his initial surgery was Oct. 6, and said his doctor described his knee as "rock solid."

As part of his statement, Brady directed words to his fans, saying: "I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes and support you have given me throughout my career. It has been particularly helpful during these past six weeks. It is great to know you are all behind me, not only during the good times, but also during the challenging times."

Brady also wrote about his plans in the coming weeks and months.

"I am excited to begin rehabbing my knee and will continue preparing for 2009. I'm looking forward to supporting my teammates throughout the rest of this season, as we strive to achieve the goals we set as a team months ago. Thanks again for your letters and well wishes.

"I encourage all of my young fans to keep your bodies and minds as fit as possible and to deal with whatever challenges you may face. We never know what life is going to throw us. The best offense is to be prepared whether for the next school test, the next game, or for an unexpected challenge."

Defensive coordinator Dean Pees defended his unit yesterday, but also cautioned that more trouble lies ahead if the Patriots' defense doesn't solve its big-play woes.

A big part of the Chargers' 30-10 victory over the Patriots last Sunday night was their success with big plays, as Vincent Jackson caught passes of 48 and 59 yards, Malcom Floyd had a 49-yard touchdown pass, and cornerback Ellis Hobbs was penalized 32 yards for pass interference in the end zone.

That's four plays for 188 yards, leading to 17 points.

"That's our nemesis, and that's the thing we have to get corrected," Pees said. "We just cannot give up big plays. Until that stops, the results aren't going to change."

Pees pointed out that while the Patriots surrendered 404 yards of total offense in San Diego, the number can be misleading because close to 50 percent came on four or five plays. If techniques improve on those plays, he believes better results should follow.

So when evaluating the overall defense, Pees said yesterday he feels it's important to look at each play or there could be a flawed analysis.

"You have to be careful at the perception, because the whole defense can feel like, or you can feel like as a coach, that we're not playing well because we gave up 400 yards," Pees said.

"We weren't playing well on those four plays. You look at what caused those four plays and what can we do to correct those four plays, but keep the other plays the same and not just change the whole doggone defense."

Pees added that the overall scorecard he keeps for the defense graded out better than it had for any game this season.

Asked if the defense is in a similar situation as after the 38-13 loss to the Dolphins in Week 3, Pees said it was completely different.

"In the Miami game, they got into some things we weren't ready for, and got us," he said.

Coming off the loss to San Diego before a nationally televised audience, defensive lineman Richard Seymour is pleased that the Patriots are back on the national stage tomorrow night against the Broncos. "It was disappointing last week, because we know we're a better football team than what we put on the field," he said.