Tom's take
Comments from Tom Brady’s post-game press conference:
You had them all the way, right?
“Yeah. I don’t lose confidence too often. It was a great game. They played great. We made it hard on ourselves out there. We certainly didn’t play our best. Give a lot of credit to the Ravens. A very experienced team with great players that plays hard. We just kept crawling back and made enough plays at the end.”
Can you talk about all the chances you had at the end of the game…
“That’s the way football is. I’ve been in a lot of games where we’ve been on the other side of that. There are a lot of questionable calls out there, and you know, you just try to keep lining up and playing and I’m glad we made the plays when we needed to. We made a lot of plays under pressure, and that’s what we’re going to need down the stretch. We really have to look forward and start making some improvements here in the last quarter of the season.”
Can you describe the play – you get stuffed, but they called timeout. Did you realize what was happening?
“I heard the whistle blow. I would have gotten the first down if it didn’t blow [laughter]. I stopped [laughter].”
What was the locker room like – relief, joy? What was it like in there?
“Kind of like after every other game. You realize that you leave some plays out there. There are things we could have certainly done better – first drive of the game, kicking a field goal, that was disappointing. We had opportunities out there, but they made some decent plays. We just kept clawing back. We were on the road, in a tough environment, against a team that’s won a lot of games over the last 10 years. We knew it was going to be tough.”
What plays out there do you think the refs screwed up?
“You tell me. I get fined if I say something. You guys watch it, and evaluate it, but…”
It seemed like the last drive most of them went in your favor…
“Yeah, most of the other three quarters didn’t go in our favor, so ultimately it probably evened out.”
Their secondary kind of came as advertised. You only had nine completions to your receivers entering that final drive. Were they difficult to throw on?
“They played double coverage on every play, so it was just like every other team.”
Did your heart skip a beat on the Hail Mary?
“I saw when he got tackled out there, I looked up and he was on the 1-yard line, and I ran off the field.”
What do you have to do better on offense?
“Get in the end zone, execute better, run routes, throw better passes, make better catches, block better, run better.”
You’ll see that defense again, because it’s the copycat league…
“We’ve been seeing that same defense all year – cover-2.”
What was the tenor of the huddle as the last drive went and went for what seemed like 20 minutes on the field?
“Yeah, that was a long drive. It came down to third downs, fourth downs. We executed when we needed to. Those calls definitely helped us out.”
Did you have to put the last play behind you in a lot of instances?
“You always do. You just have to move on. You throw an interception, you just have to bounce back and make better plays the next time. Everyone has to realize what they have to do better. We have a lot of room for improvement on offense and we’re going to focus on that. We have four weeks to really improve. I’m looking forward to see the type of improvements we can make. We’ve usually, in the past, done pretty well in December. We’re looking forward to hopefully doing the same this year.”
On the pass to Jabar Gaffney, was he the primary receiver there?
“They dropped eight guys and I saw Jab out of the side of my eye. He made a great catch, probably the best catch of his career. Helluva time to do it.”
Can you comment on the running backs and their contributions – Maroney and Faulk?
“They played great. They’ve played great all year. When we run it, they make yards. They made some catches that were great, big plays in the passing game. They really contributed a lot, as they always do.”
Was it tough throwing in this wind?
“It definitely was a factor in the kicking game. Throwing the ball, it had its moments.”
I agree Watson is down, but not for what you said. The play you mention was a 2nd down play, not a 3rd and he was being face guarded by Ray Lewis if you'll notice. The 3rd down play was the blatant breadbasket drop, and the one he should be criticized for. How did you miss that?
The D lost the Colts playoff game last year, the Pats scored 34 points. How many times have you seen a team score 34 and lose?!
Same scenario, Addai over the offensive left/Pats right D then, McGahee Monday. The front 3-4 and the LB's were pushed around continuously.
And if we're knocking the D, Meriweather is a BUST!
The offensive line did as well as could be expected considering the Ravens D was out to get Brady. Occasionally the Ravens did get to Brady, but for the most part, he had plenty of time.
The knock should be on Watson for his two drops in the end zone and Moss for his drops in the end zone and being a non-factor. Where was Welker? If not Welker Stallworth? Someone had to have man-to-man coverage.
I have to question the offensive line schemes as much if not more than the line play although the O-line did lose several man-on-man battles. But that's where the TE and RB are supposed to help.
I do have to call the O-line on the failed QB sneak at the end of the game. I don't recall Brady ever being stopped. Anyone?
The flaw in the Pats game has been revealed... not the O, they'll put up 30+ points a game every time (almost), but the game was almost lost by the the front 3 who are supposed to clog up the middle to stop the run AND keep the Raven's linemen away from the Pats LB's.
otis I agree with your assessment of the O-line but give Meriweather some more time, that was his first extensive playing experience in a situation that mattered. He'll be better as he develops but to call him a bust already is unfair. Look at many of our players... Sanders didn't look nearly as a good last year as he does now. Remember its a monday night game against a veteran team on a five game losing streak who are 20 point underdogs at home. That team was motivated and pumped up to play us.
Except that every week we seem to find Meriweather making misplays and missing tackles...
Except that every week we seem to find Meriweather making misplays and missing tackles...
thats not true at all the only games I've really seen him play on defense were the bengals and ravens. And there was that one game where he blew the shut out.
Other games he's really been just a special team player and doing pretty well in that role. I know our first round choice have to be more than special teamers but still its a luxury that he haven't had to throw him into the fire. I think a good example is james sanders he blew the game big time last year against the colts early in the season and now a year later hes playing his butt off making plays and being consistent. thats the difference a year in system and under veterans can make.
If meriweather still can't regularly see the field by mid season next year then maybe I'll start using the word bust but its really way too soon. Please remember this isn't a basement team we're still 12-0 with out having to break him in on the run.
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