New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman, Chandler Jones, Tom Brady React To Win Over Vikings

Sep 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Matt Asiata (44) runs past New England Patriots free safety Devin McCourty (32) for a touchdown on a pass in the first quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Devin McCourty

Q: What changed after the first drive?

DM: I think that they did a really good job coming out. Norv Turner is a really good offensive coordinator. They had some good plays that first drive. The key defensively is that you just have to settle down. We came on the sideline and talked about what they did. We were ready for them and were going to lock in after that. It was a really good first drive by them.

Q: There wasn’t a sense of here we go again after the first drive?

DM: No, when you look at our defense we have a lot of guys that have played a lot of snaps this year, previous years, this team, or other teams. I feel like we have a calmness about us, there is no panic and just keep playing and that’s where it pays off. You go out there and keep playing and make a play and the next thing you know the whole momentum changes.

Q: How fun was this performance for you guys today?

DM: It was great. Defensively when you can get turnovers, Chan (Chandler Jones) blocking a kick and returning it for a touchdown, that’s how you want to come out and play. It’s all about points, giving up seven points gives you a chance to win games especially when our offense has a focus on them.

Q: How does the dynamic change without Adrian Peterson?

DM: He’s one of the best running backs in the game, it changed a lot. I obviously can’t speak on how they run their offense, but whenever a guy is a huge part of their offense like that it’s going to change. They have other backs but he’s good for a reason, it definitely changed their dynamic.

Nate Solder

Q: Do you know why things worked so much better this week compared to last week?

NS: We worked hard and it was a team effort today. Defense played great, special teams played great and I think that contributed into it.

Q: It has to be a great feeling after the way last week went?

NS: Our whole goal is to win

Q: Penalties have been a pretty big issue, what is going on there?

NS: I think I had two in one play, so that was a first for me. It’s not really a joke, but I got too keep working on that. Sometimes you get them playing aggressive, sometimes you get them making dumb mistakes and I did both of those today.

Vince Wilfork

Q: Obviously Chandler (Jones) had a good day. It seemed like he was playing a little more outside today then he did the first week?

VW: I think it was something that we wanted to do against the Vikings. We saw last year that he played defensive tackle all the way down to a D-end in the 3-4 defense. That’s a good thing on our defense when you can have guys move around like that. It makes our defense a lot tougher to prepare for. It was just one of those things that we felt that our best thing going in was a certain package, and we showed a couple things in it. I’m pretty sure it will be different next week. So every week is a different week for us, but we just have to prepare well like we did this week. It was a great week of practice. You’ve got to credit that to practice. Guys came to work. We didn’t have our heads held low coming off an awful loss. Guys came to work ready to go on Monday. We’re going to need the same thing this week. We got to come to work ready tomorrow: watch film, make corrections, and move forward to the Raiders.

Q: You said you guys wanted to face Peterson. Was that just you wanting to play the best?

VW: Yes. Absolutely. He’s one of the best in the game at that position. Coming off a performance like we did at Miami, we thought it was a big deal for us to face another guy – one of the best in the league – to see where we were at defensively. But, the way we played today, I think we played very well. And I think with him, I would have liked to see it against him, but at the same time, we can’t control that. But, I’m very proud of our team and how we responded.