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TB: Hello, hello, hello.

**Q: Good afternoon. Tom, have you ever been one for ten for seven yards in a half and then come back?

TB:** Yes. That was not what we were looking for.

**Q: Have you ever completed one pass and haven't been ahead?

TB:** Yes. Most likely not. But the way the defense is playing, I mean the defense did a wonderful job and they really stepped it up. And I think they continue to with the guys that are out. And every guy who goes in there is doing part of that, is playing their part and doing a great job in their role. So you know, offense has to be more consistent and we have to, you know, quit shooting ourselves in the foot every time we make a friggin' play. It is just too hard to overcome, every time you gain 30 yards and then you move back. So it is just not very good football and we have got to get better.

**Q: A much better second half. What was said between the halves to you as far as trying to go around what you were trying to do? What was Coach trying to say to you guys?

TB:** Those type of things. I mean you have to go out and be physical. You have to push these guys around. And they really dictated the tempo the first half, and I think we went out there and played better the second half. And not that it was even that great the second half, but it was better. We had a few good scoring drives there in the third quarter but we had a chance to get in the game to put it away. And it was just, like I said, not really, you know, allowing ourselves to do that. By the way we are just doing too many things that don't help the situation.

**Q: On a day like today, does that help more the offense or defense? I would think offense is going to hurt you, be tougher for you guys on a crappy sloppy day like today.

TB:** Well, I think the ball handling was pretty good today. We didn't have any turnovers and no sign of quarterback exchanges, no running back, no fumbles, no interceptions. I think they had a few. But the footing was, I think the footing slows everything down. There was really no push rush, but it is just about making plays.

**Q: To what extent, did Kevin Faulk get you guys going in the start of the second half? What was he able to do that was not present in the first half?

TB:** Yes. I think Kev came in there, I think, what did he have, about 18 carries or something I saw for 80 yards. He did a great job. That is ?? Kevin has been doing that for a while. So he is a spark and he is a guy that we missed last week and Mike [Cloud] stepped it up for him. And without Antowain [Smith], it was Mike and Kevin today. So they did a great job of, like I said, handling the wet ball and running hard. And that is a pretty good front seven that that team has. I mean it is a good defense, but a pretty good front seven altogether. I think they did a good job running, finding the holes.

**Q: Could you run through the mechanics of like after the sideline completion to [David] Patten where they were trying to challenge it and you get the play off and beat them to it? Do they buzz you through your helmet?

TB:** It is just a play we work on.

**Q: How do you get the information?

TB:** Coach tells me. We have some words. I can't give you the words.

**Q: Was there much doubt about that, that you wanted to make sure you got that play in to prevent any kind of a redo play?

TB:** Yes. I think a play like that, I don't know how far it was, but you know, a big play like that, you don't even want to challenge it. You just want to assure it and try to get the snap off. So, it was a good job of the guys getting up to the line, getting set and running the play before they had a chance.

**Q: Bill [Belichick] talked about the second half, he and Charlie talked about simplifying the offense, throwing stuff out, going to basic plays. Damien Woody talked about that too. What did that do to make it more palatable and more sufficient in the second half for you?

TB:** We were just executing better. I think that is what it came down to. I think the plays were there to be made in the first half, we just didn't do a really good job executing. Like I said, the penalties hurt us in the first half, the penalties killed us in the second half. So we have got to quit penalizing ourselves if we want to be any good. I think offense has to take a look at what we want to do well, and the ways we are going to be successful.

**Q: You had a few dropped balls in the first half. Did you talks to your guys a little bit before going out on the field the second half?

TB:** I am sure those guys, they were trying to go out there and make the plays.

**Q: Do you think Pedro [Martinez] was throwing at [Karim] Garcia?

TB:** I think he was throwing at [Don] Zimmer.

**Q: In light of what happened in Washington, with Miami next week in front of you, talk about the importance of last week with Tennessee and this game.

TB:** It has been a tough stretch. And playing Tennessee and playing the Giants, having those two teams at home, we really wanted to take advantage of the home field advantage that we have. And no doubt, going to Miami the way it has been since I have been here, they have really handed it to us when we have gone down there so we want to go down and play well. It is going to be a tough week for us. And we are playing one of the best defenses in the league and we have got to go out and step it up and make some plays.

**Q: You usually get a chance to enjoy the win, but it is my understanding Bill Belichick came in right after this and challenged the guys already about next week.

TB:** Yes. I think he sees the same things that we see. He has been here, and Miami isn't really a team that we play well down there. And they just happened to be the next one on the schedule. He is also challenging us and we have really got to go out there, and it should be a challenge because this a good team, and I think this team is going to be up for the challenge.

**Q: When you were sacked by [Michael] Strahan, you were down in the shadow of your own goal line and then the coaches called time out and then you threw the sideline completion to [David] Givens for the first down.

TB:** Yes.

**Q: What was the thought process then? It also looked ?? I mean did you pull the ball down, knowing that Strahan might have made you lose the ball if you didn't hold on to it?

TB:** Yes. If you see him running after you, you are doing everything you can to save yourself. But I got sacked and then it was started on the 16 or 17, and I just made a throw to David [Givens]. David made a nice catch, made a guy miss and that was a big part of the game. We went, however, how many, 85 yards on that drive to score the touchdown. David made a nice catch up the side lane. Bethel [Johnson] made a nice catch. Those are the type of things we can do if we just quit screwing ourselves.

**Q: This is a team that a month ago was, you know, suddenly without Lawyer Milloy and then just [Rosevelt] Colvin and then lost Ted Washington –

TB:** And Ted Johnson, Mike Vrabel. You have got a list in there.

**Q: Then you had Tennessee and you didn't play that well in Washington and lost a game that you could have won. Is it surprising to you to be four and two into Miami after all that has gone on?

TB:** That is a good question. I mean from all the adversity, I mean we played some teams that I think defense is really doing a great job. I think they are really keeping us in the game and I think that the offense has been kind of opportunistic when we needed to make plays that we have. I think as the season goes along, the good teams really start to rise and the bad teams start to drop off. And hopefully, with getting some of those guys back later in the year, you know, they will just add to the depth. The guys that are out there now, I mean, [Dan] Klecko, he is doing a good job, Jarvis Green is doing a good job, Rick Lyle, Asante [Samuel], Eugene [Wilson], [Matt] Chatham is doing a great job. We didn't have Antowain [Smith] today. We didn't have Deion [Branch]. We didn't have Dan Graham. I mean like, guys, going into the season those are your top guys and we are just finding ways for the other guys to step up and make some plays.

**Q: Personally, two years ago at this time you were still steering at the loss in Washington. Since then, zero turnovers and two wins against pretty good teams. Do you think you flipped a page and started playing a little bit better at quarterback?

TB:** Yes, I do.

**Q: Even though you had just eight completions today?

TB:** Yes. I am feeling better. I am feeling better. I am feeling like I am starting to make progress. I feel like my studying is getting better, my preparation is getting better and I am getting a feel for what we are trying to do. So which is why I am so pissed off with the results of my completions today. But like I said, winning the game is much more important. And any of the other things ?? but we just continue to get better and continue to improve as an offense, as a team, as a quarterback, and have everyone else improve at their positions because if you do keep improving, like I said, those are good teams and we can be a disciplined team, we can be a smart team. We are not the type of team that just turns the ball over. If we do turn it over, usually they have to fight for it. That is good football, man. That is tough to beat when you play that way. But we haven't always played that well and at stretches in the first half we played terrible, terrible. But I think coming down in the third quarter, making some plays, getting some confidence, second half was a different deal