No promises, but Hobbs cites progress

BOLTON - Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs, recovering from February left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and March surgery on a sports hernia, stopped short of saying yesterday that he would be on the field for the start of training camp in late July, but indicated that there have been no setbacks.

"I know each day it's getting better," Hobbs said at the Patriots' charity golf tournament at The International. "Physically, I feel a lot better now than I did at the end of the season."

The Patriots generally avoid setting timetables for those returning from injury, or at least letting them be known publicly. Along those lines, Hobbs, who didn't participate in on-field work at spring mini-camps and did not play golf yesterday, wasn't willing to project when he'll return to the field, saying only, "As long as I continue to string days along where I have the confidence to go out there and perform at a high level, then I'll get out there."

The 5-foot-9-inch, 195-pound Hobbs, who initially hurt his shoulder last Nov. 4 against the Colts, acknowledged that he was in a "great deal of pain" for more than half the season, but gutted through the injuries ("if they're playable, I'm always going to play on them").

He started all 16 games last season, plus two of three playoff games, and now is eager to return to the secondary that lost some of its top players, notably cornerback Asante Samuel. Asked if he has additional motivation to perform at a high level to help the team absorb those losses, Hobbs, entering his fourth season, struck a confident yet respectful tone.

"For me to say what I really want to say, it would come off so wrong," he said. "Just to summarize it, when I first got into the NFL, I looked at it like it was just me out here, proving to everyone that I'm supposed to be here. I take that into every year. I don't care who is here or who is not here."

Hobbs is also leaving behind the past, which includes Super Bowl XLII, when he was in man-to-man coverage with Giants receiver Plaxico Burress on the 13-yard game-winning touchdown catch with 35 seconds left. The Patriots' all-out blitz left Hobbs in a tough situation when the Giants' protection held its ground.

"What's done is done," he said. "I can't change it. I don't care if it's Week 1 or the Super Bowl. I live and learn, I go from that play, and I take everything I can from it.

"We're moving on to this season. There is nothing I can say, nothing I can do, that can bring back that play either way. So by me elaborating on it - if this would have happened, or if I would have done this, or maybe, shoulda, coulda - it's not going to bring that play back. All it's going to do is hinder me from progressing forward."

Seymour physically fit

Defensive lineman Richard Seymour said he feels like a different player from what he was the past two seasons. The reason: better health.

"This is really the first year in the last two that I've been able to hit the ground running, so to speak," he said. "That doesn't say what you'll do during the season, but I'm definitely five times better than I was the last two seasons. I'm definitely excited to get this season going."

Seymour was limited to nine regular-season games (eight starts) in 2007, and started all three playoff contests. Although he didn't miss a game in 2006, his right arm was a nagging problem.

"Everyone isn't going to be 100 percent," he said, "and obviously, the last two years I wasn't 100 percent. What do you expect when somebody is out there on one arm and one leg?

"The training staff and the coaching staff, everyone has been supportive. This year, I'm excited about the opportunities that I have, and I'm really looking forward to doing what [No.] 93 does."

Brady mentally fit

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady didn't directly answer the question about whether this offseason has been different from years past but did note that sometimes less is more when it comes to offseason training.

"I think for all of us it's good to get a mental break, and you do it in different ways," he said. "Going into my ninth year, I feel like I know what I need to do to be ready and be prepared. That's one of the advantages of being a veteran."

Brady said there is no question he'll be ready for the start of training camp. Asked how much he has been limited in his training, presumably because of the ankle injury that saddled him in the playoffs, he said, "Zero. Not at all. None. Feel great. Body feels great. Leg feels great. Arm feels great."

Brady indicated that the next six weeks before camp will be an important stretch to rest, "because when you get back, there is no letting up for a long time."

At this point, he likes the momentum that the team has built, and the attitude players have shown after the end to last season.

"I think it was a good three weeks of spring camps," he said. "I think the team felt pretty good, and I know coach [Bill ] Belichick is pleased with where we're at."

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.