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Q: Have you ever had this type of production in your younger career? 70 percent of your passes for four games is pretty rare?
TB: Yeah, I think that's really…I mean that's a product of what we are trying to accomplish. You know we do throw pretty efficient passes. We don't…I mean every pass we throw we try to complete and they are all designed to work. So it's just a matter of those guys getting open and me getting the ball to the guy that is open and him making the catch.
Q: Did you have the same kind of percentage in college and high school?
TB: I don't remember what it was in college. I mean I think I was about 62, 63 percent in college. You guys could probably look that up. I mean I'm not sure. I think it was over 60 percent.
Q: What have you seen from these guys on film defensively?
TB: We got a good jump on them. Coach gave us some extra time off, so all the quarterbacks like to come in and watch extra tape. So we saw, I've seen probably three or four games. They are very aggressive. If there is one thing I'd say about them, the corners are aggressive, the linebackers are aggressive. They play hard. They're tough competitors. They hit the quarterback a lot. They bat a lot of balls down. So they are very active up front and I think, I mean they've got 25 interceptions I think this year. So with the Jets and the week before that against the Saints, I mean all these teams are creating turnovers. So it's going to be definitely a point of emphasis again this week.
Q: Were you here yesterday watching tape?
TB: Yeah.
Q: How many hours were you here?
TB: I probably saw a couple hours worth. I was in here and met with coach last night. All the quarterbacks always meet just to get the game plan and get a jump on it.
Q: Is that sort of your routine now?
TB: Yeah, all the quarterbacks are. That's the way it's always been.
Q: You've experienced win streaks in college. Is it different in the pros where win streaks are more a rarity than college?
TB: It is and I think the difference in that is that in the pro's so many of these teams have great players. It's not like you are going up against some Division II school that a lot of these college teams play against. Not Michigan, we always played top-flight talent. You know these teams in pro ball, they've got players that are capable of being pro athletes. You're right, the special teams do go on these long win streaks and I think as you win more games you gain more confidence and you gain just the feeling of…whether you are up in the first quarter or you are down in the first quarter, you know same thing with the second quarter, eventually you are going to pull it out. So that's just a confidence thing. That's just a belief that you are not going to lose the game, regardless of the situation, and you realize that you're always going to be ahead at the end of four quarters.
Q: You've been asked a lot about your progress, but what about the team as a whole? What have you observed?
TB: Well I would say, I mean there is no doubt that we are a better team each week. I think that there is one thing that you find about this team is that we like to think we learn from our mistakes. Coach Belichick is always emphasizing, 'Hey, this is what we messed up last week and this is what we messed up two weeks ago.' We watch film from other teams around the league who might not handle game management type situations as well as they should. So he's always stressing the importance of continuing to improve, continuing to get better, not messing up the same thing that you messed up even a few weeks before. I mean it's all around. This team is continuing to improve and you know we are third in the AFC East and that's not where we want to be. So we've got to continue to push on and continue to fight through. Nobody's overconfident. I know that because like I said we are third in the AFC East. We're just continuing to work hard everyday to be as good a football team as we can be.
Q: Is this an exciting time of year for you?
TB: It's Christmas time.
Q: And Chanukah time.
TB: Yeah, excuse me.
Q: But is it more exciting because all these games really mean something to you now, more into your work than before?
TB: Yeah I think there is definitely a sense around the guys that guys realize that twelve weeks ago we would hope that we'd be in a playoff fight. I think because of that that is extra motivation. You know there are a lot of guys in the locker room who have been to the Super Bowl and that realize how tough it is to get back there. So I mean that's definitely motivating. You know we're worried about, this week it's the Browns and that's all that we are focused on and winning this game. You know if you win as many games as you can eventually it's going to turn in your favor at the end of the year.
Q: How do your ribs feel? Was it just soreness that day?
TB: Yeah, that was just soreness. I feel good.
Q: Because of unfortunate circumstances the head coach is very much a part of the offensive coaching situation and I assume your relationship with the head coach is a lot closer than it would have been otherwise. How is the interaction having the head coach always part of what you do? How has that worked out and your feeling about him as the mentor of this team?
TB: Yeah. I think obviously with losing Coach [Dick] Rehbein everyone else has had to pick up the slack And Charlie [Weis], I mean Charlie is really our quarterback coach and he's the one meeting with us every day and giving us the game plan and helping us to understand our reads on the plays. In one sense that is nice because Charlie is able to coach us on every play whereas I think sometimes you might feel like you might be stepping on the quarterback coach's toes if you are the offensive coordinator and he's done a great job of that. Then Coach Belichick has just added…he comes in and breaks down coverages for us. He probably knows what they are doing probably better than their players know what they are doing. You know he watches so much tape and he really has an understanding of their tendencies and the keys that we should be looking at from a quarterback's standpoint. I mean he's as good as they…I've learned more this year than I could ever have thought I'd learn in one season, just in terms of knowing defenses and knowing their philosophies. I mean he knows the coaches too so he knows their philosophies as defensive coordinators.
Q: So you are getting something a lot of quarterbacks don't get?
TB: Oh yeah, without a doubt. I mean more than…yeah. And I was thinking about that today. It's funny you say that. I was thinking, 'God, if I am on another team?' I mean you'd feel like if you didn't have him there you'd be missing out on so much. I mean he points things out that you would never even think about.
Q: Give me a detail of something that he pointed out that was very pertinent to your performance?
TB: Well today it was just checking certain coverages versus certain formations. Ok, this call might be, this coverage might be double called so if they see this formation it's one call if they see this formation it's another call. And you say, well how would you know that? He'd say, 'Well when they motion this guy look what coverage it comes to.' And consistently over the course of three of four times in a row you can understand. As a quarterback you're just sometimes zipping through the tape saying, 'Well Ok, that's cover three. That's cover six. That's cover one.' Now you say versus this formation it's cover one, versus this formation it's cover three and motion out of it, it can get pretty complex. So then you could start…you know you take your plays and you say, 'Well we line up in this formation, here's what we are going to see if we motion out of it then we are going to see this.' Then you can anticipate the reads that much faster. Pretty heavy football talk, huh? Did you guys learn something?
Q: Have you noticed that defenses are trying to counter act what you bring to the table now, as opposed to when you started and they didn't know what to expect from you?
TB: Yeah I think that's definitely part of it. I think they understand more what we're trying to accomplish as an offense. You know it's not what they can stop Tom Brady from doing, I think it's what they can stop the New England Patriots from doing and I think that fits in to what my strengths are and what Troy Brown's strengths are and David Patten's strengths are. Defenses are always trying to take those away.
Q: Coach Belichick said that Terry Glenn is not here today. What is the feeling with you and the guys on the team? Are you past all this stuff? Is it beyond your control? What are your feelings?
TB: Yeah. You know it is always Coach Belichick's decision. We wish obviously…the teammates always support Terry and they support the coach. You know you have personal relationships, there are a lot of guys that are friends with Terry and everyone hopes that Terry can come back and be a part of this team.
Q: Are you recognized everyplace now or can you be somewhat anonymous when you want to be?
TB: Probably most recognized in Super Box A up here…walking up…you guys didn't get that. It probably wasn't that funny. No, I am recognized, you know a little more than obviously I was in the past. I think you go into the supermarket or gas station and all the kids go, 'Hey are you Tom Brady?' and I say, 'Yeah,' and sign autographs for an hour. You guys want to try that sometime?
Q: Do you find yourself going out even less because of that?
TB: I would say it affects you sometimes. You know you'd rather go through the drive-thru windows as opposed to walking inside just because sometimes you're in a rush to do things and you can't get things done quite as quickly. Not that you don't appreciate it because it's a big part of it and that's a lot of fun for us as well.
Q: You are not that far removed from being a fan?
TB: Right.
Q: You are still a young guy?
TB: Yeah, definitely. I remember looking up to…I was laughing with my sister the other day. I remember I was driving down the highway once in San Francisco, 101, and I see Roger Craig the old 49er. So I am yelling out the window, 'Hey Roger.' And I am waving and he waved back to me and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.
Q: And naturally you didn't yell, 'Hey Roger you fumbled against the Giants?'
TB: No, I couldn't have done that.
