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**Q: Are you looking forward to an opportunity for a different outcome?**
D: Yeah. We'd like to win this game obviously. We went down there and got beat. It's tough to take when you lose a division game like that. We're going to do everything we can so that it comes out differently this time.
Q: Is the offense's confidence growing?
D: I think that we have a little bit of evidence now that we can put the ball into the end zone. That doesn't mean it is any easier to accomplish that. You still have to execute very well. You have to have guys make individual plays, like the catch you saw Terry Glenn make in the game. Sometimes it takes those kinds of plays to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. We have some evidence that we can put the ball in the end zone, but that doesn't make it any easier.
Q: Is the Jets game more than just a division game?
D: It's a division game and from that standpoint it's huge regardless. Obviously, it is a game that the media loves because there's a history there and so on. It's a division game and we need to win it. We won two games in a row, but we're still on the bottom of the pile looking up at everybody else. So, it is a very, very important game for us. It is also a very important game for them. They got off to the great start, but to lose two in a row for them would be a huge setback. It's a very important game for both teams. It's a division game, so it counts twice so it is a very important game.
Q: Will trick plays become the team's repertoire?
D: Using trick plays is not a desperation tactic type thing. I think that our coaching staff decided to use those plays because they thought that they would work. You don't come out and try to trick somebody just because you're desperate, you come out with an idea because you think you have something that might work. I would anticipate that at other times during the season regardless of the situation, if they feel like they have something that might work, then we'll try it. But you don't come out and run trick plays just to run them because you're desperate, you come out with something you think might work.
Q: How demoralizing was the loss to the Jets earlier in the season (Sept. 11)?
D: That one hurt, it hurt me in particular because we had a chance to come back and win it in the end. We also had other chances in that game offensively to hold on to the ball, make a couple first downs and end the game offensively and we weren't able to accomplish that. When you have opportunities to close a game that you're leading, and you don't get that accomplished, that hurts. They came back and made the plays at the end of the game to win. But we had a number of opportunities in that game to close it out and come away with a victory and we didn't get that accomplished. It is a credit to them that they hung in there and made the plays when they had to, but it also hurts us because we weren't able to close it out.
Q: Is not being able to close games a concern
D: Yeah, definitely it is a concern. I think that offensively that is one area that we have failed in, in the opportunities that we've had. If you're up by a score or a couple scores, run the ball make a couple of first downs and end the game offensively. We haven't been able to accomplish that yet. Particularly in the loss to the Jets and also the last two weeks, offensively we've had a chance to come out and just hold the ball make a couple first downs and make it very anticlimactic. Instead, you end up fielding an onside kick and anything can happen in that situation. If you're in that situation enough times, something bad can happen. So, offensively that is an area of concern for us. We have to be able to end the game when we have a chance.
Q: Do you remember running any trick plays in your career at any level?
D: I'm trying to think back. Most of the trick plays involve somebody else throwing that ball. If I'm dropping back, they're kind of expecting that, it's not particularly tricky. At different times I've tried to talk coaches into letting me catch a pass. That hasn't flown very far obviously. When I was in college, they put in an option play in practice, and it lasted exactly one practice. So, there you have it.
Q: Did you pitch it or keep it?
D: Oh, I pitched it now come on. As far as the trick plays, generally those don't involve me. It's exciting when you can get a play that is unexpected like the play that Lee Johnson threw to (Eric) Bjornson, it is exciting to watch when you can get away with something like that.
Q: Is this the same team that started the season?
D: I think it is the same team. That's really a credit to the players on this team as well as to Coach Belichick and the coaching staff. We've been through obviously a very, very tough stretch. Bill was very consistent with his approach to things with the team It is also a credit, we had some problems that needed to be addressed and we addressed them. Like I've said earlier, that doesn't mean that we're going to be successful this game or the next game or whatever. For two games we've done better in the red zone. We still need to improve in some other areas so we need to continue to score in the red zone. You can't just rest on our laurels from that standpoint at all. You need to continue to focus on it. The fact that we are able to continue to progress and improve without going in the opposite direction with four losses is a credit not only to the players, but the coaching staff on the team.
