Q: Since 2003, you guys are 42-6 following a loss. Why are you guys so good at bouncing back after tough losses?
TB: I don't know. I don't know. Hopefully we can just go play better than we played last week. We're playing a real good team on the road so it's going to take a big effort. We've got a big challenge and hopefully we can get to 1-1.
Q: Your message to your team was clear after the loss to Kansas City. How have your teammates responded?
TB: We'll see. I mean Sunday is the important day. We have two more days to prepare - three more days then two more days of practice. I mean we'll see.
Q: You spoke about your team's attitude last week. Do you think your team's attitude is in the right place this week?
TB: I hope so. I hope so. Again, we work pretty hard for three hours a week. We've got to be at our best mentally, physically, emotionally. This team really tests you. They play very well at home. We didn't play very well last time we went down there. We kind of got our butt kicked. So it's a tough environment. It's their home opener. We're going to be challenged in a big way so we've got to meet the challenge.
Q: You and Drew Brees have a history that goes back to the Big Ten days. What do you remember about meeting him and going up against him since?
TB: Yeah, we played them in my senior year in the Big House [Michigan Stadium] and we beat him. And then he's had a great career. He was a year younger than me and came out and did a great job with San Diego and has done a great job with New Orleans. I think so much of him and his consistency [and] what he brings to the team. He's just a great player and he has been a great player for a long time. He plays well at home. They've got a good team. They do a good job with their offense which means we have to do a real good job with our offense. Sometimes the best defense is to keep your offense on the field. We're going to have to do a good job of that because you don't want to give those guys a huge time of possession advantage. We did that last time we were down there and we got our butts kicked so we're going to have to do a much better job.
Q: What stands out to you from your previous matchups with the Saints?
TB: Yeah, we've had some - because we don't play them very much. We play them in the preseason quite a bit and we practice against them so even though we haven't played them in the regular season, I think we know their team pretty well and their roster [and] their coaching style. They're a very tough team. I think they challenge you in every area. They're really well coached. They've got a great offense. Defensively, Coach [Bill Belichick] said they got 17 of their 21 draft picks have been on defense so they're really trying to tighten that up. It's a tough place to play. It's a big game. Neither team wants to be 0-2 so you've got to figure out how to get a win. Everyone just has to go get their job done. Whatever you're asked to do, you've got to do it. That's what it's going to take. It's going to take a big effort from everybody.
Q: Is going to New Orleans and the Superdome special for you given what you accomplished there earlier in your career?
TB: Yeah, it wasn't quite against that team but it's a great place to play. That was such a quick week. That was a very - before we knew it the game was over. I mean anytime you go back to those places there's great feelings.
Q: Every team has to evolve over the course of a season. How often does a team change its initial traits though? Can a team change its stripes quickly?
TB: I think you're always trying to make improvement in every area. What you are in September is different than what you're going to be as the season goes on. You're trying to see where your deficiencies are and you're trying to make improvements. Obviously, what we did the other night is not good enough by any means, in any particular phase of the game, at any position. When you get outscored by 21 points or outgained by 200 yards in the fourth quarter, there's a lot of things that need adjusting. Hopefully we can identify those things as quickly as possible and gain confidence in what we're doing so we can go out there and execute well and play well against a very good team. This team isn't going to make it easy on us. We have to go earn it, just like the last team. There's not a bunch of easy plays out there. There's no magic play you can call. You've just got to make no excuse and go make the play. We're all going to be challenged with that opportunity.
Q: It's kind of a matter of will then?
TB: Absolutely. I think that's important and you bring it every day. There's urgency in practice and the coaches put a lot of pressure on us. Veteran players and leaders put a lot of pressure on you because you're trying to perform at a very high level. When you get beat the way we got beat I think that sat with everyone for a very long time. We're going to have to go do something about it. I mean no one else can do it for us. We're the only guys in the locker room. No one else is putting on the uniform. It's only us. It's up to us to go do something about it so that's what we have to be able to do.
Q: You threw a lot of deep balls in the game last Thursday, especially in the fourth quarter. Was there a sense of desperation where you couldn't move the ball and needed chunk plays to get back in it?
TB: I think we had some short guys on the routes and some deep guys. The ball just ended up going there. You're trying to spread the ball around evenly to different guys and I think that's the best part of playing offense is to have guys at different levels and then throw it where they're not.
