FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Addressing reporters for the first time since deciding not to pursue further legal options in his Deflategate fight with the NFL, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady called it a "personal decision."
"I've just tried to move on from it," Brady said Friday after practice. "I'll be excited to be back when I'm back, and I'll be cheering our team and hopefully we'll go out and win every game."
Asked how difficult he expected it would be for him to serve a four-game suspension to open the season, Brady said: "I've tried to be as positive as I can be. I think that's kind of always been my motto. Over the course of my career, I've been faced with different things and tried to overcome them the best way I could, or the best way I knew how. I'll try to do the same thing."
Brady didn't elaborate when asked how he plans to spend the four weeks of his suspension, saying: "I'll deal with that when it comes. I could have a plan and then change the plan. So I really don't know."
Brady deflected a question on whether he is angry at the powers that be in the NFL.
"I have a job to do, and I try to approach it the best way I can," he said. "I've always tried to do things the same way. Every day is important to me. Certainly, as someone who has been around here for a long time, I know I have to bring it every day. I think I just have to go out there and lead by example, and try to bring it, and show my teammates I'm ready to go mentally and physically every day."
Brady was on fire during Friday's practice, which was an intrasquad scrimmage. Although the pass rush held up before sacking quarterbacks and there was no live tackling, Brady was still 25-of-25 in the scrimmage and was especially vocal, his emotion flowing over after big plays.
"I think it's just a way to elevate everybody's game," he said of his approach. "It's a very competitive team, it's a competitive sport and you have to bring it mentally every day. You have to have an attitude about you, and we have a lot of guys on this team that bring that. Trying to push their buttons, I love to do that. They push it back, and I think that gets the best out of everybody."
Brady also deflected a question on whether he's changed his approach in training camp, knowing he won't play until Oct. 9 at Cleveland, saying, "Honestly, I'm just trying to be as good as I can be every day."
His interview with reporters lasted five minutes, during which he acknowledged the support he's received throughout Deflategate.
"My family has been everything to me," he said. "Obviously the support of my teammates, and coaches, and Mr. [Robert] Kraft and Jonathan [Kraft], the whole team, all our fans. I said the other night, we have the best fans in the world. And we do. Hopefully we give them a lot of reason to cheer this year."