On 'breaking down the pass interference call from the Carolina game with his mom'
"Everyone has an opinion. I think that was my point (laughter). It's over and now we are thinking about Denver."
On the Broncos defense compared to a year ago
"A lot of the same players. But they're 9-1. They can rush the quarterback. As soon as Denver gets a lead – which they obviously have had a lot of leads – they really can get after the quarterback. [LB] Von Miller and [DE] Shaun Phillips – I mean, I've played against both those guys for a few years now. Played against Shaun for a long time. They can really rush the quarterback. It's a very athletic group of linebackers, veteran players in the secondary and a few young players who have a lot of real talent – athletic talent, athletic ability. It's going to be a tough game and we know we're going to have to score some points. I'm looking forward to it."
On not being on the same sideline as Broncos WR Wes Welker
"Well, we kind of dealt with that when it happened in the offseason. And then, we'll kind of always be friends for the rest of our lives. So it's not the first time it's happened where a really important, integral part of the team has left. I always keep tabs on him and certainly [Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning] – he's playing with a great player. He knows that. So Wes is having a great year, their offense is having a great year. There are a lot of guys to stop. They're off to a great start."
On how Patriots wide receivers Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman have filled that role
"They've done a great job this year, both of those guys. Danny was injured (during the) early part of the year, but Julian really filled in – was a huge presence on our team. His leadership ability in the locker room, his work ethic, his practice habits were all great things from a veteran player. He's the most veteran receiver on our offense. So he's done a great job, Danny's done a great job. We're getting contributions from everybody at this point. For the first time last week, we had all our guys back and healthy so hopefully we can continue to get better and make the improvements we need to make. We certainly need to score more than 20 points like we did last week. So we'll see if we can do that this week."
On having a quick release
"Well, I think we try to just get the ball out where it needs to go. If you've got to hold it a little longer, you do it. Our offense is both probably more high-percentage passing and trying to get completions to move the sticks. I think that's probably more a function of it than anything is just finding the open guy, trying to process who is open and then trying to make the throw as accurately as you can."
On people remembering his rivalry with Manning for years to come
"Well, we've had some great games against them when he was with the Colts – and certainly last year. We've had some pretty good teams that we've played with. The games are always enjoyable. It's always tough competition. You just know that, with a great player like that on the other side of the ball, that there's a very slim margin of error. They're never out of it. We're really never out of it. It's just a matter of who makes the plays at the end."
On performing at such a high level for so long
"I've been lucky to play with the great teammates and have great coaching. I think that's really what it's about. I've been in the same system and had coaches that worked their butts off to put us players in the best position we can. (I've) had teammates that are very selfless, that do whatever they need to do to help the team win. It's easy to play quarterback on teams like that. For me, it's fun to come to work every day. I love it more than I ever have. We've had some challenging times this year with our team. We've fought through some adversity, which hopefully made us mentally tough. Our whole season is ahead of us. This is a hugely important game for us."
On whether people should expect Manning and him to play into their 40s
"Well, there are a lot of things that go into that. For me, I want to play as long as I possibly can. I don't know what Peyton's plans are. I've never really talked about that with him. It'll be a sad day when he does retire because he's been an incredible player and representative to this league."
On working with so many new players
"Well, we've had quite a bit of – yeah, there are different challenges every year. I'd say, for the most part, our challenges were just incorporating different players into our running game, passing game – at all the skill positions. Like I said, last week was the first week where our roster has kind of been intact and we could really see what we're capable of. I thought we were a little bit more competitive than we had been at some points in the past – down and distance, red area and so forth. We weren't great in the red area last week. The new guys are not new guys anymore. Now they've been playing a while. All the rookies, they're halfway through the NFL season. At this point, everyone has a pretty good idea of what they need to do to be ready and what our plan is. A little bit of what our strengths and weaknesses are so that we go out there and be at our best when we need it, which is this weekend."
On how Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick approaches press conferences
"From being around him, I know his personality. I've seen him on the camera and certainly off the camera. He's just – he's a very competitive coach and he wants to win. He doesn't want to give anyone information that is going to help them win. There is a rhyme and reason to everything he does. Certainly, standing up there and breaking down thoughts and decisions on certain plays he doesn't really feel is in the best interest of the team, competitively. We all respect that. We know that he's always trying to do what is best for the team to give us an advantage. We players kind of take cues from him. He gives us his thoughts plenty of times and he's very open and honest about his feelings. We really respect him as a coach and love playing for him. Hopefully we can go out and play our best game – I know that's what he expects from us this week."
On saying after a 2009 win against Tennessee that he liked throwing in bad weather
"Well, that particular game – I thought it was an advantage for our offense. I think different weather conditions call for more offensive football or more defensive football. On that particular snowy day – we've played in a few of those – I always feel it's conducive to the offense because of the footing, mostly. The ball stays dry so you can throw it accurately. When it's snowing, their footing doesn't end up being very good. That was a pretty good day."
On how Welker has been able to have an immediate impacts his first years both with Brady and Manning
"Well, he's got a great understanding of the game and feel for coverages, defense, how to run routes, how to set up routes. I know that he's got great awareness. You can see with those two, already – I've seen a lot of their games this year – their offense, they really do a great job and they obviously have a great connection. But Peyton's got a great connection with [WR] Demaryius [Thomas], [WR] Eric [Decker], [TE] Julius (Thomas) and [RB] Knowshon [Moreno] – I mean, you can see that it's built. Obviously, they've put a lot of work in and when you score as many points as they've scored, they're doing a lot of things the right way. Because you need to do things the right way in order to score that many points. They've just done a great job of that."
On Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels
"Well, ever since he got that role in 2004 or 2005 – or maybe it was 2006 he was named Offensive Coordinator – he's done a great job for us. He's a great coach. I mean, I love playing for him. He's a really smart, intelligent coach that knows exactly why he's putting things into plan. We, as players, have a lot of confidence in Josh. I'm glad he's coaching us and I don't want to play for another coordinator other than him. He's a great coach, a great player and has certainly become one of my best friends."
On whether Boston Red Sox Designated Hitter David Ortiz is more popular in Boston than Brady is
"Not even close – Big Papi's got the keys to the city, he's got everything. He's got whatever he needs, as deserved. It's well-deserved for the Red Sox, they had an incredible year."
On whether he's okay with being No. 2 to Ortiz
"I have no problem being No. 2 to anybody, and certainly Big Papi – he's been a great player and he's done so many great things for this city. And the fans really appreciate him. I think that's the thing you really recognize when you're another athlete in the city and you watch how the fans respond to him, he always does things the right way."
