Here's the complete transcript of Tom Brady's press conference following New England's win over Oakland:
On if he imagined Wes Welker's impressive start:
Well, nothing surprises me with Wes. He's the heart and soul of this team. He's been that way since the day he got here. He works his tail off, and he's a great player, a great teammate, he's become a real dynamic player over the years. He's made some huge plays for us. He's clutch, tough, mentally tough, physically tough, he's awesome.
On how Welker shows he's the heart and soul of this team
He shows up every single day being the best that he can be. And he sets a great example for every player, every veteran player, every young player, every coach, of what he's willing to do to commit himself to be the best that he can be for this team. He never takes a day off, he never takes a practice off, he never takes play off - run or pass - and it's like that way in practice. What you see in a game is what he does for us in practice every day, and he never complains. He's a hell of a player. I love being out there with him.
On passing Joe Montana's all time TD
I didn't know that happened.
On being told more of the accomplishment:
Well Joe's - I'll never be in Joe's category. We throw the ball a lot more now than they threw it back then. It's much more of a passing league than it's ever been, but it was a good game for us. Every one of those touchdowns was important today. It was fun. It was fun to be back out there after last week.
On looking back at the interceptions, if it affected his approach this week:
Just play my game. I don't think that you ever approach it with, "I can't go out there and throw it..." look, if you're going to throw passes, you're going to throw interceptions. That's just part of playing quarterback. You try to make good reads, try to make good accurate throws, good fundamentals, good technique, and all week in practice you work on those things of being balanced and accurate and playing smart and playing fast. If it happens, it happens, you've got to bounce back from them, that game, the following week. It's just part of the game, But we did a better job of taking care of the football there, which I think was a big reason why we won.
On their performance offensively in the second half:
We didn't have the ball much in the first half. We only had three possessions I think. We had the ball for like 10 minutes in the first half. The second half was a little bit better. But we still have to do a better job executing, I don't think it was our best day out there executing, especially late in the game. But we had a comfortable lead, I think we were trying to protect the lead and get out of here with the win.
On how the running game helped them:
It was huge. I think being able to be balanced, more balanced than we've been...we had some big runs. When you see us run the ball in from the 28 yard line or something like that was huge. BenJarvus [Green-Ellis] ran great, Stevan [Ridley] running great, so that's important. It sets up a lot of things. If you can't stop the run, then you're just going to keep running it and you're going to control the entire tempo of the game. If they stop the run and it's a passing game, then that's not where you want to play offense.
On seeing Richard Seymour across the line:
I hate seeing him over there. He's an awesome player. I mean I was thinking about him all week, and what his ability is to be able to disrupt the passing game and the run game, he's physical he's a great leader for them. I hate seeing him in a Raider uniform.
On the dead ball play where he came across and got him:
Yeah, well, he put me down kind of gently. I don't think it should have been a foul, but I'm glad we got the call.
Thanks guys.
More News Headlines:
MORSE: Patriots Busy Adding to 53-Man Roster and Practice Squad
By: Mark MorsePatriots bolster 53-man roster with Erick Hunter, add Jose Ramirez, Jalen Hunt to practice squad, and announce 2026 captains.
MORSE: Patriots Roster Remains in Flux
By: Mark MorsePatriots reshape their roster with new waiver claims Cameron Latu & Darius Muasau, plus extensive practice squad additions and releases.
Breaking Down the Patriots’ 2026 Initial 53-Man Roster
By: Steve BalestrieriBreaking down the Patriots' 2026 initial 53-man roster. Strengths include Drake Maye and receivers, but defensive depth remains a key question.
MORSE: Some Hits and Misses on Patriots’ Initial 53-Man Roster
By: Mark MorseEliot Wolf's Patriots' 53-man roster is scrutinized for hits, misses, and depth challenges. Trades for Kiner and Rouse addressed immediate needs.
Patriots News And Notes 08-30: The Depth Will Be An Issue
By: Steve BalestrieriThe Patriots' initial 53-man roster will reveal depth concerns. Gonzalez's stalled contract, and roster holes.