Q: What makes it work so well?
A: " I think they have 11 guys who do their job. You don't have two guys trying to do something that's not their job. You don't have a lot of superstars, you have 11 guys doing their job and I love it."
Q: What about Tom Brady, what makes him special?
A: "Probably because he can do it all. He can make all the throws. He's a smart guy. Whenever you're dealing with a veteran guy, he has been through a lot of wars. He is a veteran guy and you've got to tip your hat to him."
Q: Do you tip your hat to knowing you're a veteran and you know how hard it is to win?
A: " Oh yeah, I tip my hat to a lot of the guys who go there and accept the role and get in that role and play football. It is hard to get guys in this league to put the ego aside and accept the role to win."
Q: What about the Patriots impact players, you won't be able to rest much?
A: "Randy Moss, Brady, Fred Taylor, Watson... They've got weapons all across the field, so you will never be able to rest against a team like that."
Tony Gonzalez
Q: As a veteran in this league, does it impress you to see the success the Patriots have had?
A: " It is something that I have always been jealous of. They're just so stable. Year-in and year-out you know they're going to have a good football team. It was kind of like Mike Shanahan, in our league over there with Denver. Always for some reason, no matter what, injury or not, players lost, it doesn't matter; they're going to go out there and be consistent. It is tough to go in there and get a victory."
Q: A lot of people used the word discipline on both sides of the ball describing them…
A: " That is why they're so consistent , because they're so disciplined at their schemes. Everybody knows exactly what they're doing and they don't play outside of themselves. They're not going to make many mistakes. It is hard to beat a team when you have good players and they all know exactly what to do and it seems like they're all on the same page as far as the reason they want to win. There is no selfishness out there, everybody is for the team. And anytime you have that type of atmosphere I believe it makes you a better football team."
Q: Where is this team with that atmosphere?
A: "I really feel it, you just look at the film. You see guys very happy for each other; everybody is jumping around and that's something that really is a big part of us coming together to be a good football team. It's that team atmosphere and it starts with the coach."
Q: Talk about your catch that Coach Smith challenged and it was ruled a catch…
A: "I don't know if he could see me, but I was going crazy because I thought I had it. I actually thought I rolled out of it and he didn't touch me so it was going to be a touchdown. When I got up and once I saw that it was ruled incomplete, I thought that he called me down... I thought it was a catch."
Q: Do you ever consider your greatest catches or is that for a day when you're in a rocking chair?
A: "Right after I thought that might have been one of my best catches ever. Then the back shoulder one Matt threw perfect, as far as the guy was all over me and I was able to catch it with my left hand. I didn't even mean to do that, I just put my hand up there and it came in."
Q: For a second year quarterback to be making that back shoulder pass, what are your thoughts?
A: "Well we talk about that. You know, that's the thing about the communication is if a guy is going up the seam like that you throw it back shoulder. You saw when New England played the Buffalo Bills and Watson went down the middle and Brady threw to that back shoulder. If you have good timing on that it is almost impossible to stop. So it is really just about getting on the same page with the quarterback."
Q: They're known for Tom Brady and his memorable drives, but how good does it feel to have your guys offense running so efficient the past couple of weeks?
A: "It is great, especially if we can do ball control to. It's just not about going out there and putting points up. With an offense like New England you want to keep them off the field. We got to go out there and hopefully keep them off the field as much as possible and then put points up when it's time to put points up. Since I have gotten here it has been great to play with so many great players on this side of the ball and it's not just one player each week. It is all of us coming together as a team."
Q: Do you have any advice for our young guys going into the first road game?
A: " I say going into anywhere, you got to play your game. One play at a time, one snap and clear it, has been what I've been taught and it has always worked for me. Don't worry about anything else. Crowd noise is crowd noise. It is loud and it is loud everywhere across the league, so that doesn't matter."
Michael Turner
Q: Talk about the mindset going into this game…
A: " We are 2-0 and starting off fast and they have traditionally been a great football team, so it is going to be a good matchup. A tough challenge for us and hopefully we can go up there and get a win. "
Q: This is a disciplined team. What do you guys have to do to come out on top?
A: "Just be more disciplined than them. Just make one more play than they can make. We just have to go out there and fight every play."
Q: Defensively, what kind of problems do they present?
A: " That's where they're the most sound on defense, to me. They can put guys anywhere on the field and line them up in all crazy formations. They will try to confuse the quarterback and things like that, but we have to stick to our rules and just play football."
Q: How has your week changed?
A: " It hasn't changed much, just get more rest. We have to get on the plane and stay hydrated."
Q: What about Matt Ryan playing back near his home?
A: "You know I haven't talked to him about that. I totally forgot that he played at Boston College. It has been so long ago, but he is a Falcon now. Going home and playing near his old stomping grounds near his college he will be good; he will be the same Matt every week."
Trey Lewis
Q: Talk about what you're expecting to see Sunday from the Patriots…
A: "We know they're going to pass the ball a lot. We are going to work real hard on our pass rush and make sure we get back there to him. I don't feel like they did what they wanted to do last week, so we're really going to improve this week."
Q: On Peria Jerry on IR….A: "... It is part of the game. Guys go down and others have to step up. That guy just happens to be me, so I have to step up and pick up where Peria left off. We will have one of our other rookies coming up, so we just have to get it together."
Q: What do you think about the offensive line?
A: "They're a little bit on the light side, so we think we will be able to take care of them. They're real good at what they do and work well together. Most of them are vets and they know what they're doing. So, we really got to bring our A-game too."
Q: It seem that one of the keys to the Jets win last week was the pressure they put on Brady…A: "Yeah, I think that is definitely important for us to make sure that he is uncomfortable at all times. Not let him get the easy passes that he wants and just always being in his face is going to really help the game and slow it down for us. We are working real hard on getting off the field on third down especially. With him, it's important to not let him get the chance to get warmed up and get going."
Q: How important is it to get off to a good road start, as you guys won't be playing back home until Oct. 18?
A: "Huge. We won the two at home and now we have to prove that we can do it away. Everyone knows you have to win at home and away in this league to be successful. So that's what we're going to go out there and try to do."
Matt Ryan
Q: Playing back near home, talk about how that feels…
A: " It is certainly a place, Boston is a place that I love, and had a great experience in college. But, beyond that, it's just another game on the schedule. We have to go up there and take care of business. I am not approaching it any different than I would any other week."
Q: What was it like being in the Boston area and seeing Tom Brady and the Patriots success?
A: "It was pretty cool to watch. No doubt about it they had a great run while I was in college, and his play was certainly unbelievable. It was a great time to be a quarterback in that area, to be a college quarterback and to be able to see what Tom was doing. I have always been impressed with how well he has played and how he handles himself. So, it was a good area to be in."
Q: Did you ever get to meet him?
A: "No. You know what, Foxboro interestingly enough is actually 45 minutes from where Boston College is. Never made it down to practice or met Tom, but certainly watched from a distance."
Q: What is the best thing that Tom does?
A: " Wins games, wins Super Bowls,and enough said. That's the goal that everybody has in this league. Everybody shoots to do that and he certainly has been the best at it over the past ten years."
Q: Is there one skill set he has that separates him from the other quarterbacks?
A: " You know he is accurate. Really accurate. I haven't seen much of him of late. You play in the NFL and you don't get to see guys as much as you did when you were in college. But, he is a really accurate passer and he makes great decisions."
Q: How happy were you to get the running game going against Carolina?
A: "That was big this past weekend to get Mike and Jerious and Jason Snelling going and those guys did a great job, but it all starts up front. Our offensive line did a great job last week of opening up some holes, giving Mike some space to go through and Mike did what he does. He kind of pounded it and picked up some tough yards."
Q: How would you characterize New England's defense?
A: "New England's defense is tough. First and foremost they're physical and disciplined and they do a great job at stopping the run. That starts with their guys up front. Their front fours are really good and we are going to have our work cut out for us. Our guys upfront are going to have to have their work cut out for them, but that is what we're here working on this week. We've got a great game plan and guys have been in here getting their work done... Doing everything they can to perform well on Sunday."
Q: Mike Peterson used the word disciplined to describe their offense and you're using it to describe the Patriots defense. When they don't make mistakes mentally, how difficult is it knowing they will be in the right spots?
A: " That makes them tough to beat and that's probably why they have been successful in the past. They are very disciplined on the defensive side of the ball. They are where they're supposed to be and they're executing their assignments the way they're supposed to do them. So, our focus is that we have to go out there and we have to execute and we have to take care of our things. Make sure that we go out and execute the game plan that we have well."
