Patriots vs Chiefs: Tom Brady PostGame Press Conference Transcript
Robert Deutsch - USA TODAY Sports
On how satisfying the win was:
“It was a great win, took everything we got. A lot of guys played hard, a lot of guys have been fighting through some stuff. Pretty special to get back to another AFC Championship game.”
On how nice it was to have Gronkowski and Edelman back together:
“I thought we did a better job today than what we’ve been doing but I think we could still do a lot better.”
On the fact it’s been a long time since he’s been able to get that kind of separation with his receivers and if he had a feeling coming into today that it would look that way:
“I thought we had a good plan. I thought we worked hard to study this team, watched a lot of film. I think the preparation was good, we had a good week of practice. I think we had plenty of plays out there that we left on the field, things that we can definitely do better. I think we could be sharper next week, so that’s what we’re going to try to be. We’re going to need it, whoever we play, they’re going to be a great team.”
On the fact that knowing Edelman, what it took for him to get back and play as well as he did:
“I think he’s worked his tail off. He’s always been one of the hardest workers I’ve ever played with, one of the most determined young men that is on this team. He’s got as much heart as anybody. It’s a serious injury that he had to come back from and to play the way that he did today was great and all the receivers played great. Gronk played great. The backs played good, so it was a great team win.”
On how difficult a match-up Rob Gronkowski is when he’s split out wide and how using him that way helps the offense:
“I mean, he’s a tough match-up for everybody. He’s got size and speed. He’s a tough match-up, definitely made some big plays today, the touchdowns were big. That was a good defense, they were giving up eleven points per game in the last however many weeks. We knew it was a challenge, they had a lot of good players and I thought we just made a few more plays than they did.”
On how important it was to set the tempo early after they went to Edelman on that first drive:
“It was good to get off to a fast start, we talked about that. You know, you don’t want to play this team from behind and they hung in there, they’re a very mentally tough team. They certainly don’t quit out there, they play hard right to the end. It took a lot to beat them. So like I said, it was a great win for our team.”
On the fact he talks about how hard it is to win in this league and if he can talk about making it back to another AFC Championship team:
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool, pretty cool. It’s hard to do, man, you’ve got to grind throughout the entire year. There’s only four teams playing next weekend and we’re one of them. That game means a lot, so we’ve got to try to get as healthy as we can and see if we can put together our best game of the year.”
On the play where he tried to run it in:
“Yeah, it’s a slow take-off. They had some coverage back there that was pretty focused on the receivers, Julian and Gronk were on the same side, and I thought that I could try to make it. We were close. Not close enough, but I was glad to get it in on the next play.”
On the fact he took some good hits:
“Yeah, but it’s football season so you’re used to it. There’s bumps and bruises but you’ve just gotta keep fighting through it.”
On the fact that right before the rushing touchdown that he and Josh McDaniels had an exchange and what went into it:
“It’s just football, so there’s a lot of emotion, especially in this game. He’s done the best job, he’s an incredible coach and I’m lucky to have him. It was great to get it in there and we laughed about it about three minutes later.”
On how much he’ll be pulling for Pittsburgh to get home field next week:
“Yeah, I won’t root…you know, you’re not rooting too hard. I think whatever happens, happens. Whether we play here, or whether we play there, you’re going to have to play really well, I think that’s what it comes down to. They’re two great football teams, we’ve played them both this year already, and it’s going to take our best effort to beat them, whoever it is.”
Going back to the exchange, and if when he went back to the sideline if Josh [McDaniels] asked him, “What are you, out of your mind?”:
“I don’t remember exactly. I wanted us to challenge it because we were going to call a timeout, so even if we challenged it, we still get the timeout. And he said, “Well, that’s what we were doing!” and I said, “Why didn’t you let me know?!” So it was just a little miscommunication.”
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