How Did The New England Patriots React To Losing To Denver?
By Cyrus Geller
Matthew Slater
On the team typically finding a way to win, but not being able to do so today
“It’s a crushing defeat. I think all of us believed we were going to win this game but we just didn’t get it done.”
On what he felt the difference in the game was
“It’s really tough to say because it was such a close game, but they just made a few more plays than we did.”
On if he can reflect on the season as a whole
“It’s been a tremendous year. We were under so much scrutiny the entire offseason. People didn’t have a lot of great things to say about us and we took that personally. It was our goal to come out here and win as many games as we could and achieve the ultimate goal just like every other team in this league. I think as an older player when your career is obviously closer to the end than the beginning, it’s tough. There is no guarantee that you’re going to get back to these games, and that’s tough to swallow.”
On if this was the hardest season he’s ever been a part of
“They are all hard. We know how a lot of people feel about us and it’s very hard to play in this league and have success, and this year was no different. You mentioned it, there was a lot of stuff going on this offseason and at the end of the day we felt like we did enough to get ourselves in a good position to go to the Super Bowl and we got here and just didn’t quite get it done.”
Sebastian Vollmer
On how difficult it was matching up against Denver’s defensive line
“They’re good rushers. [Broncos OLB DeMarcus] Ware has been doing this for a long time. Same thing with [Broncos OLB] Von [Miller] only not quite as long (of a career in the NFL). We tried doing some different things but it didn’t always work.”
On if the crowd had an impact at the line of scrimmage and having to use a silent count
“Yeah, that’s always part of it. The crowd was definitely loud today for them which caused some problems at times. It’s not easy but it’s also not the first time we’ve ever been in that situation.”
On what went wrong along the offensive line that led to QB Tom Bradybeing pressured as much as he was
“I think it is more of a credit to those guys on Denver’s defense. It’s a very strong defense. They were the No. 1 seed and they showed why today.”
On how his ankle feels and if he was playing at 100 percent today
“It’s the playoffs, we’ve played a lot of games (on the season), I don’t think anyone out there (for either team) is at 100 percent. It is what it is. I wouldn’t make an excuse like that.”
On if it makes it tougher going up against a speed rusher like Broncos OLB Von Miller
“Well I didn’t go up against Von much. Again, I don’t know, it’s always difficult. I don’t have much to say about that.”
On what QB Tom Brady was saying to the offensive line on the sidelines
“I don’t know, you would have to talk to him about that.”
On what the team’s mindset was on the final drive of the game
“It’s like any other drive in the game, we didn’t do anything special. You have your opportunities and you have to execute; we didn’t. If you have a chance (to win) you just have to try and do it, that’s what we’re here for.”
On how frustrating it is to be so close to the Super Bowl and come up short
“I hate when we lose, it’s not a good feeling. Especially in the playoffs and now we have to go home and watch the Super Bowl.”
James White
On the Denver defense
“They didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. We just didn’t play our best football.”
On the feeling after the loss
“It doesn’t feel good. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth. We know we didn’t play our best today and we have to play our best to win a game like this.”
On why they continued to try and run the wheel route down the sidelines to him “Yes, we were confident. I just have to try and finish those wheel plays.”
On whether there was one pass he feels he should have come up with
“Yes, all of them. I had a chance to get all of them and I just have to make the most of those opportunities.”
On how close they were to completing some of the long passes to him that fell short
“They were a couple of inches away from being a big play. I just have to try and find a way to come up with them.”
On their third-down failures
“We just have to convert no matter what they’re running against us whether its zone, man or press coverage. We just have to try and win those and we didn’t do that today.”
On the Denver defensive coverages
“They dropped a lot of people into coverage sometimes. We had to hold the ball a little bit longer. Like I said, we just didn’t convert the way we wanted to.”
On looking back on the season as a whole
“We went through a lot. Our guys battled all the way through the season. A lot of guys got injured and everything and we just pushed through. We had a great season it just wasn’t the outcome that we wanted.”
On quarterback QB Tom Brady’s performance
“I have all the respect in Tom [Brady]. He’s our leader and we follow him. We don’t want to see him get hit like that and we just have to do a better job of protecting him. I have the utmost respect in him. He’s a competitor.”
On whether he believed the team would go down the field score on their final drive
“You never have a doubt in your mind especially with him in the huddle. We thought we had a chance to win.”
On why the offense was finally able to get something going late in the game
“We had an opportunity to try and go in and tie the game up. We just wanted to go out there and try to get a touchdown and a two-point conversion. We got the touchdown, but we just couldn’t convert the two.”
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On how frustrating it feels to come all the way back and then lose the game on the two-point conversion
“It’s frustrating. I mean, it shouldn’t even have come down to that. We didn’t play our best football and that’s why the game came out like that.”