Brady's goal vs. Lions: Feel the rhythm of the game

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FOXBORO -- Tom Brady's not looking to see a specific number of snaps or throw a certain number of passes. He just wants to get into a rhythm. 

That's his goal for Friday's game in Detroit. It's a pretty abstract concept, a football game's rhythm. Yet it's one of the things quarterbacks reference all the time. There's a pacing, a feeling, that takes some time to adjust to behind center. When you have it, you know it. When you don't, you're not exactly sure how long it might take.

For Brady, someone who missed the first month of last season and came back to perform at an MVP level, it probably doesn't take all that long. But the process still exists, and he's looking forward to going through it again later this week. 

"For me, it’s just feeling the rhythm of the game, and it’s different than practice," he said Wednesday. "The rhythm of practice is very different, and the only way to simulate the game is to play. I can draw on a lot of experience, but it’s nice to get out there and actually do it. I mean, it was fun being out there last week. It will be, obviously, fun being out there this week, but you’re just trying to build up for one game, the start of the season in September. Everything is building toward that."

What's particularly helpful in these preseason games, Brady explained, is getting out there with new teammates to work together at a different pace. This year in particular, there are plenty of new faces surrounding Brady in the huddle between receiver Brandin Cooks, running back Rex Burkhead, tight end Dwayne Allen and others.

"Those snaps that you’re taking with new players are really important," Brady said. "It was nice to get Rex a touchdown pass [in Houston], and just for him to feel what it’s like for all us to look at another guy’s eyes in the huddle during the course of a game and saying, ‘Look, this is where we’re at. This is football. This is exactly what we’re going to be doing when the season kicks off on Thursday night.' "

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