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PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK**
Opening Statement:
"I'm proud of our team for what they did today. I thought we went out there and fought hard for 60 minutes. San Diego is a good football team. They fight you right until the end. They have a lot of good football players. They're well-coached. Our guys really responded, being down and fighting back. They made plays in all three phases of the game. Defensively, I can't say enough about that effort. Without (Dont'a) Hightower, everybody stepped up. (Jonathan) Casillas, (Jamie) Collins, and the defensive line I thought did a good job. The big interception by Akeem (Ayers), a lot of guys made plays there. LeGarrette (Blount) gave us a big run there at the end and put us in field position to put the game away. I thought we hung in there and battled. Obviously there was the big play by (Brandon) Bolden on the blocked punt. I thought Danny (Amendola) did a nice job handling those punts and creating some field position for us there. I'm very proud of the way our team performed. It was a good week of preparation out here in California. They really played hard tonight. It was a good win for us."
On Jonathan Casillas:
"Obviously Casillas was right in the middle of a lot of communication. Both him and Jamie (Collins) did a great job. Julian (Edelman) is a tough kid, he almost broke that punt return. He made a lot of tough catches for us. Not just the touchdown, but a lot of tough catches inside and ran well with the ball. We had a lot of guys step up: Julian, Rob (Gronkowski), the offensive line. (Tom) Brady came back and made some big throws in the second half. It was a good team out there."
On long play to Julian Edelman:
"It was a great catch and run by Julian. It was a good look on the play action pass. He got some space there. Tom (Brady) threw it in there and Julian went up and got it. He broke the tackle and finished the play. He got a good block from (Brandon) LaFell. Good job of hustling and finishing the play."
On special teams:
"(Danny) Amendola and Julian (Edelman) did a good job handling those. They had a couple short punts there and I thought they handled them well. They got a couple good punt coverage plays as well. They did a couple good kick-off plays where we got them down there inside the 20 yard line. We put our defense on the long field a lot. I thought our defense did a good job containing that good field position for three or four series in the third quarter, whatever it was."
It seems like your team bounced back after the Brandon Browner hit:
"Those guys played hard all night. Defensively, we really competed. It wasn't perfect. They have some good football players that are hard to stop. I thought the guys competed for 60 minutes and I was very proud of them."
On having 12 straight seasons with 10 or more wins:
"Right now we have to get ready for Miami. That's the big thing for us. They handled us down there in the opener. We'll enjoy this one for a little while but we have to turn the page. We have a big two big division games left at the end of our season. We have to go down to Miami and coach a lot better than we coached if we're going to win."
On week here in San Diego:
"I thought it was the best thing we could do. We got a lot of rest. We had a couple good days of preparation on Friday and Saturday and I thought we played hard tonight. They had a lot of energy and were ready to play a full 60 minutes. That's what you have to do against the Chargers. They've had a lot of close games, maybe more than anybody. This game was nowhere near decided until the fourth quarter. It was a hard-fought game."
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QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY**
What are your thoughts on being able to win as a team?
"We battled and I knew it was going to take 60 minutes. This team has been in more close games than anyone else in the league and they fought hard. It was a physical game and it is great to come out with a win. It's always tough winning on the road, especially against a team that's 8-4, so it was a big win."
What were you thinking on the throw to Julian Edelman and how happy were you to see him break it for 69 yards?
"Great play. It was a good opportunity for us to throw it because they were pretty heavy on the run. We found a little spot to throw it and Julian made a great catch and run. We needed that type of play at that time of the game and the defense took over from there."
On how important the play-action pass was in a critical situation:
"It's so important because you can separate the defense especially when you're running it like we were. LaGarrette (Blount) had another great game, Jonas (Gray) ran hard, Shane (Vareen) ran good so it was a great team effort. That's what we needed and we got a big one next week."
On the play of the defense and special teams:
"They were phenomenal and did a great job. That was the key to the whole game the way the defense played. We turned it over a couple time and we always hate doing that but the blocked punt was huge, the interception was huge and we kind of got the momentum once we kicked the field goal. It was a great kick and then we had the long score to Julian (Edelman) so everybody needed to contribute and everybody did and I'm real happy."
On what the Chargers did to frustrate the offense:
"They have a good team. They play well at home, they challenged us, they're physical, they had a good rush and they covered well. We didn't play as well as we would have liked offensively but that's the NFL so hopefully we'll be better next week."
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RUNNING BACK BRANDON BOLDEN**
On if he had hoped to block a punt going into the game:
"You go into the game thinking you can block one every time it's called."
Was there an alignment issue that helped you?
"No, I think I just got a really good jump on the snap count. I don't think there was anything he did extra or I did extra. I just got off it quick."
On if he gave Chargers punter Mike Scifres a wink after the play:
"I didn't even know he was hurt until after I made it back to the sidelines and everything calmed down. I went and checked on him and he said everything was going to be fine."
On if he sensed the momentum turn after the blocked punt:
"Special teams can be a big momentum shifter for any team. For this team it was that boost we needed, and when that happened everything picked up. That momentum shifted and we rode that wave, so I think we did a good job offensively and defensively after that play to stay in the ball game."
On why the team always wins after a loss:
"After a loss nobody likes that feeling. We especially don't like that feeling, so everybody just takes it on their shoulders and says we have to go out there and do better."
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DEFENSIVE TACKLE VINCE WILFOLK**
On defensive effort:
"We played well. Going into this game we knew that, defensively, we would have to play well against Philip Rivers and his bunch. They are explosive on offense. We took the challenge. Coach challenged us and we came ready to play tonight. It was a good job. We worked very hard this week. Being in San Diego for a week gave us a chance to bond, watch extra film at the hotel, and talk football. We ate together a lot, and bonded. A lot of the time we talked about what it was going to take to win the ball game this week. Everybody prepared well. We have three good practices this week and the focus was unbelievable. I have to tip my hat off to my teammates. They came in ready to work. Once we came in San Diego and got situated, everybody had their head down, ready to work. It showed tonight and that's a big win tonight for us as a team."
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CORNERBACK BRANDON BROWNER**
Take us through the play when you were flagged for hitting Chargers tight end Ladarius Green:
"We were in thirds. My guy set short so it gave me time to check for the crosser coming over. I happen to get there at the same time the ball got there."
On Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins play:
"He (plays hard) every week. He's one of the most underrated players on this football team. He's fast, and athletic. He can get out there and cover the good tight ends. He's awesome."
CORNERBACK DARRELLE REVIS
Is that one of your better performances tonight?
"No. I'll rank them when I'm retired. I don't take all the credit. Our defensive line did a great job with the pass rush. We were on Philip Rivers the whole game. It was great."
On spending the week in San Diego:
"Like I told you guys earlier this week this is my first time doing this. Coming out here for a week and trying to prepare. I think Bill Belichick knows what he's doing, having us come out here. He's been the head coach for a long time. I think it was team bonding. This whole week guys were hanging out with each other, and that's what you need. Team unity. Especially coming off that loss to Green Bay."
On Bill Belichick teaching his defensive backs to play aggressively:
"You have to go out there and play. The game is so fast and you're trying to make a play to turnover the ball. Making a play in the NFL is key. That's what we pride ourselves on. The hit on Ladarius Green could have gone either way. The referees make the calls. It could have been a turning point for either team. We just try to play aggressive and physical. Brandon Browner made a good play, but it didn't go our way. But at the same time we aren't going to let that phase us as a defense. We are going to continue to play aggressive."
SAFETY DEVIN McCOURTY
On giving the Chargers offense havoc:
"You have to get on their got-to guys. Keenan Allen and Antonio Gates have been big for them. If you come in and let them have big games you probably won't win. We understood that as a group. Darrelle Revis stepped up. We had different guys on Antonio Gates at different times playing well."
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