Brady goes long for surgery

QB chooses LA-based orthopedist ElAttrache

FOXBOROUGH - Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has chosen Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles to surgically repair his injured left knee, NFL sources said.

It is not known when Brady is scheduled for surgery, but an NFL source said Brady was on track to undergo the procedure at the four-week mark from his injury, which occurred Sept. 7.

Multiple sources told the Globe Brady tore the ACL and MCL in his knee during the first quarter of the Patriots' 17-10 season-opening win over the Chiefs. In cases similar to Brady's, doctors typically wait for the MCL to heal before reconstructing the ACL, hence the wait in Brady having the surgery.

One possible reason Brady has chosen to have the surgery on the West Coast could be proximity to his family, including his son.

While Brady could change his mind before undergoing surgery, in ElAttrache he has chosen a well-known orthopedist specializing in sports medicine, shoulders, elbows, and knees.

ElAttrache is the director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship program at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic, a prestigious program. The 48-year-old is a former physician for the Los Angeles Rams and currently consults for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, St. Louis Rams, the Dodgers, Lakers, and Kings, and the PGA Tour.

Dr. Lonnie Paulos, who performed surgery on Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who tore his ACL and MCL - as well as dislocating his kneecap - in 2006, estimated that if Brady just has to have his ACL repaired and there is no additional damage to the knee he'll be on crutches for a week or two.

Paulos said it would not be a good idea for Brady to have the surgery and then try to fly back to Boston.

"Normally, you'd want to keep him around a couple of days," he said. "It's not a good idea to travel right away because you tend to get swelling, and there is the possibility of a blood clot. You do the first week or two of rehab there, and then go home."

Sanders not present

The Patriots resumed preparations yesterday for Sunday's game against the 49ers, but they did so without veteran cornerback Lewis Sanders, who was not present for the media-access portion of practice. Sanders was not seen last Thursday at the Patriots' final practice before the bye week either.

If Sanders is hurt, that could thrust rookies Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite into action. Although neither has received a lot of playing time, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he's seen improvement from the new corners.

"I think Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite have both improved quite a bit," Belichick said. "They worked hard, got a lot of snaps in training camp and in the preseason games, especially Wheatley. As we have gotten into the regular season we have cut down because of our scheme; we just game plan for one team. Instead of running everything against everything, we narrow it down to the calls we are going to make in this particular game plan.

"I think that helps young players and new players coming into your team because they don't have to worry about every defense against every formation and every adjustment. It's more simplified based on the team that you're playing. I think there has been some improvement there with both Wheatley and Wilhite."

Wilhite did not practice yesterday and told teammates he was sick. Also absent from the media portion of practice were wide receiver Kelley Washington (ankle), linebacker Eric Alexander (calf), and offensive lineman Mark LeVoir.

Staying power

The Patriots are leaving Friday for California. The team has back-to-back road games with the 49ers and Chargers and will stay in the San Jose area after playing the 49ers Sunday rather than fly home.

Football is a game of routine. Will the trip interrupt the Patriots' routine?

"We don't have to put up with terrible weather out here. That's the only routine that we're used to," said safety Rodney Harrison. "We'll be fine. We'll have a chance to get acclimated to the weather, the time, just everything, and we'll have Friday night we can sleep and get some rest, then Saturday, and Sunday we got to go out there and play.

"Heck, we're not being dealt a card that's so difficult that other teams haven't dealt [with]. It's just being professional and doing your job."

3d down 1st priority

One area the Patriots will look for marked improvement is third down defense. Through the first three games, opponents have converted 18 of 37 third downs against the Patriots, a 48.6 percent success rate. As of yesterday, that tied the Patriots with the Texans for second-worst in the league behind only the Jaguars (50 percent). Defensive end Richard Seymour said third down defense actually starts on first and second down. "I think you have to do a good job on first and second down and not give them many different options," said Seymour. "I think on third down you want to get them in long yardage, but we have to do a better job, no excuses about it. We have to do a better job than we've been doing in getting off the field on third down. Third down is the money down. You got to be able to get off the field." . . . Rookie linebacker Jerod Mayo was spotted in the locker room with a black, forearm-length cast on his left arm. Mayo politely declined comment . . . Matt Cassel and Randy Moss were seen in the locker room discussing preparations for the 49ers game.