Tom Brady Post-Game Press Conference
PlayPatriots Media

7 Oct 01 / by New England Patriots 

TB:: It was a poor performance by all of us. You never think you are going to come down here after a win like that and play like we did. We have got to fight our way out of this and there is nobody that is going to help us. Everyone is going to tell us how bad we are, we are the only guys that can affect how we play so we have to start taking a different attitude every day in practice and come put every Sunday and play like we are capable of.

Q: What was it about there defense, did their defense confuse you at all?

TB:: We knew what they were going to do, we knew how they were going to approach the game and we went out there and the way we approached it we just didn't get it done. We can't give them points and when you come down here on the road, in the NFL, these teams are good and you can't go out and have a bad performance and expect to keep it close.

Q: On the fumble that you had what happened on the snap?

TB:: It was just bad execution, just bad execution. We didn't get it done. It is a team game. That was one of many plays that should be a lot better than we executed them.

Q: Lawyer Milloy mentioned that you had talked about stopping practice and getting people focused?

TB:: Lawyer and I we were just talking…we have to take a different approach every day. Not on Sundays, you can't go out and practice average on Wednesday and average on Thursday and okay on Friday and expect to come out on Sunday and expect to play good. If you practice great on Wednesday and great on Thursday and great on Friday, there is no reason why you wouldn't come out on Sunday and play great. That is the approach that I know how to take. We are going to start getting that done. We are going to start practicing great every day. There is no reason why we come out on a day like this and play poor.

Q: So you had an inkling maybe last Wednesday or Thursday with the way practices went?

TB:: I don't think so. I mean you never think you are going to play like this. You always think, 'Well okay we should have done this, but we will get it corrected.' When you play against guys like Zach Thomas and a couple of d-linemen, they are good players so it is not like you think, 'Well it is definitely going to happen, we didn't perform this one practice so we are not going to perform well in the game.' You never think that, but I am saying you should perform great in practice and you should come out and perform great in the games.

Q: This is the first time we have really heard emotion in your voice, it sounds like this really stunned you?

TB:: I am pretty even-tempered. I hate to lose. I hate to lose, especially like the way we did today. When you are a part of them it's a shot at your pride. You take a lot of pride in going out to work and going out to perform and then you go out and perform like this, no excuse for that.

Q:

TB:: I don't think I walked off the practice field and said, 'God we practiced bad.' I just think overall just the sense of if you miss a play on Wednesday you think, 'Oh we will get it corrected by Thursday,' and then you never get back to it or…the execution…I think that we have to be more competitive all-around in your attitude and your focus. It shouldn't be like you get through days, you shouldn't get through practice on Wednesday and get through practice on Thursday or get through practice on Friday so you can get to the game. I mean those are days when you have to go out and execute so you can prove to yourself and you can prove to your coaches and when these situations come up in the game you have to be able to execute them then.

Q: Tom did they not give your receivers any room, nobody was open?

TB:: I don't think that is the case. I don't think that is the case. Our approach is we are trying to keep them off-balance. I think there were a couple of tries in there where we kept them off-balance, a little play action pass, a little drop back pass, a little screens, draws, some inside runs. That is the attack that we have to take and when we go out and give them points and give them momentum, the crowd was into it, it is too hard to come back against a good defense like this. They are good players.

Q: You guys are 1-3, is 1-3 where you should be?

TB:: If you had told me we were going to be 1-3 at the beginning of the season I would have said that you were crazy. I thought we were going to come out better than that, but the reality is we are not. We are a 1-3 team and we are the only ones that can affect if we are 2-3 or 3-3, I am focused on 2-3 right now. I don't care about 3-3 I care about 2-3 and that is where we are at and there is only one way to go. There is no one that is going to give us next week, we are the only ones that can affect it, the coaches and the players and that is the approach that we are going to take.

Q: When you sat down at your locker after the game did you find any answers? Do you have any answers?

TB:: You try to think back to plays that you wish you had made, trying to evaluate how you felt out there. Being the second game…I have played a lot of football, but at the same time this is the first time on the road. I think you learn every week.

Q:

TB:: I am always looking to get better. I missed some throws out there today that I would think that I would make and that goes back to the execution during practice. Sometimes I would miss a guy that was open in practice and you think, 'Why did I miss him?' and then you shouldn't wonder why if you miss guys on Sunday. If you are always hitting passes in practice then you should always be connecting in the game. That is what I would think and I think I have to sharpen that up.

Q: Are you surprised that you had trouble with the passing game?

TB:: I think we were just playing into their game. They put a lot of pressure on you. When those guys know that you are throwing, know there are no draws or screens coming, they are going to get that rush to you, there coverage doesn't even have to match up for very long. They put a few safeties deep and they allow those guys to lock down man-to-man underneath and they figure those are guys are going to get you before you can make a great throw. There were plays out there that were tight that we made and there were some that we should have made that I suppose I should have made.

Q:

TB:: Yeah, I think that is kind of their prevent, not to give up any big plays defense.

Q: What did you think of their defense was it better than you expected?

TB:: I think it was just what I expected. You have to make tight throws and all of your plays have to be to the corners. When you make tight throws you get a good play and when you don't make tight throws you don't have good plays.

Q: Why Lawyer?

TB:: I look to Lawyer as a team leader and I think there are some guys that…it really means a lot to Lawyer, I know that. Just watching him play he puts it all out there and he performs great. If there is one guy that the team listens to, there are several guys, but Lawyer, I have always looked up to Lawyer since I have been here.

Q: Where do you rate the Dolphins defense?

TB:: I don't know, they are a good defense.