Tiger Woods has Butch Harmon. Tom Brady has Tom Martinez.

Since he was quarterback of Serra High’s junior varsity team in the early 1990s, Brady has turned to Martinez, his personal passing guru, time and again for guidance. A Bay Area legend, Martinez has been the one football constant in Brady’s life for the last 15 years, and has found a special rapport with the quarterback, who returns to him frequently to help fine-tune his game.

Few people know Brady’s game better — to this day, he keeps a crinkled piece of paper with him in his wallet that includes pointers preached by Martinez, statements like “Keep your elbow high,” “Throw it down the hall,” “Keep your hips closed.”

And Brady holds him in such high esteem that he gave Martinez the game ball from his first NFL start, a 44-13 win over the Colts back in 2001 with the inscription, “Coach Martinez — Thanks — The first of many — 9/30/01 — Patriots 44, Colts 13 — Tom Brady #12.”

“Tom’s a key reason why I've been fortunate to have success in college and the NFL,” Brady once told reporters. “I think the world of him professionally and personally. I still consult with him, and he tunes me up when I need him.”

So when Martinez talks about Brady, people listen. And in the wake of the knee injury Brady suffered during Week 1 of the 2008 season, Martinez says that as the Patriots' quarterback works to return to the game, the injury will now force him to tinker with his mechanics in much the same way Peyton Manning did after the Indianapolis quarterback had knee surgery to remove an infected bursa sac in his left knee before the start of the 2008 season.

“He was really tentative, and at the beginning of the year, most of his throws were off,” Martinez said of Manning. “I don’t think he was willing to attack the game. That had a lot to do with why the Colts weren’t winning early.”

Through the first eight weeks of the 2008 season, Manning was indeed rough around the edges, averaging just 219 passing yards per game, with just two outings where he threw for more than 250 yards and one 300-plus yard outing. In addition, he tossed almost as many interceptions (nine) as touchdowns (10) through that same stretch. It was a big reason the Colts went 3-4 out of the gate, and left Manning shaking his head at what was going on.

“I can’t really give you one, simple answer, try to summarize what’s going on,” Manning told reporters after a Week 7 blowout loss to Green Bay where he managed jut 229 passing yards and a pair of interceptions. “I need to play better and find a way to get into the end zone.”

Manning did come around — there were three 300-plus yard outings down the stretch, including a season-high 364 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 16 win over Jacksonville. In addition, he didn’t throw a single interception after Week 13. But the slow start left Indianapolis having to scratch and claw just to reach the postseason, which, for the Colts, culminated in a wild card loss at San Diego.

Martinez says Patriots fans should look at Manning’s numbers from the 2008 season, because history tells us that Brady will likely follow the same path in 2009. That means possibly suffering through a few stinkers as No. 12 works his way back to elite status. But his old coach believes Brady has the mental toughness it takes to succeed.

“Do I anticipate Brady having trouble? Yes,” Martinez said. “Will he correct it? Yes.

“I think if he was concerned and it showed early, I wouldn’t panic. The same thing happened with Peyton. He was holding back early last year, not attacking the throw and leaving a little off it. By the end of the season, he was back to where he needed to be.”

Brady’s rehab — and whether or not he’ll be ready for the 2009 season at all — has been the subject of much debate. Martinez says he is unaware of how things are going with his prized pupil, but when it comes to rehab, he fears the hypercompetitive quarterback could be his own worst enemy.

“He’s going to come in and try and win the job on his own merits, and that will mean it’s time to dump the wagon and go,” Martinez said. “In doing that, sometimes, you use poor judgment.”

But when it comes to Brady’s success, Martinez stresses the intangibles. And he says that’s what will make him successful going forward.

“The surgery was to his knee. It was not on his heart or his brain. They didn’t operate on those. He’s a winner, one of the better winners of all time,” Martinez said. “I would say that the guy who got hurt in Game 1 last year is coming back with the same heart, determination, mind and attitude.”