Q: When everyone talked about the streak, you always said that this team was separate from last year's team. Has this year's team formed its identity yet?
TB: I think we are working on it. I liked to see us play more consistently like we did last week. There is still a lot of football left. We are playing a team that we have already played before, so we have to try to figure out how to do what we want to do against a very good defense.
Q: What made the offense so successful last week?
TB: I think it has been successful. Like I said, it doesn't necessarily carry over to next week. We put some good preparation in and I think we work hard at it. I think the guys do a great job of running it. I think that is why it has been good. Hopefully we continue to do it like that. When you find things that are good you like to try to keep them good. When you find out the things that are bad, you try to eliminate those. We are doing a good job with it. We just need to keep using that to our advantage.
Q: Do you have a lot of confidence in Charlie Weis' playcalling during two-minute situations?
TB: I have a lot of confidence whenever Charlie is calling the plays. He does a great job especially in those situations. It seems like we have been in an awful lot of those and we have come out scoring some points which is always good.
Q: Lawyer Milloy is back and obviously you didn't see him the first time. Can you talk about him being back in the lineup?
TB: He is a great player. Any time they can get a great player back on their defense, it really helps them. Everyone around here knows what kind of player he is. I practiced against him for three years and I figured out pretty quickly what type of player he is. He is a tough physical player. He is always around the ball. He had a big interception last week for them. He looks like the old Lawyer to me.
Q: How will these teams be different, both your team and their team, from the teams that played earlier in the season?
TB: I think both teams are a little more battle-tested. [Terrence] McGee, their corner, has been playing much more than he was earlier in the year. He is doing a very good job. The same with us â€" injuries take a toll and you have guys in different spots. As I alluded to earlier, I think the identity is a little more shaped, but at the same time you are still trying to improve. It is still really early in the year.
Q: Who on their defense concerns you?
TB: All of them. They all concern me. They are very good. They rush the passer well. Last time they blitzed us a bunch, so we have to prepare for that. They are very good. They don't give up many yards or points. It is tough to score on them. They have a very good defense.
Q: The play last week when the Rams stripped the ball from you and got a touchdown in the end zone.
TB: You have to bring that one up.
Q: What happened after that may have defined the identity for this team. That is the play that you guys usually make. It was interesting to see how you would react and what you would do from that point.
TB: That was a critical part of that game. We were up 6-0 at the time and we felt pretty good about what we were doing and moving the ball. Then we got backed up and made a bad play. I think we came over to the sidelines and one thing this team tries not to do is not let one bad play affect us as we go forward. When you make a bad play it doesn't mean that you are going to make another bad play, it just means you made one bad play and don't compound it by making two. The team really rallied after that play. I think from that point on we really played the way we wanted to play. Those critical mistakes, we are making too many of those. I think that really got us in trouble in Pittsburgh. I'm glad we were able to bail ourselves out of that one. Hopefully we don't have to come up with too many more of those.
Q: You won the Super Bowl in 2001 and then the next year was a struggle. This year it seems to me that this year has been a struggle but the difference is you are getting the wins instead of the losses.
TB: It is definitely challenging. Both [years] have been and were challenging. This year we are dealing with some different things. We have a bunch of guys injured. We are just trying to figure out ways to play through that. Different guys are filling different roles. Troy [Brown] is out there on defense. Adam [Vinatieri] is throwing passes. Lonie [Paxton] is recovering fumbles. There are a bunch of guys who are doing different things. They are all helping us win. Whoever is called upon, they are counted on to make the plays and so far we have done a decent job of that, but it is only halfway through the year.
Q: I know it is unlikely but can you imagine being called on to play on the other side of the ball?
TB: We are all in trouble if I'm playing defense. We are in big trouble. I couldn't guard anyone out there.
Q: Do you think that Lawyer [Milloy] is going to change the way that you approach this game?
TB: You definitely have to be aware of him. He knows our personnel and he knows our playcalling better than just about anybody. He is going to have his input in what they are going to try to do. He had a great game against us last year when we played them there. Whenever there is a good player on the other side of the ball, you always have to account for them. You always have to make sure exactly where he is at. He seems to always find his way into the mix. I think that is where he wants to be.
Q: Have you talked to him recently? How is he doing?
TB: He's good. I talked to him the other day. He is doing really well. He was happy to get an interception.
Q: Knowing some of his tendencies, does that help you more than it will help him?
TB: It is a little of both. I know him as well. I think our coaches know him very well. Anytime you know someone's strengths, you probably know their weaknesses too, not that there is a lot of weaknesses because there are very few. You just try to exploit what you know and try to stay away from the things that he is very good at. When you have a defense that is very good â€" they have Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher, [Aaron] Schobel and [Nate] Clements â€" there are only so many guys that you can avoid. Eventually you have to run a play. That is a problem you get when you play good defenses. You are limited down to what you can do.
