Laurence Maroney, Running Back
(On if losing a divisional game is tougher to swallow)
"Most definitely because now it puts us in a tighter race, and now every game counts from here on out. Instead of us really controlling it and being in the driver's seat, which we still are, but now you can't afford to lose games in December because you don't have that many games to make up. So it's definitely always hard to lose a divisional game especially this late in the season."

(On how he feels about fourth-down conversion attempts)
"It makes me feel good, especially when it's a run [play]. [That] lets me know that [Coach Belichick] has confidence in his offense, confidence in his running game, and essentially has confidence in me that I can pick this up on fourth-and-short. When we go for it on fourth down, I have the mindset - no doubt in my mind - no matter what it takes to get this yard or inches, I'm going to get this yard. So it definitely makes me feel good when we go on and it's a great momentum shift."

(On if the Patriots are in the driver's seat)
"Most definitely. People can lose focus, but you still have to let them know that we're in the driver's seat, and we still can control our own destiny ... Everything's a lot closer, but we still control our fate. Instead of sitting around waiting for someone else to lose to control our fate. We're still in the driver's seat and we just got to go out there, and keep playing and keep fighting.

(On if there was a lack of fight in the team yesterday)
"I can't speak for the team when it comes to that, but I can just speak for myself when it comes to fighting. I feel like I'm going to go hard, no matter what the situation is. Whenever they call my number, I'm going to fight and keep continue fighting. That's my main goal."

*(On recognizing the fight in his teammates)
*I don't really pay attention, as far as the defense; I don't really pay attention to them as an offensive [player]. I look out there and I feel like some plays could have been blocked better. We could have did better, I could have probably run a little harder, made a different read. It's just one of those things you go back to the sidelines and say, 'okay, this is what we did wrong. This is what we have to do correct.' I just tell myself, just run harder next time, whether it's a poorly blocked play, you still supposed to make a couple people miss and still can try to fall for positive yards.

(On Tom Brady's demeanor as a leader)
"That's one thing I can say about Tom, he's always going to be calm and he's never panicking whether we're winning big or losing. He's always confident. He knows we can go down and drive the field. I don't think it's really a thing about us moving the ball because I think we move the ball well. It's just when we get into the red zone, the red area, we've just got to convert and score points."

*(On the short week affecting the preparation for the game)
*"It really didn't. We're professional, just like anybody else. You all are professional in what you all do, this is what we get paid to do - come here to be professional athletes and play this game, whether we get two days to prepare or one day to prepare. We've just got to be ready for whatever."

(On the running game helping the red zone offense)
"The running game is always going to be crucial. It keeps everything balanced and keeps the defense playing honest. We just have to keep everything in balance because if they know we're going to pass the ball every time, they're going to sit here and scheme up a lot of different blitzes to get to Tom [Brady], and a lot of different coverages to try double Randy [Moss] up [and] make everybody else play. So I think the run game is definitely needed to keep everything balanced to keep the defense playing honest.

*(On being 7-5)
*"Well, everybody wishes that we were better - we should be better than what we are right now. Like I said, it's all about finishing right now. That's really what we've been having a problem with - finishing games - so our whole focus is just playing 60 minutes and finishing from here on out.

Jarvis Green, Defensive Lineman
(On turnover and forging a team identity)
"It's part of the business. Guys change, coaches change, players change. Like I said earlier, we have an older team for us age [wise], but we've got a lot of good guys in this locker room. And we don't look at [the championship years], that's the past and this is 2009. Right now, we're 7-5. That's what we're working on right now. We've got Carolina next week and that's what we're worried about."

(On teams measuring themselves against the Patriots)
No, I think that when we play teams in the league, everybody ... I guess you hear about a measuring stick and how they rate us. You play the Patriots. I know when we go out on the field we give our A game. We've just got to go out there and play football. We've got to play better, we've got to play as a team if we want to win.

(On going "back to the drawing board")
"That's every week. That's not something we just say because it's time now. We played last week and lost by one point to Miami. We've got to play 60 minutes - what coach preaches all the time. We know we've got Carolina and we know it's not going to be easy. So it's not really about the drawing board, it's something that happens every week."

(On if teams "play up" for the Patriots)
"I don't know, I can't answer that. Everybody comes to work every day and I think when guys come to play in the league, they go out there to win football games. That's every team. It doesn't make a difference who they are. Everybody has pride, that's why they play the game."

(On the difficulty of correcting mistakes from the previous losses)
"I just think we have to play better, individually [on] offense, defense, special teams. Everybody has a position to play and has an obligation that they have to control. And they have to do that first. That's what we've been taught ever since the first day I have been here."