The Patriots Were Humbled by the Saints Beating
December 4, 2009 – 10:35 am by timgunterIt is not often that you see a Bill Belichick-coached Patriots team get dominated the way they did on Monday night. The Saints offense looked like they were playing against their scout team as Drew Brees scorched the Patriots defense for 371 yards and five touchdowns. At one point the Saints offense scored 21 points in only nine offensive plays. The Saints dominance was a hard pill to swallow for Belichick as he was often found scratching his head wondering why his defense looks like Swiss cheese. The Saints defense also showed up to play Monday night. They put a number on the Patriots in forcing two interceptions and sacking Tom Brady once to hold them to 17 points, their 2nd lowest total of the season. You can count on the Pats to play a great game this weekend against the Miami Dolphins as the Patriots rarely lose two games in a row.
Tom Brady joined WEEI in Boston to talk about whether it occurred to him that the Saints game would end up like it did, how did the Saints took away Randy Moss and Wes Welker, whether the Saints defensive scheme took him by surprise, and whether he got a chance to watch and appreciate what Drew Brees was doing out there.
Whether it occurred to him that the Saints game would end up like it did:
“No, I don’t think any of us really expected us to get beaten by 21 points. We all felt very confident in the game, very confident in the team we were playing, very confident in the week of preparation that we had. It goes like that sometimes. We’ll find a way to move on from it, to figure out the problems and we’re getting together as a team today to start on Miami. It’s a real short week for us. We’ve got to move forward and put this one behind us. As challenging as it may be at times because you’re frustrated by the loss, you’ve got to take from it the good things that happened and then learn from the bad things.”
On how did the Saints took away Randy Moss and Wes Welker:
“They had a good scheme. They were certainly very focused on those two. And they were focused on Kevin Faulk, too. They had a good plan, and I don’t think we executed very well. When we had opportunities to score there on fourth-and-4 to make it a one-score game and we didn’t do it. It’s not like it was all bad in terms of our execution. We’re just inconsistent enough where we’re not able to match a team that can score some points. It’s very frustrating, but that’s playing football, too. Football’s a frustrating game. You get frustrated, and you’ve got to have some mental toughness to move forward and fight on you know.”
On the first interception he threw to Randy Moss and whether he thought Moss would continue on the slant:
“Well I think I was thinking one thing and he was thinking another. It’s stuff that doesn’t come up very often in practice and stuff like that. I made the throw, and he’s thinking something else. I’ve got to do a better job. For a quarterback a lot of times it’s risk-reward. We sit there on Saturday mornings and go through plays in practice from other quarterbacks. Belichick always says let’s not throw it in there for a 2-yard gain. What are we really gaining here? That’s one of those plays where even if we completed it, it’s a 2- or 3-yard pass rather than what ended up happening. That’s something you’ve got to eliminate. That was obviously not the highlight of the night. I left those for the Saints that was their highlights.”
On what he attributes some of the confusion out on the field when they had to waste timeouts:
“Those are the things we as a team have been struggling with over the course of the season. Mistakes that are really self-inflicted. It has nothing to do with how the defense is doing or how they’re trying to stop us. They made some plays on third down the other night that were really good plays. Two to Welker, one to Aiken where they covered us and made the tackle in front of the first down. That was good coverage, they made a good play. Those other ones where those mistakes that we make that’s just strictly what we’re doing, and some of that’s before the snap. We’ve got to do a better job before the snap of everybody being on the same page with what we’re doing. It’s something that will obviously be a point of emphasis this week, and things that we definitely do have to get corrected. Today is going to be, because we haven’t got together as a team [since Monday], today will be a tough day for everybody. But that’s the way it is when you lose. We’ve won seven times and we’ve lost four. Those four losses, they all hurt, and they hurt until you get back to work and start focusing on the next week.”
On why they didn’t play all 60 minutes of the game when they were down by 21 with 5-1/2 minutes to play:
“I think coach decided he had seen enough. He wanted to get some other guys in there, some other guys some experience. He said, “Brian [Hoyer], go in there.”
Whether that surprised him:
“I think the way it was going. I don’t think he felt like we had much of a chance.”
Whether he got a chance to watch and appreciate what Drew Brees was doing out there:
“They have a good offense. They have some good playmakers. Sometimes you have those nights where everything really goes your way and it looks good. Like I said, we’ve seen every one of their games this year. They played pretty flawless as an offense. That’s a good feeling when you play that way. And it’s tough to stop when a team is playing that way. When you don’t make many mistakes as an offense, it’s hard for defenses to keep up with you. That’s the way they played. They’re 11-0. They have a damn good team. I wouldn’t say I’m happy for them. They did what they needed to do.”
On what he was talking to Belichick about towards the end of the game and the tone of the conversation:
“He was just very frustrated. Frustrated by the way the team performed. It’s happened that way on a couple of occasions. We’ve got to establish why that’s taking place and try to make the corrections. Everyone does soul-searching, everyone is searching for the right answers and searching for the right approach to the game. It’s tough to win games, and it’s tough to beat good teams, especially when you’re not playing good. We’ve got to play good. When we play these best teams like the Colts and Saints, we can’t play with mistakes. Even when we play Miami, we can’t make mistakes. They’re dangerous and they play well at home. … This is a huge point in our season. We’ve got to go out there and play much better that we played last week, and try to play well for 60 minutes, like I think we’re really capable of.”
On the heels of what’s happening to Tiger Woods and whether he can address the discipline required to say no to all the stuff offered to rich, handsome, superstar athletes:
“We were sitting around the table at breakfast yesterday morning, laughing about that. Just the things people come up with and the requests people get. One of the players was telling about his grandpa asking for a new car. This rookie was like, “Grandpa, my financial manager talks about that pie, and that’s a big portion of the pie you’re asking for.” As a rookie, he’s not making a whole lot of dough. We’re all kind of in it. There’s different requests for all of us to do certain things and be in certain places.”
Tom Brady on WEEI in Boston with Dennis & Callahan
Tags: AFC East, Bill Belichick, Drew Brees, New England Patriots, New Orleans, NFC South, NFL, Saints, Saints humbled the Patriots, Saints undefeated, Sean Payton, Tom Brady
