Super Bowl XLVI – Wednesday, February 1, 2012(on what this week has been like) “A lot of talking, but it’s not bad. I know there are a lot of questions and a lot of people want to hear about what’s going through our minds and what we’re planning for the game, so it’s not that bad.”
(on if he thinks Bill Belichick and the team are in lighter spirits than usual) “I don’t know how much fun Bill Belichick has, but I’d say he seems a little lightened up and has a smile on his face. I think he’s confident with us and the way we are preparing. Things are going pretty well.”
(on how fellow tight end Rob Gronkowski’s injury has affected his own mindset) “I think he’ll play and I think he’ll be fine, but say that, for instance, he isn’t 100% prepared to play then everybody, not just me, needs to step it up because that is a big loss.”
(on how he and Gronkowski complement each other) “Just defenses when we are next to each other (need to plan) how to cover us because we’ve also got Wes Welker on the other side and Deion Branch. We just have so many weapons. Not just me and (Gronkowski), but all of us complement each other and make it easy on each other. Rob draws so much attention and it leaves me open, or Wes draws so much attention and it leaves me and (Gronkowski) open.”
(on how much the two tight end set has changed the Patriots offense) “Well this offense has always been good, so it’s not like we just completely changed it. But knowing that you have two people who can be in there where you can run the ball a little bit and get into that spread offense that the Patriots are known for, it just expands the offense.”
(on if his family members are Giants fans) “A few of my family members are Giants fans. I was a Patriots fan.”
(on how Gronkowski’s injury might affect the team) “I’d say that everybody needs to step up if Rob isn’t 100% because he draws so much attention and is such a threat on the field that everybody needs to step up to fill his space. But, I’m sure he’ll be fine … I think he’ll play. I think he’ll be a big impact in this game.”
(on his and Gronkowski’s friendship) “I met him at the combine and we didn’t really know if we should be friends or not be friends, but we still talked and laughed and had a good time … I did (wonder how this was going to work with both of us on the same team). I was wondering, ‘Am I going to play? Is he going to play? How are we going to do this?’ It ended up working out perfect.”
(on if there is friendly competition between he and Gronkowski) “Not really at all. We actually don’t compete at all or look at numbers or think, ‘Oh I need more passes or I need more touchdowns.’ We just play. We are actually very close, and we both love each other and love playing with each other.”
(on if he appreciates Brian Waters positive comments about him as a tight end) “Some things he did say is that having two tight ends that can go down the field and block obviously better than receivers, he said it just expands his offense so much and he’s never been around an offense like that. He is a great player and a huge addition to this offense.”
(on how important the tight ends are for the Patriots’ pass rush this Sunday) “Everybody in the league knows that they are going to be up the field and they are going to be after that quarterback. Any way we can slow them down, it will be huge because if you can give Tom Brady some time, the whole world knows he will tear your defense apart. So, the first thing we have to do is slow down their men and I’m sure our (offensive line) is pretty experienced and they will be ready for the game. I think we’ll be alright.”
(on if he thinks Gronkowski will be practicing with him sometime this week) “Whatever he feels… If he feels like he is ready to come out there, I will definitely be happy, because he brings excitement and makes practice fun. If he isn’t out there, then me and (tight end coach Brian) Ferentz will be having some fun.”
(on what he has seen from the Giants defense later in the season) “Their front four. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. You can see it in their Green Bay game. They were moving (Aaron) Rodgers out of the pocket so much that he couldn’t really get comfortable. And when Aaron Rodgers is comfortable, the whole world knows he will tear your defense apart. So, we just have to slow down their defensive line and I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
(on if the fact that he is at the Super Bowl has set in yet) “I was with (Brandon) Spikes the other day and we were just sitting there in the car and we were like, ‘Wow, we are really playing in the Super Bowl.’ I know it will really hit me when we walk into the game and all those cameras will be flashing and we’ll notice this is the Super Bowl. This is a dream come true. I never thought I would be in this position or have this experience, but I’ll definitely take it all in and hold this for the rest of my life.”
(on if it surprised him when Tom Brady said, ‘I sucked,’ after the AFC Championship game) “Tom is a humble person and he is a realist. He’s not going to go up there and act like he played in his best game when he didn’t. I think that’s how it should be. He is accountable to how he played and what he does. I feel like that is great that he did that. I don’t think he sucked in that game because he also is a reason we stayed in the game and won the game. He wants to play (at the level of) the best quarterback of all time, in every game, and he is probably the best quarterback to play the game.”
(on if Brady will tell them when they aren’t playing well) “100 percent. He is a very optimistic guy. He’s not going to be doubting us or saying we (aren’t good) or we’re horrible. He’ll just say, ‘I expect more out of you; you better pick it up. It is a big game.’”
(on if he and Gronkowski compete with each other) “Honestly, no. I am surprised that we don’t, but we don’t compete that much because we’re actually very close. We have a great bond. We always chill together. We are not really competing. Maybe when we first got there we might have competed a little bit because we didn’t really know if we were supposed to be friends (or if) we are supposed to be laughing with each other when we are both trying to get a starting job. But when we both started working together and as one, we really took it as one. The thing that we maybe do talk about is stats, (but) together, and both of our stats added up (and how) they compare to other two-tight end sets. But we never really compete with each other.”
(on the matchups that the Patriots are trying to create in their two tight end set) “With Rob Gronkowski, the defense has to decide if they are going to put a linebacker on him. If they put a linebacker on him, we’re going to go to him until they put somebody else. If they put a safety on him over the top with a linebacker underneath, that’s two guys on him now so someone has a one-on-one mismatch. If you want to put a safety on him, he’s too big for a safety, so (Brady) can just put it in the right spot. Basically, it starts with (Gronkowski) and who they are going to double-team. You can only double-team two people. If you are going to double (Gronkowski) and (Welker), then it leaves me open. If you are going to double me and (Gronkowski), then it leaves (Welker) one-on-one, so there are a lot of problems.”
(on having more responsibility with the possibility of playing in the backfield) “Everyone has a lot of responsibilities and everyone does a whole bunch of things on this team. Look at Julian Edelman (playing) both ways. We practice all week and coach tells you what he wants you to do. Especially in these big games like this, you just have to come to play.”
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