BB: Like usual, it was a tough division game on the road. I thought it was a
hard-fought game. There were a lot of big plays. Obviously the interceptions
and a couple of the defensive stops that we had were key. But the Jets moved
the ball and they certainly caused some problems for us. I thought that
getting those scores early in the game in the first half and at the start of
the second half were important. We were able to play most of the game from
ahead, which was good. But again, I think you have to give the Jets credit.
They fought hard. They certainly gave us all we could handle. It came down
to the last possession and it was a real nice play by Geno [Eugene Wilson]
at the end of the game making a nice play on the ball to seal it out. As
always, we are happy to win. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good, solid
effort against a Jets team that played hard. I have a lot of respect for
Herman [Edwards] and his staff and the entire Jets team. I thought they
really played a tough football game against us. I was happy to see Antowain
[Smith] run well. He's been running hard, but he had a lot of production
today and that was certainly a big lift for us too, especially with the wind
conditions what they were which certainly affected the field position and
the kicking game. So that's where we are.
Q: 11 wins in a row, could you comment on that?
BB: The main thing is today's game against the Jets. It's not about what
happened last week or two weeks ago. A division game on the road, to be able
to come down here and come out of it with a win there is definitely a sense
of accomplishment. These guys, we saw what they did to Tennessee and shutout
Pittsburgh last week and all of that. So we have a lot of respect for them
and I'm just glad that we could play just a little bit better than they did.
Q: Were you surprised to have five interceptions today?
BB: I thought that our defensive backs, we have to be right up there at the
top of the league in terms of interceptions and it looked like we had our
hands on a couple of other ones. They are pretty good back there in terms of
catching the ball and reacting to it and getting their hands on it. So for
the most part when they have had a chance to do it they have done a pretty
good job. I mean the two interceptions by the linebackers, those are always
good plays. Tedy [Bruschi] kind of took that one out of mid air and Willie
[McGinest] volley-balled it up and made a nice play on that. So those were
really good catches.
Q: There is still another week to go, but obviously with Kansas City's
loss you guys are in the top spot, at least temporarily. What is the feeling
of controlling your own destiny now and controlling your own destiny for the
road to the Super Bowl in the AFC going through New England?
BB: The only thing we are concerned about right now is Buffalo. The last
time we played Buffalo it didn't come out too well. We don't have any
control over what anybody else does. We are just going to try to get ready
and hopefully be able to play Buffalo a little more competitively than we
did the last time.
Q: Can you talk about the efficiency of your offense tonight and staying
away from the big mistake?
BB: I mean, the running game was good. I thought we had balance in the game
in terms of running the ball and some play-action passes. We hit some key
third downs, and that was good. Certainly we could have had some other
opportunities. We were down there, we punted a couple of times from around
the 35 or 40-yard line where we just couldn't quite get if far enough in
there to score and missed a couple of short-yardage plays there — a
third-and-one, a third-and-two and had a penalty and all that. So there is
certainly a lot of room for improvement, but there were definitely some good
things there. I thought Tom [Brady] made some good decisions and made some
good throws.
Q: Could you talk about the decision at the end of the first half when
you went for it on fourth down and passed up the field goal? Was it too far
with the wind?
BB: The wind was gusting down there and I think it was a little bit more of
a factor during the game than what I thought it was before the game. For
this particular game we put the outer limits going in that direction to the
25 and it was a little bit further going the other way to the 30. But it was
going to the 25 and I think the ball was right on the 25 or very close to
it. It would have been stretching it as far as we could stretch it. If it
had been say 10 seconds to go in the half we would have kicked it. With two
minutes to go we felt like we had a shot at the fourth-and-five and that's
just seven or eight yards less of field position that they had if we didn't
make the fourth down relative to missing a field goal, kicking it from the
32 or 33, whatever it would have been. So it was a close call, but like I
said, we established that 25 as the outer limit in pregame and I kind of
felt the wind gusting and being a little bit stronger during the game than
even what it was in pregame, we decided to go for it. Brad [Seely] and Adam
[Vinatieri] and I were talking about it right there, I think it was the
two-minute warning, and we just all agreed it was right there, right at the
edge, and we could have kicked it but I just decided not to.
Q: David Givens put in a lot of work in the offseason, but is he almost
improving from week to week now? How has his growth been?
BB: David has played well for us this year. He's played in the kicking game
and he's made some big plays offensively and down the field as well. He's
run the ball well after the catch on a few occasions that he's had. So I
think he's really come along as a young receiver in his second year. He
certainly still has some room to grow, but he's given us a big lift.
Certainly, that first play of the game was a nice job of getting on top and
stacking the corner and Tom put it out there. It was a well-executed play.
Q: You have been getting excellent work from the edge in the pass rush
and those guys like [Mike] Vrabel and McGinest came up big again tonight.
How big was that?
BB: They have been rushing well all year, they really have. Mike's had some
outstanding efforts on the edge. Willie all year has done a great job of
either rushing the pass or setting the edge or jamming the receivers out
there. They have been some of our most consistent players on defense. I
think they played really well and they certainly had a lot of big plays
tonight.
Q: What is the status of Rodney Harrison?
BB: He finished the game. It was a tough game. It was a physical game. I
think we had a lot of guys that were a little bit banged up there, but it
looked like we had everybody out there at the end. We were still standing.
Q: Are you looking at Buffalo sort of as a payback or retribution
situation for the first week of the season?
BB: We are looking at the game as an important game for us. It's a division
game and yeah, obviously they beat us pretty good down there in the first
game. So we'd like to, like I said, try to play a little more competitively
in this one.
Q: Did you expect to be 13-2 at this point of the year?
BB: You just go week to week. Each week we try to put together the best plan
and personnel utilization and everything we can against each opponent. Every
time we walk out on the field we expect to win. That's our attitude. Now
that's not saying we are going to win every game, but that's the way we feel
when we walk out on the field. So this week is no different from last week
or any other week. |
