PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: How challenging is it to restructure the offense when two vital pieces leave with injuries?
TB:I think when you've had that quality of player go down, you definitely have to adjust. So I would say it's football season, and a lot of teams go through similar things, [losing] certain players that are really critical. You just have to figure out a way to kind of keep producing and scoring points. It may be different than the way that it's been. You wish you could just plug someone else in, but that's, you know, it's impossible to plug in those ... Julian Edelmans just aren't sitting out on the street or else they'd be playing for another team, but the guys who are going to be in there, we'll have confidence in the things that they can do well. And I think the expectations are still the same. We expect to go out there and score points every time we touch the ball, and it may take a little different shape. You just have to rely on some different things that are a part of your offense and just do the best you can do.
Q: What do you like about Aaron Dobson?
TB:I like Aaron a lot. I mean he's been a part of our team for, it's his third year, and he's been a starting receiver in the AFC Championship game. So obviously we have a lot of confidence in him and his dependability and trust and the way that he's grown. I think he and Keshawn [Martin] and Brandon LaFell and Danny [Amendola], Chris Harper and all those guys have done a good job for us. So I have a lot of confidence. I'm excited to go out to practice today and see what we can kind of start doing together and try to accomplish something. And maybe there's … You always think that the silver lining is there are a lot of players that you're going to gain experience with, and then hopefully when you start getting some guys back, you'll be that much stronger or maybe you'll develop different parts of your offense. You hate to lose players, but you also know that they're in football season because the nature of the sport, it's inevitable that one position or two positions or three positions at different times, different years get really taxed. And then you've just got to, other guys have to fill in the role and take on a little more production, and then hopefully, like I said, you continue to score points.
Q: Is there a difference between having practice confidence and having game confidence in players?
TB:Yeah, and you know, with practice there are no consequences, so you try some things and you just, if it's intercepted, it's intercepted. You feel bad about the interception because you don't want to fire it in there and ruin practice and things like that, but yeah, there are different things that you try to try out, I would say. There are a lot of plays that we run over the course of the week that you think it may be a good idea, and then you run it and you go, "OK, not quite ready for that," or it didn't look the way that we envisioned it. You kind of have a plan, and then you practice the plan. If it looks good, you may develop it a little bit more, or you may throw it out completely. So that's part of the practice process. Especially when we're in a situation like we're in, you're definitely going to be doing some different things. So maybe it's good. You just don't know yet, and if it's not good, then it probably doesn't show up at the game. And sometimes when it does good and you try it in a game, it doesn't always work out, and then you scrap it and you move on to something else. It's just part of the, you know, football is just a marathon, the season, and you grind every day and you try to improve everybody as a team and the roster improves and the depth of the team is tested at different times, and you know, you really see what you're made of.
Q: When you put up 466 yards on a defense like you did last time you played Buffalo, do you expect to see a completely different look?
TB:I think you just watch ... Yeah, there are good parts to doing that and there are bad parts when you play them the second time because you ... I know teams we've played in the past that we've had some success with and then you count on seeing something similar, and then it's completely different or sometimes they have success doing something. They know that we know that they know. And then you just start thinking of all the different scenarios, and I think that that can hamstring you at times, too. So it's just going to come down to good execution, and I think that's what that first game came down to. We made some really critical plays when we needed to. It was a lot of tight throws, a lot of great catches. We did a great job blocking up front. Our communication was good. I think all those things are going to carry over to this game. It's got to be really solid execution because they do cover well and they do have some good pass rushers. They've got some good scheme stuff, and this coach knows us really well. We've played him so many times. There's only so much defense you can play. But like I said, the whole he knows that we do this, but then we'll counter that and we'll ... Ultimately it's going to come down to the fundamentals of throwing and catching and blocking and running, like all the football games do.
Q: Are the Bills" corners allowing Rex Ryan to play more of the defense that he likes to because they're playing so well?
TB:Yeah, they definitely have good matchups out there, so I think they have a lot of confidence in them. And those players have done a great job when the coach has asked them, "Alright, you've got this guy, and you're going to match him and shadow him." They definitely do a good job of that. It was a little disappointing to see from my study that they were playing as well as they were, but that's part of it. You're going to go against good players. And they've got good players, so we've got to still kind of figure out how to move the ball down the field.
Q: How does it make you feel that you might soon be throwing touchdown passes to the nephew of Christian Fauria?
TB:I know, amazing, I know. I got a text from him last night. You know, I've always kind of followed him, and I remember being out at UCLA when I lived in California and working out and meeting him out there. We'll see what he can do. Hopefully he can contribute. If it's in the gene pool, then I think we're in a good place.
Q: Do you have to rely a little bit more on the running game this time of year?
TB:I think that's definitely important, and like I said, over the course of the season, because it is a long year, you've got to rely on different parts of the game at different times. One time, you know, at points last year we threw it 50 times a game. Other times you try to run it 50 times a game, and some of it depends on how the game is going, some of it depends on the matchup. You always have a plan going into the game. If it works, great. You come off at the end of the game like, "Man, we put together a great plan and executed it." And if it doesn't work, a quarter into the game, you're like, "Throw all that crap out and let's try to get to some stuff that will actually work." So a lot of it depends on how the players play. That's ultimately how the best game plan looks, and it's how well, like I said, we get into the right play, block, execute, run, catch, throw, all of those things that are the reasons why you win or lose games.
Q: David Ortiz announced his retirement today. What are your thoughts on what he means to Boston?
TB:Yeah, a great player, you know, he's given all of our fans so many reasons to cheer. So he's been an incredible player. It's sad to see him go. I have a lot of respect for him and the way that he's always brought a great leadership to his team. He's been a great example.
