**Q: Want to get this over with? How's the elbow?
TB:** Are you serious? It is the same.
**Q: How about the shoulder?
TB:** The same. I will be out there ready to go.
**Q: Is it the left or the right?
TB:** You guys are tough. I will be out there playing on Sunday. We don't have to worry about that.
**Q: You go up against a real physical defense in Tennessee. Talk about that a little bit.
TB:** I think we realized that last year when we played them down there. That was one team where we came out of the game really thinking they got the better of us. I think we know more about their style and what they are trying to do. It is going to be exciting to see them come out here on Sunday.
**Q: And you know there defense can score points.
TB:** Yeah. They scored 16 against the Steelers. They have a lot of speed and they are very instinctive. They see things and they go after it. They are not afraid to jump routes and anticipate things. I think what our offense has to do is go out and counter that and really be instinctive itself.
**Q: Aside from the final drive in the fourth quarter, did you see enough in the fourth quarter to say there is enough here to build on offensively?
TB:** I think [we] definitely [did]. I think that game showed a lot about the character and toughness of this team and really what we can accomplish if we don't mess it up ourselves. Even when you think about the last drive, we didn't really execute as much as we would have liked on that. I think over the course of the entire fourth quarter we did some really good things, really positive things that we can build on.
**Q: It was hard to move the ball on them last year. When you look back at it, was it their defense jumping on the things you did or was it a lack of execution where had you done it differently … or were they just too good?
TB:** They were hot at that time. We didn't play particularly well. We had a chance there where it was 0-0 at the end of the first quarter and it was 14-7 in the third quarter with us having the ball. We threw the interception for the touchdown. Coach [Belichick] read us some stats this morning and the time of possession was like 42 minutes to 18 minutes. There were a few other stats that we are trying to forget around here. This game is still early in our season. I think we have laid a pretty good foundation of what this offense is about and we want to go out and see what it can do against a pretty good defense.
**Q: They have an explosive front seven. How comfortable do you feel if Russ [Hochstein], Dan [Koppen], and Tom [Ashworth] are out there again?
TB:** They did a hell of a job last week. It is always a challenge, whether it's the Redskins, the Titans or the Jets or the Bills. There are good players and Tennessee is no different. They rotate a bunch of guys that can pass rush who are big and strong that have been good players and proved themselves. It is going to be a test.
**Q: Do people or fans appreciate the fact that you guys have played with injuries week in and week out or do you take it for granted?
TB:** I don't think so. I think the fans come to support us. I think the thing about the fans around here is they come and support us and they cheer and they root and they really care about how we play. They care about the well being of this team and the state it is in. Does that make it any easier for us to go out there and win games? I think that is up to us. That is up to the guys in the locker room to go out and decide how much better we can go execute our plays.
**Q: Harrison was talking about how it is only the second home game, but it is important at this point against a good team to establish a home-field dominance. How important is that?
TB:** Very important because the home field advantage is so big because the momentum swings when you are at home. You can really get by mistakes where as on the road when you make mistakes it usually carries over a whole bunch more. We need our fans out there yelling and screaming early, doing all the good stuff.
**Q: Just on attitude, after a when there are those interceptions from last week, are you kind of like a starting pitcher anxious to get out with the long gap between the game that went before and the game that is coming up?
TB:** Yeah. There is definitely evaluation that goes into it and saying why do I make these mistakes and why have I made some throws that I would like to have back. You would like to try to figure those things out and get back out there and prove that's not really the type of player I am and that is not really the type of team we are.
**Q: Have you?
TB:** We are working on it. I wish it was that easy. I wish you could go wipe it all away, but I think there are been some things that I have learned about myself in the last three or four weeks and more in the last 24 hours that I am trying to realize what this is all about and what I need to do to get it done.
**Q: You took that loss so especially hard it was almost like you were taking all of the blame. [Bill] Belichick talked earlier about how turnovers are a combination of a lot of factors, but it just seems like you were taking it really personally?
TB:** Well, yeah. I think that loss in particular was probably the hardest I have had in a long, long time and I think just because we had a great chance to win. The only thing you can ask for as a quarterback when you are down 17 and you look up at the scoreboard and the next thing you know you are down three with 1:48 to play on the 45-yard line and you don't get it done your pride takes a big hit and what you think of yourself as a player takes a big hit. It is something that you don't want to feel very often.
**Q: You are used to getting it done in those situations. It was a little different this time.
TB:** Yeah, definitely and I felt like that is something that I have done well over the last few years, is those game management situations. For one reason or the other we did not get it done. We are going to put in all the work and I am going to put in all the work to go out and get it done because it has been a horrible, horrible feeling for the last 48 hours. Anyone who has been around me knows that it is not very pleasant.
**Q: Were you trying too hard to make a play with some of those you said you would like back? Was it trying to force the issue or trying to make a play.
TB:** A little bit of that. Sometimes you think you see something and you make a bad throw. It is all instinctive. It is not like you have time to go 'well maybe he is kind of open so I will throw it.' It is really quick, that decision-making progress from the tie you decide to throw it to the time you let it go. Sometimes that is what you have to train yourself to be is incredibly decisive. Your physical skills – the accuracy, those all take over. The decision-making is something where you really need to train hard at. That takes a lot of studying tape and knowing your offense, knowing you player, knowing their players and getting the job done.
**Q: You don't want to temper your aggressiveness. You want to still be aggressive, but you also have to make sure that you are making the right read.
TB:** I don't want to lose a gunslinger. I don't want to sit here and never make a decision or else you will never complete a pass. You have to trust that your guys are going to do the job. You have to trust in yourself that you can make the throws and trust that the coverage you see and the routes that we are running, you can have success against. It is a lot of execution in practice. It is a lot of execution watching tape and taking notes and realizing the kind of routes you can throw on different players.
**Q: Is this Tennessee team as physical to play against as it appears when watching them?
TB:** They are very physical. They are big, strong and fast. They have big players and big hitters and they are very aggressive. There coach puts them in great schemes to be productive.
**Q: When you get off the field from playing them are you more sore than a regular Monday?
TB:** Hopefully not. Hopefully I will be feeling good next Sunday around four o'clock.
**Q: Does the shoulder and elbow problem hamper your throwing at all?
TB:** I don't think it does. I think I am throwing the ball fine. The think the accuracy is there and the arm strength is there. I really don't think it is a factor.
**Q: Even though it is still earlier in the season, how critical a game does this become?
TB:** We are 2-2 and at home. We have a tough stretch of games ahead. Obviously, it is not one and done. It is not an elimination game, but at the same time it is critical. We are playing good team at home and we have to go out and play well if we want to beat them.
**Q: How important is it for the offense to maintain drives and eat up the clock to keep the defense out of there?
TB:** Very important. When we played them last year and they had the ball for 40 minutes, you just don't run enough offensive plays to score. They run so many offensive plays that your defense can wear down and that takes a toll. We have to go out and maintain control of the ball and execute on our assignments, not taking sacks and turning the ball over. No negative plays and continue to move the sticks.
**Q: This is what it is all about though, the smash mouth kind of game. Do you enjoy playing this type of game?
TB:** You always enjoy playing a good team. All these teams throughout the league all present different challenges. For this one, one of their big strengths is their defense and the pressure they put on offense. I think that is something we are going to need to face and we are going to need to go out and beat. If we want to accomplish the goals that we set nine weeks ago, Tennessee is coming to our stadium and they present a challenge. We have to see what we can do to take advantage.
**Q: This is a statement game.
TB:** For us. I think we took a tough loss last week. We were reeling the last couple of days, but now we are back at practice ready to go out and play these guys.
**Q: We know you like the [San Francisco] Giants. Do you hate the A's?
TB:** I do hate the A's. There is no mistake about that. I never have liked them and I never will like them. The Bay Bridge Series in 1989, I had all my Giants gear on. It is going to be exciting.
