Q: Is there a certain makeup or something you see about this team that leads to these dominating victories?
MP: That's a good question. I don't know if I've really taken a look at it from that standpoint. I think that players do a good job of trying to come in and really focus on what we're doing that week and trying to do that for 60 minuets of a football game. And that's really what we're trying to do: to play 60 minutes of good football. Sometimes things go our way and sometimes they don't. That's just really the main focus: just our guys trying to really play for the full game, fully concentrated and prepared to go out and execute for 60 minutes. That's really what we're trying to do.
Q: Is there a message of 'never let off the gas?' Is that something you preach?
MP: I think it's just that we've got to play for 60 minutes; we've got to be alert and aware. The league is just too good, the teams are just too good to not be fully focused. Otherwise things can happen in an instant where teams are going to score and people are going to take advantage of opportunities, so we've really just got to be alert the entire game.
Q: You guys have really showed an ability to generate turnovers and often turn those into points on the offensive end. Can you talk about that dynamic and what has allowed you to generate so many?
MP: Well, it's going to be exactly like everything else we do: practice is going to be a big emphasis for us, whether it's turnovers or tackling or fundamentals, trying to put an emphasis point on that. I think it's something that teams or any team is trying to do as much as they can. I think we've been in good positions where the guys have made some plays and some opportunities to be able to get the turnovers and have an opportunity to knock a ball out or step in front of a pass or whatever it may be. But I just think it's something obviously we try to work at really hard and put an emphasis point on and hopefully we can sustain that.
Q: Can you talk about how the numbers may not fully tell the story of Vince Wilfork's involvement last night? He was really all over the field.
MP: Yeah, obviously he's really a staple of our defense and extremely an impact player for us where statistically, things might not show up or might not be apparent to the average play, but there are a whole bunch of other things going on behind the scenes that either free up another player or allow a player to play off him. He's so disruptive in general; it really allows the other guys to play aggressive off of him, which is obviously beneficial to us. You can just take the play from last night where [Mark] Sanchez ran the ball and ran into the guard and fumbled it. Obviously Vince is doing a great job of just forcing the guard back and I think it actually surprised Sanchez how quickly he got popped back. So just little things like that that might not show up in the stats, but are critically important to our defense.
Q: I know this is a weird week with two games in five days with now padded practices, but did you see any progress with Aqib Talib?
MP: The work week is what it is as far as a short week. I think the guys, the defense, the team, really attacked the week in a good manner with a good frame of mind, really knowing they had to turn Monday into a Wednesday, if you will, for us and just get going. He certainly was on board with that program and really did a good job of studying film, studying the opponent, and just with the communication and some of the things we do defensively, that was a g big point of emphasis for us this week in practice. It will be a growing, building process to get him up with everybody else who's been here for the entire season. But he's doing a good job of that and really trying to improve some of the little things that you might not think of as far as the on-field play, but there's a lot of – whether it's fundamentals, communication, and things like that behind the scenes that need to also take place, so that's really been the focus.
Q: So is it fair to say you're impressed with what he's been doing behind the scenes in the playbook and as a student?
MP: Yeah, I would definitely say, like all of our defensive players and all of our players on the team, this kind of sounds the same, but you really can't understand the dedication that these guys put into it every week to focus and study and get ready for each game. The games are so very difficult, very tough. He's right on board with that. He's been great.
Q: What were some impressions you had of Patrick Chung in his return last night?
MP: Patrick came back in to help us out because, obviously, we had a specific package that we were trying to help him in the game – and being a player for us that is such a multiple player, he does a lot of things for us. It was good to see him back out there trying to help the team. It certainly is a step in the right direction on the field and contributing, so we're just going to try to build off that and try to improve it.
