Even Tom Brady is impressed with how well the Patriots have played

Brady says it's amazing the way the Patriots have responded to adversity

Few people had the Patriots -- without Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and their two starting offensive tackles -- going into Arizona and beating the Cardinals in the season opener with Jimmy Garoppolo under center. But it happened, and no one on New England's sideline seemed particularly surprised by it.

That might be the most remarkable part of it all. It's like Bill Belichick, part genius, part cult leader, has convinced his players that this is all perfectly normal. It's not, of course, but everyone is buying in, even with Garoppolo now nursing a sore throwing shoulder and the Patriots preparing to start rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett this week.

Meanwhile, we're two games away from seeing the Return of Tom Brady, who even admits he's blown away with what the Pats have overcome in his absence.

"I was hoping to gain a little different perspective, and I think I have," Brady told Westwood One Radio on Monday, via ESPN.com. "It's amazing the way our team responds to adversity and the way our coaches prepare us for all these different situations that we face. I'm just proud of the guys for how hard they're working. You can see it on TV, and obviously it's really paying off. It's great to be a fan of the Patriots and it's really great to be a player on the Patriots. I definitely have gained that perspective, and hopefully we get to 3-0 on Thursday night."

Brady, of course, is serving a four-game suspension for the silliness we've come to call Deflategate. And if, heading into the season, we said that the Pats could be -- at worst -- 2-2 when Brady returned, most people would agree that they would be in great position to not only win the division but make another deep playoff run. Well here we are, two weeks in, and the Pats are 2-0 and atop the AFC East.

And now, with Brissett possibly making his first NFL start in Thursday night's matchup against the Texans, no one would be surprised if the Pats find a way to win their third straight game without Brady.

"Jacoby's done a great job taking advantage of his opportunity," Brady said. "He went in there [Sunday] and showed a lot of poise. ... I know our coaching staff will have him prepared and ready to go if he's called upon."

So what happens if Brissett gets injured?

"If that's the case I'd expect Julian to go in there and the coaches to be comfortable with the plays they're calling for him," Brady said. "He still talks about that touchdown pass he threw against Baltimore a few years ago."

That would be Julian Edelman, who played quarterback at Kent State, and does just about everything else in New England. That said -- and given all that's happened through the first two weeks -- we wouldn't be surprised if Belichick took the field and threw for 300 yards and a couple touchdowns.