NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY CONFERENCE CALL WITH NEW YORK MEDIA
November 30, 2005
*
[On practicing against Ty Law...]*
I always loved to practice against Ty. In fact there was a play that I saw, an interception that he made against Kansas City during the first game of the year, and he was in the end zone and Trent Green was looking at the guy on the fly, that's who Ty was covering, and he tried to force the ball in the back of the end zone and Ty came off and hit the pick and I said, "I have thrown that ball to Ty so many times too." If there is any one who knows what Ty is capable of it's me. He is a terrific player and he's a great teammate and he has really proven to be the best in the league for many years. Unfortunately I have to play him now. That was never the case, but I am looking forward to it.
[On Ty Law not being fully recovered from his injury ...]
He's as competitive as anyone I've seen. He doesn't look like he has lost anything to me. He's got five interceptions this year and one that was called back, that I know of. There were a few that he's had his hands on. To me and to our players, he looks like the Ty Law that we've known that was one of the biggest strengths of our defense for the last bunch of years. He looks great to me.
[On the number of offensive linemen in the Visa commercial who are injured...]
That's been a problem. That's the Visa jinx we're calling it. Whoever is in that has been going down. We've had a bunch of problems with injuries and staying healthy, but so have the Jets and their offense and Chad Pennington and Kevin Mawae. They still play so hard and it is a great rivalry for us and I know we are excited to play them.
[On how the Patriots would be functioning on their third string QB at this point in the season...]
That would be so tough. There is a leadership that comes with playing QB and it is hard to establish yourself as a leader if you are not really in there. I know Brooks Bollinger, I've played against him. He works hard, he seems like he is a hard workers and I have some friends on the team too, so there is confidence in Brooks and I know how tough it would be with out a guy like Chad who is such a terrific QB and then Jay (Fiedler) too who I have competed against. Both those guys would love to be out there, but unfortunately the injury bug has been biting them and they've been bite enough.
[On being on the injury report for two years with his shoulder...]
I'll be there. (It's not career threatening) at this point, but I will keep you guys updated if there is anything knew.
[On struggling to win the division at this point in the season...]
You can pretty much just throw out the records as far as we are concerned. The Jets played the Saints so tough and we played the Saints tough and that kind of lets you know that we haven't played the way that we are capable and we know the Jets would like a better record. I'm expecting a tough dog fight when we play them. If there is any team that loves to beat us, it's the Jets and it is the same way for us. If there is any team that we would like to beat, it's the Jets. It's a great rivalry and I think any time it's a rivalry type game then you better bring your best. The Jets' defense is one of the best that we face, so we have our work cut out for us.
[On facing Brooks Bollinger in the Big-Ten...]
He was a good player at Wisconsin and he did a lot of good things for them. It was always tough playing Wisconsin. He moves well, he runs well, he throws well, he has a good command out there, he looks like a good player and as far as I can see he is doing a great job.
[On whether or not picking QBs high in the draft is overrated...]
I think QB is a position that is tough to evaluate. There is a lot that goes into evaluating QB. I think with other positions you just want to focus on the numbers, the size and the speed and the strength and for QBs that is probably not as important. Size is important, but only to a degree and speeds important, but only to a degree. There are a lot of intangible things with QBs like decision making, anticipation, leadership, management and processing decisions. I think there are a lot of things involved with playing QB that are not important in other positions and vice-versa.
[On not having Charlie Weis in meetings every week...]
Charlie and I developed a great friendship over the course of our time together and he's been a guy that I have always looked to and relayed on for a lot of things. Charlie's expectations were always so high for us and he was always the heady so to speak. He was always the guy that came down on us when we didn't meet his expectation. He has done a great job at Notre Dame and he is certainly missed here. I think our coaches here have done a great this year and I wish we would play to the level of our coaching. We all miss Charlie, we would never diminish what he has accomplished and I would never diminish what our coaches have done this year. It is kind of a tough question to answer.
[On John Abraham being due for an explosion of sacks...]
John Abraham always worries me. He's a dynamic pass rusher and he has ruined a lot of games as a DE. He is so quick off the edge and he has great speed and power. He is a terrific player and you are right, he's due for a break out game, so maybe we'll try to hold off for another week on that and let him kill the QB on the next team that they play. I'm going to try to take care of my LT this week a lot. I'll take him out to dinner a few times.
[On the championship game against the Colts being the most memorable for him and Ty Law together...]
Of course, that game in particular he had three picks. Ty Law is always around the football and I don't know what he sees out there, but he is always around the football. The ball is thrown and it could be zone coverage or tight and Ty is standing right there to make the interception. He is just a very instinctive player and he plays with great toughness. He is a great tackler. He has great hands and skills, but he doesn't get a lot of credit for his speed. He is fast he has great transition and he is strong. We do know Ty and in some ways there is an advantage to that, but when you are playing a great player you know that you've got to bring your best. Our receivers and I are going to have to bring our best to compete with him.
[On the reception Ty Law will get from NE fans...]
The fans love him here. They will always love him here. He's got a lot of great memories. Players, we all miss him and miss having him in the locker room. Unfortunately, he is on the other side now, but he is going to get a great reception and I know it is going to be important for him and I know he has had a lot of great memories up here also. Unfortunately things didn't work out here. Believe me; he is going to compete as hard as he has all season to try to make sure we do miss him.
