Q: How are you feeling? How is your shoulder?
TB: I'm good. I'm not worried about it.
Q: Is there ever any worry when you have to get an MRI to check on your shoulder?
TB: Not for me. No.
Q: Do you understand the scare people have when you're not at practice?
TB: Yeah, I'll be there Sunday. Don't worry about that. I'll be there.
Q: Will you have to play through pain?
TB: I think everybody does. I mean, there's a lot of bumps and bruises over the course of a year. So, I'm not concerned.
Q: Is there any concern over getting the offensive line on the same page?
TB: Well, I think we're all trying to get on the same page all the time. I think those guys have done a great job, I really do. I mean, I think they're fighting their butts off on every play. The ball's got to come out on time and find the open guy and cut it loose. You know, we've got to do a good job of that at the quarterback position. I love that group up front. We've got great tackles, great center, great guards. We've been in some competitive games and we're going to keep fighting. That's where it's at.
Q: How do you feel about the high talent level you will face on the defensive fronts of your next several opponents?
TB: Yeah, and I think the key is you've got to play the game on your terms. I think we haven't done a great job of that, and not playing great football early in the game doesn't really get you the lead, so you're trying to fight and claw back the whole way, throw the ball. You know, your run-pass ratio gets way out of balance, so you're throwing it all the time, which we've been doing, and it just gives them more opportunity.
Q: So does the score and time of game play a big factor the amount of pressure you have to deal with?
TB: Yeah, always. I think if you have a three touchdown lead in the third quarter, it's different. You know, you're probably much more balanced on offense, and we've been a part of those quite a few times. If you're losing by two scores, you're just throwing it every down. You've just got no choice, and that's - again, they can't sack you if you're handing the ball off. I'm not concerned about that. I'm really not. We all want to do a better job. We're all trying to play better. Certainly, no one feels great about where we're at right now, but there's a lot of football left and we're going to keep battling. Like I said, I have so much confidence in our offensive line and what we do every week, their preparation, their effort, their toughness, how well they're coaching, everything we're trying to do up front. From my standpoint, I've got to find the guy that's open and get rid of the ball. That's what I'm going to do.
Q: You are at the top of the league in explosive offensive plays. Are quarterback hits a result of that if you are holding the ball longer?
TB: I'm not sure. I think correlation can be made between a lot of different things with statistics and so forth. I mean, we've been pretty efficient throwing it this year, so just had probably not great execution. I think that's what we're trying to improve. If you call a quick pass, you've got to get it out on time. You call an intermediate pass, it comes out on time. You throw a deeper pass - everyone knows, and that's what we're trying to do. So I just think it's the overall level of execution. Certainly, if I play better, it will help all of us.
Q: Do you think because of your age you can hold the ball longer and move around better in the pocket?
TB: That's not it, nope. I wish I could do that. Yeah, I am what I am. Who said that? That's a very famous quote. Popeye said that.
Q: How is it that on almost every third down or key situation, Danny Amendola has come up with the play?
TB: He's had such a great year. I mean, I can't say enough good things about Danny and everything he's meant to our offense. I mean, he's so tough and, to me, he's uncoverable. You turn on the tape, he's getting away from people, no matter what the route, no matter who's on him, no matter what's called, leverage, distance of the route. He's just been so great for us this year. I'm going to try to keep finding him because when you have that kind of trust, when you see it play after play after play - you know, you're the quarterback. You've got one ball. It goes to the guy who's open, and Danny's always finding a way to get open.
Q: Has Danny done a good job of trying to replicate some of the things that Julian Edelman does in the offense?
TB: Yeah, and I think they're different players, too. I think Danny's kind of always found his role in the things we've asked him to do. He's still in that role, and he's doing a great job of it. I mean, he's doing as good as he possibly can. I don't think anyone could do better than what Danny's doing.
Q: How much does the offense miss Rex Burkhead? When he was playing, you were able to have a number of options on offense.
TB: Yeah, that's great. I mean, the more guys we can have back healthy - and Rex, when he's been in there, he's done some really good things for us. I know he's working hard to get back. Hopefully, it's this week, and we love having him out there. He's been a great addition to the team. Hopefully, he can go out and make some plays for us.
Q: How good is this Jets team at 3-2 right now?
TB: Yeah, I mean, that's a good record. I mean, I think 3-2 and they're fighting. I think they've played really well. I think they have a good team, and I think every time we play down there, it's been a tough game. In the last five years, [there have] been a bunch of tough games. That's what we're expecting.
Q: Thus far this season, the offense has scored more points in the first half than the second. Are teams making adjustments, or how do you make sense of that trend?
TB: That's a good [question]. I mean, I think it's a small sample size, really - you know, five games. I mean, last game we didn't score much in the first half, either. We scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter in the Carolina game. Houston game, I would say, wasn't a great second half. We didn't play very well in the KC game at all. So, I just think there's still a lot of football left, and hopefully that may or may not even out over the course of a year. I don't think, really, things change for us. I mean, we're trying to go out and execute at a really high level, and sometimes we don't really get the job done. So, our inconsistency has maybe led to some of those, but we'd like to score all the time.
Q: How much of a toll do the quarterback hits and sacks take on your body?
TB: You know, it's a physical sport, so I think everyone is dealing with something. It's just part of the sport. Everyone's running around and they're big and they're fast and they hit hard. You have bumps and bruises, but you just deal with them the best you can and try to get ready for the next week.
Q: What are your feelings about going to Mexico City and playing there?
TB: Yeah, that's going to be very exciting for our team. I've never been to Mexico City, so I'm very excited about it. Hopefully, we can go play really well, but that's down the road a little bit. But yeah, obviously, with going through such a tragic event, hopefully the city really recovers, and I know it will. Hopefully, we can bring a little bit of joy down there.
