Tom Brady's Post Game Press Conference Transcript
Here's what quarterback Tom Brady had to say after the Patriots AFC Championship loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
On how difficult the Denver Broncos were today:
"They're a good football team and they played really well today. We just couldn't make enough plays, certainly early. Just didn't do enough on third down to stay on the field and score points and move the ball and got in the hole there and it was just too tough to dig our way out."
On if he felt there were some plays to be made early on:
"Yeah, we definitely had some chances on third down, had a chance to Julian [Edelman] down the field that I wish I'd have made that, that certainly would have helped. You know, it's just a tough day for our team and we fought hard, we just came up short to a pretty good team."
On what happened on the throw to Edelman and then to Austin Collie at the end of the second half:
"I just overthrew them."
On if it gets harder as he gets older:
"To lose?"
(Inaudible - sounded like "to play great in this spotlight")
"I think anytime it's pretty tough. It's tough to get to this point, two weeks from now there's only one team that's going to win that game and that's a tough one to win. Anytime you come up short of what you're trying to accomplish, it's not a great feeling. But I'm proud of our team and the way we fought. We've got a lot to be proud of and we'll be back at it next year."
On if this was a more emotional loss for him:
"They've all been tough at the end of the year. I've had some losses in the Super Bowl, which have been really tough. Last year's loss in the Championship game was tough. This year was pretty tough. Losing is not easy, but I give them a lot of credit because they played really well. They made a lot of plays offensively and defensively. They've got a good football team. They're going to be tough to beat in a couple weeks."
On what they did to take away the running game:
"Yeah, we didn't do much of anything early in the game, running it or passing it. We just couldn't get a lot of...it was hard because we didn't complete the third downs so then it was hard to really get into the run game. We had two three and outs to start the game so it's hard to be productive when you're not making third downs. Third down conversions early weren't good, and we just didn't make enough plays."
On if it was a helpless feeling at the end watching the Broncos run the clock out:
"Well, they're pretty good. I mean, they've got a good offense and they've done that all season. Once they get the ball, they've got a lot of guys they can throw the ball to and a lot of those guys made plays today. I give them a lot of credit. They made a lot more plays than we did."
On his thoughts on the way Peyton Manning kept the defense off balance:
"They played great. They've got a very good offense, probably the best offense in NFL history, and they certainly played very well today."
On as Manning was making those drives if he was thinking his margin for error was decreasing:
"Well, when you play good teams, I think the margin of error's pretty slim all day. We dug ourselves a pretty good hole there and I don't know if it was 20-3 or 23-3, we just couldn't do enough. So, they've got a good team and they made a lot of plays, and like I said, I give them a lot of credit."
On if when he looks back if he'll put this one on himself more than the others:
"I mean anytime we lose there's things I can do better, so certainly there's things I wish I could have done better today to help us win."
On with all the guys going down if he's surprised his team was able to make it this far and how proud he is of this football team:
"Yeah, I think this team is a very resilient, tough, hard-nosed team. We just got beat today by a team that played really well, by a good football team that plays really well at home, and we've got a good team. We just didn't play well enough today. Only one team gets to advance. That's the NFL playoffs."
On how much losing Aqib Talib hurt them since as quarterback that's an area he would be expected to attack that spot:
"He's been a great player for us, so it's disappointing to not have him out there. But that's what happens sometimes in football games. You've got to find ways to bounce back and our guys fought hard. We just didn't make enough plays to win."
On how good Peyton Manning was today:
"I mean, he played great. They played great. They played great as a team. They've got a lot of good players and he certainly is one of the greatest players to ever play. He had a very good day and their defense played good, we just didn't get enough pressure on that team to...we were playing from behind all day."
On how much the crowd noise affected their rhythm on offense:
"I thought we handled it pretty well, so I wouldn't say that played a big factor. I'd say more of our lack of execution, certainly on third down the early part of the game was a big factor in us not being able to sustain drives and really get a handle on our running game and certainly move the ball to score enough points."
On the fact he has said in the past he feels like he's on a treadmill that just stops when these losses happen and if he feels he's got a finite opportunity with his career, coach Belichick, and what the motivation is every year to come back and to get to this level and get past this level:
"Well, it's the same way it's always been. Certainly for the New England Patriots , it's to win. It's to win every time you take the field. We did a decent job to get ourselves to this position and like I said, there's two good teams that were playing and only one gets to advance and it's the team that played better today. They played good, they've got a lot of good players. I thought they made plays offensively and defensively that really helped them win. Certainly, I wish I could have done more to help us, maybe something could have been different."
On the fact Julian Edelman was very emotional in the locker room and what he learned about him this season:
"He had a great year. I'm so proud of him and everything he's accomplished. I couldn't be happier for him and what he's accomplished personally, but certainly his selflessness and helping the team and he just had a great season."
On what happened in the fourth quarter when they finally got things going:
"We were executing a little bit better. Just found some spots and made the throws and catches. We found a little space in there and made some plays. I just wish we could have done it for four quarters."
On his touchdown run and what he saw:
"They dropped off into coverage and I found a little space. That doesn't happen too often where I run them in. It just wasn't enough."
On what he and Peyton talked about after the game:
"I just wished him luck. I have a lot of respect for him. He's a great player and competitor, and certainly he's a great player and he played great today."
[Inaudible]
"I thought our offensive line played really good. They pass protected really well, gave us some spots in the run game. They fought really hard and played hard, we just couldn't do enough there, like I said, early in the game to get points on the board and make it competitive and it got away from us a little bit. We tried to fight back, but it was too big of a hole."
On the pressure the Broncos were able to put on them on third down:
"They got a little bit of pressure, but I thought we handled it. The one play they got the sack it was a good rush. He's a good player, we just couldn't quite get out of the way of him."
