Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Vince Wilfork React To New England Patriots’ Win Over Raiders

Sep 21, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) carries the ball against the Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gronkowski

(On if the team has the mentality of a win being a win)
“A win is a win. Every team is good in the NFL, so whenever you come out with a win, especially in the first game at home, it’s a win. The defense played very well, and we just did what we had to do to get that victory, which is huge.”

(On Vince Wilfork‘s interception)
“He’s always coming up with interceptions every single year, so it’s great to see him get one and great to see him end the game that way. The defense played very well, you’ve got to give them a lot of credit holding them to just nine points. That’s unbelievable.”

(On the difficulty of the offense finding rhythm)
“We’ve just got to keep working together as a unit, and that starts at practice first. We’ve got to get clicking for sure. We did enough today to get that victory, but there are always a lot of improvements, starting with myself. I could make a lot better blocks, better routes. So we’ve just got to go out there in practice and have the offense clicking altogether as one and bring it out to the games.”

(On if there is frustration at the offensive production level)
“Sometimes there is frustration but you always want to move on to the next play, and that’s what we were doing. We did enough this game, but that’s not always going to get the job done. We’ve just got to keep working together as a unit and keep working hard.”

(On his touchdown)
“Just a little over route and just got open on the linebacker, and Tom [Brady] put a nice ball right there, and I just made the catch and got in. So, good job by everyone as a unit, and we executed well.”

Devin McCourty

(On the hard fought win)
“Every game is a ‘do whatever it takes to win’ [game], so I’m happy we got a win. We know we’ve got things we need to work on, things we have to do better, but in this league you don’t know how the game is going to play. You don’t know how you’re going to get the win but you’ve got to do whatever it takes to get the win on any given Sunday.”

(On Vince Wilfork’s interception)
“Wilfork island? He kind of called that he would get another one this year. Hopefully we’ll slow him down and pick up our play. We don’t want him at the top of the leaderboard. He could have worked on his run after the catch but I think he is so smart and he knows situational football that he just got down and let the offense come on and take a couple of knees.”

(On Oakland’s offense)
“We kind of knew the players they were going to [target], certain things they were going to do. Each week, teams are going to put in some new stuff. It’s never going to be exactly what you watch on film but I thought we did a good job keeping them out of the endzone. Every time you don’t give up a touchdown in the game, it’s pretty good. They made some good drives and I think it was big that we were able to hold them to three [field goals].”

Rob Ninkovich

(On breaking up the pass that led to Vince Wilfork’s interception)
“I was from behind, so I’m coming over the top of [wide receiver Denarius Moore]. I’m just trying to strip the ball out. Wherever the ball was, I couldn’t see it. I just heard the reaction. I know something happened.”

(On if he thought the Patriots needed a play like that to win the game)
“We definitely needed a big play. We were trying to hold [the Raiders] to field goals throughout the game and to get a turnover or something to kind of get a spark. They did a good job of throwing the short passes and ‘dink and dunk’ down the field a little bit.”

(On if the mood in the locker room after the game was one of relief)
“I think that we definitely didn’t have our best game out there. So whenever you can go out there and get a win and there’s a lot more that we can do, you’re happy with the victory. I think that there’s definitely room for improvement. We’ve got to do better in all three phases. But it’s still early in the year and we’re looking forward to our next opponent.”

Darrelle Revis

(On Oakland’s final drive)
“It was a great stand for us as a defense and sometimes it comes down to those last final seconds. There were a bunch of calls in those last few seconds and they ended up scoring but there was a flag, it was a holding call. We fought hard and we fought through it and we ended up coming out of it with a win.”

(On what he will take from this game)
“Today is over with. We won. That’s my focus. You go back to the drawing board and you make your corrections. It’s really not that serious. You go out there and compete. This is the NFL. Guys make plays. We all make plays. My thing is we came out, we fought hard, and it was an ugly win for us all.”

(On if the defense is picking up the entire team)
“I don’t know if it’s the defense leading [or] the special teams or the offense. We just try to play great in all three phases and that’s what we try to do every Sunday. This one got a little ugly out there and it was a tough game. The only thing that I feel like we can get out of this is that we have great character. We fought down the stretch. It was a hard, tough game. You’ve got to commend Oakland for playing hard as well. This shows a lot, this win right here, for this team. We can build off this win.”

Logan Ryan

(On the interception by Vince Wilfork)
“It was zone coverage and a great call. They’ve been running short high percentage routes, so just had zone vision and try to go make a play on the receiver and it kind of bounced off his hands and ricocheted off me before I even noticed it and big Vince, one of our best players, was there where he needed to be and was fortunate to make a play.”

(On if it was difficult to bounce back after the pass interference penalty was called against him)
“I knew how much time was left and how important it was and whether the call was a good call or bad call. It wasn’t going to matter right there. I needed to finish the game and help the team get a win.”

(On the contact by the receiver on the pass interference penalty)
“I was just trying to make a play on the ball. Honestly, my intention wasn’t to throw a receiver down or make contact – I have a right to the ball, also. We’ll see on film what was sloppy play and what was good play, but it was a flag and it’s over with and we were able to pull it out.”

Nate Solder

(On if the offensive line is still striving to find consistency)
“We need to be more consistent, absolutely. That’s an area we need to improve for sure.”

(On if the breakdown on the offensive line is mental or physical)
“It’s a matter of improving because it’s not one guy, it’s not one play. It’s a number of plays that we’re breaking down and a number of different schemes and a number of different guys and so it comes back down to our technique and things we know and need to improve on.”

(On going up against linebacker Khalil Mack)
“He’s a good player, young guy and an incredible talent. He will certainly be a good player, in my opinion.”