NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS MEDIA DAY - RB KEVIN FAULK - Ingles

Super Bowl XLVI – Tuesday, January 31, 2012

(on what is the ‘Patriot Way’) “Like anything else, with any kind of sport, it’s winning. Winning takes care of everything. If you want to say the ‘Patriot Way,’ that’s it. Just winning. You know what it is, coming in doing the hard work, doing the dedication. Sometimes you don’t want to wake up in the morning, but you have to. Early, early just to go take care of a meeting or get a massage to be ready for that morning meeting, that morning practice you have. You know what it is.”

(on what it was like when he first got to the Patriots and how it has transformed to what it is now) “I think Deion (Branch) said it perfectly last night: Bill Belichick. His work ethic. Once you see a coach put in so much work and so much passion to what he does, that just trickles down to the team. Everybody else wants to be like him.”

(on if it was an immediate change when Bill Belichick came in) “Like anything else, it takes time. The team grew and it’s continuing to grow.”

(on if he appreciates how long he has been with this team) “That’s one of the reasons why, appreciating, understanding the consistency level of being at this place. No disrespect to any other place in the NFL, because I’m pretty sure every other place is wonderful, but to be consistent on this team, knowing what it takes to be a New England Patriot and knowing how much hard work you have to be here. That’s one of the top, in the top three, of my things of being in the NFL.”

(on his secret to staying in New England for so long) “Consistency. Being able to do what they ask you to do in a consistent manner, however, whatever it maybe.”

(on if it has been fun to have a teammate also from New Orleans in BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley) “That’s kind of one of the things we always talk about, how much ties we have together. Being from the Louisiana area, Stevan (Ridley) being from Mississippi, it’s a great thing.”

(on if he thinks about being the last legacy from the pre-Belichick era of the Patriots) “At this point no. You tend to do that when you’re done playing, and understanding that you’re still in the game right now and you want to focus and put all your attention to playing the game.”

(on how he has prepared the younger players for this game) “Just helping them understand that we’re here to play the football game. All the other distraction is for everyone else. We’ll be able to take care of that after the game is over. Just we’re here for a game.”

(on how his faith has helped him make it through all the demands of 13 years in the NFL) “I think this year it really has been…it helped me a whole lot. My faith in God and believing that things in life happen for a reason. Being in the NFL for 13 years, 11 or 12 of those years I was one of the guys that was on top. This year I’m not that guy, but God has kept me where I’m doing more things to help my team besides just playing on the football field. I’m helping my teammates, answering questions, understanding what the game of football is more from a standpoint of just playing it. Because when you’re playing it, you’re in it. I’m learning a whole lot right now.”

(on what he would tell people who go through adversity who don’t have Super Bowl experiences) “You don’t have to have Super Bowl experiences to go through adversity. You just have to go through life and understand that God is guiding you each and every day. That’s the thing I do every day.”

(on how Super Bowl week has changed since the last time he was in it) “You can see it right now. You’ve got a lot more fans. We’ve been getting the fans more involved, but it’s still the game has to be played on Sunday.”

(On how QB Tom Brady has changed since he got to New England) “It hasn’t been a big change. He’s still that guy that’s competitive, passionate, fiery guy that wants to go out and win, make every throw, make everything the best he can so his guys can make a play.”

(on if the first Super Bowl win means the most to him because it was the beginning of this great run by the Patriots) “I think the next one means more than anything, trying to get to that next one. I think I answered a question earlier about what happened early in my career. I think you worry about that later on after you’re done playing. Once you’re in it, you’re in it. You don’t want to look back and think about what you’ve done. You wait until that’s over.”

(on if he tries to enjoy this Super Bowl) “Of course. You have to enjoy what you’re doing now. You try to enjoy everything. It doesn’t matter if it’s toward the end or it’s at the beginning. You still try to enjoy it because you never know if that’s going to come again.”

(on if he ever gets his Super Bowl rings out and if they are an inspiration to him) “Oh, of course. Not just to you, to guys that have never been here. To guys that have never been in this situation to see what they’re playing for. To see what it means to them and to see their faces, their expressions on their faces, it’s a great thing.”

(on if he ever wondered if he would get back to another Super Bowl when he got hurt last year) “Sort of kind of, but that’s every year though. That’s every year. If you make it there, you always wonder if you can get back there because you know there’s a lot of different ways and a lot of different situations that have to go on in order for you to make it to this point.”

(on if it is more special to make it this far now) “Each and every year it makes it that much more special because you knew the hard work that it took. Every way was different.”

(on if he has talked to the young guys who haven’t been to Super Bowl before) “Oh, of course. Most definitely. It’s an experience of a lifetime. You have to tell them that it’s an experience, but have fun, but also understand that we’re here to play the game.”

(on if there was ever a time the Patriots brought a new running back in and he thought his career there was over) “Once you put yourself in that predicament, you’re done. You lose. I’m never going to do that, no disrespect to any other running back, because you always have confidence in yourself. The confidence you have in yourself is what’s going to make you on the football field or whatever you do in whatever field.”

(on what he knows now that he wishes he knew before he played his first Super Bowl) “Let go of all the distractions. You’ll be able to take care of that when the game is over. Understand that you’re here to play for a championship. Something that you’ll be able to talk about and speak of for years to come.”

(on Coach Belichick calling him and telling him he wanted to come back this year while he was rehabbing) “That just showed the respect factor among us and I think the relationship that we have built over time being here. I guess that shows the consistency that I’ve shown as a person and as a football player for this organization and this team.”

(on if Coach Belichick has always been this loose around this time) “Like I said, time. Time builds a lot. Time builds relationships. It’s him right now. That’s who he is, so enjoy it. And I think we all are.”

(on if he thinks the team is looser than they were in 2007) “I’m not going to say loose, I’ll just say we’re a lot more…we’re not as mature as we were. We’re not like the veteran team that we were. We still have veteran guys, but there’s a lot of young guys on our team that grew up a whole lot over the course of this season.”