Brady eyeing opener.

BOSTON - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says his recovery from knee surgery remains on schedule, and he doesn't see any reason he won't be ready for the 2009 opener.

But Brady stopped short of predicting when exactly he'll return to the field.

"I'm feeling great. I'm feeling really good. Everything is progressing just as I expected," Brady told reporters yesterday at a charity event.

"It's just a matter of getting to that time," Brady said. "I wish it was right around the corner. I wish it was here now. It's not, but the competitor in me has to sit back and wait and continue to work and try to get stronger."

Brady spoke during a visit to the Boys and Girls Club in Allston to provide 1,000 laptop computers as part of his work with the Patriots Charitable Foundation and the One Laptop Per Child program.

Asked if he'd be ready to go if training camp started today, Brady said he'd be ready but didn't know if his trainer would agree.

"I was out there working out yesterday with him, and he feels great, and I feel great," Brady said.

He also said he has been throwing the ball.

Brady added that there have been no further setbacks since a post-operative infection in the knee last fall. Brady had surgery on Oct. 6 in Los Angeles after tearing ligaments in the knee during the first quarter of the season opener in September.

He sidestepped questions about his rumored engagement to his girlfriend, supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

"Maybe, maybe not," Brady said. "No, all those reports are, unfortunately, not true."

Also yesterday, the Patriots signed free agent linebacker Tully Banta-Cain and free agent tight end Brad Listorti. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.