Brady on beating Jets: ‘It was pretty sweet’
The morning after the Patriots’ reaffirming 37-16 victory over the Jets, quarterback Tom Brady was understandably in a good mood during his weekly conversation with the hosts of WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan” program.
“It’s definitely a different feeling when you win,” said Brady, who completed 26 of 39 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots snapped a two-game losing streak. “We got off the field last night, and just to walk into the locker room and celebrate with the guys, really after a tough couple of weeks for us, even battling a very good team last night under some tough conditions, with their home stadium. It was pretty sweet.”
Here are a few other topics Brady commented on during the interview:
On the play of right guard Brian Waters: “I think the way that Brian has stepped in to that role, and … he’s just a true professional. You see why the guy’s been around for, I think this is his 12th year or 11th year, and played really at a high level. He studies his playbook constantly and goes over his blocking sheets. Every time you see him in front of his locker or in the cafeteria, he’s studying, he’s preparing. You want to try to show the young guys, ‘Look guys, just look at him. Look what he’s doing.’ Some guys get it and some guys don’t. But Brian’s a great example for all the young players of what it takes to be a professional. He was undrafted out of a very small college, North Texas, and has really made the most of every opportunity that he’s every gotten. But it’s because he’s been prepared for it. It’s really a credit to him.”
On the Patriots’ familiarity with the Jets: “We’ve played them five times now over the last 14 months — basically, 14 1/2 months. So, we know them pretty much better than any team that we play. And it’s been some very meaningful games. It’s like, before you even get the scouting report last week, I’m like, ‘OK, I know what we’re doing.’ This is the Jets, this is what they are, these are their strengths, these are the things that we can’t play into. They’re very good. They make you earn every yard, I’ll tell you that. They don’t give you anything. We found some ways to make some very good plays in the passing game and the run game. And we kept them off-balance with our tempo there in the second half. We got some defensive turnovers, which was huge for us. And when Rob [Ninkovich] intercepted that pass and jogged into the end zone, that was really, that was icing on the cake. That was pretty sweet.”
On whether the Patriots were motivated by the conventional wisdom that the Jets would win: “Everyone kind of rides the wave, and both good and bad. And you have to. But I’d say this: the players in our locker room don’t do that. And it happens every week in the NFL. You look up at the scoreboard during the game — or us, because we played on Sunday night, we saw a lot of those games, and it’s like, ‘God, how did they lose?’ or ‘wow, they beat so-and-so.’ One team one week looks great, and then they play another team. Other than the Packers this year and the 49ers, you really don’t know what you’re getting every week. It’s only the ninth week of the year, ninth game for us, 10th game for others, but there’s still a lot of football left to be played. Every team is still going to make improvements. And some teams are just going to continue to ride out the season and they can start thinking about next year. We want to be one of those teams that really starts building and getting better every week. I thought last night was a good step in the second half of the year. But obviously, the week starts again today. We’ve got to move on to the next game and start getting prepared for a team that we haven’t played in a few years.”
On the effectiveness of the no-huddle offense, and why they don’t use it more: “Well, we do do it. We do it in every game, at some point. We tried it against Pittsburgh and we got our butt kicked. So, that didn’t work too well. We tried it against Dallas and it worked a little bit, it didn’t work some other times. Against the Giants, we used it a little bit. It didn’t work very well. So, there’s weeks when we use it. Obviously, when it works, you go, ‘wow, that was good, let’s stay with it.’ When it doesn’t you go, ‘what the hell are we doing that for?’ So, a lot of it is just a feel for the game and what we’re doing. Last night, it paid off for us.”
On who his choice would be for the player of the game? “I can’t pick one. You guys know me better than that. Football is the ultimate team sport. In order to win every week, you need every single guy. And I’m sure there’s guys that played last night that a lot of our fans had never even heard of. Guys that were making tackles and plays, and they go, ‘Who’s that guy?’ I’d say every single guy that suited up for the game last night was a big part of the win. Andre [Carter] can’t do what he does without the work of Vince [Wilfork] and without Rob [Nikovich] on the other side rushing, the inside guy, Shaun Ellis. [Rob] Gronkowski can’s do what he did without all those guys blocking for him and other guys running routes that in some ways get Rob open. It’s just … Andre was phenomenal. I mean, 4 1/2 sacks, that’s awesome. But it’s a team effort. It’s a team game. I think that’s the reason why it’s so fun to play the game is because every week, when you win you celebrate with 52 other guys and coaches that are just as happy as you are. That’s a pretty cool experience.”
On setting the record, along with Bill Belichick, for the most wins by coach-quarterback tandem with 117, surpassing Don Shula and Dan Marino: “Believe me, I appreciate every day showing up to work and having him as our head coach. There’s no [other] coach I’d ever want to play for. He gets us prepared every week. As a player, when you go in and you show up and he says these are the things we need to do and and just do your job. There’s so many things I learned from him over the years about mental toughness. And his ability to stay really even-keeled through the wins and the losses. I remember the year that we went undefeated, you would never have thought we were undefeated. You would have thought we were 0-16 the way that he coached us. And the last two weeks have been rough, but you know what? He never lost faith in us or confidence in what we’re doing. He just said, ‘Look, we’ve just got to do better.’ He doesn’t ride those highs and lows. He comes in every week with a goal in mind. I think all of us, the guys who played for him, really appreciate that, appreciate his consistency, and appreciate the way that he listens to the team as well. Ultimately, he’s the one that makes the decisions, but at the same time, he takes a lot of input from a lot of people, too. Everyone feels like they’re a part of it. It’s very special for it to be like that.”
On Rob Gronkowski’s 15-yard penalty after spiking the ball following a touchdown, and whether he spikes the ball when he scores: “Yeah, which happens like once every three years. But when Gronk scores, and it was like his eighth touchdown of the year, he spikes the ball and he deflates the ball. I love that, because I like the deflated ball. But I feel bad for that football, because he puts everything he can into those spikes.”
On whether he recognizes the new faces such as Sterling Moore and Jeff Tarpinian when he sees them for the first time in the locker room: “I do. I do. I’m not sure you guys would. [And] Niko Koutouvides? I like Niko. Niko’s a pal. Niko played for the Bucs, and in Seattle. He was with us in training camp. He’s a good player and I’m glad he’s back. When I saw him walking in the door last week, I was pretty excited to see him back.”
On whether the roster turnover gets confusing: “It does. It happens every year. I remember last year toward the end of the season we had some injuries and we were bringing some guys in. I saw a guy get a sack. It was Eric Moore. I looked around and I was like, “Who’s that?” It happens, because on defense, you’re not paying attention to those guys. Because pretty much the only time I see those guys during the day is our 8 [a .m.] squad meeting and then at practice. If they sign a guy or someone’s hurt, I don’t pay attention to that. When there’s a new player that’s in there, you’ll see them at practice, but there’s no names on the backs of the jerseys at practice. You see them out there for the game, you hear their name called and you’re going, ‘Who the hell was that?’ That’s just part of the NFL. Every team deals with injuries. We had a lot of guys that stepped in last night and filled some pretty important roles. That was good to see.
On the reaction when Belichick told the players after the game they are off until Wednesday: “It’s pretty exciting. It doesn’t happen very often. Some teams, you watch like the NFL channel in Week 1, I saw the Eagles won, and Andy Reid‘s like, “All right, see you Wednesday.’ I shook my head, like, really? But for us, it just gives you a few extra hours on a Monday or a Tuesday. It’s nice for the players. For the quarterback, I head in on Monday and Tuesday. But it’s more my schedule than on the team’s schedule. It’s nice for everybody to get refreshed for a little bit.”
On the rumors that his arm is hurting: “No, I’m feeling good. I’m feeling good. It’s football season. One week you feel good, the next week you’re a little banged up. But I’m feeling good.”
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