3 takeaways from Tom Brady's weekly press conference on Saturday afternoon

FOXBOROUGH — Tom Brady met the media for his weekly press conference on Saturday afternoon, and he touched on a number of topics. Here are the three biggest takeaways from his time with local reporters:


1. He’s excited to see Rob Gronkowski back on the field. The big tight end returned to practice on Saturday after missing multiple sessions because of a concussion he sustained in the AFC title game. While Gronkowski is not completely cleared, the quarterback noted it was a positive sight to see him return to action, even if it was just a practice session:

“It’s always great to have him out there. He’s a great player, great person, great teammate and a big part of what we do. So, it obviously hurts when he’s not out there for a lot of reasons, but he’s doing the best he can do and we’re all hopeful,” Brady said. “I think he’s got a great personality and a great way about him, so he definitely has a joyfulness to him and he brings that to the team. It’s just a great attribute of his. It always has been since he got here.”

2. He can still recall the time at the start of the 2015 season when Dion Lewis was battling the likes of Travaris Cadet for playing time. The quarterback has been effusive in his praise of Lewis over the last year-plus, and was again on Saturday, saying he’s “done a great job since he’s been” a part of the Patriots.

“When he got here, there was a lot of people kind of vying for that spot, and he really took advantage of it and has played so well for us,” Brady said of Lewis, who had career-highs in carries and yards in the regular season. “(He) really is a feature back and plays well in the passing game, run game, inside runs, outside runs – kind of does everything – real good in blitz pickup and Dion’s very smart.

“It’s a great group, obviously, with Dion, Rex (Burkhead), Mike (Gillislee), Brandon (Bolden) and James (White). Those are five guys who can really play, and we’ve relied on all those guys at different points in the season. You never know who’s going to get most of the looks in a particular game. It just kind of depends how it goes, but all those guys are ready — and Dion’s had just an incredible season.”

3. He can sense this year’s finish line. In training camp, he referred to the season as a marathon. Now, he knows he’s approaching Kenmore Square, and closer than ever to making the turn onto Boylston.

“I’m glad we’re still playing,” he said. “(But) more importantly than anything, to be working this week is pretty special for all of us and it’s a great environment we’re about to go into. So, you’re right, we’re right at the finish line I think. It’s one game to play and there’s a finality to this game. We’ve got to hopefully play our best possible game. That’s what it’s going to take playing against a team that challenges us in all phases. (Philadelphia has been) great on special teams, they have a great offense and they have a great defense. So, I don’t think anything less than our best is going to win the game, so hopefully, it’s our best.”

(One more bonus note: He's probably not going to talk publicly about his new "Tom vs. Time" Facebook documentary. Asked about it on Saturday, he said with a smile, "We’ll stick to football this week.")