Q: Did you see the Celtics game last night and what were your impressions?
TB: I [heard] about it this morning on the way in. It's a bummer but there's still a lot of basketball left. I hope they pull it out. They've got a great team and the Heat's pretty good, too. Hopefully they'll pull it out.
Q: Did you like doing the Under Armour commercial? You did pretty well at the angry part.
TB: You guys probably see that all the time from me out there on the field; I know my teammates certainly do. It was fun. You get asked to do different things at different times and it was a nice part of the offseason that I'll remember. I'm glad it turned out well. You never know how they're going to turn out. A lot of my teammates liked it so I know we did a decent job.
Q: You knocked over your own standee.
TB: Yeah, I know. Like I said, I was laughing the whole day and then they were like, 'No, you have to get angry.' So I said, 'OK, let me get the angry part down.' It was fun. Hopefully a lot of people watch it and go out and buy some Under Armour shoes.
Q: Was it channeling your inner Brady or was it acting?
TB: No, it was pretty much me being me. The guys, my teammates see me angry all the time. It was pretty easy to get riled up. That part of the acting is pretty easy. If you have to do something you're not really used to doing, that's the hard part. But that was pretty easy for me.
Q: Julian Edelman says you've come a long way since 'Entourage'.
TB: Julian is very critical of everything that I do so I appreciate it; I'm very flattered that he likes it.
Q: Can you talk about all the receivers that you have out there as weapons?
TB: We've brought in quite a few guys. Hopefully the mix of guys that we had last year along with the new guys can create some different options for us. It's a very competitive position. All of our days of practice have been very competitive. [Competition] will help our defense out, it will help our offense out. The more good players you have, the better team you're going to be. It's only our sixth day of OTAs. We obviously have a lot of work to do before the season starts but it's been a lot of fun being out there and seeing Donte' [Stallworth] and Jabar [Gaffney] who I've played with before and I really loved playing with those guys and obviously Wes [Welker], Deion [Branch], Chad [Ochocinco] and Julian [Edelman], we've got a very competitive position.
Q: Coming that close to a fourth championship, how much of an effect does that have on you? How much do you go back and think about the last two minutes of the Super Bowl?
TB: I said the other day that's part of the offseason and it's part of learning as a player. Hopefully you get a chance to be in that position again. At this point, we try to move on and you try to look forward to what this season is going to be about. It's a different group of players, different coaches, a little different system. You're trying to put together a team here that can go out and compete every single week. You don't look back too much on the past and say, 'What if? What if?' You'd drive yourself crazy. At some point you have to put it in the past and move on.
Q: Do you look at it differently at age 34 than you did at 25?
TB: I appreciate it every day. I think one thing that my injury taught me a few years ago was how fragile this game is and to be able to take the field every week is really a blessing. Maybe at 34 I feel a little differently in that sense. I appreciate, I love it just as much now as I ever have. I love being out here for the OTAs. When I was 25, I was probably [complaining] about the OTAs. But when you're 34, you're not. You're saying, 'Alright, let's see what kind of team we've got.' I've really got nothing else going in my life so I try to come out here and do a good job for this team.
Q: When you heard the news on Junior Seau, how did you take it?
TB: Probably disbelief. I was hoping it wasn't true. It's just very unfortunate. I said everyone had so much respect for him by the way that he approached the game, by the way that he approached life. He was a very good friend of mine. It was a very sad day. I'm sure it's sad still for his family and for all his friends who really loved him so much. He's certainly missed.
Q: How do you make sure that all the new receivers get enough looks while still keeping all the old guys involved?
TB: You can do that in the OTAs. You can really rotate a lot of guys. It's a lot of different personnel groupings and a different mix of guys. Everyone has opportunities and when you go in there you try to do the best with the opportunity you get. It's not a big scheme, game planning type of passing camp, it's more run the plays that we have and see if we can compete against our own defense.
Q: I know the Shrivers really appreciate everything you do for Best Buddies coming up this weekend. Can you just talk about that event and how much it means to you?
TB: We have a game tomorrow night at Harvard Stadium. I hope I see all you guys there. We've got the bike ride Saturday. I hope the weather holds off for us on Saturday. It's a fun event. It means a lot to this community, to all the buddies, to the parents of the buddies, siblings of the buddies and to try to raise some money and some awareness for a very worthy cause. I've been a part of it for a long time and I'm going to be a part of it for the rest of my life. I hope we get some great support tomorrow night.
Q: Anthony Shriver doesn't have to twist your arm?
TB: Never. No, it's never been like that. I've enjoyed my relationship with him. I know how hard he works at it. The commitment his family has made to the buddies and the organization; the commitment his mom made to Special Olympics. It's a great organization.
Q: What has it been like to be reunited with Josh McDaniels on the field for OTAs? Has it been exciting?
TB: Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. Billy [O'Brien] was great. He's a great coach, I certainly miss him. At the same time, it's nice to have familiarity with Josh kind of stepping into that role. I really enjoy him. We've had a great working relationship for a very long time. It's good to see him out there and work together. It's been a fun spring.
Q: Is it like you haven't missed a beat with him?
TB: There's always getting up to speed when certain things have changed – what he's done the last three or four years and certainly things we've changed. But his competitiveness is still there, his willingness to do whatever it takes to win is still there and he loves football. I think that's why we get along so well.
Q: Has his head coaching experience given him anything different?
TB: It's hard to say, it's still so early. I really enjoyed working with him in the past. I really hope that that continues. He obviously has more experience. Hopefully that serves us all well. I have a little bit more experience as well.
Q: What kind of void is there without Matt Light on your left side?
TB: Matt was an incredible player for this team and organization. It's sad when you see guys move on to other parts of their life. Some go to other teams, some retire and Matt chose to retire. That was a big decision in his life. I've said before that I tried to talk him out of it but there was no budging. Matt is pretty stubborn – which made him a good player but I certainly wasn't talking him out of it.
Q: Vince Wilfork says he has good hands. Does he?
TB: I'm going to see. He had two interceptions last year – that was close to leading our team. He has to start working on his run after catch. Maybe we can use him in goal line situations like The Fridge [William Perry] or something like that. He's a load, I'll tell you that. He's a [heck] of a player for this team.
Q: Would you like to see Wes Welker finish his career on this team?
TB: Yeah, of course. I said yesterday, there are always contract situations and it's not my contract situation so I don't really comment. I just try to support Wes and his role and what he's asked to do. You see what kind of commitment he makes by coming out here and practicing. He's always worked his tail off. I love having him out there with me and he's one of my great friends. Hopefully everything works out.
Q: Deion Branch said that you have more control of this team now. What is the difference now than in the past? What does he mean by that?
TB: I'm not sure. A quarterback should have a presence about him. You're the coach on the field. The quarterback is always the checks and balances of the team. Everyone else can do something wrong but if the quarterback is holding the ball because we do it on every play we can ultimately determine a lot of what goes on over the course of the game. Hopefully those guys trust in me. I have to trust in Deion and Wes [Welker] and all those guys out there to be in the right spot so I can play fast and anticipate what they're doing. If everyone is not on the same page then it doesn't work. A lot of what these practices are about is everybody getting on the same page. You have a lot of new guys from other teams, rookies. The faster we can get up to speed and get better as unit, the better we're going to be.
Q: Is there anybody on the team that may yell at you the same way you would yell at them if they made a mistake?
TB: Probably Wes [Welker]. Wes gives it to me pretty good. All the guys that are comfortable with me know they can do it. There are some guys that probably aren't as comfortable yet but once they get used to it, they have no problem. Guys like Matt Light – that's why I miss a guy like Matt. because Matt always told me how it was. Coach Belichick never is afraid to let me know what he thinks of what I'm doing. I appreciate that. That's really what I need.
Q: Going back to Junior Seau for a bit. It seems like guys that recently retired are encouraging dialogue with one another. Do you think maybe a dialogue will be started and guys will talk to each other beyond the 'Xs' and 'Os' kind of stuff?
TB: Yeah. What you get out of this game so much is the relationships that you have with the players you played with. It's a very intimate work environment that we have. We're with each other more than we are with our families over the course of the football season. When you're a locker mate or a position mate, you know someone very well. You always have concern for them, not only as teammate but when they leave the facility as well. That transition I've heard is hard and we'll all have to deal with it at some point. Hopefully we can deal with it as best as we know how. If we need help, we can seek it out.
Q: You look a little lighter. Is it the new haircut?
TB: Well thank you. I'm flattered. Hopefully it's more redistributed. I feel like I can go out there and hang with the guys in conditioning. I'm feeling pretty good.
Q: Back to the video really quick, do you ever find a Boston accent –
TB: As annoying as that one? No. No, I've heard plenty of them.
Q: You never go to California and they tell you you're starting to get an accent?
TB: No. Not too often. It's hard to get the California out of me. But I've been living here for going on my 13th year so this is my home and I don't think I'll ever kind of take over that accent.
Q: Do you think you'll live here after your career is over?
TB: I don't know. I love it back here. My family loves it. I love those winters – those cold snowy winters. You never know.
Q: That's starting to sound like a 'No'.
TB: I know.