LB Tully Banta-Cain
Q: How did it feel playing against your old team?
"It was a great experience for me just to get a chance to play against them. I have been inactive for four weeks so for the fact that I'm active for my old team, I couldn't write it out better. It would have been nice to get the win, but at the same time, it was nice to get to play."
Q: Did you feel you had something to prove since you've been inactive for four weeks?
"I always feel like I have something to prove every time I step out on the field. But it was a little more intense this week being (that) I hadn't played in a while. The reason I feel that I'm here is to play and to make plays. So hopefully, regardless of the loss, they will see that I'm capable of playing well."
Q: What about New England's time of possession?
"That's not good. As a defense, you want to get off the field. We just didn't play consistent enough on defense. That's something we need to improve on if we want to be special."
Q: Did the four running back look help change the game's tempo?
"We knew what they were going to do. It comes down to making plays. And details are the biggest key to winning. When you get one guy making a mistake here, another missing a tackle, and one guy misaligned, those plays add up. You have 11 guys on the field, when one guy makes a mistake, that's 11 mistakes. Great defenses play consistent football and that's what we have to work on."
WR Isaac Bruce
Q: What does the offense need to possibly work on after this game?
"We need to work on winning and finishing plays. Winning."
Q: How does the team improve on working in unison as the season progresses?
"Unity is important. We have to make sure that the purpose of everybody on the team is the same and that we play with a winning attitude."
Q: How did the team's defense play overall?
"The defense is playing great football right now. (But) as a whole we need to play great winning football."
CB Nate Clements
Q: Can you discuss not converting on third downs?
"That's the one key down we had to play tight coverage on. You have to over-emphasize everything because it is third down and we have the opportunity to get off the field."
Q: What about the (Randy) Moss touchdown?
"Good throw. Good catch. I thought I had it covered. It happens."
Q: What about the loss of momentum?
"They were faced with an adverse situation and they responded. They switched around and changed the momentum of the game themselves. There are going to be situations like that during the course of the season. We have to learn to weather the storm and continue to press."
Q: Can you talk about your interception?
"I saw the ball and made a play on it. Nothing really to it."
RB Frank Gore
Q: Can you talk about the overall team penalties?
"The referees did their job. I can't answer about what happened. As a team we just have to stick together and play better."
Q: What areas do you feel the offense has to improve upon to get better for next week's game?
"We just went out today flat. We went out flat as a team. We just have to go out there and stick together and play hard. We can't give up. We just have to keep playing hard."
QB J.T. O'Sullivan
Q: What accounted for the offensive inconsistency?
"We had too many three and outs. Three and outs just aren't good enough for any offense. I feel that there were a lot of reasons (why the 49ers had troubles getting first downs). They were playing coverages sometimes and bringing pressure sometimes. But I didn't worry about any of that. I only worry about what we're trying to do."
Q: Can you comment on Rodney Harrison's interception?
"I probably tried to squeeze it in there, but that's still a throw that I make a lot. When I released it, I thought I was going to get it in there."
Q: How do you account for the 49ers inability to establish a consistent offensive rhythm?
"I'm not going to make any excuses about having rhythm or not having rhythm. The point is we didn't capitalize on enough of our opportunities. It's something we're going to have to work on."
Q: What was Isaac Bruce's impact today?
"Bruce does a great job of getting open. You saw that on both of his touchdowns today. He got himself in an open spot and I was able to find him. He runs great routes."
Q: What different looks did you get from the Patriots defense?
"They do give you a lot of looks. I expected it. They're a veteran defense. They're very good at what they do. But nothing they did today surprised me."
LB Takeo Spikes
Q: What was your responsibility on the interception?
"I dropped into a zone. I think he was trying to throw deep but Aubrayo (Franklin) hit him and I happened to be in the right place at the right time."
Q: Was it frustrating being on the field for so long?
"They had the ball for far too long. It's disappointing and frustrating. We have to give our offense more opportunities. You've got to give them credit; they just played better than us. They made the plays, that's the difference."
Q: What is your outlook after a tough loss?
"It's always disappointing to lose, but we'll learn from this. We'll be all right. I honestly believe it."
Q: How frustrating was it being unable to force them into more punting situations?
"They were able to convert a lot of third downs. It's not like they surprised us or anything, they just executed better than we did in those situations. We can't afford to give up big plays like we did today. We knew what they were going to do, but we couldn't stop them."
