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Q: This is a game that means something for both teams and this is a Patriots team that has come a long way from where they were when you guys dominated them earlier this year?
JF: Oh no doubt about it. They've certainly come on and been one of the hottest teams over the past few weeks.
Q: There is always an ebb and flow in the NFL season and especially with quarterbacks. [Tom] Brady has been struggling a little bit as of late, but he was red-hot and it does change. Can you touch on that and why that is?
JF: Yeah, it always is. Week to week you don't know what to expect a lot of times. You can prepare all week for one look and then get a totally different look in the game. Your ability to react to that and the whole team's ability to react and overcome that is a big key to success in this league.
Q: The cerebral aspects of being a quarterback can be debilitating at times because you get a game plan one week and throw it out the next and start all over again.
JF: Oh sure, I mean that happens week to week throughout the whole year. You prepare for one team one way and you prepare for the next team another way. Even when you go up against the same team twice we certainly expect a totally different team than we played earlier on in the year from New England.
Q: Do you look at that film? I wonder is it pertinent now based on the fact that they are not even remotely the same team they were when you guys dominated them?
JF: Yeah, you know there's still some things we can take out of it. Techniques don't change all that much when I am looking at our routes versus their man-to-man or their zones. You know the coverages and the techniques in their man are probably going to be about the same. You know they've still got the same personnel, the same people, running things and they run some of the same coverages that they did even though they went from a 3-4 to a 4-3. So we can certainly take some things from it, but as far as blocking schemes and protection schemes, you know when you go from a 3-4 to a 4-3 and they certainly have been stacking the box a little bit more and bringing some more blitzes of late. We have to have a different outlook on what we expect from them.
Q: Speaking of the ebb and flow thing, how do you keep an even keel when sometimes your play could be uneven? That really is quite a challenge, I would think, for quarterbacks?
JF: Yeah, it could be. The big thing is to keep your confidence level up. Whether you are playing well or you are playing bad, you have to always have the confidence in yourself and confidence in the guys around you because that is a big part of it as well, you know trust in the people that they are going to do the job just as well as you are. As a quarterback, really as any player or coach in this league, you have to have a short memory and move on and concentrate on the next play and not worry about the last one.
Q: Dave Wannstedt said earlier that this is almost like a playoff game. Do you relish that? Have you always enjoyed the big game?
JF: No doubt about it. I think any competitor, any athlete, wants to put himself in that situation, put himself in the big game, have the ball at the end. I think when you grow up as a kid you always envision yourself making the throw as time runs out for a touchdown to win the game or in basketball making the last shot at the buzzer. So it's no different now, you know I think any athlete and competitor relishes games like this.
Q: Coming off of a loss, is that a plus or a minus in terms of the team psyche and that sort of thing?
JF: I don't know. I don't think it goes one-way or the other. I think we've come off of losses this year and done well. I don't think we've had two losses in a row this year. So we have rebounded and knowing that, we have the confidence to go out there and put this last loss behind us. I don't see it as a negative, us coming off a loss like that.
Q: One thing that has developed since we last saw you is the production between you and [Chris Chambers?
JF: Oh sure.
Q: That has been a sensational story hasn't it?
JF: Yeah, he has certainly come on since the beginning of the season. You know we kind of had an idea of what we had, but hadn't been able to use it as much early on in the year. Chris kind of really came into his own and gained confidence each time he went out there and each play that he made. He's at a point right now where I think he's beyond that rookie mentality and he's going out there thinking that he belongs in this league and is a big playmaker that could go out there and do it every play.
Q: It would seem that from our vantage point that he would certainly be in the running, now that LaDainian Tomlinson has faded a little bit, that he'd be a rookie of the year candidate?
JF: Oh I think you've got to have him up there in consideration for it. He's done a tremendous job. He has…I mean I don't know exactly what his stats are, but what he means to our team and to this offense, you know he's a big-play guy that certainly scores the touchdowns, makes the big plays down field, is able to stretch a defense and come down with the ball in traffic.
Q: He's your biggest producer with seven touchdowns. Pretty big stuff, I'd say?
JF: Oh definitely. He's a big target. He's got loads of speed, tremendous athletic ability and he's a smart kid with a good head on his shoulders. He's goes out there and competes day in and day out.
Q: Oronde Gadsden had a hamstring pull that slowed him down. Any idea as to his availability?
JF: I don't know about that.
Q: He's a key guy for you and the development of that corps with James McKnight, it's got to make life easier for you now than it was when you started out? It is a dangerous trio?
JF: Oh, I definitely think so. I have confidence in all those guys out there. I think last year we had gotten to a point where it was throw it to Oronde or there weren't as many other options. This year we have Chris on the other side, we have James and we have Dedric Ward all making plays. I'm able to scan the field, spread it out and throw it where the defense is going to give it to us.
Q: What is Coach Wannstedt's style like in terms of dealing with you? How has he been to work with? Is there a good relationship there?
JF: Yeah, I think we have a very good relationship. He's not as involved in the offense. Chan Gailey is really running our offense. Dave knows what we do, but from play in and play out he doesn't analyze it with us. He's more on the defensive side of the ball, but he knows what he wants out of the offense and he knows what he wants out of his quarterback. He's able to relate that to me and communicate that to me and Chan and do it in a positive way.
Q: Support is I guess the word. The head coach gives the quarterback support when needed?
JF: Oh, sure.
Q: I am sure he's that kind of guy. Right?
JF: No doubt about it. He's supported me through think and thin.
Q: That's the point.
JF: Yeah.
