Patriots Players

PATRIOTS PLAYERS

David Andrews, C

(On Bailey Zappe leading the offense)

“Yeah, I mean look, I think he did a good job, right? Obviously, there’s a lot to work on, but I appreciate the way he came out there and competed. Obviously, I’ve sat up here the whole time and said it’s not one guy, so we all have a lot to do better on all three levels. We’ve just got to find some way to make some plays.”

(On the frustration level for the offense and the team in general)

“Yeah, look, I mean, it’s a very simple game. You’ve got to score points. You’ve got to score points to have a chance to win. You can boil it down to whatever you want, but at the end of the day, it comes down to points. We’ve got to find ways to generate more points, and that’s 11 guys being consistent every play, right? Like I’ve said, I believe in that, and it takes 11 guys each play. We’ve just got to find a way to generate points, especially here on a short week.”

(On the team’s motivation)

“Look, I mean, me personally, right – I’m nine years into this thing, 31 years old. I can’t do this forever, and it’s not like any other sport. You can go play pickup basketball; you don’t play pickup football. So, you don’t know how many opportunities you’re going to get to play this game. Injuries, guys’ health scares, whatever, outside health stuff. You just don’t know what opportunities you’re going to have. So, I think for me personally, you get to go play this game and play with this group of guys. I think there’s a lot of guys that look at the game like that, right? At the end of the day, you’re playing for the respect of yourself, the respect of your team, the respect of this team, the organization. So, I think there’s a lot of reason to go out there and compete every week, and guys have different why’s. Some guys play for whatever – money, fame, whatever it may be. Some guys play because they love the game. There’s a little bit of all of that. But, I think you always have something to play for. I think if you’re going out there without something to play for, it’s probably time to move onto something else in life.”

(On if he has to collect himself before speaking on behalf of the franchise first and if the losses are taking a toll)

“No, I mean look, it’s part of my job. I signed up to do this, right? So, I think I try to come out here and represent this organization as best I can; I try to do that when I play. Look, the seasons are long no matter what. When you win, they’re long and when they’re over, you can take a deep breath. When you lose, they’re long. So, it’s obviously a different year than I’ve ever experienced. It is frustrating because of how much you put into it each week. You toll away at it each day, but that’s my job; that’s what I’m supposed to do. It kind of goes back to the reason I said kind of why you do things, the day I decide that I don’t want to put in that work, get up early, lift, do all these things, watch film, all that, it’s probably time for me to hang it up.”

Jahlani Tavai, LB

(On playing in the difficult conditions))

“We’re ready and prepared for any kind of situation. For God’s sake, we’re in Foxborough; we get all types of weather out here. So, it was a great opportunity for us on defense to find opportunities and find ways to make sure we got the ball back into the offense’s hands. So, I hope the boys know that we gave our all out and I’m proud of each and every one of them.”

(On his leadership and his track from where he was at the beginning of the year to now)

“I know we lost a lot of guys from injuries, but this is the league. We’re next man mentality. It’s on guys like you said, myself and guys like Pep [Jabrill Peppers] to step up the challenge or step up to the opportunity. But our standard on defense is high. We strive for perfection. Every week, we’re at each other’s throats because we’re trying to make sure that we’re dialed in, focused and prepared to execute any type of play or any type of situation.”

(On his assessment of the defense’s performance)

“Like I said, I’m proud of the guys on defense. Is it good enough? I believe so. But it’s not our standard. We’re going to make sure that – it’s a short week, so we’ve got to prepare quick and get ready. So, we can’t really dwell on this game too long, and we’ve got to get ready for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has a strong offense, and come tomorrow, we’ll correct those mistakes that we had today and move on.”

(On defining how the defense could play better)

“If we’re looking for perfection, we don’t want to see a score on the board. I know we held their offense to no touchdowns, but we don’t even want them to score field goals. That’s the mentality we have as a defense; we take it personally when they get past our 50. Those are the type of guys that I love playing with. I’m proud of each and every guy that got to run out on the field and do their job.”

Hunter Henry, TE

(On the level of frustration for the offense)

“Yeah, it’s frustrating. Very frustrating. I’m frustrated, I know we’re all frustrated. We’ve just got to keep going, keep competing. I’ll tell you one thing, I’m going to keep competing and keep trying to be my best, keep trying to be better and try to be the best version of myself I can for this team.”

(On his motivation over the rest of the season)

“Motivation? It’s this game, man. I love this game. When we sign up for 17 of these things that are guaranteed every year – I’m going to tell you one thing, is I’m going to go out there and compete the same and give the same amount of effort that I would no matter – if we were in first place. I know all those guys in that locker room will do the same. You know, we obviously haven’t been able to finish these games well, but obviously we’re close and close games. I mean, defense is hanging us in there, we’ve got to be better offensively and score some points and find a way to get a win.”

(On what Bailey Zappe brought to the offense)

“He did a great job. He’s played some games, obviously hasn’t started a game this year, but he did a great job. Had great command, was good in the huddle, good with alerts too and different things. He got comfortable and was able to make some plays for us.”

Jabrill Peppers, DB

(On the frustration level)

“We have got to play better complementary football. We just cannot play well on one side of the ball, whatever phase that is. We gave up a big punt return that got them in scoring position, then being aggressive got them in scoring position. As a defense, our job is to negate the lead.”

(On how they stay together as a team)

“We are going to stay together. We have high character guys, we are no stranger to adversity. Everyone here has faced tough times in their life. This is not nothing, but we are all competitive and we are powerful men. What we are putting forth right now just is not it.”

(On the playing conditions)

“Whatever it is it is, we play in it. We practice in it, we are going to play in it. Hopefully we can use it as a home field advantage especially when teams like the Chargers play indoors and usually nice weather games. As a defense we love that, the worse the weather the better, we embrace it.”

(On how the defense stays focused)

“The standard is high. From a man, to a man, we know what we have got to do. Play for the man next to you, we don’t ask for much but your best. We have got to do more, we have to get some more takeaways, we have got to start scoring on defense. We are going to find ways to rectify the situation and make it right, but right now we are just not doing enough.”

Tyquan Thornton, WR

(On how Bailey Zappe did today)

“I feel like Zappe did well. He went out there and played well. Got the ball out of his hands, gave us an opportunity to make plays and I feel like we have to execute better as an offense, everybody do your job. Speaking for myself too as well, I feel like we left some plays out there. I feel like he did well.”

(On what they need to improve)

“I would say consistency. I feel like we are not that far away. We just have got to make more routine plays, go out there and execute.”

(On the frustration of missing the big play)

“Yeah definitely frustrating, I wish I could get that one back. Just to make that play for our offense, I feel like we really needed that. I have got to do better at my job just to make that routine play.”

Ezekiel Elliott, RB

(On how his bond with Rhamondre Stevenson has grown throughout the season)

“It’s grown well. I’ve known him since he got into the league. We’re the same agency. Just a guy I’ve known. Being able to come up here and play with him we became way better friends.”

(On the effect the rain had on the game today)

“I don’t think it really had any emphasis on it at all. Think it made us run around a little bit more.”

(On the frustration level as an offense)

“Super frustrating, not being able to go out there – defense holds them to six points and for us not to be able to go out there and put us anything on the board is tough. I feel bad for those guys on the defensive ball they’ve been playing. Good defense week after week. We’ve got to figure out how to make more plays on offense and give them some help.”

Jalen Mills, DB

(On losing despite holding the Chargers under 10 points)

“I mean, it is what it is. I’ve learned in this league, once the game is over there’s no point in cussing, no point fussing, no point being mad, this and that. The proof is in the pudding. On to the next. It is what it is.”

(On if it is disheartening to lose despite playing well defensively)

“No, we pride ourselves as a unit. When you guys come in here in the off-season, come here during camp and hear us say ‘I’m playing for my brother’, ‘I’m playing for the guy next to us’, those words aren’t just words. Those are actions. You guys are seeing it. We are playing for each other right now.”

(On the frustration level)

“I can only speak for myself. I’m not frustrated at all. It’s about the work at the end of the day. When things aren’t going right, regardless of whatever side of the ball it is, you’ve just got to rely on your motivation, rely on the guy next to you and it’s day in and day out.”

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR

(On offensive struggles)

“We’re just not executing plays that we should have and not putting ourselves in position to put points on the board.”

(On the team’s defensive performance)

“Honestly, I give it up to our defense. Regardless of how it’s been going for us on offense, they’ve been doing their job, doing their thing, and they stopped a high-powered offense like the Chargers and only gave up six points.”

(On team morale)

“At the end of the day, this is all who we got. These are the guys in here, this is who we’re going to rock with, players, coaches. It is the ultimate team sport.”

(On improving from today’s game)

“There’s a lot of things we have to build on, get back in the lab and get better. It is a short week, and we should get our bodies healthy and get ready to play against Pittsburgh.”

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