Patriots QB Tom Brady has much to ponder as his team embarks on the second half of the season, looking to build on recent momentum. (US Presswire)

Things started out rough for Patriots QB Tom Brady. He made a bad habit of disappearing in the fourth quarter of games, struggled to deliver in clutch situations and danced with a .500 record for the first six weeks of the season.

It wasn’t until overtime in a Week 7 game against the Jets when things appeared to click for him, and he rode that momentum to England where he passed for 304 yards with four touchdowns and a 131.1 passer rating in a win over the St. Louis Rams. The performance put him on pace to finish with 4,800 yards, 32 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

Numbers like those should put him in the thick of the MVP race, making it safe to assume that Brady feels good about where he is at the midpoint of the season, right?

“We’ll see,” Brady said when asked about how his season is coming together.

The truth is, nothing will ever be good enough for Brady. Coach Bill Belichick’s soldiers are programmed never to admit satisfaction, so the constant talk of improvement often comes off as lip service. But this time, Brady showed up with an itemized list of things he’s looking to improve.

Among those are his lukewarm chemistry with receiver Brandon Lloyd (“I hope it keeps getting better”), pocket presence (“Sometimes [you move and] it’s not the open spot and you make mistakes”), and the general performance of the offense (“We’ve got to play better than we’ve played”).

What’s the plan to accomplish those goals?

“We’ll just have to go out there and work at it,” Brady said.

McCourty moving? The Patriots are unwilling to discuss anything involving newly acquired cornerback Aqib Talib, but one growing theory is that his acquisition will lead to a move to safety for incumbent cornerback Devin McCourty.

Belichick has hinted that he’d like to find some consistency in his secondary, though he refused to go into specifics involving McCourty. The coach did, however, laud McCourty’s ability to direct the secondary while filling in at safety due to injuries the last two games.

“I think he has a good understanding of what that particular defensive play is, what that entails,” Belichick said. "I’d say he’s not a guy that has a lot of excess communication. He’s concise, he’s to the point, ‘Here’s the call, here’s what it is,’ instead of some guys, ‘Watch out for this, watch out for that, this could happen, be ready for that.’

"It’s a different kind of communication maybe than some other guys, but I think it’s good. He does a good job back there.”

Practice report: Did not participate: RB Brandon Bolden (knee), DE Trevor Scott (hamstring), LB Tracy White (foot). Limited: CB Kyle Arrington (concussion), DT Ron Brace (back), S Patrick Chung (shoulder), S Steve Gregory (hip), TE Rob Gronkowski (hip), TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle), LB Dont'a Hightower (hamstring), WR Lloyd (knee), G Logan Mankins (calf/hip), LB Jerod Mayo (elbow), OL Nick McDonald (shoulder), LB Brandon Spikes (knee), OT Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee), WR Wes Welker (ankle). Full: WR Julian Edelman (hand), DT Kyle Love (knee).

Nick Underhill covers the Patriots for MassLive.com. Follow him on Twitter @CBSPats or @Nick_Underhill.