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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady has made no secret of his desire to play into his 40s.Hes reached the halfway point of his 17th NFL season, and at age 39 heads into the Patriots bye week performing at a level that puts him in the conversation to become the leagues oldest MVP.He started the 2016 season as a spectator while he served a four-game suspension as part of his punishment for his role in the Deflategate saga.Since his return to the lineup Oct. 9, Brady has shown few signs of decline in his four starts. Hes 4-0, has already thrown for 12 touchdowns and 1,319 yards, and if the season ended today his 73.1 percent completion rate and league-leading 133.9 passer rating would both be career highs.Whats more, with 198 victories, he will enter the second half of the regular season just three wins shy of passing Brett Favre (199) and Peyton Manning (200) to become the winningest quarterback in NFL history.For Brady, though, the most important number is New Englands NFL-best 7-1 record.Its pretty early, so, theres a long way to go, he said. Seven wins, its a good place, I think decent position. But coach always says `Seven wins wont get you anything in this league. Hes right. Weve got a lot of football ahead.For what its worth, former quarterbacks Rich Gannon (2002) and Peyton Manning (2013) are the current oldest MVP winners, having won the award at the age of 37. If Brady can do it a year shy of 40, it would bolster his claim as the best quarterback in history.One of the biggest questions coming out of the preseason was how Brady would be able to adjust after not being able to practice with his teammates for the month he was suspended.He was able to get in work with new additions Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett during preseason workouts, but only played in the final two preseason games after missing the first to attend a memorial service, and the second after accidentally slicing his thumb with a pair of scissors.There was also the nagging hamstring injury to favorite option Rob Gronkowski, which limited him over the first month as well.But Brady has made it work, and so far has been able to integrate both new and old options seamlessly; spreading around the wealth in offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels passing attack.In each of his four games Brady has completed passes to at least six different receivers, and has twice completed passes to eight different receivers. Hes done it without throwing an interception, while also showing more of a willingness to throw deeper routes and by opening himself up to hits by scrambling more.One example of Bradys toughness came during the Patriots 41-25 win at Buffalo was when he was able to hang in the pocket and deliver a 53-yard touchdown pass to Hogan just a play after taking a hard hit.Ive seen it for years, receiver Julian Edelman said. The guys a tough SOB. Its a pleasure to get to play with a guy like him.McDaniels says Bradys dedicated approach has been the thing thats stuck out since his return.Tommy is just consistent. Thats the thing, McDaniels said. He prepares as hard as he ever has. He doesnt leave any stone unturned. He takes care of his body. He gets his rest.Then comes out there and takes advantage of every minute of practice to try to work with his teammates to get better and really learn the game plan to go out there and execute it.That doesnt surprise me. When you work hard and try to do things right, you give yourself a chance to have some success. And weve certainly done that so far.As well as things have gone for the Patriots, the trade of defense stalwart Jamie Collins last week was a reminder to everyone -- Brady included -- that no one has infinite time in Patriots locker room.You cant be around this long and not realize that the world will keep spinning and the sun will come up tomorrow without you, Brady said.Thats just the way it goes. I think you enjoy just the experiences that you have, but also understand that it just keeps going on. It could happen to anybody. You just have to show up to work, do the best you can do every day, and let your performance just try to speak for itself.---AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightowerSupply NFL Jerseys . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Wholesale Jerseys Authenitc . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. http://www.wholesalechinajerseys.net/ . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. Wholesale Jerseys From China . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Cheap NFL jerseys China .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Rex Ryan readily concedes he had a much easier time drawing up a defensive game plan the last time the Buffalo Bills prepared to face the New England Patriots.It goes without question, the biggest factor working in the Bills coachs favor was he didnt have a certain Tom Brady to worry about four weeks ago.It was a great time to play them, Ryan said Wednesday, reflecting back on Buffalos 16-0 win against a Jacoby Brissett-led New England offense on Oct. 2.They have a new player back there for some reason, he added, with a distinct roll of his eyes in referring Brady. He looks decent.Once the laughter subsided, Ryan went on to praise Brady by calling him the best quarterback hes faced.The Bills (4-3) have their hands full Sunday, when the Patriots (6-1) come to town with Brady back at his familiar spot under center since serving a four-game Deflategate suspension.In reeling off three consecutive wins , Brady has completed 75 percent of his passes for 1,004 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. New England has combined for 85 points, 1,300 yards and 70 first downs.Thats a significant turnaround from an offense that managed just 277 yards, 13 first downs and was shut out at home for the first time since 1993 against Buffalo.Brady has been so productive Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams wondered how much of an advantage the quarterback might have actually gotten for using under-inflated footballs.Maybe it didnt make a bit of difference, Williams said.The AFC East rival Bills know Brady only too well. Since taking over the starters job from Drew Bledsoe in 2001, Brady has a 25-3 record against Buffalo. One more win and Brady matches the NFL record for most wins by a quarterback against one opponent: Brett Favre had 26 over Detroit.One of those victories still stings Ryan in particular.In New Englands 40-32 win at Orchard Park last season, Brady had three touchdowns and 466 yards passiing -- the most by a Bills opponent in franchise history.dddddddddddd. Brady used an up-tempo, quick-passing attack to negate Buffalos pass rushing efforts.Ryan credited Brady for how well he can identify mismatches from the line of scrimmage based on how the defense is aligned.You dont want to present the same picture because once hes seen it, hes got great recall and hes got the skill to beat you, Ryan said. So hopefully, you can paint a different picture for him.Another concern is how the Patriots keep defenses off-balance with a sturdy running game led by LeGarrette Blount. It doesnt help that the injury-depleted Bills had a four-game winning streak snapped in a 28-25 loss at Miami during which Ryans defense surrendered 256 yards rushing.What running back wouldnt be happy seeing the team hes about to play just gave up 200 yards, linebacker Preston Brown said. You know (Blount) is going to be excited to see that we had some mishaps.The key remains keeping Brady in check.Its the same team, but you know when you have Tom Brady its a new team, Brown said, assessing the differences of how the Bills contained Brissett.Its definitely going to be a totally different challenge with the pass, especially with the quarterback we went up against. I mean, we shut them out, Brown said. But we only had 16 points, so its definitely going to be a tougher game if we only score 16 again.Ryan is hopeful the Bills are up to the challenge Brady presents.Id much rather scheme against some other team, a team down at the bottom than at the top, Ryan said. As a competitor, you want to go up against the best, or you want to see how you stand you up against the very best. And well find out on Sunday how we stand up to these guys.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '