Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady has been battered with questions regarding the health of his throwing arm which many speculated was the key reason he sat out New England?s preseason opener against Cincinnati last week. Brady explained his absence was a pre-emptive measure to help preserve the strength of his golden arm. ``You just try to stay fresh, because the last thing you want is to start the regular season in Week 1 and miss a Wednesday or Thursday practice because something is sore,'' Brady said. ``You want to build into the year as opposed to working back when the season starts. . . . In previous years my arm (has gotten) tired and worn down at the end of the year, so (we've) tried to take some of those throws out early in the year and see how it feels later in the year.''