When media are allowed to observe the New England Patriots' organized team activity on Thursday at Gillette Stadium, one gets the distinct notion that it will have a circus-like feel.

You can almost hear the carnival barker: Step right up, folks, it's the moment you've all been waiting for! Tom Brady on the field for a Pats practice!

And if Randy Moss and Wes Welker are to be believed, Thursday will just be the warmup to a season full of circus-like catches and three rings of offensive fun.

Even though Brady told Sports Illustrated's Peter King in a story in this week's edition that he's thrown to Moss and Welker at least a dozen times this offseason, the three-day, full-team session, which began on Tuesday, marked the first time that he's taken part in "official" workouts since the days before his injury last Sept. 7.

Media will descend on Gillette's fields on Thursday in full force to offer documented evidence that No. 12 and the NFL's most famous left knee are indeed back on the field.

Brady affirmed that he is as healed as possible from the torn ACL and MCL he suffered just moments into the regular season last September, telling King, he's "as confident as anyone could be that I'll be ready to play, back to playing normally, when the seasons starts. I've done everything I could to push myself, sometimes too hard. Right now, I'm doing everything. Literally everything. There's nothing I can't do."

The 2007 league MVP, who will turn 32 during training camp, calls the first injury layoff of his career "halftime" and enthusiastically states that he'd like to play for another decade at least.

"I want to play until I'm 41. And if I get to that point and still feel good, I'll keep playing. I mean, what the hell else am I going to do?" Brady said in SI. "I don't like anything else."

During a February charity appearance Brady claimed he'd be ready for training camp, and that he was throwing with the same velocity as he had prior to being hurt. He also revealed that he has been playing golf.

Still, however, the doubts about his true health lingered. A report on nbcsports.com at the close of the regular season said Brady was behind schedule in his rehab due to the staph infection that had set into his knee and that he was possibly facing more surgery.

Brady called that report false, adding that the infection was actually his fault. Against doctor's orders and the pleas of his now-wife Gisele Bundchen, Brady lifted son Jack onto his shoulders just two days after his knee surgery and walked around his hospital room. A hematoma developed, and the infection followed.

Brady was so intent on getting his rehab started — and being ahead of the schedule that had been set forth — that he pushed it too much. He says the setback was probably a good thing, as it slowed him down.

So the quarterback is giving the thumbs up, and his receivers are, too.

Welker is quoted in the King article as saying, "Just wait, you'll see. He's the same guy."

In a sportsillustrated.com story posted Monday, Welker predicts that the 2009 Patriots offense could be even better than the 2007 record-setting version — and in comments to espn.com, Moss echoes those thoughts nearly verbatim.

"The sky's the limit for this offense," Moss said. "I think that we could be a little bit better than two years ago. I'm very excited for us as an offense. I'm excited for us as a team. There's a lot of good things about Tom Brady coming back that excites the people, the fans, the coaches and the players around here.

"All we can hope is to come out with smoking guns."

Lest you've forgotten, New England averaged nearly 37 points per game in '07, scoring 75 touchdowns and accumulating over 410 yards an outing.

Welker and Moss feel their comfort in the Pats' system is what gives them the edge this year over two years ago.

"I feel we've gotten better,'' Welker said. "Back in '07, Randy and I were in our first year here, and I don't know about Randy, but I was worried about where the hell I was supposed to line up a lot of that season. Now, with so many touches over the last two years, the offense is second nature to us. This is a complicated offense, and getting to know it takes time. But now I think we both know it well, and we're on the same page with Tom every snap. Our goal is to continue to get better. I hope we can. We've got some good new weapons here, and it'll be great for us to get on the field together to see what we can do."

"This year it's going to be a little bit scarier because we do have two years up under our belts," Moss said. "To be point blank, they don't want dummies in this offense. You have to be somewhat intelligent to be able to go ahead and run this offense, because one play you could be here, the next play you could be there. You have to be versatile to be able to change positions and be good."

Brady back under center, comfort for Moss and Welker, a healthy and speedy Joey Galloway in the mix, and a backfield of Fred Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and the seemingly ageless Kevin Faulk — step right up folks. It's the show you've all been waiting for.

smanza@projo.com