Robert Kraft Defends Patriots, Tom Brady And Bill Belichick Are Focused On Seattle

After talking about nothing but deflate-gate all of last week, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are now completely focused on the Seahawks as they prepare for Super Bowl 49. The Patriots landed in Phoenix yesterday, and shortly after, a few players (and Belichick) spoke with the media.

One of the main takeaways from Brady and specifically Brady was their focus is now completely on Seattle. Here are a few nice quotes:

(Link to Brady transcript) (Link to quotes on Belichick via ESPN) (Link to Kraft quotes via ESPN Boston)

Brady on Seattle’s defense:

"“I think you can look at how they matched up against some of our particular players, not that there were many that were still playing on our team that were in that game, but certainly their players. Having played against Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, some of those guys in the front at the linebacking level. They’re great players and I think they force you to make quick decisions. They’ve got a great rush so the ball has got to come out quick. You don’t have a lot of time to figure out necessarily where to go, so it’s a great scheme and like I said, they put a lot of pressure on you in all areas so we’ve obviously watched that game a few times and you try to learn from some of the things that we’ve done well, some of the things that we didn’t do so well. And there’s only 60 or 70, 80 more plays left in our season so every one we call is of the upmost importance and we’ve got to be able to go out and execute as best as we possibly can.”"

Brady on Seattle’s ability to persevere and come back:

"“It’s a 60 minute game. You can be up 16-0. I’m not sure how many we were up at one point when we were there in 2012 in the fourth quarter. Up 10 or 11 and they came back on us, so we’ve got to be prepared to go for 60 minutes. They’re a tough test because I think they have guys that are playmakers on defense. Obviously on offense, they make a lot of great plays. Special teams are very solid. So you can’t relax on any element of the game. The pressure is on right from the start. However long it takes in 60 minutes. If it goes into overtime, we’ve got to be prepared to go down to the wire. We know that they have the ability to do that. They’ve done that. They’ve shown that. That is part of the makeup of that team. We’ve had some tough challenges where we’ve been down and found ways to come back and win. So whatever it is, if you’re ahead or if you’re behind, you’ve got to play until there is no time left on the clock.”"

Belichick on moving past deflate-gate and focusing on Seattle:

"“Again, I appreciate the questions, but I have covered everything I can cover the previous week and my attention is focused on the Seattle Seahawks. Our job is to get ready to play this game Sunday and that’s where it’s going to be from here on out.”"

Robert Kraft with some strong words for the league:

"“If the Wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure on the footballs, I would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team, and in particular, coach [Bill] Belichick and Tom Brady for what they have had to endure this past week,”“I am disappointed in the way this entire matter has been handled and reported upon. We expect hard facts as opposed to circumstantial leaked evidence to draw a conclusion of this investigation.”"

My main thoughts from these openings press conferences were about how owner Robert Kraft defending his team against the league’s bizarre investigation, and Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the other team captains completely focusing on the Seahawks. Some thought this whole deflate-gate business would be a distraction for New England, but based on how the team has responded over the last week, they have shown that it is far from a distraction. The Patriots are the best in the NFL at ignoring the noise, and just focusing on the task at hand, and they have displayed that once again in preparation for the Super Bowl.

What will I be looking forward to today at media day? I want to see how Rob Gronkowski handles his first media day since 2011, where he was basically playing on one leg, and had a minor impact on the game. I also want to hear from Darrelle Revis, and see if he will take the bait on the best corner debate with Richard Sherman. And finally, Jamie Collins is slated to have a podium, and considering he is one of the quietest guys on the team, it will be fun to see him swarmed with media.