Q: Hope you haven't stayed up late watching the baseball games.
TB: No. We have our [own] team to try to beat this week. We have plenty of work ourselves.
Q: What do you see with the Jets defensively?
TB: I see a very solid defense, kind of like when we always play them. They are a tough team, very physical. I think they are right up there at the top of the league in turnovers. They are similar to last week, in the sense that it is a team that really rallies around taking the ball away from the offense. They do a really good job of doing that and they have for the last couple of years. It is a tough challenge. It is always tough playing the Jets.
Q: Could you give us a little on Chad Pennington?
TB: He is an excellent player. He throws the ball well and runs the team well. Our defense has a tough challenge. I'll let our defensive guys worry about that because I have to worry about John Abraham.
Q: What about John Abraham? He leads the AFC in sacks.
TB: He has seven of them. He is trying to break the quarterback's back. He comes hard and he comes fast and he comes all the time. It is a very good defensive front. Shaun Ellis is a very good player. [Dewayne] Robertson is good. They have an excellent front four and they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. I think the secondary realizes that they are good and they are on those receivers tight and they are forcing the quarterbacks to make good throws.
Q: This is the battle of the un-beatens. Does it feel like a bigger game?
TB: Yeah. It hasn't happened very often in the NFL with two teams being undefeated and playing this late in the season. There is only going to be one of us at the end of the week. You can't write about that one next week.
Q: Do you guys look at it a certain way or is it just another game in a long season?
TB: Any time you play a division opponent, it is different. Any time you play the Jets, it is different. It is our sixth game. This is the best team we have played all year. They are 5-0 and have proved that they can win some close games. We have our hands full. It seems like every time we play them, it is the same thing. We come in and wonder where we can attack. We say they are pretty good here and pretty good here. There are not many things out there offensively that are easy plays. It just means we have to go out and execute really well. That is what we have to do if we want to win this game.
Q: Is there any kind of home-field advantage?
TB: We always feel like we have a great advantage at home, but at the same time they have beaten us five out of the last six times here at home. You wish that it could play even more of an advantage, but it just hasn't for some reason in this series. I think they are a confident team. They are 2-0 on the road already this year. They were very good on the road last year and they seem to play very well whenever they go into a tough environment. It is always important for our fans. It gives us a big boost with the energy our fans give us. We have to go out and give out fans something to cheer about.
Q: Is it in your mind that they are the last team to beat you at home?
TB: That is right. I hadn't thought about that. That was a nasty game too. We got our butt kicked. I tried to forget that. They beat us pretty good.
Q: Can you sense that every team is out to beat you guys?
TB: Everyone wants to beat the people who are on the top. Now with us winning the championship last year and being 5-0 this year, everyone is ready to take us down. We know that. We feel that. We are doing everything that we can to not allow that to happen, but we are always going to get all of these teams' best efforts. They are all going to play hard and prepare hard, and we are going to do the same thing. The Jets are 5-0, so they can't get any better than that. They have been in these close games and they are confident and play well on the road. With all of those factors it is going to be very tough.
Q: When you scramble this week, are you going to slide?
TB: [Laughing] I hope so. I have to do that or button my chinstrap tighter. I don't get to run very often. It is almost like when I am out of that pocket, things are happening way to fast for me.
Q: You mentioned turnovers earlier. Last year the Jets were one of the worst in the league and this year they are one of the best. Is it scheme, personnel or [new defensive coordinator] Donnie Henderson?
TB: I think it is all of those factors. Our coach read us a stat earlier this morning that since Coach Edwards has taken over, they have been the best team in the league in turnovers. I'm sure they emphasis it a bunch. A lot of teams emphasis it, but they seem to take what their coaches say and really put it to use. Defensively, it is a very good front four that forces the ball out quick. I think that secondary realizes that ball is coming out quick and they jump some routes. Donnie Abraham made a great play against Miami, intercepting a ball and running it back for a touchdown. They all seem to be making some interceptions. [Eric] Coleman has really stepped in and made some plays for them. Terrell Buckley. I have thrown a lot of picks to him in practice, so I know what that is all about. It is tough. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and they strip the ball a lot from the runners. It is a ballhawking defense. It is tough and they are very good at it.
Q: You are good at quick release. Do you have to be a couple of seconds faster this week?
TB: I have to be. I have to get that ball out quick because they are coming. It is one of those things where John Abraham is as good as there is and he is coming off that edge and attacking the quarterback. If you are standing around too long with that ball in your hand, you are going to have helmet marks right in the middle of your back at some point, which I'm not intending to do this week.
Q: When you are looking to relax this week, have you turned to any of the baseball games?
TB: How could you not? Everyone talks about it, so you have to be informed.
Q: Are they making you lose sleep? Are you staying up to watch them?
TB: I watched last night [Game 6]. I was at the game the other night. It has been a fun series.
Q: How tough is it for you to operate without Troy Brown?
TB: Troy is a big part of this offense and he has been since the day I got here. Any time you lose him, you lose a significant part of that. We are all anxious to get him back out there. Hopefully it is soon.
Q: Can you talk about the level of respect in this locker room for a guy like Troy Brown?
TB: I think this is his 12th year. That is a lot of years playing football with a lot of practice and a lot of time suiting up in a Patriots' uniform. He has respect from everybody. He is what this team is all about. He is tough, smart and he works his butt off. He is very coachable, has a great attitude. Winning is what is most important to him. He is a team captain and has been for a while. He is awesome. I would love to have him back out there.
Q: Can you talk about the impact Corey Dillon has had on the team?
TB: Corey has done a really nice job. He continues to do it. I think the line has given him some great holes to run through and Corey runs very hard. Every time you give him the ball, it seems like he is making guys miss and running over guys. He is doing a great job. We have to continue to give it to him. It seems that better things happen the more he gets the ball.
Q: This is not a bragging team. Is it easier to be humble and modest coming off a championship?
TB: I think this team realizes that you win games for a reason. You win games because you prepare hard and because the execution is there, not because you go out and talk about how you did it or why you did it. You just work on improving yourself. I think every week we come in and watch the film from the previous game and we realize that it is not perfect and we realize that there are things we need to do to correct our mistakes or else those mistakes will inevitably get us beat. It has been fun to be a part of a team that has won a lot. That is the accomplishment that everyone feels. You look around the locker room and realize we are all on the same page. When you win there is a lot of credit for everybody. I think everybody feels they are a great part of this team, as they should, because everyone is responsible. We have a great group of guys. The goal is the same for all of us. Nobody has their own agenda when you are a part of a team where the only thing people care about is winning.
Q: Coach said it would take your best game on Sunday to beat the Jets. Is that something everyone in the locker room realizes?
TB: Definitely. This team is 5-0 and they have won some close games. They are well rounded and they have a very good offense, a very efficient offense that scores points. They have a defense that turns the ball over. They are very well coached. Their special teams has been very good for them this year. They are an excellent team.
