New England Patriots QB Tom Brady On Winning Super Bowl XLI MVP #SB51 (on the game)
“…It was a hell of a football game.”
(on the feeling of this Super Bowl victory) “Yeah, they’re all sweet. They’re all different and this was just an incredible team and I’m just happy to be a part of it. It’s just a great group of coaches and teammates and we overcame a lot of different things and it’s all worth it.”
(on what went into this victory) “Well, there was a lot at stake tonight. You know, we played our tails off all season to get to this point and it’s hard to win a game in the NFL. And to beat this team and to get down 28-3, it was just a lot of mental toughness by our team and we’re all going to remember this for the rest of our lives.”
(on overcoming adversity this year) “We’ve done pretty good over the last few years, you know? We were in the AFC Championship last year and won the Super Bowl two years ago, so I don’t think anyone’s feeling bad for the Patriots. I don’t think anyone feels bad for the Patriots.”
(on tying the game with time left on the lock) “We were just trying to get it in. I mean, I don’t think it was – I mean you’re playing with fire if you’re trying to manage the clock when you’re down eight points. So just get it in however you can and James (White) ran it in. What’d he have, three touchdowns tonight? It was unbelievable. What a hell of a game he played. It was awesome.”
(on his feelings trailing big) “I wasn’t thinking much, you know? I was thinking that we just got to score and then we scored the touchdown and it was nine (points) and then we got the turnover. There was a lot of shit that happened tonight. And I got hit pretty hard, so yeah. It’s 28-12 and then we got 28-20 and then 28-28 and then 34-28. Another play coming down to the end. How about that.”
(on Julian Edelman’s catch) “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it. It was one of the greatest catches. We’ve been on the other end of a few of those catches and tonight, you know, we came up with it. It was a pretty spectacular catch. He had a hell of a game.”
(on the play of James White) “James White? He’s just everything you want in a teammate and a football player and (he’s) dependable, consistent, durable. The best attitude, brings it every day and we just kept going to him. So I think that speaks for itself.”
(on whether he got a chance to talk to his mother after the game) “You know, it’s kind of madness after the game, so I didn’t get too much quality time. But we’ll get it this week and I was happy everybody was here. I had my wife, my kids, my parents, my sisters, my brothers-in-law and one of my sisters-in-law. A lot of friends and it was a full contingent of support.”
(on if he got a chance to find his mother in the stands pregame) “I was trying, but I couldn’t. It was all Patriots fans and everyone was waving at me, so I couldn’t really make anybody out.”
(on what he thought about WR Julian Edelman’s bobbling catch) “It was one of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how the hell he caught it. I mean, I don’t think anybody – I don’t think he does, but that’s the way it goes.”
(on if this Super Bowl victory was more meaningful or sweeter than the previous ones) “They’re all special. Two years ago it came down to Malcolm (Butler) making the play and this year down 25 points, I mean it’s hard to imagine us winning. It took a lot of great plays and that’s why you play to the end. It’s a 60-minute game. At halftime, I would say we weren’t down at all. We were disappointed in the way we played and we knew that we could go out and do a lot better in the second half. The one positive was we had the ball for 20 minutes and that was a great part in the first half. As the game goes on, that gets tough on the defense. In the Super Bowl, everyone is expending a lot of energy and when we got it rolling there in the second half it was tough to slow us down.”
(on having better execution) “Yeah, our execution was better I thought. It’s just, you know, we had moved the ball and I think that was kind of what the Falcons, they were 28th in defense basically in yards, but they were a tough defense. They give up yards, but they don’t let you score many points and they turn the ball over. They got two turnovers in the first half and we needed to make some plays. The strip-sack was huge, that got us right back in it. Thank you guys, have a great night.”
-SB LI-