Here's what Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had to say following the Patriots win over the Dolphins on Sunday:
On what the difference was in the second half, besides the fact they didn't execute in the first half:
"Yeah, that's kind of my standard answer. We didn't do much good in the first half. But the second half was great. We started with a great job there in the third quarter, got the lead, had some really big momentum plays, the strip sack was big and then the long drive there to start the fourth quarter was great too. It was a good team effort. It wasn't easy, like I said we're still grinding away. We obviously have a long ways to go. But it feels good to be 6-2."
On if there was a lot of discussion at half time that they needed to gear up the game:
"It was pretty normal. I mean, we know what we have to do, we just have to go out there and do it for sixty minutes. When you play a team like Miami, and they've got a good team and they've got some good players, and it takes really solid execution. When we do it well, it's O.K. and when we don't, we're off the field. We just have to do a better job overall and try to play well for sixty minutes because ultimately, that's what it's going to take."
On the play of his offensive line and the loss of Sebastian Vollmer right before the half:
"Marcus [Cannon] did a great job stepping in and playing that role and he's done that for a few years now, playing that swing tackle and forcing the action. Seabass, I'm not sure what it is, hopefully he's O.K. It's tough losing guys on the offensive line but the guys that were in there stepped in and did a great job."
On his critical run play and what he saw:
"It was fourth and five, or six, something like that, fourth and four, they were playing zone coverage and I was looking for Gronk and Danny, those two guys, it was pretty tight. Found a little space and it doesn't happen often, but it ended up being a good play for us. We needed it, because it was tough going in that direction into the wind today, so that touchdown was really a critical drive drive for us."
On if at the half with the booes coming down from the stands if he's more pissed than the people in the stands:
"We're 6-2. We're obviously not doing a great job in a lot of areas on offense, so we're trying to get it right. We're working at it. We're 6-2 with a whole season ahead of us but we obviously have to do a better job."
On if when he hears the fans, looking back over their history, if he thinks, "it is what it is" and he knows they're capable of:
"I didn't hear much. Truthfully, I just go off the field and it's a long game. I know sometimes it doesn't go well in the first quarter, the second quarter, the third quarter, but ultimately you've got to wait until it all plays out. I wish we were doing a better job for sixty minutes but we're not, and we've still got to find a way to win. We're 6-2 and we've had two chances in the games we've lost. The expectations are high, they're high for us, I'm sure they're high for our fans."
On the fact there was a lot of TV time on his hand, and how his hand is:
"My hand's perfect."
On if it's affecting him at all:
"Absolutely not."
On the fact it looks pretty swollen:
"I mean, I didn't know anyone knows what the back of my right hand looks like, but it looks fine to me. It feels good. I'll be out there next week, you don't have to worry about that."
On how important it is for him to fight through and set an example for the young kids:
"That's what you do, it's football. It's a contact sport and you play as hard as you can and you count on the guys next to you to do the same. I feel great. For the eighth week of the year, I feel awesome. So hopefully we go out and execute better. Ultimately, that's what it takes."
On if this game epitomizes what they've been through this year:
"Yeah, I mean you start slow and you just try to grind it out. It wasn't the way we wanted it to start. I mean there's other times where we've gotten off to great starts and played poorly in the second half. But it's a sixty minute game and you try to make adjustments if you can. You try to figure out ways to move the ball. But it's a good defensive football team that we're playing that rushes well, they cover well, they stop the run, they've got really good players. So we're 6-2, we're in a decent place in our division. I mean, would we love to be 8-0? Sure, so would every other team in the NFL. But 6-2, we're fighting through it. We've got another big one this week and then we get a bye week after that. So got to put everything we can into this week and try to get to 7-2."
On his thoughts on watching the defense's second half performance:
"I mean the defense shut them out in the second half, so that was as impressive of a performance as you can have. We did a few things offensively to help out, Steve [Gostkowski] made some big kicks on special teams, got a lot of great special teams play, so it was a team effort. It's hard to win games in the NFL, especially against Division opponents and they always play us tough. So it was good to get a win."
On if he felt a momentum shift after Miami missed their field goal attempt:
"I mean the momentum always kind of goes back and forth as the game goes on. You'd love to have those momentum plays, we had the touchdown to Gronk that got called back on the holding penalty, that would have been a big play, but it's up and down and you just try to stay focused on your execution and stay focused on what you need to do."
On what they changed offensively in the second half in terms of their approach:
"Not much. Our game plan was pretty well intact, it was just a matter of us going out and executing a little bit better. We didn't do much in the first quarter, even though we had the wind, which really helped. We throw an interception on the first drive, and then don't do well on the second drive, and next thing you know, the first quarter's over. Then we're trudging through the wind in the second quarter. Then we got it back in the third quarter and made enough plays to get the lead. It's just one of those days. It's typical Foxboro, and we fought through it."
On what it was like going into the open side of the stadium:
"It was tough. It was a tough day out there. Weather always seems to play a factor here at one point, but it works for both teams. And when we had the good opportunity, we took advantage of it in the third quarter, that's what we needed to do. You get better punts, you get better kickoffs, the passes have more zip on them when they're going down the field and vice versa in the other direction. So you try to take advantage when you can like we did. It was good to score those points in the third quarter. That's what we needed."
On if he's past getting frustrated and if he just feels they'll get better down the road:
"Well, it's a 60-minute game, so…we're 6-2. I know a lot of people are frustrated, but to be 6-2 is not bad. So we'll just try to win next week and get to 7-2. That's what we'll try to do."
On if he feels there could be a time in the future where he will get that 60-minutes of execution:
"We're trying. Like I said, there's a lot of things we can do better. Obviously with the way we're not doing a lot of things great, but we'll try to figure out the things we need to do better and see if we can make those improvements."
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