Projo Pats Blog

October 2007 Archives

The Season of Brady continues, as he'll be named AFC offensive player of the month for October tomorrow...he was also named AFC POM for September.

In five October games (counting the Monday night football game in Cincinnati, which technically was in week four, but the league didn't count it in his September POM stats), Brady was 128-for-179 (71.5 percent) for 1,544 yards, 20 touchdowns and one interception.

Mike Vrabel won his first-ever AFC player of the week award today, garnering the honor after his 13-tackle, three strip-sack performance against the Redskins on Sunday. His three forced fumbles were all recovered by Patriots' teammates, leading to 17 New England points.

The Colts' Joseph Addai was named AFC offensive player of the week and San Diego punter Mike Scifres the special teams' player of the week.

These quotes come courtesy of Sirius' NFL Radio:

John Fox, Carolina Panthers: “Typically in this league when you have the game in hand you do call off the dogs a little bit but not to the point where you could lose the game. You never can relax too much.”

Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars: “You play to win. If you can score, score. Your job, as a defense, as an opponent, is to slow them down. Offensively you want to score. Obviously, late in the fourth quarter you’re going to make sure your starters don’t get hurt and things like that going forward but you still keep playing football.”

Herm Edwards, Kansas City Chiefs: “I just think that obviously [the Patriots] are going at a pace right now, they’re just playing. They’re having fun playing football. You’re caught in a bad situation there when you have a lead like that. All coaches have been in that situation. Sometimes you’ve been the guy that had the lead and sometimes you’ve been the guy on the other side of it. And that’s what’s great about athletics. People always look into things, trying to figure out is there something that he’s trying to do or say. The coach that is winning, does he run the ball on fourth down or does he pass the ball on fourth down? I don’t know what to tell you. It’s just one of those deals. There’s a lot being made out of things and at the end I think the thing you’ve got to realize is this. You’ve got a team that is playing very very good, setting all kinds of record. When I watch those guys play, they’re having fun. They’re just having fun playing football.”

Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings: “You’re talking about the Washington Redskins and one of the highest paid coaches in the National Football League and a staff full of head coaches and they’re coaching, too. Games can get left-handed like that, unfortunately, and New England has a way of making you be left-handed.”

Lane Kiffin, Oakland Raiders: “Coach Gibbs, I believe, said he had no issues with it. It’s so hard to win and so hard to score I don’t think that there really is running up the score. You’re just playing your players and trying to get better. In this league your backups do have so few opportunities to play that, from my perspective, if we were ever in that situation we would definitely run plays and put in some of our younger guys that otherwise don’t play.”

Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers: “We’re responsible for keeping their score down. They aren’t. That’s just being competitive. That’s what this game is about. That’s what any game is about. I have no comment or opposition to them ringing up as many points as they’re capable of.”

New England has published its first participation/injury report of the week:

Did Not Participate
LB Eric Alexander - knee
S Mel Mitchell - groin
RB Sammy Morris - chest
CB Asante Samuel - team decision
S Eugene Wilson - ankle

Limited Participation
TE Kyle Brady - team decision
QB Tom Brady - right shoulder
WR Randy Moss - team decision
LB Adalius Thomas - ankle
LB Mike Vrabel - shoulder
TE Benjamin Watson - ankle

Indianapolis has not yet submitted its report.

Hey all --

In Sunday's "Up Close" with Bam Childress, we wrote that he bred bull mastiffs, and it turns out there was a little misunderstanding there.

Childress breeds American bullies, which he said are a cross-breed of pit bulls and American Staffordshire terriers.

Apologies for the mix-up.

shalise

Bob Kravitz, a columnist for the Indianapolis Star, this week wrote that the Patriots are "the least lovable champs since Sonny Liston," and called them the "New-Age Oakland Raiders." Which is understandable, given the way the Pats have been piling up points against overmatched and overwhelmed opponents, the VideoGate scandal, the acquisition of the controversial Randy Moss, and coach Bill Belichick's unfriendly demeanor.
But what is baffling is that Kravitz referred to the New England media as "a group notorious for its pompon waving."
I have to wonder what response he'd get if he asked players, coaches, and team officials from four the region's four pro sports franchises if they thought the writers covering them were "cheerleaders."

Hey all --

We are just in from the week's first practice, held in full pads. Team owner Robert Kraft was taking in the session, yet another sign of how big Sunday's game is.

As for who was there and who wasn't, Benjamin Watson made his return after missing two weeks with an ankle injury. However, Sammy Morris (chest), Eugene Wilson (ankle), Mel Mitchell (groin), and Eric Alexander (knee) remain on the list of absentees.

Joining them on that list is corner Asante Samuel, who was not spotted during media access.

And Troy Brown was not out there either, which is meaningful because this is the last week that the Patriots have the option of opening the window for Brown. As he is on the PUP list, teams can choose at any time between weeks six and nine to start practicing and open a 21-day window for them, by the end of which time they must either activate them to the 53-man roster or put them on season-ending injured reserve.

After Sunday's win over Washington, Bill Belichick said it had been his team's best week of practice to that point, and it showed in the high number of practice player of the week jerseys -- we counted 10, with rookies Brandon Meriweather and Kareem Brown, Larry Izzo, Ray Ventrone, Pierre Woods, Antwain Spann, Le Kevin Smith, Rashad Baker and Tim Mixon all sporting the black jerseys. Interesting that none of the award winners were from the offensive side of the ball.

We'll be back with more shortly.

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- This weekend's game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts marks the first time two undefeated teams have played this late in a National Football League season, the league confirmed.

Two teams with records of 7-0 or better never have played in the league's 88 seasons, the NFL said in a news release.

The 8-0 Patriots are favored to beat the 7-0 Colts in Indianapolis on Nov. 4 by six points, according to Las Vegas sports books. The Patriots have won three Super Bowl titles since 2001. They are scoring a league-leading 41.4 points a game and have outscored opponents by an average of 25 1/2 points.

The Colts won last season's Super Bowl and have won 11 straight games dating back to last season. Indianapolis has beaten New England in three straight games.

Let's see...
The undefeated (7-0) Colts are the reigning Super Bowl champions. They've won 12 games in a row, including playoffs, going back to last season. They've won 12 straight regular-season games at home, and 25 of the last 27. They've beaten the Patriots three times in a row, including a 38-34 victory in last year's AFC championship game in Indianapolis, after they were trailing, 21-3, late in the second quarter. They've also beaten the Pats the last two times they played in Foxboro -- 27-20 last November, and 40-21 in Nov. of '05.
And yet they're 5-point underdogs for Sunday's showdown in the RCA Dome?
"The point spreads are really public opinion," Colts coach Tony Dungy told the Indianapolis Star earlier this week. "They (the oddsmakers) are trying to get an even number of bets on both sides, so they have to respond to public opinion, not to any reality. A lot of people obviously think New England's going to win."
This Patriots team is, without question, much better than the one that lost twice to the Colts last year. They have been all-but unstoppable offensively, as QB Tom Brady already has thrown more TD passes (30) in half a season than he had in any previous season. His previous high was 28, in 2002, and the Super Bowl championship season of '04.
But, as many points as the Pats have been scoring, Peyton Manning and the Colts can get the ball into the end zone, too, and they look awfully tempting playing at home, having been slighted by the betting public, even though they're the defending NFL champs.

Click here to listen to today's edition of projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young. The topics: Good versus evil?extra motivation on both sides; does Peyton Manning have Bill Belichick's number now? the x-factor for the Patriots; improvements to the Colts' defense; Shalise's prediction; and why the Colts don't want to lose this one.

Here are some excerpts from Shalise's comments:

Motivational factors: "The other thing to remember is the bulletin board material. Who uses bulletin board material better than Bill Belichick? And when the spygate punishment was handed down, Tony Dungy went on the record and said that it was a sad day for the NFL. Bill Belichick is going to bring that out this week. Tony Dungy compared Bill Belichick to Barry Bonds, of all people."

The Colts' three-game winning streak against New England: "One thing to remember is that ... there was an x-factor in those games. Rodney Harrison did not play in any of those last three games. He started the regular-season game here in New England last season, but that was the one where he broke his shoulder blade on the first drive of the game, I think it was. ... Rodney Harrison is a ferocious, fierce competitor. There's a lot to be said, I think, for the fact that he did not play in those games."

Shalise's prediction: "41-27 Patriots. I just think that there's so many things that the Patriots are going to look at. Nobody feeds off disrespect or old losses like they do, and I just think the offense that Brady has this year -- and the defense showed last week that they had something to prove, and I just think that they're going to keep going with that this week."

Hey all --

Another week, another potential award for Tom Brady. At least one of his teammates
has a chance to get some shine this week too...

Mike Vrabel is one of five nominees for the GMC defensive player of the week for his 13 tackle (11 solo), three strip-sack, one offensive touchdown performance against Washington.

Also nominated are Philadelphia's Trent Cole (8 tackles, 2 sacks vs Minnesota), San Diego's Antonio Cromartie (2 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 touchdowns vs Houston), Jacksonville's Aaron Glenn (4 tackles, interception returned for touchdown vs Tampa Bay) and the Titans' Travis LaBoy (three tackles, two sacks, forced fumble vs Oakland) .

Brady has been nominated for the FedEx Air player of the week honor, and is going against the Saints' Drew Brees (31-for-39, 336 yards, 4 touchdowns in win over San Francisco) and the Packers' Brett Favre (21-for-27, 331 yards, 2 touchdowns, including game-winner seconds into overtime) for the honor.

Against the Redskins, Brady was 29-for-38 for 306 yards and three passing touchdowns (plus two rushing).

Fans can vote at nfl.com.

Bill Belichick was asked this morning about some of the Redskins' complaints that New England was piling it on yesterday. At first, Belichick said he didn't know what the questioner was referring to, but when Randall Godfrey's name was brought up, Belichick had an answer.

"Randall's entitled to his opinion. If you ask him, I'm sure he'll give it to you."

As reported by nbcsports.com after the game, Washington linebacker Godfrey confronted Belichick on the field after the final gun, and told him he was disrespecting the game by running up the score. And as blog reader Mike points out, Godfrey had a grand total of one tackle in the game...

Hey all --

Despite the hard-to-swallow 38-34 loss New England suffered to Indianapolis in the AFC title game in January, and despite the fact that both teams are undefeated coming into Sunday's game at the RCA Dome, Bill Belichick -- outwardly, at least -- isn't treating this game any differently than the eight before it his team has played this season.

"It's the next game."

As much as we'd like to postpone the barrage of showdown talk for at least a day, it wasn't exactly possible given today's press conference with Belichick.

But there was some talk of Sunday's win over Washington, with Belichick praising everyone from his assistants to all 45 players that took the field against the Redskins and the scout team, saying they all played a big part in the victory.

Heck, Belichick couldn't even cite too much when asked what improvements he'd like his team to make coming off the Skins game, mentioning the four false starts the offense was flagged for and a slightly bogged down return game.

And the coach congratulated Terry Francona and the Red Sox for their "impressive" World Series win, calling their eight straight Series wins "awesome."

Eight straight wins? Belichick knows something about that....

shalise

As expected, defensive lineman Santonio Thomas has been re-signed to the Patriots' practice squad. He was cut from the 53-man roster on Friday to make room for Richard Seymour.

As New England's practice squad was at its eight-man limit, center Pat Ross was cut so Thomas could be re-added.

Old friend Tom Curran writes on nbcsports.com that Redskins linebacker Randall Godfrey confronted Patriots coach Bill Belichick after Washington got blasted off the Gillette Stadium turf.

"I said something to (Belichick) after the game," Godfrey said. "I told him, 'You need to show some respect for the game.' You just don't do that. I don't care how bad it is. You're up 35 points and you're still throwing deep? That's no respect."

"You look at all the great head coaches ... I'm just disappointed," he went on. You gotta show some class, show some respect. Joe Gibbs? We wouldn't have done that. Bill Walsh? You wouldn't see those types of guys doing that stuff. I've never seen nothing like that. Most teams, you get up like that you sit on the ball and try to run the time out. They're up 30-some points and they're throwing deep. That was blatant disrespect. I hope we can see them again, definitely. You don't see Joe Gibbs doing that. You can't even imagine that kind of stuff coming from him. Joe Gibbs. Bill Walsh. Bill Parcells. This isn't like college going for power rankings. This is the pros you show some respect, show some class."

Godfrey was a member of the San Diego Chargers last season, when the top-seeded Chargers were upset at home by the Patriots.

EIGHT STRAIGHT GAMES WITH 34+ POINTS
The Patriots have become just the second team in NFL history to score at least 34 points in each of its first eight games of a season, joining the 2000 St. Louis Rams. The Patriots have scored 38, 38, 38, 34, 34, 48, 49 and 52 points in their eight games this season, for a total of 331 points. The 2000 Rams scored 41, 37, 41, 41, 57, 45, 34 and 34 points in their first eight games, for a total of 330 points. In their ninth game of the 2000 season, the Rams scored 24 points in a 27-24 loss to Carolina (Nov. 5, 2000).

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT IN CONTEXT
The Patriots scored 52 points today against Washington, tying the third highest single-game point total in team history. The 52 points was New England’s highest total since Sept. 9, 1979, when they scored a franchise-record 56 points in a 56-3 win over the New York Jets. New England scored 55 points in a 55-21 win over the Jets on Oct. 29, 1978, and also scored 52 points in a 52-21 win over Buffalo on Oct. 22, 1961. The Patriots’ 45-point margin of victory over the Redskins is the second largest victory margin in team history, trailing only a 53-point victory over the Jets on Sept. 9, 1979 (56-3).

BRADY TIES NFL MARK FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH 3+ TD PASSES
With three touchdown passes against the Redskins, Tom Brady has thrown for at least three touchdowns in all eight games this season, tying the NFL record for consecutive games with three or more touchdown passes. Peyton Manning also threw for three or more touchdown passes in eight consecutive games in 2004.

BRADY SETS NEW CAREER HIGH WITH 30 TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN 2007
Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes against Washington and ran for two more touchdowns. His three touchdown passes raised his season total to 30, a number that represents a new career high and is the second highest single-season total in team history, trailing only Vito “Babe” Parilli’s franchise-record total of 31 touchdowns in 1964. Brady has thrown 30 touchdowns and just two interceptions through eight games this season. Brady set a new single-season career high when he threw his second touchdown of the day and his 29th touchdown pass of the season – a 6-yard strike to Randy Moss – topping his 28 scoring passes in 2002 and 2004.

VRABEL SCORES EIGHTH CAREER REGULAR-SEASON TOUCHDOWN
Linebacker Mike Vrabel caught his eighth regular-season touchdown pass and his 10th overall touchdown pass (including two in the playoffs) on a 2-yard scoring catch from Tom Brady in the second quarter that gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead. Vrabel also caught a touchdown pass on Oct. 1 at Cincinnati, and has tied his single-season career high with two touchdown catches this season. He also had a pair of scoring grabs in 2005. Each of Vrabel’s 10 career receptions have been for touchdowns – including one in Super Bowl XXXVIII and one in Super Bowl XXXIX. Including his one career interception return for a touchdown, Vrabel now has totaled nine career regular-season touchdowns – the fifth-highest total in a New England uniform by a current Patriot (trailing only Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, Randy Moss and Benjamin Watson).

VRABEL: THREE STRIP-SACKS
Mike Vrabel recorded three strip-sacks against the Redskins, all of which created fumbles that were recovered by the Patriots. His third strip-sack of the day caused a fumble that was picked up by Rosevelt Colvin and returned 10 yards for a touchdown. Vrabel also had two strip-sacks in the second quarter, with both fumbles being recovered by Ty Warren to give the Patriots possession. Vrabel’s three sacks tie his single-game career-high, also achieved on Oct. 26, 2003 against Cleveland. He is the first Patriot to record three or more sacks in a game since Jarvis Green had three on Oct. 1, 2006 at Cincinnati. Vrabel’s three strip-sacks against Washington give him four strip-sacks for the season, with his other strip-sack coming in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets on Sept. 9. Since joining the Patriots prior to the 2001 season, Vrabel has recorded 12 regular-season strip-sacks (four in 2003, one in 2005, three in 2006 and four in 2007) and three playoff strip-sacks (one in 2003, one in 2004 and one in 2006). Vrabel tied for the team lead with three strip-sacks in the 2006 regular-season and added one more in the 2006 divisional playoffs against San Diego. With his three strip-sacks against the Redskins, Vrabel raised his season total to 7.5 sacks, a tally that leads the team and stands as the second highest total of his career, trailing only his team-high 9.5 sacks in 2003. Vrabel’s three strip-sacks against Washington set up 17 points off turnovers, with his first strip-sack setting up a field goal drive that gave the Patriots a 17-0 lead, his second setting up a touchdown drive that gave the Patriots a 24-0 lead.

BRADY SCORES TWO RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS
Tom Brady scored two rushing touchdowns against Washington, setting a new single-game and single-season career high. Brady had three career regular-season rushing touchdowns heading into today’s game – one in each of the 2002, 2003 and 2005 seasons. Brady is the first Patriot to rush for two or more touchdowns in a game since Corey Dillon did it in the 2006 regular-season finale on Dec. 31, 2006. Against Washington, Brady gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead with a 3-yard scoring run in the first quarter and gave New England a 31-0 lead with a 2-yard scoring plunge in the third quarter. Prior to today, the last time Brady had scored a rushing touchdown was on Dec. 11, 2005 at Buffalo. The last Patriots quarterback to run for two or more touchdowns in a game was Tony Eason, who did it on Oct. 14, 1984 against Cincinnati. Brady’s performance is the fifth two-plus touchdown game for a Patriots quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger – in addition to Eason’s game in 1984, Steve Grogan ran for two touchdowns three times in 1976 and Jim Plunkett did it once in 1973.

BRADY: THREE-PLUS TOUCHDOWNS, 100.0-PLUS PASSER RATING AND 300-YARD GAME
Tom Brady achieved a passer rating of 125.5, and has totaled a rating of at least 100.0 in all eight games this season. He has had a rating of at least 115.0 in seven of the eight games and has totaled a rating of 123.0 or higher in six of the eight games. Brady also threw for 306 yards against Washington, marking his third straight game exceeding the 300-yard passing mark and becoming his fourth game of 300 or more yards this season. Brady has thrown for at least three touchdowns, totaled at least 300 yards and had a passer rating of at least 100.0 for three straight games.

COLVIN: FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWN
Rosevelt Colvin scooped up a Jason Campbell fumble forced by Mike Vrabel in the third quarter and rumbled 11 yards to the end zone for his first career touchdown. The fumble recovery was the eighth of Colvin’s career. The fumble return for a touchdown was the third by the Patriots this season – Randall Gay returned a fumble 15 yards for a score against Cleveland on Oct. 7. Colvin’s touchdown marked the Patriots’ third defensive touchdown of the season, with Adalius Thomas returning an interception 65 yards for a score in addition to Gay’s fumble return. Colvin’s touchdown was the Patriots fifth touchdown on a return this season, with their three defensive scores joining a pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns.

CASSEL: RUSHING TOUCHDOWN
Quarterback Matt Cassel gave the Patriots a 52-0 lead on a 15-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter. The rushing score was the first of Cassel’s career and was the third by a Patriots quarterback on the afternoon – the highest total of rushing scores by Patriots quarterbacks in any game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

MOSS: 11th TOUCHDOWN CATCH OF THE SEASON
Randy Moss caught his 11th touchdown pass of the season, a 6-yard grab in the second quarter that gave the Patriots a 24-0 lead. Moss’s 11 touchdown receptions stand as the second highest single-season total in Patriots history, trailing only Stanley Morgan’s franchise-record 12 touchdown receptions in 1986. Moss’s 11 touchdown catches tie the fourth highest total of his 10-year career, trailing only his 17 touchdown catches in with Minnesota 1998 and 2003 and his 13 touchdown receptions for the Vikings in 2004. He also had 11 touchdown receptions for the Vikings in 1999.

FAULK MOVES INTO SIXTH ON PATRIOTS’ ALL-TIME RECEPTIONS LIST
With a seven-yard reception in the first quarter – the 293rd catch of his career and his second of the game – Kevin Faulk passed Gino Cappelletti (292 catches) to move into sixth place on the Patriots’ all-time career receptions list. Faulk is the Patriots’ all-time leader in receptions by a running back. Cappelletti was once the Patriots’ all-time leading receiver, holding the record until Stanley Morgan passed him with his 293rd career catch on Nov. 11, 1984. Troy Brown is the Patriots’ all-time leading receiver with 557 career receptions.

SOLID DEFENSIVE EFFORT
The Patriots allowed just seven points, tying their best defensive effort of the season. They also allowed just seven points in a 38-7 win over Buffalo on Sept. 23. New England has allowed seven or fewer points five times in its last 18 games.

SINGLE-GAME TEAM RECORD: MOST FIRST DOWNS
The Patriots gained 34 first downs today, setting a new franchise record for most first downs in a single game. The previous single-game team record was 32 first downs, achieved on Dec. 11, 2005 in a 35-7 win at Buffalo. In their 52-7 win over Washington, the Patriots gained 13 first downs rushing and 21 first downs passing.

BRADY-TO-WELKER
Wes Welker caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the fourth quarter, giving the Patriots a 45-0 lead. The touchdown reception was Welker’s sixth of the season and was the seventh scoring catch of his career. With two-touchdown performances last week against Miami and two weeks ago against Dallas, Welker has caught five touchdown passes in his last three games after catching two scoring passes in the first 52 games of his career.

SAMUEL RECORDS 20th CAREER INTERCEPTION
Asante Samuel intercepted a Jason Campbell pass in the second quarter, recording his team-high fourth interception of the season and the 20th pick of his regular season career. He also has four career interceptions in the playoffs. Samuel’s 20 career interceptions rank 11th on the Patriots’ all-time list and lead all active Patriots. Samuel has recorded 13 interceptions in his last 17 regular-season and playoff games. Last season, he led the NFL with 10 regular-season interceptions.

STARTING STRONG
The Patriots scored first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Tom Brady in the first quarter. New England has scored on its opening drive in each game this season, totaling five touchdowns and three field goals. New England has scored first in each of its eight games this season and has achieved the feat in 11 straight regular season and playoff games dating back to Jan. 7, 2007.

GOSTKOWSKI’S SUCCESS STREAK
Stephen Gostkowski nailed a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter to give the Patriots a 17-0 lead. He has hit nine of his 10 field goal attempts this season (90.0 percent) and has nailed 30 of his last 33 attempts (90.9 percent) dating back to Nov. 5, 2006, including a perfect 8-for-8 performance in last season’s playoffs.

RECORD PERFORMANCE
With the Patriots’ victory this afternoon, Tom Brady has now defeated each of the 31 other teams (besides New England) as a starting quarterback. Entering today’s game, the Redskins were the only team against which the Patriots had not won with Brady as a starting quarterback. Additionally, Brady raised his career records (including playoffs) to… 90-26 overall, 47-10 at home, 30-2 on artificial turf, 25-4 against NFC teams

HOME SELLOUT STREAK REACHES 143
Today’s game was the 143rd consecutive home sellout for the Patriots, a streak that includes every preseason, regular-season and playoff game since the 1994 regular-season opener.

INTERCEPTION-FREE STREAK
With his 38 interception-free passes today, Tom Brady has now thrown 164 consecutive passes without an interception, tying the longest such streak of his career (11/30/03 to 9/9/04). The Patriots record is 179 consecutive passes without an interception, achieved by Drew Bledsoe from Oct. 23 to Nov. 26, 2005. So far in 2007, Brady has thrown 30 touchdowns and two interceptions.

HIGH OCTANE MATCHUP
The Patriots-Colts matchup on Nov. 4 will pit the 8-0 Patriots against the 7-0 Colts, marking the first time in the 88-year history of the NFL that two undefeated teams with seven or more wins have faced each other, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. There are only five previous instances in which undefeated teams with five or more wins have faced each other, and the Patriots have been involved in the last two such matchups, including a 48-27 win by the 5-0 Patriots over the 5-0 Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 14, 2007 and a 13-7 win by the 5-0 Patriots over the 5-0 New York Jets on Oct. 24, 2004.

Casey Rabach, Offensive Line
(On the game and where the Redskins go from here)
It is hard to come up with an answer for what just happened out there. It is obvious we did not do what we needed to do in any aspect of the game. We just need to go back and find out who we are and work to our strengths and go from there. I’ll give them (Patriots) all the credit. They are a great team. We just didn’t show up. We just have to go to next Sunday. We have to get what we can get from the tape and get back on the field and get a win.

(On the Patriots and Tom Brady)
They are darn good and are probably one of the better teams I have ever played against. He (Tom Brady) is a heck of a player. He has been playing at a high level for a long time in this league. He had a great day.

Anthony Montgomery, Defensive Tackle
(On the game and the Patriots team)
It is tough right now, but it is still early in the season and we have a lot games to go. We just have to let this one go and bounce back and try to win the NFC East. Today, they just came out and anything they wanted to do, they pretty much did it. My hats off to them they are a great team. We just have to move on.

(On Tom Brady)
He is a real tough quarterback to contain. It is my first time ever going against him. He is everything that everyone has said he is and more.

Santana Moss, Wide Receiver
(On the Patriots’ Defense)
We just could not get things done to win. You have to give credit to what they did.
As an offense, we have done better than that. I don’t think we did enough to give ourselves a chance.

Reche Caldwell, Wide Receiver
(On the game)
You cannot say anything bad about the way they played. They beat us.
We didn’t do a good enough job putting up points, and stopping them from scoring points.

Phillip Daniels, Defensive End
(On the game)
They did some good things. Tom Brady is a good Quarterback. They ran their offence really well. I think we hurt ourselves in a lot of ways. We just have to regroup and stay together as a team and play better next week.

(On Tom Brady)
He is one of the best quarterbacks. I give him a lot of credit. He does a lot of good things back there. He does a great job getting it to his receivers. Actually, his receivers make a lot of good plays. You just have to find a way to stop that, and then try to shut the run down.

Ladell Betts, Running Back
(On if the Patriots defense was too tough)
You have to be a man. I mean, you never want to lose in that kind of fashion 52-7 -- that’s pretty much embarrassing.

(On what he thinks the problem is right now)
We are just not making enough first downs. That’s pretty much the problem -- when you don’t make first downs. You have to get more plays and capitalize on opportunities. It’s something we didn’t do well today and we need to try not to turn the ball over as well.

(On if he thought the Patriots were running up the score)
I think they were playing football. How would you want to call it? I mean, we’re also on the other end and we didn’t stop them and we didn’t -- So if it’s running it up I don’t think it’s running it up. It’s playing football.

Todd Wade, Offensive Lineman
(On what was a very tough loss today)
Yeah, that was very unfortunate. We were actually convinced when we came in here that we were going to win the game. We were really confident about it, but we didn’t execute the game plan well and we knew also this was a team that will score on their first possession or two. They are going to score eventually and they were a machine all day. They are really as good as advertised.

(On if the defense was better than they expected or if the Redskins just couldn’t get it going)
It seemed like we never got a great feel for everything, but they did a great job game-planning on us and hats off to them. They did a great job, they executed well. We definitely have to establish our identity better and it starts next week. It’s really crunch time. This is a big game coming up.

Ryan Boschetti, Defensive Tackle
(On the Patriots going for it on 4th-and-1.)
That’s Belichick’s call – he’s the offensive coordinator for his team and he felt he wanted to go for it and he had that option, you know. We just have to stop them. I mean, if it was me on the other end of the stick, hey you know, you run into situations where when you have a swagger like that they try to keep it.

(On if there was a big gap between the Patriots and the Redskins)
Going into the game we felt we matched up well against them and unfortunately we just didn’t go out and perform the way we felt we were capable of playing. Hats off to the New England Patriots. They played a great game, but also it’s an AFC team and hopefully we can just bounce back next weekend and just continue to stay focused on what we do well.

James Thrash, Wide Receiver
(On the Patriots defense)
We are not going to take anything away from New England. They came out and played extremely well on defense and you add that in with our offense not playing at the level we are capable, you are not going to score against them.

(On Patriots going for it on 4th-and-1 late in the game)
Just from watching film during the last few weeks, New England has always played from the first through the fourth quarter. That’s just their mentality; I don’t think it’s them trying to rub it in.

Pierson Prioleau, Safety
(On New England’s performance)
We knew they were a good team and that we had to take away some things from them. We didn’t do a good job of executing. We have a lot of work to do, but on a positive note, there is still a lot of football to play.

(On whether New England ran up the score)
It’s our job to keep them off the board. This is football, it’s a competitive sport. They are a good team. We just have to do what we need to do to keep them out of the end zone.

Do you see anybody coming on those strip sacks?

I didn’t see those coming. On those plays I was looking downfield, keeping my eyes downfield, trying to read my receivers and throw to the open guy. They did a great job of breaking in and making a play on the ball. One thing I have to do as a quarterback is go back and look at the film this week and try to find ways to protect the ball better when I’m getting hit that way.

Do you feel that this game was at all a step back for you in your progress, personally?

No, today is just one of those days. Everyone has their bad days and their great days and, unfortunately, today was one of those days. What we have to do as a team and by myself is to just put it behind us quickly and just learn from it and make sure that we never feel this ever again. You’ve got to come out next week and it’s all about moving on to the next week now. There’s nothing we can do to change the outcome of this game. The only thing we can say is that we got beat by a great team and we didn’t have our best game today and we’ve got to move on.

What was the most impressive part of what the Patriots were doing offensively?

They’re very dynamic in everything that they do. They’re very precise in their offense and their defense, everything’s very sound. They make plays. That’s one thing that they’re doing is making plays. Right now, they’re just clicking on all cylinders in all three phases of the game. They’re a team that is just about what their record says they are.

What kind of struggles on third down did you have tonight?

It’s just something we need to continue to improve on. We started the season hot on third downs and we kind of fell off the last couple of weeks for whatever reason. We’ve got to find a way to pick it back up and do whatever I have to do in practice to help the situation and do what I need to do to improve myself. It’s one game that we had a minor setback. We’ve got to move on next week, including myself. It wasn’t one of my best games of the year, but at the same time I’m not going to get down. I’m going to learn from it and move on to next week.

Are there points when you feel like your letting the defense down because you’re putting them out there against their offense again?

When we do that, we’re putting ourselves in a bad position, offensively, because we’re not able to get into a groove. When we started the game, we were moving the ball pretty well and we’ve just got to finish those drives. Like I said, they’re a great team, but at the same time the score did not indicate the type of team that we are. We’re a lot better team than we were today. We just didn’t do the things we needed to do to win.

When you see Tom Brady on the other side, do you feel like you need to step your game up at all?

Anytime you’re playing against a guy like that it’s not about Jason versus Tom. It’s about the Redskins versus the Patriots. Today, like I said, watching from the sidelines, he did an outstanding job. He was very precise in everything that he did and one thing that I can do is to learn from some of the things he’s been doing and just continue to try to grow. It might have been one minor setback in my growth, but I’m going to come back next week and compete.

Coach Gibbs mentioned about troubles hearing in the headset. Was there any problem for you?

Today, it wasn’t a problem. Before the game we were trying to get them turned up, but during the game it wasn’t that big of a deal as it was in the Green Bay game. Communication wasn’t big on the outcome today. One or two plays we had to try to rush it. Other than that it was pretty straight forward.

Do you think they were running up the score at all?

I don’t know how to answer that one. They were going for it on fourth downs, but like I said, that’s an NFL team and we have to stop it. We’re all in the NFL and we’re all here to make plays. One thing you have to remember about this level is no one is going to give you anything. Anything you get, you have to earn it. One thing I’d say is that we’d probably have a little chip on our shoulder. We’ve just got to get back and do what we need to do to win games.

Does it tick you off a little bit that they were running it up?

You know, when we’re in those situations we tend to back off a little bit because that’s just what we do. Their motto might be different. They might have a different approach in the way they do it, but we’ve just got to put this one behind us and move on. It’s not a pretty feeling when they’re moving up and down the field and scoring that way and we’re not completing third downs or not getting into a groove to make plays offensively. It’s kind of a frustrating day all around.

What was your sense from the guys in the locker room after the game?

I think we’re going to bounce back strong. The reason why is because everyone understands that wasn’t us today. We’ve just got pick our game up a little bit more and [that’s] what it’s going to take to win when we’re playing one of the top two teams in the NFL and we want to get to that level. Now I think we know what we’ve got to do on a week-in and week-out basis and definitely that’s not the game we wanted it to be and things just didn’t go our way. A big part of it is now what you’re going to do. You can look back and just feel bad about it, but you’ve just got to move on to the next week and get ready because the NFL’s a long season.

Is there anything about Tom Brady that you’d like to emulate as you grow?

He’s very in control in everything that he does. You can tell right now that he’s very comfortable and one thing that he does is just to take what the defense give him. He’s an outstanding quarterback and he’s been doing it for a long time. He’s everything that people say about him and there’s nothing bad you can say about the guy. You just try to do those things and hopefully one day I grow through the process that I’m able to do those things.

Did the defense do anything to trick from what you saw on film?

One thing that they did do was they played very hard. They tried to sit on a lot of our routes, try to re-route some of our passes. Overalll, they’re a very good defense and they play together. They’re always in the right places at the right times. You’re playing against a team that one thing you have to do offensively is when the chances are there you’ve got to hit them.

On his thoughts about the game
From our standpoint, the Redskins standpoint, we just couldn’t get anything going out there today. I think that we have to start off by giving the Patriots all the credit, it’s a real, real good football team. Looking across there, I don’t know of a weakness that they have. I was hoping we could make some plays and get ourselves going but we couldn’t. It’s one of those things that you hope wouldn’t happen to you and it did. It’s been a while since that’s happen to us. It’s been a long time and our guys are going to have to deal with that and see if we can bounce back next week and play a real important game on the road again. From a Redskins standpoint, you give New England all the credit. I think they have a heck of a football team all the way down and I think they are extremely well coached all the way across the board. I’m most worried right now about Carlos Rogers, our corner. I think he got hurt there and we’ll just have to see what it looks like tomorrow, I’m concerned about that.

On if he thought that Patriots were running up the score
No. I have no problem with anything that they did. Nothing, no problems from me.

On if he considered pulling his starters
I think our guys have a lot of pride. They want to play, they want to come out. I was proud of the fact that we got down the field finally with the drive there with the offense. I took the approach [that] if they want to play, I’ll let them play.

On if the Patriots were better than he thought
I don’t think you could say enough good things about the Patriots. That’s kind of the way I look at it, you’ve got to give them all the credit. I just know they were real, real good against us. It’s up to other people to evaluate overall where they think the Patriots are going to wind up. But, like I said, they’ve got great talent, great coaching and I think they’ve got a heck of a football team. It will take a lot to stop them.

On this being a learning experience for Jason Campbell
I think our most important thing for him was putting him in ‘red ball’ and letting him do some things there. I think every snap he takes is a learning experience. He’s pretty young. We’re really proud of him and how far he’s come. It certainly wasn’t his best day or any of our best days, including me. When I talked to the team I said ‘hey, we’re all together’ and certainly I’m a big part of that. The Redskins are all together. We do something, we lose a game like that, we’re all together. That’s our emphasis and I think Jason Campbell, from his standpoint, going through a real tough thing like that, you don’t like it. That’s an experience that can happen to you. There are still things he can learn and I was proud of him to take us down the field at the end. I think every play he takes, every experience he gets is a learning experience for him and is very important.

On how the Redskins will respond to today’s loss
I think we have a lot of pride. I think we have a lot of character. It’s got to be played out to see how we deal with this. Next week’s game is very important to us, it’s on the road and in reality it’s cutting it close to getting things done by the end of the season and next week’s game is just as important as this one. It’s going to be a big game for us. How we deal with this? I don’t know. I think it’s something we have to play out and see how we all react.

On if he thought the Redskins should’ve been able to move the ball around more
I was hoping that we would play a lot better all the way around.

On communication problems on the field or with the headsets
There were issues. It’s a problem across the league. I don’t want to use that as an excuse for what happened to us today. We’ll just continue to the let the league know what happened to us today and we’ll just have to see how they deal with it.

On if he’ll explore different options in the running game
No, I don’t think we’re going to change any personnel. I just think we have to get ourselves going.

On Tom Brady
I think he’s very, very good at what he does. He’s got the experience and he’s got a lot of talent around him and I think he’s exceptional.

On such a devastating loss
Anything with evaluating our football team always starts with me. I just know that today we didn’t play a good football game and that’s the first time that’s happened to us in a long time. Hopefully it won’t happen to us again.

On if he thought the Redskins defense would respond better
I thought we would play better than we did, certainly. We came in here and we were hoping we were going to play a great ball game. We certainly don’t want to take anything away from the Patriots. In all three phases we were kind of together -- we didn’t play well, we didn’t make plays. Of course that starts with me.

On what he said to Coach Belichick after the game
I didn’t say anything. We just shook. It was a heck of a job.

Richard Seymour, Defensive End
(On his first game back from PUP)
I guess first I would like to say it’s definitely been a long road. It’s been a journey. This is something that I haven’t experienced in my career. I think every year is different. It presents different challenges and to say the least I think I definitely have to thank my wife for putting up with me the last weeks. I thank the training staff for preparing me to get back out on the field, my teammates and congratulate them, and the fans. Like I said, it’s been a long road but every year is different and I understand that. You just have to be able to play this game.

Rosevelt Colvin, Linebacker
(On playing the Colts next week)
I’m personally going to be fired up. I’m fired up every week and try to have a great attitude and go out there and have some fun. Is there extra incentive because I’m from Indianapolis? No, but it will definitely be an opportunity to play in front of family and friends.

(On if there is an extra incentive to win next week because of last year’s playoffs)
Last year was last year. We are a totally different team trying to get back to where we want to be. They are a totally different team and the best team in the league.

(On the return of Richard Seymour and his performance today)
I don’t know because I really couldn’t pay attention to him. I was trying to get my job taken care of and hopefully he can continue to get better. I know he is working hard to get better himself. We will need all healthy bodies we can get to keep this thing rolling.

(On the statement made to the Colts after this win)
I don’t know. You will have to ask them. We just try and go out and execute regardless of the situation and the team. The opportunities we have had this year we have and hopefully when we get another opportunity in Indianapolis next weekend we will again.

Heath Evans, Fullback
(On today’s win)
It was a fun one. It was just another Patriot team win. It started this week with the coaching and we were able to execute what they put in effect. Then Tom Brady goes out there and does what he always does. Today was a patient game plan and we were going to take what they gave us. As an offense it was fun doing it.

(On Maroney’s performance today)
He ran well and the film will tell us everything. He had some carries last week and it was fun to see him out there cause he is an exciting player. He caught the ball well and ran hard so I like having him back playing.

(On Tom Brady running the ball)
Let’s just hope he always doesn’t do that. He did a great job tonight. His instincts and knowing what is around him and not to take a chance by throwing the ball in tight coverage, it’s just what he does. He performs week in and week out. I wouldn’t want to play for any other quarterback.

Asante Samuel, Defensive Back
(On his interception)
Well, I was reading the quarterback and the receiver was doing a go-route and he threw it up and I went up at the highest point and got it.

(On the coach saying that the defense needed to play harder and tackle harder and if they took it as a challenge this week)
Definitely. When the coach comes into the meeting and tells us we’re not doing something good and is mad, it makes you eat some humble pie. We take that to heart and go out and do those things to make us a better team.

(On what they did to get them off the field as many times as they did today)
Being disciplined, we ran multiple coverages and just reading the quarterback, breaking on the ball and stopping the run.

(On the Colts game and if he thinks that the game is on the secondary)
Yes, it is going to be a big part but it is total team defense. You know that Peyton [Manning] is going to test us a lot and that we will have to go out there with our “A” game and we will have to play a good game. Last year we didn’t stop them in the playoffs. We stopped them in the first half and then in the second half Peyton did a good job and lead his team to a victory. We will just have to play disciplined and play hard.

Ty Warren, Defensive end
(On how it felt to have Richard Seymour back today)
It was good. I talked to him during the game and he was getting himself back into the grove. Richard is going to be a great help to us. He is ready and go out there full-time and do what he has to do, and when he does it is going to be something great.

(On his two fumble recoveries)
I can’t remember when -- I know I have had a lot of one-fumble recoveries but two – Wow, it was like I was out there Easter egg hunting or picking up a golden egg. You just have to continue to play and sometimes the ball might literally bounce in your direction.

Rodney Harrison, Safety
(On the defense’s game plan heading into today’s game)
Particularly in the second half we weren’t really focused in Miami. So really the emphasis was coming out, starting fast, playing well, trying to create some turnovers and just trying to tackle better and be a second-half football team, which we struggled with in the past. I think we came out and did a good job of that.

(On whether or not today’s win was the best all-around performance for the team this season)
I don’t know. I missed four games. I guess [it was]. The second half we played, we had a great fourth-down stop, made some turnovers, created some pressure. [Mike] Vrabel had a heck of a game, Rosey [Colvin] picked up a touchdown, so it was great.

(On whether or not he was disappointed that the defense didn’t get the shutout)
I think any time you can leave a goose egg up there, you want to. But, heck, we shut down a group of talented guys. They only scored seven points against us and the defense played well today.

(On whether the win sent a message to the Colts)
We weren’t thinking about the Colts. We were thinking about the Redskins. You have to play a 60-minute game. You have to continue to play for 60 minutes. You never know what’s going to happen. I think, more importantly for us, we improved in a lot of areas where we struggled in the past. That’s what we’re focused on. We’re not focused on what another team is going to do. We’re just focusing on the task at hand and making sure we get better for next week.

Kevin Faulk, Running Back
(On the strong performance by all the running backs)
This game was an opportunity for the backs to just go out and perform. We just had to go out there and do our jobs.

(On if the play of the backs showed another way the offense can put up points)
We don’t know. We just want to win games. We’re just trying to put our offense together and try to make it work.

(On if today’s game was the Patriots’ best all-around performance of the season)
If you want to say that. I know there were some mistakes that we made and we just have to correct them.

(On what next week’s game against the Colts mean, having two unbeaten teams play each other this late in the year)
That’s nothing we can control, having two unbeaten teams. We just know we have the Colts this week and we have to prepare for them. We’ll see them on Sunday.

(On if he knew he became the Patriots’ sixth-leading receiver of all time)
Not at all, they just told me right after the game. It’s just a process. Going through what you go through to help the team win is just a process. When I’m done playing I’ll be able to celebrate, but right now there’s more work to do to try to help this team win.

Donte’ Stallworth, Wide Receiver
(On whether next week’s game against the Colts feels like more than just a regular season game)
There isn’t anything that’s on the line other than the next opponent. I’m not going to downplay it. Obviously it’s going to be a big game and all that good stuff. It’s another good game against the defending world champs, so we have to make sure we bring our ‘A’ game. It’s going to be a good one.

(On what the screen passes to him and the backs opens up for the offense)
It’s just a number of different things that we can do and I think that with all those calls that were making, we’re really trying to keep the defense on their toes. There’s a lot of different things that we can do and we have a lot of different options that we can go to. Guys usually perform and make do of their plays when they get them.

(On whether the quarterbacks ran well)
Yeah, those guys look like running backs out there. It was good to see Tom [Brady] get in there and run, looking pretty good. And obviously [Matt] Cassel, he showed some guts by running it in there the way he did with that defense, because they were coming. We watched film all week on those guys. One thing that we preached all week was, “catch the ball, get up field, and don’t try to be the hero. Go down when you’re out-numbered.” Those guys, they play good defense.

Did you ever think you would put up 52 points against the Washington Redskins, a team you had yet to beat?

They presented some different challenges so I think we made quite a few good plays out there. The important thing was to really stay on track and get positive plays. [We] had the one turnover, which was unfortunate, but for the most part it was a good day.

You’re not used to running in touchdowns.

No. I don’t want to be running. Trust me.

Can you talk about the two you ran in? And of course your backup, Matt Cassel, ran for one as well.

I think mine were just about as far as I could go so anything longer than that I’m not trying to run it. But Matt’s was a great run, he really showed a lot of determination this week to getting back to his style and his preparation. I thought it was really exciting for the team to see him make that play and make a few great throws. It takes everybody and everybody puts a lot of work in and everybody was really proud of Matt.

Was it good to see the fake spike work?

Yeah, we tried it last week and I screwed it up so I tried to redeem myself this week. If you just throw it up to Randy [Moss] he usually catches it.

How about throwing it up to Mike Vrabel?

Mike was pretty open. I think it was a good sell by the offensive line, he just slipped out there and another touchdown catch for him. I just try to throw to guys that are open.

Looking ahead, any thoughts on the Colts?

They’re a great so we know we have our work cut out for us. They’ve beaten us the last three times and they’ve won 12 in a row, I guess. And they’re a great team [and] it’s tough to play them in that dome. We’ve got a long week and a lot of preparation. [They have] a great offense, great defense, great special teams, great coaching, great confidence, everything you’re looking for in a great football team.

You witnessed some great rivalries growing up. What’s it like to now play in one that’s getting to be like that when you play the Colts?

They are always meaningful games when you play them, that’s the way it seems the last bunch of times we’ve played them. Last game it was a real tight game, the previous couple of times it wasn’t so tight [and] they really got the best of us. We know it’s going to take our best effort. We know you can’t make a lot of mistakes against theses guys. When you turn the ball over against the Colts it’s usually seven points. When you punt it to them it’s usually seven points. You just have to find ways to be productive and be efficient and not turn the ball over, certainly that’s always a big key. I’m happy we’ve got seven days to prepare because I think we’re going to need each and every hour of that week.
You always talk about the building process of the season. Can you talk about the building process of this season halfway through.

I think we’re always finding ways to improve. It’s been a good eight weeks, but it really doesn’t mean anything. 8-0 is great but it really doesn’t mean anything, [it] doesn’t guarantee us anything. You have to keep improving through the entire season and the second half of the season is upon us and I hope we perform better than we did in the first half of the season. That’s usually what good teams do. There’s a lot of room for improvement and we’re going to spend this week trying to make improvements on the things we screwed up this week and try to continue to build on that. Should be a good week.

What could you guys do better in the second half?

We can be more efficient. There were plenty of plays out there where the communication train [between] me and the receivers wasn’t what we needed it to be. We got a lot of penalties out there. We got a strip-sack. Fortunately, our defense saved us like they’ve been saving us all year when we turn the ball over. So we can’t turn the ball over, we’ve got to be productive when we throw it, continue to run the ball well. I think the positives [are that] the offensive line is playing great, the receivers are getting open, the tight ends are playing their role, the backs are holding onto the football. There are a lot of positives but there are also things we can improve.

I know you guys all eat the humble pie, but at what point to do you realize you have something special here? Have you realized that?

I haven’t realized it. Just trying to get better each day. Just trying to take these games and make improvements each week and try to put our best out there each week and build on the stuff that we screwed up. Build on the stuff that we’ve done well, and improve the things we screwed up the previous week. It’s a long season. It’s not even November yet, and we’ve got a lot of room for improvement left and we’ve got a long half of the season ahead.

Can you talk about your receivers and their ability to make yards after the catch?

They all run well after the catch. They’re all very elusive. Donte’ [Stallworth] is very powerful, Wes [Welker] is very elusive, Randy [Moss] is a threat every time he gets the ball. The backs did a great job today, I thought, of making guys miss. I think that run after catch was awesome today, especially against a defense like this that’s very fast and aggressive and they’re all good tacklers and big hitters in the secondary. London Fletcher is one of the best middle linebackers in the league. They’ve got a great pair of safeties that rush the passer well, [Phillip] Daniels and Andre Carter did a great job. I just think we were trying to get the ball out quick because we knew that rush was coming.

Back to that Vrabel touchdown. Every pass he’s caught has been for a touchdown. He gets wide open. You said it was a great sell by the offensive line, but how does he get that open? He’s caught ten touchdown passes.

If they’re playing the pass and you run it then they’re screwed, and if you try to make it look like a run and he slips out for a pass then you leave him open. He’s very good at evading defenders and getting off the line of scrimmage. He’s very quick [and] he uses his hand well. He’s got good hands when he catches it.