A quick look at some of the top stories from this morning

Boston Globe:

The Tuna Bites, Talks About Coaches – Dan Shaughnessy
Shaughnessy has an article this morning on former Patriots head coach Bill Parcells, who immediately told him to, “Keep me out of this one, will ya?’’ Bill Parcells says. “Don’t stir up any [expletive].’’

NOTEBOOK: Practice turns out to be a hit – Shalize Manza Young
Young has her notebook this morning and it leads off with notes on yesterday’s first practice in Indianapolis which was held in full pads.  According to most of the players, it was a solid practice.

This oversight was huge – Giant, even – Bob Ryan
Ryan has an article this morning on the Giants, and writes that New York was “the 9-7 fox that never should have been allowed into the playoff henhouse”, and the amount of noise they’ve made in the NFC confirms that.

Man in Motion – John Powers
Powers has a good article this morning on Aaron Hernandez, and talks about the versatility he’s shown in the Patriots offense.

Connolly starting but still centered – Michael Whitmer
Whitmer has an article on Dan Connolly, who has stepped up in a big way with all the injuries the Patriots have had on their offensive line this season.

BOSTON HERALD:

Similarities run deep with Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin – Ron Borges
Borges has a good article comparing Belichick with Coughlin, and writes, “Belichick is Mt. Rushmore to Coughlin’s Mt. Vesuvius.”

Players, doc worry for Rob Gronkowski – Karen Guregian
Guregian has a good article this morning on Rob Gronkowski, with quotes from doctors and former players about how tough it’s going to be for him to play with the injury.

Veterans thrilled to reach pinnacle at last – Ian Rapoport
Rapoport has an article this morning that includes some quotes from veterans on the Patriots roster who are excited at the opportunity to finally play in a Super Bowl, including guys like Brian Waters and Shaun Ellis.

NOTEBOOK: Device Will Aid BenJarvus Green-Ellis – Ian Rapoport
Rapoport has his notebook for this morning, which opens with the fact both BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead will both be wearing “impact indicators” in Sunday’s Super Bowl.

How things do change – Steve Buckley
Buckley has an article this morning on the fact that the New York media ran wild after Tom Brady’s comment about a “party” next week should the Patriots beat the Giants on sunday.

Patrick Chung says unit plays like family – Dan Ventura
Ventura has an article this morning on Chung, who said on Monday that he feels like he and his teammates are “playing like a family” as they head into Sunday’s showdown against New York.

Devin McCourty tries to make most of Rolle change – Dan Ventura
Ventura writes that McCourty has done a good job adjusting to playing the safety position in recent weeks, and has comments from his former Rutgers teammate Antrel Rolle on what the transition is like.

Born with Wil-fork to lead – Mark Daniels
Daniels has an article on Vince Wilfork this morning, who Bill Belichick noticed was running sprints across the field during yesterday’s practice session as he continues to work just as hard at this point in the season.

Patriots’ Wes Welker is a slot machine – Randy Covitz
The Herald has a syndicated piece this morning on Wes Welker, who Covitz writes was acquired by Bill Belichick after Welker spent several seasons “annoying the heck out of him.”

ESPN BOSTON:

Why is Bill Belichick Smiling? – Mike Reiss
Reiss writes that the reason why Belichick is smiling these days is because “he likes this team”.

Bed check: Crisp practices & injuries – Mike Reiss
Reiss has notes on yesterday’s practice session, which according to Belichick was a good first day for his football team.

Video: Fact or Fiction with ESPN NY – ESPNBoston.com
Mike Reiss gets together from the guys from ESPN New York and discuss some of the key questions heading into Sunday’s game.

NFL.com

Patriots Ochocinco finally hits big stage, but as a bit player – Steve Wyche
Wyche has an article on the fact Chad Ochocinco has been just a bit player during New England’s Super Bowl run.

WEEI.COM

Chad Ochocinco Won’t be Standing Up for ‘Media Day’ -Mike Petraglia
Petraglia has a piece on Ochocinco, and writes that the wide receiver won’t be one of the 18 Patriots meeting with the media today after the receiver tweeted, “Can’t talk, strep throat.”

When you’ve been on the NFL’s biggest stage four times, obviously you have enough perspective where your opinion should mean something.

Quarterback Tom Brady spoke to WEEI in his weekly radio appearance on Monday and pointed out that the younger guys need to understand that Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown against the New York Giants is just another ‘big game’.  He pointed out that they’ve already played in several ‘huge’ match-ups this season, referring to a prime time match-up down in New York against the Jets, along with their recent AFC Championship game against the Ravens.  So far they’ve played well enough to win, and each week they’ve risen to the occasion.

Brady admits that the more prepared he feels, the less nervous he is before a game. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

He also doesn’t believe they should be intimidated by what should be a big crowd this weekend. Considering the fact that most of the guys on the roster played in big college programs, most of them should be used to it anyway.

“There’s pressure. There’s anxiety. There’s nerves,” said Brady on Monday.  “But part of being in this position, a lot of guys have played big-time college football. Aside from the rookies from the small schools, this is a big game, but we’ve been in a lot of huge games.

“I’d say playing Sunday Night Football at the Jets in the Meadowlands, that’s a pretty big game. Playing the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship, that’s a pretty big game. So, it’s not going to be a whole lot different than that, other than the opponent that we’re playing, in terms of our nerves. I think guys are going to settle into the game. It’s going to be a football game.

Playing in a Super Bowl is something Brady’s obviously already experienced.  He’s been there, and he knows how important it is to play well.  As for any potential butterflies, he admitted that those don’t usually hit him until right before they take the field.  However, he admits that as long as he feels prepared, that confidence helps erase any pregame jitters he may have had.

“For me, it’s never the night before the game,” said Brady when asked if he hates the nervousness that comes along before a big game.  ”It’s probably right before we run out. The more prepared I am, the less I feel. I’ll certainly be very prepared this week. I feel like the Super Bowl has been, I’ve played in four of them, and I’ve felt pretty good at the start of them.”

According to Brady any pressure he and his team may feel this week shouldn’t exactly be a new experience.  He says that the pressure is already on them each day in practice throughout the season, so it shouldn’t be any different than what they’ve already dealt with all year.

“I think the pressure is on us every day in practice, in the meetings, in the walkthroughs,” said Brady. “It’s a highly pressurized situation that we’re in so that when we get to those game situations, we feel like we’re kind of used to it. When coach Belichick comes out to practice, everyone kind of sharpens up, “Oh, coach is watching.” He jokes at the beginning of the year. He’ll say, “Listen guys, I’m going to be at every game. The idea of being nervous when I’m out there — I’m going to be showing up.”

They’ll all be faced with a media circus on Tuesday, and after that it will be all about bringing it all together over the rest of the week for one final time as they get set to try and bring home their fourth Lombardi trophy. Every player knows what’s at stake, and Brady wants to make sure that each player focuses on all the little things that are important heading into Sunday’s game.

“Everyone knows there’s a reason why we’re here,” said Brady. “Let’s try to understand those things. Ultimately, it’s about playing your best game. That’s about preparation, that’s about being confident in what you’re doing. Those things are important.”

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and Devin McCourty can certainly attest to that.

The second year cornerback was coming off of a Pro Bowl rookie season and appeared to poised to take things to the next level in his sophomore season, but like many others before him, he found out that it’s just not that easy.

McCourty’s heard the talk, but he’s confident heading into Sunday’s game. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

McCourty tied for second in the NFL last season in interceptions with 7, but it was his coverage skills along with his open field tackling that caught the eyes of most fans.  Those who didn’t notice that part of his game at least must have been impressed with how tough he was, battling through cracked ribs and playing nearly every snap of his rookie season.

This season, things haven’t worked out quite as well as he hoped they probably would have.  He struggled in coverage through the early part of the season, and then had injury added to insult after Sterling Moore drilled him during their win over the Jets back on November 13th.

Belichick eventually moved McCourty over to the safety position to try and allow him to see the field better, and so far it seemed to help build some confidence.  As far as what’s been different, McCourty said it’s just the spacing because the routes he’s dealing vary more.

“It’s probably just the spacing,” McCourty told the media on Monday. “On the outside, you have the sideline and you can use that. On the inside, the guy has two ways to go, so you just try to take one away. That’s probably the biggest thing. Guys run different routes inside than outside, so you just have to study and understand how you will be attacked.”

He’s been attacked quite a bit this year, and has been part of a defense that certainly struggled against the pass.  They finished 31st in total yards per game given up (411.1) and 31st in passing yards per game allowed (293.9).  Considering how much the entire secondary struggled over the course of the season, McCourty admitted that the whole experience has actually helped bring them closer together.

“I think every football team is like that a little,” said McCourty when asked about the subject on Monday. “I know last year, coming in I was just a rookie, so it was my first time playing, but the other guys have been playing for a little while. Kyle [Arrington] was kind of new last year and we bonded throughout the season, your ups and downs. I think this season was the same.

“We had some bigger downs compared to last season but I think you have to, especially in the secondary. It’s an important part of the field, our play determines a lot of what goes on in the game. I think we definitely bonded throughout the good and the bad of the season.”

While they’ve allowed a lot of yards, they’ve been great about creating turnovers.   The Patriots picked off 23 passes this season, tied for 2nd most in the league with San Francisco and three ahead of the Giants, who have 20. That’s only two fewer than they had all of last season.

But for now, what’s done is done.  McCourty’s heard the talk all year, yet here he is – one game away from potentially winning  a championship.  As far as he’s concerned as long as he and his teammates believe in eachother, they’ll be fine.

“That’s how it goes. We have a great offense and we have had some down points. I think everyone will keep giving our offense the love and the respect, because they deserve it. As defensive guys, we just got out there and play. We have to do our part in this game. We believe in each other, we play for each other and that’s all that matters to us.”

According to Belichick Sebastian Vollmer is getting closer to potentially seeing action on Sunday against New York. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

Considering the fact the Patriots are about to face off against what should be a tough Giants pass rush, they can use every healthy offensive lineman they can get.

The good news is that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told the media on Monday that offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer is getting closer to returning to action, and sounded optimistic that he could potentially make a return this weekend against New York.

According to Belichick Vollmer’s out of his cast, which occurred prior to their Divisional win against Denver. He practiced last week, but just wasn’t quite close enough then to play. However, until he has a full week of practice, Belichick’s not quite ready to say anything definitive about his status against the Giants.

“Sebastian has gotten a lot better over the last few weeks,” said Belichick. “He came out of his cast, I’d say, before the Denver game. And then he practiced last week before the Baltimore game, and I would say he was close, but obviously, he wasn’t ready to go, and we didn’t activate him. This week, he is further along than where he was before the Denver game.

“He practiced today, so we will see how the week goes and see how he holds up. But I think there is definitely a possibility. We will just have to see how he tolerates the added work. If he does well, then I will think you will see him. If not, then it will be where it was in Baltimore. I don’t know if we will know about that until we put him through the full week of practice. He is definitely making progress, so he is getting there.”

When you’re among the NFL’s most recognizable signal callers, life off the field can’t be easy.

For Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, life as he knew it changed pretty quickly. He went from a skinny 6th round draft choice back in 2000 to a Super Bowl MVP season just one year later.  He went from being a guy who very few fans paid much attention to during his rookie season, to being the guy people now need to try and meet in the event they catch him outside his workplace – which just happens to be a football stadium.

Like another profession, trying to be the best at what you do requires a lot of work.  During the week it’s mentally draining on the players as they try and take in the game plan, while on Sunday they put their bodies through the weekly rigor of an NFL football season in hopes that it all results in a victory.

Then once it’s over, they do it all over again. And on and on it goes for 16 games, with each and every week presenting it’s own challenge. Should they make it to the postseason, there’s more at stake and the demands are even higher.

After a performance in which he said he “sucked”, Tom Brady didn’t feel like going out with friends following their win over the Ravens to clinch a Super Bowl berth. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

It’s no wonder that Brady, who had a lot of friends in town when his team battled and defeated the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC Championship, didn’t have the energy to go out and celebrate it.

“I don’t have as much energy as I used to,” said Brady during his weekly radio appearance on WEEI on Monday.  ”I really feel like I need my energy for this team, and I need to be emotional. By the end of the week I’m kind of spent, and I need to regroup before the game because that’s how I play the game. Then, after the game, I’m exhausted.”

“Like the AFC championship, we win the game and I have all of my best friends in town, and they’re like, ‘Can we come over?’ Nope, I’m putting my kid to bed and I’m going to sleep. I wish there was a part of me that felt like I could be a little more social and outgoing — to go to a Celtics game, which I’d love to do, but to me, it ends up being a little more of an energy drain than something I can really enjoy.”

Part of the price of success is recognition by the fans who appreciate how much he means to the team they root for.  However, Brady doesn’t mind the attention.  His biggest concern is simply the fact that should someone approach him, he genuinely wants to make sure that they don’t walk away disappointed.

“If people get the opportunity to come up to me and introduce themselves to me, I want them to walk away and feel, you know what? That was a nice experience,” explained Brady.  ”I think there’s times when I don’t have that energy to put on a face, like everything’s great. I sucked in [the AFC championship] game. I didn’t want to go out there and shake hands, [and say] ‘Thanks.’ I just wanted to go home and really be myself. I think the place where I can be myself is at home with my family and my friends. That’s probably where I’m most comfortable.”

Now the obvious plan is to hopefully make sure his fans have a lot to celebrate in another week.  Fans in New England have gotten pretty accustomed to seeing Brady and the Patriots in this position, having witnessed four previous Super Bowl appearances and three titles.   This time around they’ve never gone this long in between a Super Bowl berth, and it’s almost gotten to the point where it feels like the odds are pretty good each year they’ll be in this position.

As many great teams have found out, getting to the NFL’s biggest stage is about as difficult as it gets.  Brady admitted that as he’s gone through his NFL career, winning a title – as well as having the opportunity to battle for one – definitely isn’t easy.  He claims that to get to this point requires playing well as a team on a consistent basis, along with a little luck.  He knows how rare an opportunity like this truly is, and for now he plans on savoring every moment.

“Last year, I thought we had a great team, and we lose in the divisional round of the playoffs,” said Brady, who has won two straight playoff games for the first time since the ’07/’08 postseason.  ”Green Bay had a pretty damn good team this year, and they lost in the divisional round. You can have a great team. You need some things to go your way, too. Ultimately, the thing we can control is playing good.”

“I’m not taking this for granted. I’m enjoying every second of it. The opportunity to play this game, to represent the Patriots, I don’t take that for granted.”

In the meantime Brady and the Patriots will spend this week going through the paces of preparing for one more game in hopes of being crowned the NFL’s best football team for an unprecidented fourth time.  It’s one of the most coveted trophies in sports, and the Patriots have raised it three times with head coach Bill Belichick and Brady leading the way.  Some players go their whole careers without even sniffing one, yet Brady’s now playing in his fifth.

The veteran quarterback said on Monday that he doesn’t reflect too often, but said that even he got a little caught up talking with Deion Branch about the opportunity in front of them.  They’ve got yet another chance to bring another Championship home to a region that has been fortunate enough to see a historic run over this past decade.  Now all they need to do is take advantage of it.

“I was sitting in front of my locker the other day talking to Deion, who’s my lockermate, and we’re like, “Can you believe this?” I don’t think, as an athlete, you can ever imagine that. You hope for the best, you work hard for it, and if you get the opportunity, a lot of things need to come together to make it to this point.

“Look at the Packers, the Saints. It’s hard to get to this game. To do it five times, it’s crazy. You don’t take it for granted.”

Here’s the complete transcript from Bill Belichick’s postgame press conference following the Patriots AFC Championship win over the Ravens on Sunday.

OPENING STATEMENT:

“Alright, well that was obviously a draining game.  Great to come out on top of it like we did.  As I said all the credit’s got to the players.  Those guys just fought for sixty minutes.  It wasn’t perfect, but they went out there, they played their hearts out, and sometimes good things happen when you do that.”

“Got to give a lot of credit to the Ravens.  That’s a good football team, it starts at the top with Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh, I mean that team’s well put together.  They’re tough, they’re competitive. That was a great game today.  I just thought that our guys stepped up there in the end.  Our red area defense was big.  The fourth down touchdown, that was a great play by Tom [Brady] just to be able to recognize that he could make it over the top.  [It was a] back and forth game, three turnovers, usually not a good way to play  these games but fortunately we were able to overcome it and come out on top.  Feels great…feels great.  We’re thrilled, and as I said I think the players deserve it, they worked extremely hard this year.”

On his thoughts on Sterling Moore and his thoughts on the play he made on the final drive:

“You know Sterling’s done a good job for us here for the last few weeks, going back to the Buffalo game and then last week in Denver.  He made some plays, not perfect out there, but he competes hard, he’s a tough kid, he’s got good ball skills, he gets around the ball.”

On Brady saying “he sucked” and if he agrees with that assessment:

“Well I don’t know.  I think there’s a lot of things in the game that could have been better, I mean that’s obvious.  We could have played better on offense, could have played better on defense, could have played better in the kicking game.  But we did enough things to win against a good football team. They made some mistakes out there too.  I think that’s what happens when two good teams get together.  They make some plays, you make some plays, and it comes down to one shot.”

On whether or not he was worried about Moore after he gave up the early touchdown:

“No, you can’t play any position in this league and…if all it takes is one play, you’re in the wrong business.  We all have bad plays.  Coaches have bad plays.  Players have bad plays.  You’ve got to bounce back and play the next play, and that’s what the NFL is.  And we’ve got a competitive team.  Look, we’ve had a lot of things that haven’t been perfect out there.  But we had everybody that will stand in there and fight and give it their best,  go the whole way through,  and that’s a good place to be and that’s what I like about this team.  They’re tough, they’re competitive.  They really don’t lose their confidence, never get down on themselves.  They just go out there and keep competing and see what happens.”

On the fact that his son jumped into his arms after the field goal but it didn’t seem like he knew what happened:

“Well I couldn’t really tell from the angle.  I mean I was standing there about where he kicked it from.  I couldn’t really tell, I just heard the fans yelling and so I wasn’t sure.  You know, look, you’ve got to make plays under pressure in this league.   That’s not the first one.”

On what he saw on the play to Lee Evans that Sterling Moore stripped:

“I didn’t really see a lot.  I was all the way over on the other side of the field, [the play was] in the far corner of the endzone, so I’m sure you got a lot better look at it than I did.”

On if he’s surprised they didn’t review it:

“I didn’t really see the play.  From where I was standing, I didn’t get a good look at it.”

On his thoughts on Vince Wilfork:

“I thought Vince had a lot of big plays today.  It looked like there a couple of things in the interior part of our defense that could have been a little better.  I mean [Ray] Rice got through there a couple times.  But we hit the quarterback, we did a decent job in the running game, especially early, and then they punched a few through there in the second half.  But I thought our guys up front did a good job.  They do a good job running the ball, and for the most part we didn’t really have our safeties involved too much in the run for us, it was pretty much with the front seven, and so those guys had to handle it themselves and I thought they were competitive doing it.”

On if Wilfork lead the way there:

“He leads the way for us on defense, he and Jerod [Mayo].   Vince is obviously our most experienced player and he’s been a great leader, a great captain.  All year his leadership’s been tremendous, so has Jerod’s.  You can’t say enough about Mayo he does everything for us in terms of calling defenses,  making adjustments, the running game, the passing game.  He’s the first guy in the building every day and the last one to leave.   So those guys have been great all year.   I mean I can’t say enough about both of them.  And  Devin [McCourty] in the secondary,  now as a captain, he’s done a great job for us.  All six of those guys really.  [Matthew] Slater, Brady, [Logan] Mankins, I mean it’s really an outstanding group and I think our overall preparation over the last couple of weeks and their leadership and their confidence has carried over to the rest of the team.    They’ve set the pace and the other guys having fallen in step, and it’s been awesome.  Certainly a lot better than some other years I can think of.”

On if this is more memorable because of the lockout:

“No.  Every year is its own special year.”

On his thoughts on the offensive line:

“Yeah, I mean those guys have done a great job all year.  Matt [Light] and Nate [Solder] outside, and of course Brian[Waters] and Dan [Connolly] and Logan [Mankins] inside.  We got some help from our tight ends at times doing some chipping.  Tom got the ball out quick, our receivers got open so the ball came out fairly quickly, we didn’t have to hold it too many times.  But a couple times Tom was able to hang onto it back there.  But those guys, they’ve been great all year.   Dante [Scarnecchia]…we’ve played with four different centers, had a lot of moving parts in there, but no matter who’s stepped in there, they’ve played well, played hard, and really given us pretty good protection.  I they did a good job in the run blocking today.  That was a big touchdown that Benny [BenJarvus Green-Ellis] had, I don’t know from the 7, 8 yard line, whatever it was, but that was a big play for us.  And then we were able to run it down there to the one with Woody [Danny Woodhead], and you know the Ravens are an excellent Red Area defense, obviously, I mean we had trouble getting it in. But they’re good against everybody, as good as anybody in the league, and being able to run the ball down there and get it either into the endzone or into position to score on a quarterback sneak, I mean that was huge for us.”

On if he feels bad for Billy Cundiff missing the game tying field goal:

“You know, all you can do is go out there and compete and do the best you can.   Look, that’s the way it is, you know?  That’s competition.  That’s the National Football League.  We had some to kick, they had some to kick, you know?  I mean….”

On the energy Brandon Spikes brings to the defense:

“Brandon brings a lot, he really does.  He brings a lot.  He’s got a good style of play.  He’s a tough player, he’s a hard hitter and he’s made some big plays for us.  But he definitely brings an energy level when he’s out there whether it be in practice or in the games. And certainly when he makes plays, a lot of times they’re impact plays.  Whether they’re hard tackles, or turnovers or caused fumbles, forced fumbles, interceptions those kind of things.  So he’s got a nose for the ball and really he’s a surprisingly good pass defender.  He’s got an instinctiveness that a lot of linebackers don’t have, especially guys that are good run players.  But he kind of has a good sense for where the quarterback’s looking.  He’s long, he’s tall and he’s got long arms, and he’s able to get to some balls that a lot of those guys can’t get to.”

On his team’s toughness and what it means to him:

“Well I think mental toughness is doing your best for the team when everything’s going right for you personally.  That’s how we define it.”

[Inaudible]

“That goes for everybody.  Yeah.  Things don’t always go well for you, or your unit, or your particular thing.  But mental toughness is, keep hanging in there, doing your best, keep fighting, even though maybe the results aren’t there, or maybe it’s not going exactly the way that you personally want it to go, but you go out there and you keep doing your best for the team, and you appreciate the team’s success.  That’s what it’s about.”

On if he’s been building on this all year:

“We’ve been trying to do that for 11-years.  That started when we got here.  I don’t really think there was too much here when I got here in 2000, but over the course of the years, guys, like some of the guys that were there today, [Tedy] Bruschi, [Ty] Law, and Rodney Harrison, yo uknow,  those guys, [Mike] Vrabel, I mean you can go right down the line.  Guys  that showed a lot of mental toughness, it wasn’t always about them. They always fought, they gave you their best, they hung in there no matter what the circumstances were. That’s what mental toughness is about, but that’s something that we tried to bring here since I got here in 2000.   It’s always going to be important to us.  Some years it’s better than others, but it’s always a high priority for us.  We try to get that all the time.”

On the fact he and Brady has ever been to 5 Super Bowls together, and if there’s any satisfaction with him doing that:

“Anything that’s associated with winning I’m proud of.   There’s no quarterback I’d rather have than Tom Brady.  He’s the best.  He does so much for us in so many ways on so many different levels.  I’m very fortunate that he’s our quarterback and what he’s able to do for this team.  Of course it’s good to win with him and all the rest of our players.  If that’s more than somebody else did, I mean I don’t really care about that.  But it’s nice to be able to win with him and the rest of our team.  Like I said right off at the beginning, I think the players deserve it, they’ve worked really hard this year.  We’ve had a lot of different challenges and those guys have stepped up there and tried to meet them every week.  Hasn’t been perfect, but they’ve never backed down.  Didn’t back down from Pittsburgh on the road.  Didn’t back down…we’ve been down by 17, 21 points in a game, all that stuff.    Same thing today, they’re driving…but we hung in there, were able to hold them to a field goal situation.   [Rob] Gronkowski goes out, somebody else goes in there, we drive the ball down the field, get in scoring position.  Like I said, that’s a real credit to the players and I’m really happy for them that they’re going to get to play in this next game.”

Regardless of the outcome of the NFC Championship game, the Patriots already have a leg up on the winner.

According to NFL PR Director Brian McCarthy, the Patriots will be the home team in the Super Bowl, and will have the option of wearing either their dark or white jersey when they take the field against the winner of the NFC.

The Patriots have worn their blue jerseys during Super Bowl XXXVI and also in XXXVIII and XLII.  The last time they wore white was back in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Brady had a tough game against Baltimore on Sunday. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

Tom Brady’s used to tough games, but Sunday’s stunning 23-20 win over Baltimore wasn’t exactly one of his best.

Brady finished 22-of-36 for 239 yards and was held without a touchdown, and also threw two interceptions.

During the postgame celebration held at midfield following the victory, Brady admitted it wasn’t his best game.

“I sucked pretty bad today, but our defense saved us,” said Brady,  I’m going to try and go out and do a better job in a couple weeks.  But I’m proud of my teammates.”

Brady then credited the fans for making sure they had a real home field advantage.

“You fans were unbelievable today.  You’re the 12th man, we needed it.  We’re going to try and go out and kick some butt in a couple weeks.”

The place was loud, with the NFL Network’s Stacey Dales tweeting that it was so loud that the “press box was vibrating”.

Brady tied Joe Montana for most playoff victories ever after winning his 16th career postseason game.  They’ll now wait to see the winner of the NFC Championship to find out who they’ll play in Indianapolis in two weeks.

According to the NFL PR Director Brian McCarthy, the Patriots will be the home team in the Super Bowl, and will have the option of wearing either their dark or white jersey.

Former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was interviewed earlier by WBZ’s Steve Burton, and talked about what it was like to be an honorary captain, and his surprise to find out he’ll present the AFC Championship trophy in the event New England defeats Baltimore.

Check out the video below for an excerpt:

Taking a look back at the Patriots previous playoff game against the Ravens back in 2009, it’s tough to say if Baltimore beat them or if they simply beat themselves.

Most fans remember the first play of that game, which basically set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.  Ravens runningback Ray Rice started them off with an 83-yard touchdown run that was perfectly executed by nearly every member of the offense.  Looking at the film everyone made their block on that first play, and that allowed Rice to head off to the races to put them up 7-0.

That was the story of the afternoon, with Rice finishing with 159 yards on 22 carries as the Ravens ran all over New England in a 33-14 Wild Card playoff win.

The Patriots defense did a better job against him when they met last year during the regular season, with Rice finishing with 88 yards on 28 carries. However Vince Wilfork admitted on Wednesday that Rice isn’t exactly the easiest guy to tackle.

“He’s tough to bring down,” Vince Wilfork said of Rice on Wednesday.  ”I mean, his lower body is probably like my lower body, with big thighs and he’s very strong. Hard runner, low center of gravity, can catch well and can block. When you can put those three things in a running back, you’ve got a complete running back and he’s been doing it ever since he’s been in the league.”

“I think the Ravens do a good job of using him. That’s first on our list, we have to slow him down if we want to be successful as a defense.”

Field position was also a big problem during their previous playoff meeting.  Four of Baltimore’s first five possessions started in Patriots territory, three of which happened from no more than 25 yards out thanks to some key turnovers by New England. The Ravens took advantage, and each of those three lead to points.

Wes Welker was an honorary captain in the Patriots previous playoff game against the Ravens having suffered a knee injury the week before. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

To make matters worse, Tom Brady definitely wasn’t his usual self that afternoon, although they were grossly undermanned in the passing game.  Having lost Wes Welker the week prior against the Texans to a knee injury, they started Randy Moss, Sam Aiken, and Julian Edelman at the receiver position, and back then had Chris Baker and Ben Watson for tight ends.

That made it pretty easy for the Ravens defense to shut down New England’s passing game.  They held Brady to just 154 yards passing on the afternoon, and kept the Patriots from having any luck moving the chains.

On third down Brady finished 3-of-9 throwing the football, and New England coverted just 3-of-12 total .  Brady overall finished 23-of-42 for 154 yards, 2 TD’s and 3 INT’s.

Baltimore’s defense did a good job of taking Moss and Edelman out of the game, and Brady really had a tough time trying to find anyone else.  Watson and Baker were completely ineffective and couldn’t get open (Brady was 2-of-6 total on attempts to them), while Aiken also struggled (Brady was 1-of-5 targeting him).

That basically left Moss, Edelman, and Faulk carrying the load in the passing game, and they also relied on Faulk running the football.  The veteran was in on more than a third of their offensive plays excluding punts, penalties, and field goal attempts (22 of 64 plays), carrying the ball 14 times and was targeted 8 times with 6 receptions.

In 2010 they beat the Ravens in overtime and despite having more weapons in the passing game Brady still finished with a nearly identical stat line, albeit with more passing yards.  Brady finished 27-of-44 for 292 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions.

That leaves him having thrown just 3 touchdowns compared to five interceptions in their last two meetings.  Brady talked on Wednesday about what it’s been like going up against Baltimore’s defense, and with the likes of guys like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, he knows he’ll have his work cut out for them.

“You always enjoy going up against the best because you can really measure where you’re at,” said Brady. “You can’t take plays off against those guys. You can’t take things for granted when you’re out there against them. You have to see where they’re at on every play because they’re guys who change the game.”

Reed is a guy that both Bill Belichick and Brady have admitted they have a lot of respect for. The veteran picked him off during the first quarter in their previous playoff match-up, which lead to a field goal as the Ravens built a 24-0 hole the Patriots couldn’t dig themselves out of. Brady admitted that when he comes out of the huddle that Reed’s a guy they have to immediately account for.

“You don’t fool Ed too often,” said Brady.  ”Every once in a while you see him out of place but it’s very, very rare. When you break the huddle, you find where he’s at and you make sure you’re not lobbing the ball up in his zones, because as you saw in the Houston game, he’s going to go up there and make the plays. He’s just an exceptional player. I don’t think there is a weakness that he has.”

Hopefully Brady and the offense is able to find at least one this weekend. There’s obviously a lot at stake as the team looks to try and capture an AFC Championship and advance to Indianapolis, and if history is any indication it will likely turn out to be another tough match-up.

Fans are clearly excited about this game, and Brady admitted that he’ll be glad when it’s finally time for kickoff.

“The game can’t get here fast enough,” said Brady.  ”There’s a lot of anxiousness leading up to the game. You think about the game; it’s the only thing really on your mind.

“Hopefully we can go out there and do a great job. I’m really looking forward to it.”