BB: I told the players I thought they
did a good job this week. I thought we had a good week of preparation. They
played extremely well tonight. We had guys step up in every phase of the
game. Offensively, it turned out to be pretty much a passing game. We got a
lot of pressure from Minnesota. I just didn't feel like we would be able to
run the ball against that type of scheme. Protection was a challenge but I
thought those guys held up well and made some plays in the passing game.
Defensively, we did a pretty good job and got some turnovers. We were able
to be competitive in the running game. I thought [Laurence] Maroney's
kickoff return was a big play in the game to answer their score and put it
us in field position to answer that touchdown that [Mewelde] Moore ran back.
He is a terrific player as we talked about him all week. We obviously had
trouble with him all night. We are happy to win. It doesn't get any easier.
We know we have a big challenge coming up this week with the Colts, so that
is where we are at tonight.
Q: You were able to come up big on third and long tonight with some big
plays. Talk about Tom Brady's overall performance.
BB: I thought the whole offense did a good job. Certainly there are a lot of
things we could have been better. We protected fairly well. We were able to
make some plays in the passing game and pick our spots in the running game.
We knocked out a few decent runs when we had an opportunity but we didn't
have a lot of them.
Q: What were you seeing that made the passing game so effective tonight?
BB: Minnesota pressured us a lot. We felt like there wasn't much of an
opportunity to run in there against all of those guys. They are all pretty
good. They are hard to block as it is. When they put more in there than you
can handle it is just like beating your head against the wall.
Q: Did you install more passing sets for this game compared to other games
this season?
BB: No. Again, we got a lot of pressure this game from Minnesota. We felt like
throwing the ball and spreading it out would be the best way to handle it.
The amount of pressure they gave us kind of dictated the number of times we
were in those various sets.
Q: Given the wide receivers' lack of
familiarity with the offense, could you have gone spread earlier in the year
or did you need more time to get the receivers?
BB: No. We could have, but I just think that our passing game has improved on a
week-to-week basis. I thought overall we did a fairly decent job today. It
was far from perfect but it is getting better. There are a lot of things
that we are doing better now that we weren't doing very well five or six
weeks ago. Give credit to the players, they've improved. We are able to
throw the ball a little more effectively now.
Q: Tell us what you have accomplished this season so far compared to what
you think the expectations people might have had for this team?
BB: I don't know what those expectations were. I don't really care what they
were. It doesn't make any difference. We are just trying to go out and play
a good football game every week. That's our job.
Q: What is it about this team that makes you so successful each year and
year out by plugging holes with players leaving and still you maintain that
same level. What makes that possible?
BB: I think we have a lot of good players that work hard. Every team has
turnover, so we are not any different than anyone else in the league. |
