Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Browner, Akeem Ayers React To New England Patriots’ Win Over Chicago Bears

Oct 26, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich (50) recovers a fumble by Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (not pictured) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Ninkovich

(On his fumble recovery for a touchdown)
“It was cool. A good team play there. It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for… I don’t even know who had the sack because it was that collective group of men that was all over him, and then [Jay Cutler] tried to get the ball. I don’t know if he was trying to throw it but [Patrick] Chung hit it out and I was able to scoop it up, didn’t feel anyone around me, stand up, and run it in.”

(On the team’s play during the day)
“The offense did a great job today. They were able to run the ball, set the tone early, and play Patriots football. That’s all three phases playing well. Special Teams were flying around. We were able to do a good job this week stopping the run and getting them in a one-dimensional type of offense. It comes down to preparing well and understanding what they like to do and the things that work for them, and I think we did a good job of shutting that down.”

(On the team’s status midseason)
“We have a couple hours but then you have to move on because the team we’re playing, obviously they’re playing at a high level right now and it’s going to be a big challenge for us. Again, we have to have a good week of preparation, just like we did this week. I don’t think we’re playing our best football at all. It’s halfway through the year, we have to play our best football at the end of the season. You can never be happy where you’re at. I think there’s always room for improvement, there are definitely a few things out there that we need to tighten up. It’s constant improvement, constantly working harder and trying to get better collectively as a group. It’s not just one guy, it’s everyone.”

Darrelle Revis

(On limiting Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall’s production)
“I think as a defense we mixed up zone and man against their offense. Like I said earlier this week, their offense is very explosive. They’ve got some big time players on offense. As a whole, it’s not even about what I did. Collectively, we were out there as a defense and we made plays. Rob [Ninkovich] made a great play. The run was a little bit suspect [laughs]. We made turnovers today and that’s the key, we want to make turnovers.”

(On moving beyond the distractions of this week)

“That’s been in the past. What happened, it was over then. We [Patriots head coach Bill Belichick] talked and we see eye-to-eye.”
(On if it’s a surprise when everything seems to go your team’s way)
“You prepare the best you can every week. Your mentality coming into the game is to make turnovers, especially as a defense, and try to go three-and-out and try to get the ball back for the offense. Clearly, we were hitting on all cylinders today. It feels great to see us doing great in all three phases of the game.”

(On the importance of next week’s game against the Denver Broncos)
“You’ve got to enjoy today’s game and I’m sure next week is going to be exciting. It is. This is something that kind of reminds me back when I played in New York against the Patriots. We know what’s at stake. We know Denver is a great team. We have a lot of respect, but at the same time we are trying to accomplish something as well as they are, too. It’s the battle of the AFC and we understand. We totally understand and it’s two great quarterbacks going against each other and we are going to have to duke it out.”

(On being brought to New England for games like the one against Denver next week)
“These are the games you want to play for. I can speak for everybody that is on this team. We live for games like this, for next week. We are looking forward to it and it’s going to be a great matchup.”

Sebastian Vollmer

(On when the offense knew it was really rolling)
“I don’t think we had that attitude. It’s more like, to come out of halftime and be like, ‘We’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to keep putting points on the board.’ So I don’t think we had that attitude of, ‘We’ve got them.’” It’s more about what you’re doing right.”

(On why the offensive line played better this week than last)
“Every week is the same. Obviously you prepare well and try to do your best out there. I’m confident in the guys we have out there and in what we do. I guess that’s kind of it.”

(On if the win Sunday gives the team confidence going into next week’s game against Denver)
“We know what Denver is. They’re a good team; a good defensive team, a good offensive team. A good team overall. It’s going to be a big challenge. We’re going to have a big week of practice ahead of us and hopefully do well against them, too.”

(On the play of running back Jonas Gray on Sunday)
“From what I saw at least, I thought he ran hard and ran well. I’m happy we’ve got him.”

Tim Wright

(On beating man-to-man coverage)
“We work really hard on man-to-man in practice doing one-on-ones, and even in between practice just working on beating the man in front of you. I definitely would attribute all the catches and all the openings we had today to that preparation during the week.”

(On if he noticed the separation from the defenders)
“Yeah, it was definitely noticeable. Like I said, we work hard at it. We’ve got great coaches teaching us great technique, so we just try to utilize that on Sundays.”

(On Rob Gronkowski)
“He’s a great player – very big, very strong, fast – deceptive I guess to the few people who really don’t know everything he can do yet. He’s a great person, being around him for the short time and just learning everything that I can learn from him and pick up on the things that I can add to my game.”

(On getting open from the one-yard line)
“In the NFL, every yard counts. It’s tough to get a yard. When you put things together and you start executing, it turns out to be a great thing.”

(On his touchdown catch)
“It’s just something that we practiced and connected on. It’s a whole bunch of options on that particular play, but they happened to drop me in coverage, so I capitalized on it.”