Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Seymour and Bruschi Interviews 1/8/08

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

PATRIOTS DL RICHARD SEYMOUR
Press Conference
January 8, 2008

Q: You have two running backs that are totally different styles. Is that a unique combination for you to deal with?

RS: Yeah, absolutely. When you look at Fred Taylor, I definitely rate him as one of the best backs that we’ve seen all year. And [Maurice Jones-] Drew comes in and does a good job as well, but Junior [Seau] and I always have a little joke going on. I always tell him when God was giving out talents, I always tell Junior he went back for seconds. And when you look at Fred Taylor, he went back for seconds, too. They do a good job all the way across the board. Like I said, they’re a great one-two punch and defensively we’re going to have our work cut out for us because we can be in the hole, we can be in the gap [and] know what to do, but they do such a good job of making you miss.

Q: With a guy like Fred Taylor, he’s 31 years of age and he doesn’t seem to have lost anything. How could that be?

RS: I think a lot of the credit has to go to his training in the offseason. Obviously he’s been hurt, but actually I saw him a couple of times during the offseason and he’s been working with some real experienced guys, as far as rehabbing and getting him back on the field. He’s been doing a good job of taking care of his body. He’s the ultimate pro and we have a lot of respect for him.

Q: What does Vince Wilfork do in and of his own role and how does that help you or Ty Warren or Jarvis Green?

RS: Vince is kind of like that centerpiece in the middle that doesn’t move, that constant force that’s always there. What it does is, as long as we take care of our responsibilities outside we can turn the ball in to him and there aren’t many centers in this league that can block Vince. He’s a strong guy, he [has] a low center of gravity, he has a high football IQ and he does a great job. We’re definitely going to need that in the biggest game of the year.

Q: How does he get all of those fines? He seems like such a nice fellow.

RS: Right, he is a nice fellow, but you have to have that mentality, you know, when you’re on the field. I look at it as sort of like a peaceful warrior. He’s peaceful off the field, a fun-loving guy, a father and a good friend. But on the field, he’s a warrior. Fines are part of the game. Obviously we don’t try to go out and create any, but I think some of it just comes along with the territory.

Q: Do the Jaguars remind you at all of your teams at the early part of this decade, when you were always very good but didn’t get a lot of Pro Bowl recognition?

RS: Yeah, I think they do a good job of bringing that type of mentality. I think they do a good job of running the football, stopping the run. They have really good players, they’re well-coached, so I think when you look at us, I think it’s sort of like the same qualities and they do a good job of doing what they do.

Q: How do you feel now after missing the first six or seven weeks, as opposed a year you did not? Can you tell?

RS: Well, there was a reason I was out, obviously having the surgery, so obviously getting back in the groove, getting back, seeing the recognition of blocks and also getting football stamina - It’s a lot different than just waking up and stepping out on the football field. I think you have to get in football condition, football shape. I think especially as a defensive lineman, because if you’re an every-down player, I think you have to have the ability to rush the passer, stop the run, run sideline to sideline - It’s a difference than just getting out there and running around. When you have to take on guys, take on blocks and shed blocks, stay strong, be explosive, I think there’s a lot that plays in to it and you have to work your way to that level.

Q: Would it be fair to say - Are you peaking now?

RS: I think I’m definitely moving in the right direction. I’m excited [about] where I’m at and it’ll be exciting come Saturday night.

Q: They say the playoffs are a higher level and defense is such an important aspect for the eventual winner. Do you notice a higher level when it’s a playoff game?

RS: I definitely think the pace picks up. I think every play is magnified, and you never know which play it is and you never want to be the guy that [doesn’t] take care of your responsibilities. But I think in situations like this, I think the best thing that you can do is just simplify the game, take your responsibility, do your job and hopefully the guy beside you takes that same approach - And have fun doing it. I mean, you can’t come in here and be tense, be tight, not have fun. This is something that you work all year long for. This is one of the reasons that you play this game, to be in situations like this, to have great opportunities. We put ourselves in a great position to finish our goal and Saturday night will be our first step.

Q: Can you comment on David Garrard and how tough it is to defend him?

RS: Yeah, he’s a big, strong guy in the pocket. He’s hard to bring down. You can have guys on him and he’ll shake those guys off. I kind of put him in that same mold of Steve McNair, being able to shake off tacklers and do a good job and be elusive in the pocket. He’s a smart guy. He doesn’t make many turnovers and he’s really good for their offense and what they’re trying to do. Obviously their coaching staff feels the same way.

Q: Does your responsibility with a mobile quarterback like that change? You move around, but do you have to be aware of where he is?

RS: Yeah, I think you have to be aware of where he is and what are his qualities, what he brings to the table - awareness of our rush lanes, knowing that we just can’t rush around and leave lanes because he can - You saw in that Pittsburgh game. It was fourth and two. I mean, the season was on the line [and] it’s quarterback draw. So they put the ball in his hands and he was able to go out and make a play.

PATRIOTS LB TEDY BRUSCHI
Press Conference
January 8, 2008

Q: You’ve played in a lot of playoff games. Is there a legitimate elevation of emotion and intensity?

TB: Yeah, I think it’s not only on game day, but the preparation you have during the week, because I think you realize the finality of the playoffs, that if you don’t have good preparation and you don’t play well on game day, that’s it. That’s it, so that definitely comes into play, not just on game day but ever since you know you’re in the playoffs.

Q: You are playing a team with a terrific tandem of running backs. Can you talk about them and the challenges they bring for your defense?

TB: I think as long as Fred [Taylor]’s been in league, you’d think you’d lose a step a little bit, especially as a running back with all of the pounding that you take. But as you watch him on film, he still has that great breakaway speed and you see him pulling away from linebackers and especially defensive backs and safeties. They just can’t catch him, so I think he’s playing the best type of football he has in his career. [Maurice] Jones-Drew, a guy that last year we played against him - and we know how [legitimate] he is as a running back - We put some good looks on him last year and he seemed like he was still breaking tackles and falling forward and he can’t be underestimated because of his size. He doesn’t have tremendous size, he’s a little guy, but he’s as tough as they come and you can see that by the way he runs and gets in the end zone.

Q: From a linebacker standpoint, when you stand behind Vince Wilfork, what does that enable you to do?

TB: It cleans up a lot of things. Sometimes during a running play specifically, you’ll have a lot of scheme-blocks thrown at you, a lot of double teams, a lot of guards coming at you, and if you’re not getting good plays from your zero technique it makes it that much more messy, if you know what I’m talking about when I say messy. You know, guys can be coming at you from different angles if the zero-technique isn’t holding up stout in there and, of course, Vince, everyone’s seen him play this year. When isn’t he stout?

Q: How do you mean that? He’s 300-some pounds.

TB: Maybe his height helps him, too. He’s not one of the tallest guys. I mean, that just helps him with his pad-level automatically. When he gets his hand inside on someone and really gets his arms extended - and he is really strong. That happens a lot of times - I can see which side leverage he has, which side leverage I’m supposed to have and then, like I said, it cleans a lot of things up for me in there.

Q: From that standpoint, he seems like such a nice young man. How does he get all of those fines?

TB: He’s different people. He’s two different people. You see VW with his kids and the way he is with us in the locker room and [he’s a] really nice, fun-loving guy, communicates well. I’m sure you guys love talking to him, the way he is with you guys. But when we get out there on the field, he’s one of the fiercest competitors we have. Sometimes too fierce, in terms of being a little bit too aggressive sometimes, and I think he’s talked about the fines that he’s had and some of the penalties, but that just happens sometimes when you’re out there and you’re being aggressive. I’m not going to tell him not to be that way.

Q: You’ve played in so many playoff games since 1996. Do you ever get them mixed up?

TB: Possibly. Yeah, I guess sometimes I’ll ask, ‘What year was that,’ because we’ve had a lot of success here, but you still remember. I can still point out plays and what the weather was like and where we were and what were the game-changing plays in certain games. I think the games you remember most are the games when you win, you advance and the games that you lost and your season was over.

Q: The thing is [Terrell] Buckley doesn’t remember them and he’s never had a concussion.

TB: Maybe it’s an effect of other things.

Q: You talked about your preparation and how it steps up. Has that changed over the years?

TB: No, I’ve always believed that when you have games that get bigger and bigger in magnitude, you have to break them down to their simplest form, and that goes down to the preparation from day-to-day to that game, what quarter is it in, what situation is it in, what down is this and what are the team’s tendencies on that down. What are my responsibilities—If I just break it down that simply, it sort of helps me forget about the magnitude of if we lose, the season’s over. If we win, we’re going to the next round or something like that. I just focus on how to win and how to beat the opponent.

Q: The more experience you have, the more years you have under your belt, does the playoff experience mean more?

TB: Yeah, because that’s really my motivation right now for playing. I have no other goal but to win championships. That’s the way it’s always been for me and the playoffs are for when you’ve gotten to that final goal. You’ve entered a tournament to where there are a handful of teams that are deserving to be there and each round you progress it means that your final goal is closer and closer.

Q: Does this Jaguars team remind you of your early teams at the start of this run, in that they play hard but didn’t get a lot of recognition outside of their community?

TB: Well, our teams early in my career won championships. Right now we’re in a divisional round, so I don’t want to do any comparisons to any of the previous teams that I was on, because those were special teams that were able to call themselves world champions, so I won’t do that.

Q: But do the Jags remind you - Is it the same type of attitude and all of that?

TB: I do see similarities, in terms of maybe how they approach games - How they approach games, being physical, being aggressive, wanting to be the tougher team, the smarter team. That’s what we pride ourselves on also. I’ve said that even last year and it goes again this year, they do sort of remind me of us because of the way they approach the game, how they want to just sort of be the more physical team. I think that’s what we pride ourselves on, yes.

Q: In talking to players yesterday, the key word when it comes to a playoff game seems to be pressure. What is the key? How do you relax and just be able to function with that kind of pressure?

TB: I think you dive headfirst that much even more into your preparation, in terms of maybe - Obviously you will step it up this week, knowing the finality of the game. You’ll watch more film, you’ll pay a little bit more attention, more than you usually do. I think it is in the back of your mind that this is the playoffs and if you don’t win the season is over, so you dive into your preparation even more - You take it home with you, you do whatever you can and this is all you focus on every single minute of your day.

Q: Do you ever say—The theme Bill Belichick said about playing 60 minutes of every game, has that actually almost taken you into playoff-mode right from the very beginning of the season?

TB: Yeah, I think him assessing that early in the year and then us having some of the games that we had. Obviously in some of the games, we didn’t have to play 60 minutes. The score was 42-14 or something like that. We had a number of victories where the margin of victory was great, and him reassessing that towards the end of the year I think was very important. [It] got us to focus on playing full games, which helped us win tough games like Baltimore and Philadelphia and then the Giants and things like that. We’ve had some games in the last month that basically took 60 minutes and that I think have gotten us used to playoff football. I think the game verses the Giants was a game that the atmosphere and the way the they played us, the physical defense that they played against our offense and the way they pounded that ball on us, I think that’s us having to get used to that and get improved on stopping those things going into the playoffs.

Q: You said a few minutes ago your only goal is to win championships. Looking back to 1996, what was your goal then? Was it just to make the team, to learn the position, be in a playoff game? What was your goal then?

TB: Yeah, my goal back then was to learn to play linebacker. Coming out of college and being a defensive lineman, never taking a hook-drop in my life, Coach [Al] Groh asked me to drop to the hook and I asked him where that was. I knew I had a long way to go, so I think that was my first and foremost step coming into the league, and then the other goal I had was [to] keep myself on the team as best [as] I could with what I could do, being a third-down pass rusher and playing special teams. Then as I continued to learn to play that linebacker position and I realized that I could do that, I said, OK, let’s take it to the next level and the next level and now I’m to the level where I know I can play. Now I just want to keep winning and winning.

Q: Throughout the year there have been a lot of questions about age. How much of a motivation was that going into the season and now that it hasn’t been a factor, how much satisfaction do you take out of that?

TB: I didn’t use it as motivation because when somebody would say, ‘Hey, Tedy, you’re getting old,’ I’d say, ‘Yes, I am.’ I’m 34 years old and I’m still playing linebacker in the NFL. I’m a realist, also. I’m not 24 anymore. But I know this one thing, and I’ve always known this - that I can play football. Football is what I’m meant to do and I know that I’m still good at it.

 

Pats Lockeroom interviews 1/8/08

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

PATRIOTS LOCKER ROOM QUOTES
January 8, 2008

LINEBACKER MIKE VRABEL

(On if the team’s primary focus is to stop the Jaguars running attack)

Vrabel: I think that’s certainly one of the focuses and a main focus, but they can hurt you in a lot of ways. They run a lot of good, solid pass routes that if you sit there and you load up on the run they’re confident in what they’re able to do to get the ball downfield. This is an offense that’s able to make big plays and I think that people just lump then into the category that they’re just grinding it out on the ground for four or five yards a carry. They hit big plays against us last year down there, so that’s also part of it. 

(On how David Garrard has grown as a quarterback over the course of the season)

Vrabel: I didn’t get to see a whole lot of him up until this week. Obviously I watched the game against Pittsburgh the other night but now watching film if you go back during the season, just his efficiency and the way that he’s played and managed the game. All you have to look at is in fourth-and-two with their season on the line they had a lot of options to get the ball to and they chose to keep it in his hands and run a quarterback draw. I think that says a lot about the confidence they have in him. 

(On making the Jaguars one-dimensional and making David Garrard beat them)

Vrabel: You try to do that every week. If you can force a team to drop back and throw it 50 times every week [a] few things are going to be happening: we’re going to be stopping the run and chances are our offense is ahead and they have to score points. I think you try to do that every week and whether that’s the case or not, we can win by not doing that, but certainly you go into a game and you try to take away what people do well.

(On the similar running styles of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew)

Vrabel: They’re both real good. I just saw that Fred Taylor is going to replace Willie Parker in the Pro Bowl—That’s long overdue. [He’s] certainly running as well as he’s ever run, a lot of explosion, a lot of speed, you don’t see anybody catch him when he gets in the open field. They both block, it’s not like neither of them are capable of picking up linebackers. They both do that. I think they’re both assets to their team.

(On the lack of publicity the Jaguars have gotten and not having any Pro Bowlers prior to Fred Taylor replacing Willie Parker)

Vrabel: They are confident in what they do. They bring their lunch pail to work everyday. They play hard football [and] you respect that. We’ve been in that situation before. We’ve had guys like that. You just go out there and play and regardless of the type of attention and media hype that you get, you just go out there and you play hard.

(On whether or not the Jaguars are like the Patriots used to be, in regards the number of Pro Bowlers and recognition)

Vrabel: They are playing well at the end of the year and that’s what you have to do. They won their first game. Everybody’s undefeated right now, so we [have to] go out and play hard and play well and we’ve got to prepare.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN LOGAN MANKINS

(On whether the Patriots would rather play a physical team or a finesse team)

Mankins: I don’t know. Everyone talks about the [physicality] of the Jaguars but we’re no powder puffs. We’re going to hit you back, so we’ll see what happens. 

(On who has the advantage, the Jaguars because they played last week or the Patriots because they had a week off)

Mankins: [The] advantage [goes to] the team that prepares the best. We’re trying to do that right now and we’re going to continue that the rest of the week. Whoever executes the best on Saturday night is going to win the game. 

 
(On the challenge that the Jaguars defensive line presents)

Mankins: It’s a big challenge for us. They’ve got big guys that can - They’re solid against the run and they’re solid against the pass, so you have to try and crease them in the running game and you have to hold up in the passing game. We can’t hold the ball all day and we can’t let runaway rushers go.

(On how Tom Brady’s quick release helps the offensive line in pass protection)

Mankins: It always helps but we can’t count on that all the time. We have to block people, too. Even though Tom gets rid of the ball fast, sometimes he needs to be able to hold the ball and we have to be able to let him do that.

(On how playoff games are different)

Mankins: It’s just faster. There is no tomorrow if you lose, so you’re going to lay it all out there no matter what. Hopefully you come out on top and don’t have to go home.

RUNNING BACK KEVIN FAULK

(On the physicality of the Jaguars)

Faulk: They are a very physical team and we know we’re going to have to play hard and it’s going to be a very intense game.

(On how the Jaguars and the Patriots both seem to live by the 60-minute men motto)

Faulk: I think every team lives by that theme. If you don’t play 60 minutes you’re not going to win the game.

(On why the veterans have played so well in the playoffs)

Faulk: I can’t give you a direct answer, but I think it’s just from working hard, understanding what’s at stake, knowing what we have to do as a team and all the normal stuff that we would do as a team. Trust in the guys you’re playing with, do your job [and] work hard—Just the normal stuff.

(On the playoffs being just another game)

Faulk: You have to look at it as another football game. You can’t put pressure on yourself because it’s a playoff game. You have to be mature enough to understand what’s at stake, but at the same time understand that you have to play a football game.

CORNERBACK ELLIS HOBBS III

(On how close games down the stretch prepare a team for the playoffs)

Hobbs:  We knew going into those types of games that it would be a playoff-like atmosphere. Obviously, we showed that we can win those types of games and we can come out and play at a high competitive level through 60 minutes.

(On his impressions of the Jacksonville-Pittsburgh game)

Hobbs:  It’s the playoffs. You look at teams and sometimes they’re overmatched during the season and they come back in the playoffs and it’s closer than you would think or what the media or what the fans would think. It’s not necessarily that any of the teams got better; it’s just a desperation matter now where every play counts, every moment counts out there. It’s a game of inches.

(On the Jacksonville wide receivers)

Hobbs:  There’s no stopping them. All of them are good - big, physical guys. They know how to use their body to go up and get the ball and it sticks to their hands and they wind up making some great catches. [David] Garrard puts it right on the money for them and sometimes he has to stick it [in] some tight situations. The receivers aren’t afraid to go across the middle and get banged up a little bit because they have a quarterback that can beat you.

(On whether David Garrard’s ability not to throw interceptions changes the game plan on him)

Hobbs:  Not necessarily, you just understand that the opportunities you do have to make plays on interceptions and causing fumbles, things like that, you do have to capitalize on because he’s a guy that makes minimal mistakes.

(On Jacksonville’s ability to play a full 60 minutes)

Hobbs:  You see this as a game that is going to go down at the end of the fourth quarter and whoever is playing the best football and the end is going to be the one that wins the game. That team is obviously not going to back down and we’re not going to back down from them. It’s going to be a good game.

LINEBACKER ADALIUS THOMAS

(On what the key is to relaxing in a playoff atmosphere)

Thomas:  I don’t know a key. You just do your job, whatever it may be. Your job doesn’t change just because it’s the playoffs.

(On Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew)

Thomas:  Both of those guys are fast. Both of those guys can make cuts [and] break a lot of tackles. Both are strong. One of them is just shorter than the other.  They run the same plays with those guys in there so both of those guys are very explosive and can take a short run and make it into a long run.

(On Jones-Drew’s ability as a blocker in the backfield)

Thomas:  It doesn’t matter how tall you are. Blocking is about attitude so both of those guys are tough, physical guys.

(On what kind of problems Jacksonville presents)

Thomas:  They’re a challenge all around, with the two running backs that they have along with the fullback [Greg] Jones, who’s a big, physical guy, and the quarterback adds another runner to it. They have big receivers and they have a big, physical offensive line. Our trying to prepare for them is very difficult and so we just really have to study the film and stay on top of it and not just rely on one guy to tackle.

TIGHT END KYLE BRADY

(On his memories of his first playoff game)

Brady: My first one ever? I have a lot of memories of it. It was in ’98. I was playing with the Jets and we played against the Jaguars, actually, which at that time I didn’t know was going to be my future team. It was a really exciting, electric-type environment in the stadium. There was the realization amongst the players that it’s a do-or-die situation. You win and continue. You lose, it’s time to pack up and go home. There’s just a lot of excitement around that environment.

(On the physical nature of Jacksonville’s game)

Brady:  They’ve always emphasized that. In particular, I think Jack [Del Rio] is very strong on emphasizing that to the defense, but offensively they try to play the same type of style. That was always emphasized to the offensive guys and you can see it on film. That’s the kind of team they are. They’re going to come at you and try to out-physical you.

(On the fact that Jacksonville has just one Pro Bowler)

Brady:  I wouldn’t necessarily say they have no stars. I’d say that sometimes the lack of Pro Bowl votes is a result of several reasons. They play in a small market; they’re not on national television very much, not nearly as much as, say, this team or a New York team or Dallas. That causes little recognition amongst the voters. They’ve got a whole lot of talent and have the ability to go and some of them have gone in the past but just weren’t voted in this year, like Rashean Mathis, John Henderson, or Marcus Stroud. They have Pro Bowl-quality players that don’t always get the recognition that they are due.

(On whether there is an underdog mentality in Jacksonville because of those factors)

Brady:  I think there is that type of mentality, an underdog mentality, and the feeling that they’re sometimes playing for respect.

(On how to deal with the pressure of the playoffs)

Brady:  To me, the game is all about one play at a time. That may sound overly cliché or familiar, but you can’t control the final outcome of the game when you’re stepping on the field for the first play of the game. All you can control is that the particular play or what you do on that particular play or how well you execute on that particular play. There are so many more things to think about than to think about the pressure and what this means and what the potential consequences are. The best thing you can think about is just what you have to do on each particular time when you get the play in the huddle. If you focus on that, it should take care of itself.

Wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth

(On the physical nature of Jacksonville’s play)

Stallworth:  They’ve shown that all year. They’ve shown that on the film that we’ve watched. They’re a really good team. They’ve got a lot of experienced guys mixed with some youth out there. Their secondary—Speaking from my point of view, their secondary is really good, their veterans, they’ve got a rookie [Reggie Nelson] back there who’s playing really well. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. We’re going to have to try to get open. We know they’re going to try to challenge us. Those guys are ballhawks back there so it’s going to be a big challenge for us.

(On the difference between the regular season and the playoffs)

Stallworth:  The difference between the regular season and the playoffs is that you can lose a game in the regular season be all right. You lose in the playoffs - that’s it. I think everybody understands that. Everybody knows that. You make mistakes and that’s it for you. You’re home for the rest of the time.

(On how to deal with the pressures of the playoffs)

Stallworth:  The pressure is what you put on yourself. I don’t feel like there’s any pressure on us. We’re just trying to go out and make plays and right now we’re just trying to take it one day at a time. We’ve got to get the game plan down, see what the coaches have in store for us as far as certain calls and things like that. I think the guys will be taking that in during the next couple of days and we’ll go out and see. As far as pressure, pressure is what you make of it so I’ve never felt any pressure before, ever.

 

Belichick Transcript 1/8/08

Courtesy of the New England Patriots

COACH BELICHICK
Press Conference
January 8, 2008

 
BB: We’re rolling along here on Jacksonville. As I said the other night, this is a real good football team. They’re good at everything. In the second half of the season, the last third of the season, they pretty much lead the league in just about everything, offensively and defensively - points, points scored, points allowed, yards, yards allowed - you name it. They’re good on third down. They’re a very explosive team with their backs, their receivers [and] the quarterback. They sack the quarterback, turn the ball over, they have 20 interceptions on the year—a couple run back for touchdowns. So they can make plays in all phases of the game. They’re very athletic, they’re physical and one of the lowest penalized teams in the league. [They] haven’t turned the ball over. They do a lot of things well. They make it hard for you, as their opponent. They don’t give you very many opportunities - You have to take advantage of the few that are there, but more importantly, [you have to] play sound fundamentally and technically or they’re going to capitalize on it in a hurry and they have a lot of players to do it with. [It’s] kind of like a regular Wednesday here for us. We’re on the road and we need a good week of preparation here against a real good football team. They do a lot of things well. 

Q: Given the truth of everything you just said, you’ve coached in the Pro Bowl. How is it that they have no players in the Pro Bowl?

BB: Well, I think right now we’re talking about a team. We’re not talking about players, but they have a lot of them. Fred Taylor is as good a back as we’ve seen. [Rashean] Mathis was out there last year. I thought he was an outstanding player, an excellent player. We’ve been down that road before. We’ve won a few games. Sometimes you get them selected, sometimes you don’t. I don’t think that’s the most important thing. I think right now the most important thing is how well their team is playing. [They’re] the only team that’s beat San Diego in the last couple of months. They’re a good football team. I’m not really worried about the voting; I’m worried about the playing.

Q: The combination of those two - Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew - is a unique one. I would think it would be a difficult task for defenses to deal with.

BB: Absolutely - two real good players. It’s kind of like San Diego, with [Ladainian] Tomlinson and [Michael] Turner. No matter who’s in the game, they’re both play-makers. Jones-Drew had the long run against us last year, the kickoff return. He’s had a couple of them. [He] had [one] against the Colts, had one against the Saints, had it last week against Pittsburgh. They’re both dangerous, however they get the ball, whether it’s on a short pass, like Drew did against Pittsburgh. He caught that wheel-route coming out of the backfield for a 50-yard touchdown. He didn’t handle the ball that many times, but he had tremendous production in that game. Really, it might have, in a way, been the difference in that game. Fred Taylor, you just can’t say enough about him. He’s a great runner. He’s a strong, powerful guy. [He’s] very nifty in the open field, excellent blitz pick up, one of the better blockers that we’ve seen in the league from his position. He’s a complete player [and] does a great job. It’s a strong one-two punch.

Q: Are Taylor and Jones-Drew interchangeable, in the sense that when they come in they’re going to do the same things?

BB: Yeah. I think they’re both complete guys, they can do it all. They can run, they can catch, they can block, they’re both very good in blitz pick up, they use them both in the passing game, running game, third down, first down - it doesn’t matter. I’m sure Fred could return kicks if they wanted to. They can do it all.

Q: How about Jack Del Rio’s decision to go from Byron Leftwich to David Garrard in the first place, the courage it takes to make that decision and how you think that’s worked out for him?

BB: Obviously it’s worked out well. We faced Garrard last year. I really didn’t follow the whole preseason situation, but we’ve seen Garrard all year obviously in all of the games we’ve watched and I know he’s done a great job for them. He handles the team well, he’s a big guy, he’s physical, he’s hard to bring down, he’s accurate, makes good decisions and they’ve won a lot of games with him at quarterback.

Q: How is he different from Leftwich?

BB: He’s more athletic than Byron was at that point. Again, it comes back down to making decisions and winning games and doing the right things at the right time. I’m not saying Leftwich didn’t, I’m just saying that Garrard’s had an opportunity to do them and he’s done them well.

Q: How would you describe Richard Seymour’s performance since he started later in the season?

BB: I think it’s improved. I think it’s improved. He missed a lot of time and he’s started to catch up in terms of practice and playing reps. I think that’s helped his timing, his technique and his overall conditioning and all. But, you know, it’s a process. Those guys that go through roughly 50 practices, three or four preseason games, whatever it is—It takes a player who comes in after training camp, whenever that point is, a certain amount of time to kind of catch up to that, kind of getting into game condition or midseason form, if you will. It takes a little while to get to that point, but I think at this point Richard is certainly there.

Q: How do you assess their secondary unit with Mathis and Reggie Nelson?

BB: Good. They’re right up there at the top of the league in pass defense. They turn the ball over. They have, whatever it is, 20 interceptions. Safeties, I think they have about 10. Mathis is outstanding. So is [Brian] Williams. [They’re] two big, physical corners. They play a lot of press coverage, they jam the receivers, they’re good in run-force. [Terry] Cousins is the third corner - he’s a solid guy. And Nelson’s done a good job for them at safety, so they have a solid secondary. When [Scott] Starks and [Aaron] Glenn had to play, they’ve done a good job, too. Same thing with [ Jamaal] Fudge. Their backups haven’t played a lot, but when they have played, they’ve played well, too.

Q: You saw them at the end of last year, at the end of the season. How much have they improved as a football team? How much better are they now than they were at the end of last year?

BB: It was a very competitive game. It was a field goal game. It was a long field goal that Stephen [Gotskowski] made, 40-some yards, whatever it was. So it was a very close, competitive game. I don’t know, we’ll find out on Saturday whether we’ve improved more than they have or not. They’re pretty good and that was a tough game down there against them last year. They’re scoring more points, they’re moving the ball statistically better than they did last year - So are we. They’re at the top of the league on defense. They do everything pretty well on that side of the ball. I don’t know. It will be… [We’ll] find out Saturday night.

Q: It’s always dangerous to think about New England weather this far in advance, but, knock on wood, so far it’s supposed to be relatively warm temperatures and maybe just a little bit of rain.

BB: Do you want to go on record with that or are you just throwing that out there?

Q: I know this will be a shock, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong on a prediction.

BB: OK. Well, we have that on record. OK.

Q: Are you a little bit more relieved, in the sense that you throw the ball so well and so effectively?

BB: We’ve gone out there and practiced in everything this year. We’ve practiced in six inches of snow, we’ve practice in all of the days that you’ve seen here. Whatever days we’re out there practicing, we’re pretty much out there in it. We haven’t been inside hardly at all - a couple of times in the last few weeks, but that was about it. Whatever it is, we’ve played in [it]. Whatever it is, the other team is going to have to play in. It’s New England. It’s January, so whatever we get, we get.

Q: I know this is going back a ways, but the Cincinnati/San Diego playoff game in 1981 when [the weather was so bad that] San Diego couldn’t play. It totally took them out of the game.

BB: Right. Well, we can go back to the ’42 Sneaker Game with the New York Giants. I mean, sure. There’s plenty of games back then. Look, in the end this game like every other game will be determined by the two teams that play it. Not the weather and not the temperature. Somebody’s going to have to go out there and block, somebody’s going to have to tackle, somebody’s going to have to run the ball, somebody’s going to have to catch it, somebody’s going to have to kick it, and the game will be decided by the players that do that better than the other ones. I don’t think it’s - Which way the wind blows doesn’t put any points up on the board for anybody. You have to go out there and earn it, you have to go out there and play well, and that’s what this game will be decided by - the team that plays the best.

Q: This is a little off-topic, but Joe Gibbs is retiring. You’ve obviously faced him a lot over the years. Can you talk about the impact he’s had on the game, the way he’s shaped it?

BB: I think when Joe took over in ’81, he started out running the two-back offense, more of a traditional offense. And then I want to say they were 0-5 or something like that and he just went back to the one-back offense that he had worked with with Don [Coryell] in San Diego and so forth and really has been pretty much of a one-back coach ever since. I don’t want to say that he was the founder of it or he invented it, but he certainly popularized it and was very successful with it, and that of course led to a lot of the coaches that left his system, the people like Dan Henning and Joe Bugel and so forth that went on to be head coaches at other teams, to take that system or elements of that system with them. I think a lot of the one-back offense goes back to not only Coryell, but also to Gibbs and the success that he had with it. I know when I was at the Giants as the defensive coordinator, it started off as just kind of Washington and everybody else was mainly two-back there in ’82, ’83. And then it really expanded into a lot of one-back. There were some other variations of it, but so I think he popularized that and I think he really made his mark as an offensive coach. He’s had a lot of great defensive coordinators there - Richie Pettibon and Gregg Williams and guys like that - but his stamp has always been on the offense and they’ve always been a good offensive football team that could run the ball and score a lot of points. I have a lot of respect for Joe. I’ve competed against him for a long time and he’s a true Hall of Famer.

Q: What has Tedy Bruschi brought to this organization? What has his impact been?

BB: He’s been great for this organization. I was here the first year that Tedy was here in ’96 when we drafted him, and it’s a great story. [He] played defensive line in college, [was] converted as a linebacker, played on special teams and then rushed the passer a little bit early in his career and then converted to being an inside linebacker. He’s gotten a lot of recognition for what he’s done at that position. It’s a difficult transition, probably one of the hardest to make, but he’s made it, made it well and he’s been exemplary for us in every phase of the game—On the field, defensively, on special teams. Off the field, he’s been elected a captain pretty much every year since I’ve been here. He’s one of the most respected players on this team [and] in the league, and he’s been one of the best players in this organization. [We’ve] won a lot of games with him out there on the field. He’s done a lot of different things for us. He has great versatility and leadership and determination. A lot of guys didn’t think he had the skills to play in this league. He’s certainly proved all of them wrong.