“Over the course of time, I think he’s improved in a lot of areas because he’s continued to work on them and work on all the little things,” Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said. “And that’s not saying they were deficient to begin with; Tom just strives for perfection. I think there is always a place for every player to improve, and that’s what Tom does. He works hard to try to find that little area of improvement that could result in a better play somewhere down the line.”  Brady’s statistics do not eclipse his stratospheric 2007 season, when he set an N.F.L. record with 50 touchdown passes while leading the Patriots to a 16-0 regular season. In that season, Brady completed 68.9 percent of his passes. Six receivers had double-digit reception totals, including Wes Welker (112) and Randy Moss (98), whose streaks down the sideline became the signature plays of the high-flying year. The least experienced of those six oft-targeted receivers was tight end Ben Watson, then in his fourth season.  But the responsibility for the Patriots’ offense now rests with Brady more than ever. With the season under way, Belichick completed the transformation of the offense that was foreshadowed in April’s draft. The only receiver of that frequently targeted 2007 group who remains is Welker, who again was Brady’s leading receiver this season (86 catches).  Moss was sent packing early, and the veteran Deion Branch was reacquired from Seattle. Branch would become Brady’s second-leading receiver (48), but the newest faces have made the biggest impact. The rookie tight ends Aaron Hernandez (45) and Rob Gronkowski (42) were joined by the second-year receiver Brandon Tate (24) and the second-year running back Danny Woodhead (34), who was signed after the Jets let him go.  In a system that emphasizes shorter passes that allow for gaining yards after the catch, a premium has been placed on Brady’s accuracy. His completion percentage is 65.9. He threw 36 touchdown passes but only 4 interceptions, none since Oct. 17, a staggering run of 335 passes without being picked off. Just before the Patriots’ regular-season finale against Miami, Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano said, “I mean, it blows my mind a little bit, to be honest with you.”  Brady’s interception rate is 0.8 percent, the second lowest since 1936, behind only Damon Huard, whose interception rate was 0.41 percent when he attempted 244 passes in 2006 for the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady attempted 492 passes this season.  “To have the guys he has — Woodhead, rookie tight ends, a castoff from Seattle — who does he have that’s supposed to be a legit Pro Bowl-type receiver?” said Brady’s former teammate Rodney Harrison, who is now retired and an NBC analyst. “To see Tom continually lead this team and show the confidence, the young guys appreciate that. They want Tom to be proud of them. When you catch balls and Tom is proud of you, that makes them feel good.”  Branch, who spent four seasons with New England, then four with Seattle before returning to the Patriots this season, thinks Brady throws the deep ball better now than he did when Branch was first with the team, undoubtedly a result of taking advantage of Moss’s presence.  And Harrison thinks Brady’s accuracy is helped by his renewed confidence in his left knee. In the first game of 2008, Brady tore ligaments in the knee, causing him to miss the rest of the season. Last year, Harrison said, Brady did not yet feel sure enough to step fully into his throws.  But when Branch returned to the Patriots, he noticed a more drastic shift: Brady had become a more forceful figure on the team — a natural evolution, Belichick said — stepping into the vacuum created when more veteran players departed.  “He didn’t have to force his will on guys back then,” Branch said. “When you’ve got guys like Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Ted Washington, Mike Vrabel, we can name about 20 guys that we had when I was here in ’02 versus now. It’s a big difference.”  Harrison also detects more of a sense of urgency from Brady. Brady is 33, and Harrison suspects that his shifting priorities — photos of his two young sons sit in his locker — and the knee injury heighten Brady’s awareness that soon the window on his career will start to close. With a young team that should be competitive for several years, Brady knows the importance of shaping them now. So the cool veneer of a thousand red-carpet photos gives way to a gridiron wonk.  During a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady was caught on camera screaming at his offensive line for a perceived infraction. In the meeting rooms, Brady reviews with his teammates what he has seen in his film study.  Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis said recently that Brady talked to his teammates during a play — not in the huddle, not during a timeout, but after the ball is snapped. Green-Ellis described one play during which Brady, with the ball in his hands and about to throw, told Green-Ellis where to move.  “Naturally, as you get older, you have more of a vocal role on the team,” Brady said. “As I’ve been elected as a captain, I have more of a voice for the team, which I really take seriously. It’s certainly an honor when your teammates elect you as a captain, as a representative to speak for the team in that role. I still love to compete and play and win.”  Brady allows few peeks behind the curtain of a franchise that prefers its privacy. He shows up to postgame news conferences immaculately dressed and often leaves after a few minutes. This week, he shifted comfortably at his locker as reporters leaned in and he answered question after question about his mind-set, his motivation, his methods, with slight variations on the same not-so insightful themes.  Rarely does he offer to the public the sort of unvarnished look at his feelings that the Jets claim to see on the field, allowing the precision of his game to define him.  But Harrison said Brady maintained the mind-set of a sixth-round draft pick trying to do everything to hang on, like running on the beach and doing yoga when everyone thinks he is in California relaxing with his family. And when Brady was told that Branch had described him as a dork because of his assiduous study habits, Brady finally seemed off balance for the first time this season.  “Deion did? Did he really?” Brady said, the megawatt smile creeping across his face. “Maybe, yeah. I could see that, you know? I’m flattered.”  A version of this article appears in print on January 14, 2011, on Page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: A Leader They Swear By. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
The responsibility for New England’s offense has rested more with quarterback Tom Brady this season than ever before.