Tom Brady's Post Game Press Conference Transcript
Here's what Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had to say following the Patriots come-from-behind win over the Saints on Sunday:
On if when he threw the pick at the end, if he thought it was over or of he thought they'd get the ball back:
"Well, we talked about that before the drive. We said even if we miss the fourth down play, we could still get the ball back at some point and go down and score. And then our defense made a great stop. They punted the ball to the 25, 30 and guys made a bunch of plays there at the end. Guys made big time catches, and it was just a great game."
On having him describe the touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins with 10 seconds left in the game:
"Yeah, well, we had everybody going to the end zone and he kind of snuck into the corner, and I put it up there for him and he came down and made a great catch. There were a lot of great catches there at the end. Julian [Edelman], the seam ball to start the drive and then Austin [Collie] had a fourth-down catch. AD [Aaron Dobson] came back, caught an in-cut, that was a big play. So that was great situational football and a great win against a really good team. We’re 5-1, we’re just grinding. Hopefully we can use this as a little bit of momentum going into next week."
On what this says about his confidence in the receivers to keep going back to them despite more dropped passes:
"Well, I have confidence in those guys. We’re just working hard every day to try to get better. It was certainly not perfect out there. I think we’re definitely just, like I said, grinding. We’re just trying to get better every day in practice and every game and these situations that are coming up, we’re learning from them. The receivers have done a great job. Mike Hooman [Hoomanawanui] really has stood in there and done a great job for us at the tight end spot. The backs all ran hard. So it was a great all around win.
On what it means to go to a guy like Austin Collie who literally just got here, on the final drive:
"Well, he’s earned the confidence of everybody, so we had a situation where we put him on the field and see what he could do and see if he could help us win a game and he did. So that was a great thing and that’s what we need. That’s what a football teams are all about, using all 53 guys on the roster to try to move the ball down the field and get it in the end zone one way or another. Today it took us 59 minutes and 55 seconds. We needed all the time and it took all the time. A great way to finish.
On the fact he spoke on Wednesday about the need for a complementary win and if this what he was looking for:
"Yeah. The defense made some huge stands. They played great when they needed to and that's a really good offense and a team that’s been scoring a lot of points. They’ve been playing good all year. Offensively, we've still got to do a better job getting the ball in the end zone. Like I said, there's a lot of things to improve on. It was better, but we’re not quite there yet."
On if this win helps "galvanize" the team a little bit:
"Well, winning helps galvanize everything. Losing sucks and it was a rough week. You know, I think the thing is there’s a lot of character and mental toughness and that really showed. We were down, but not out and we had some momentum go our way that we didn’t take advantage of. And then it went their way, and then we fought and overcame some odds. So that’s what football is about and you’re going to have those over the course of a season and I was just proud of the way that we hung in there and never stopped fighting. "
On how surprised he was at going for it on fourth down with three minutes to go:
"We knew that we were down one and if we missed it they were going to, hopefully, kick a field goal like they did and then we’d have another chance. I don't think we were very discouraged. We just said, ‘Look, we've got to do better and if we get it back we’ve got to certainly make more plays.’ There was little margin for error there are the end based on the situation that we were in, and guys really made some great catches and certainly the last one was a great catch in the corner of the end zone."
On what this game says about the evolution of Kenbrell Thompkins as a receiver that he was the guy he went to:
"Well, he’s done a great job. I mean, he’s been in there a bunch and he’s made a lot of plays for us this year. I think going to all those guys – Aaron made some plays, Julian made plays, Austin made plays, Hooman made some plays. So they’re all big at this point. There's no drives that aren’t important or certainly no situations where things aren’t important. As the game got closer to the end and the margin of error gets smaller, you’ve got to make better plays and that's when we were at our best."
On what led him to Kenbrell Thompkins on the touchdown pass since it wasn’t like he was wide open:
"No, it was a tight throw. We were sending all the guys to the end zone and at that point you’re just trying to pick a side. I looked right and then came back left and I saw 'K' made a move and then slipped behind him and I just tried to put it back there where he could make a play. So that was pretty sweet."
On how tempo helped with the no huddle offense:
"I think sometimes it helped us a little bit because we were playing fast and you can be aggressive, and then sometimes when we didn’t execute well, it didn’t go very well. I mean, it's only as good as the execution, regardless of the tempo and certainly late in the game we were going fast. But we’ve got to make the plays when they’re there, whether we’re going fast or we’re going slow, all those plays are important."
On what he said to the team after his interception:
"Well, it was a bad read. Julian was running through the defense and I put it up there and just didn't make a good throw. Everyone's a little deflated when we throw interceptions, but you’ve got to still bounce back. Regardless of the situation, you’ve got to have enough mental toughness to come through and I think our guys all believe in each other and I think we've shown that over the course of the season to get to 5-1. We’ve had some tough games and none of them have been easy, but 5-1 is a decent record."
On the fact fans have been talking about concerns about the team but they're always confident in him and if there's anything he'd like to say to them:
"Well, we have great fans and great support. Every time we come and play at home the crowd gives us a huge boost. Things have been pretty good here for a long time and it’s a great place to play. We're trying to go out and represent the city as best we can, all of New England, and certainly winning is an important formula, too. Coach always says, 'do well in the community and try to win some football games'. That's the two things that are important to the guys that sit in this room."
On if in late game situations if he realizes how improbable it is that they're going to win the game, no matter how they've played to that point:
"I think no matter how you’ve played to that point, you have a situation. You have one timeout, two timeouts, three timeouts, no time outs, you’re backed up. Regardless of what happens over the course of the game, you have a chance, and that’s what football is all about. Interestingly, the plays in the first quarter are just as important as the plays in the fourth quarter, it’s just the game’s not really on the line at that point. When the game is on the line, you see what guys are made of and all those guys at the receiver position made some huge plays on the last drive."
On the fact Bill Belichick was saying that you have to have a short memory, especially after the late drives he had the interception and a couple of drops, if he feels those guys are developing to have the kind of short memory that's needed:
"You have to in football. As great as a win as this is, we've got to come to work tomorrow and we’re on the clock against the Jets. They’re going to be motivated. They lost, they’re playing at home. We’ve already played them once so no matter what happens, you have to start working on next week. We have to learn from the things we did well and learn from the things we did poorly and try to get to 6-1. That’s the goal this week."
