'Year of distractions'

FOXBOROUGH -- The AFC Championship press conferences have concluded here at Gillette Stadium and one part that stood out was when linebacker Tedy Bruschi and quarterback Tom Brady were at the podium.

Bruschi was asked about the ups and downs of the season, and how the team has plowed through some rocky moments.

"I hate to say it, but we're sort of used to dealing with them. I think this year has been a year of distractions since the opening day, to tell you the truth," Bruschi said. "It's always week after week, something different that we have to deal with. The way we do that is [to] sort of feed off it, we feed off the distractions we have and we become closer for it. We just bond together. Whoever is being scrutinized, whoever is the target for any type of criticism, we rally around that person -- whether it is our head coach or our all-star wide receiver, or whoever it may be. ..."

Brady was asked a similar question.

"I think it's pretty simple, there is a sign when we walk in the door and right at the top of the sign it [says] what is expected of you and No. 1 is 'do your job.' And every time you walk in and see that, you understand that you have to show up and put whatever else is going on in your life to the side and focus, and you have a responsibility to your teammates to do what you need to do," Brady said.

"I think, as a player, it makes it pretty simple. You show up and if you're a quarterback, you play quarterback and you do what is expected of you. If you're the offensive tackle, you do the exact same. You don't have to come in here and worry what the guy next to you is doing. Or what he's going through, although as friends and I think the camaraderie we have on this team here, it's been a special thing to be a part of. At the same time, you rally around each other.

"It's almost like this is a safe haven for everybody as well. You don't have to come in here and be ... you just have to be each other. You have to be teammates. You don't have to be anybody else to anyone who maybe is making demands on you. It's probably a nice place for a lot of people to come."