Patriots quarterback Tom Brady addresses the media during his postgame press conference on September 26, 2010.
Q: Two touchdowns on the day thrown to Randy Moss…
TB: Everyone contributed. I think that was the great part about today. Randy had two big touchdowns. Gronk [Rob Gronkowski] had one. The running game was awesome. We've just got to be a bit more consistent. When we stopped on drives, it's kind of self-enforced, which is a bit frustrating for us. But at the same time, it's also great to see that when we don't make our own mistakes, then we can get the ball in the end zone. It was a good second half. That was a big point of emphasis this week. Good to get the win.
Q: Talk about your run and fist pump?
TB: I was just excited. I'm the slowest guy on the field, so it was probably the last thing they worked on. But I got out and there was nobody there. It was actually a pretty easy first down. They were in man coverage, and I got flushed a little. It turned out to be a good play for us.
Q: There's just no way to stop a guy like Danny Woodhead is there?
TB: If you can see him back there. It's hard. He crouches down. He's tucked in there behind the center. He did great. What an impressive performance for a guy who's been here for 10 minutes. He did a great job.
Q: Having the young guys around, you have a younger defense. Do you feel like you need to more than ever be in charge and right the ship at times?
TB: As a quarterback, that's a big responsibility that you have. You've got to be consistent. You've got to always be prepared and always into the game. There's no practices off. You can't [not] bring the enthusiasm or the energy. Something I always try to do. I wouldn't say it's much different having younger guys. I've got to do it regardless, along with the other veteran players too. I think that's the responsibility. As you get older, you take on more. You don't want to put all your focus into one player who this would be his third NFL game. The guys who got to carry us are the guys who have been here and know what they're doing and know how to perform at a high level, and the guys I have the most trust in.
Q: Is it a matter of saying something in the huddle when something goes wrong or is it a matter of being even keeled?
TB: It's a daily basis. It's practice. It's meetings. It's walkthroughs. It's games. It's Mondays. It's Tuesdays. It's not like you can be very inconsistent. It's not like coach [Bill] Belichick is very inconsistent. What we get from him on a daily basis is we are expected to perform every day. So I think that's how you get the best out of your players. It's not like, 'Hey guys, everything's great.' And the next day, 'Everything sucks.' And then 'everything's great.' And then you ride that roller coaster. You can't do that. It's a long season. We've got to continue to make improvements. You build on the good things. And you figure out what the bad things are and try to make improvements on them.
Q: People might say this wasn't a decisive enough victory against an 0-2 team. How do you guys deal with the idea of quality of victory or strength of victory?
TB: You're trying to win the game. At the end of the year when you look at your record, going 'Oh that was a close game, it counts for a half a win.' A win's a win. It doesn't really matter if you win by 50 or by one. Because the following week, it really makes no difference how you did the previous week. It's like a chapter. Once this chapter's over, you move on. You don't sit there and reflect, 'Well last week we lost by 30. This week we won by seven, so we're still a crappy team.' No, you're 1-1. The goal is to win the game. It's really not a matter of 'That was a great looking win or that was a bad win.' You're trying to win.
Q: What was your take on the crowd today?
TB: I thought they were great. I really did. I thought they were into it. They were really loud. That's a great advantage for us when the crowd is loud. I think they were really into it. There was some musket fire today, so that got it pretty loud. I tell you, seeing [Brandon] Meriweather and Tully [Banta-Cain] up there on the big screen on that high-def isn't the best looking thing in the world. Trying to get everyone fired up.
Q: When you got your first down running, could you hear the crowd?
TB: Yeah, they were pretty fired up. That was great.
Q: Talk about your ability as well as your team's to overcome some early adversity, get out there and put some points up, and ultimately, snag a win.
TB: It was good because I think there was some good situational football as well. That field goal just before halftime, getting the ball with 30 seconds. To move it and get three points with 30 seconds left, those are critical points in the game. We go into the locker room feeling good about what we're doing and knowing that we can go out and move the ball. It was just a good win for us. It was a good win. This week will be a great week. We got to win up there. We've got to win a meaningful game on the road. If we're going to be a good team, we've got to start winning on the road.
Q: What did you guys think about that no-huddle look coming out of the half?
TB: We talked about it. It worked pretty well. We scored a touchdown. We tried it again the second [time], and it didn't work there. We get some good speed on the field and try to find some mismatches. It was good for us. That was big coming out of the half.
Q: How well did the tight ends perform?
TB: They did great. I think that's been a big point of emphasis for us this year is getting those guys involved in the passing game, the running game. To run the clock out like we did at the end with Alge [Crumpler] as a blocker and Gronk as a blocker, that's important. Those guys really allows us to do certain things on our offense that not a lot of teams in the league are fortunate to be able to do.
Q: You guys had some breakdowns the first two games in the second half offensively. Today, you scored 21 points in the second half. What's the difference?
TB: Even with 21 points, it was good, but we are still realizing that if we make errors out there, we aren't going to score points. You can't keep overcoming second-and-20s or second-and-30s. If we make mistakes, you're not going to score touchdowns on a consistent basis. You may overcome it once in a while, but it's hard enough to make a first and 10 rather than first and 20 or second and 20 are even tougher. We had three good touchdown drives in there. Hopefully, there's more where that came from.
