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Q: They made it tough on you today didn't they Tom?
TB: Yeah, they do some things that make it tough on us. That was the case again today. We prepared a certain way and once again I thought they played pretty good. I think I missed some throws that would have helped a lot, but we will take the win.
Q: Can you tell us exactly what happened on the hit that knocked your helmet off and how you felt afterward?
TB: It was a screen pass and my running back got held up inside there so I rolled off to the right and I looked and I saw my lineman down field so I didn't want to throw it and take the penalty so I was pretty indecisive and at that point I didn't know if I should slide, I noticed the guy coming up and I started…I don't even know what I started to do, but the next thing I know, bam, he hit me and the crowd was going nuts.
Q: Did you know where your helmet
TB: I kind of looked for it real quick, you know you want to get up as fast as you can and get up and show, 'I'm fine.'
Q: That last fumble, did you have any idea that that actually was the ruling?
TB: When I first ran up I heard the ref saying, 'incomplete pass,' so I said, 'Okay.' I was trying to get him to say, 'You caught it and he was on the ground and the ball came out.' Then you look at it and it looked like he dropped it before he hit the ground so the ground didn't cause the fumble. So then I thought that they were going to rule it incomplete and the once I heard that they ruled it a catch then…when I looked up on the replay I looked over at Drew [Bledsoe] and I said, 'Drew, David's head was out of bounds,' and he was touching the ball and we didn't know the ruling. I am glad it went our way though.
Q: Can you talk about their defense, in the first half you were running the ball very effectively and then you seemed to abandon the run in the second half?
TB: That was a big point of emphasis this week. We felt that, I think because there were missing their two inside guys that if there was a time to run the ball this would be the week. We had it going early, you know we just have to be consistent all the way around. I think sometimes you get into the rhythm of running and then you throw and it is incomplete and then you have to punt, so...
Q: Do you feel fortunate I am sure to come out of here with a win based on four field goals?
TB: Yeah, definitely. Any time you win you are glad that you won, but you really have to evaluate why it was as close as it was. That is a pretty good football team. Coach made a comment after the game that it was tough on Miami when they came up here. It is always tough to play up here.
Q: You were overthrowing guys early, was that you, was that them, was it a combination of both? Did you have to make a mechanical adjustment?
TB: No, I think part of it is overthrowing, I think part of it might be, it was the first time I played…Damon and I talked about it and Drew after the game, when you play on a crown field sometimes you feel like you let it go at the right release point and when you throw it off to the sidelines it drops three or four feet. So sometimes when you think you made a good throw that ball is just three or four feet over his head. That is something we tried to adjust to in the second half and we did a little better job, but still definitely not as effective as I want to be.
Q: You guys were told not to look ahead to Miami and now you can, how much are looking forward to the next game?
TB: It is going to be a huge game. I am not sure, are they playing right now? Obviously the outcome of that is going to determine how big. We went down there and they beat us up pretty good. We definitely are going to have our best game.
Q: Why are the games between you and Buffalo so close, they have been giving up 28 points a game, what is the match-up that contributes to the close, low scoring game?
TB: The two times we played them we haven't played very good offensively. I think that is what it comes down to. I don't think it is as much as what they have done. I think they have covered us well and they force us to make the throws and make the runs and for one reason or another we didn't get it done today in that department. We made a few plays when we needed them, but there were definitely opportunities to make plays throwing the ball and I missed a few of them today.
Q: Were you woozy at all after you got your helmet knocked off?
TB: No, no…he hit me, was it 22 that hit me?
Q: Yeah.
TB: He was a little guy so, not that I am some big guy I would be, but I am glad that it wasn't one of those linebackers.
Q: Was your chinstrap buckled?
TB: It was buckled, it's tight, but it is a different type of chin strap and I have do something about it, but he hit me right underneath, I don't know here he hit me.
Q: You have this mark on your ear, is that from the helmet coming off?
TB: I think it might be.
Q: After the initial phase, once everyone knew that you we okay, did anyone give you a hard time about it?
TB: No they weren't too bad. They didn't want to joke around too much with it with the type of things that have happened in the past when quarterbacks get hit.
Q: Against Miami a possible division championship game?
TB: Yeah, definitely. It is obviously our biggest game of the year and they handled us pretty good last time. I think we have a little different threat with Terry out there. I think it is a different story when he is out there. I am excited for this one. I am excited to see how we step up when it is really time to step up and play a good game.
Q: Today everything seemed to be going against you, but the team stepped up and made plays when they had to?
TB: Well we were down there late in the game. We got down there and made a few big passes and then I overthrew Troy [Brown] in the end zone. It should have been an easy touchdown. Then we got the ball back again and they stopped us. The got the overtime coin flip and we stopped them and then made a few plays there to win the game. It is about fighting back. It is about when you don't play your best game, still winning, but I think your luck only wears so thin. This is a good team, don't get me wrong, but when you play the really good teams you really have to play your best game.
Q: Are you ready for another week of, 'He didn't play well, they should do this,' another week of New England talking or are you oblivious to all of that at this point?
TB: I think you just have to worry about what you can do to get better. I know how to evaluate myself when I play.
Q: Some of it must seep, you must hear things and read things in the paper, is it amusing to you?
TB: That's obviously people like to talk about it. It is an easy topic so to speak. It is a very natural thing. That is part of playing quarterback. That is part of playing professional quarterback and you know that you have to keep playing better and every week you have to play better and that is really going to be a focus this week.
Q: Can you talk about Antowain Smith's long run? Did you think he was stopped?
TB: When I turned I saw a bunch of bodies and I saw him kind of spin off. He has done that a bunch of times and he has brought it back all the way across the field and I kind of looked and he busted out of there. I think 53, [Keith] Newman was the only guy left and he outran him to the corner so it was a great run.
Q: Where does luck and destiny intertwine or do they? You guys had to win this game, maybe it was luck, maybe that is the way things go when teams do things well?
TB: Yeah, I think that is a big part of it. I think you want to be in those positions to be lucky. I don't think you always want to be relying on luck, but I think eventually it is going to come down to who makes more plays in the game. Sometimes lucky plays happen and more so obviously than last year. Those balls have been bouncing our way this year. The important thing is when you do have those opportunities like we did, Antowain can reel off a 45-yard run to end the game. It is not like, 'Okay we got our lucky bounce, now let's take advantage of it,' and I think we have done a pretty good job of that this year.
Q: Who's defense is better Miami or Buffalo, when they played you?
TB: They both played us well. It is going to need to be our best week of practice, our best game plan, our best focus and we have to go out there on Saturday and play our best game. It is a short week too.
Q: Terry's [Glenn] catch on the sideline, it looked like they had a break on the ball?
TB: They were breaking on that throw all day. I kind of stepped up into the pocket and I threw it a little bit late, Terry kind of snapped it in. So that was a huge play in the game. It setup that tying field goal.
Q: How much fun is this for you right now?
TB: It's exciting and I think it is fun, I think at the same time you realize that there are so many things that are involved. It is fun when you win and it is terrible when you lose, but it is fun when you win a game like this because now we are onto a bigger game which will be a lot of fun.
Q: Do you ever sense that this could be your year the way things are going?
TB: There have been times where you throw a ball that goes right through a receivers hands and they pick the ball…It usually evens out at some point.
Q: It almost seems to go by years, one year nothing seems to be right?
TB: Yeah, well you guys would know more about that than myself, but I think there is no doubt we are getting some good bounces and obviously the important thing is to take advantage of those when you do get them. You get the good bounce, you get the ball from where Terry snagged it from, then you hit a 30-yard throw to [Jermaine] Wiggins. That is the important stuff
