Post Game Press Conference – Patriots Players

PATRIOTS PLAYERS

Jacoby Brissett, QB

(On how it felt getting back in front of the crowd at Gillette Stadium and how he felt he was able to get things going with the offense)

“It was obviously exciting being back on this side of the field. A lot of nerves were obviously built up for this moment, but it was good. Good crowd, even though the weather kind of was crappy a little bit in the beginning. But we had a good turnout. As far as the offense on the limited amount of plays, it was mainly about communication, getting plays from AVP [Alex Van Pelt], getting into the huddle, getting into the line of scrimmage, snap, and then get the ball so I thought that went well.”

 

(On when he knew he was only playing one series and his thoughts on Joe Milton’s performance)

“We talked about – the whole thing is just like the coaches tell you whenever you’re getting out. Obviously you play those first couple plays and then you get stalled, You’re like, ‘I want to go back out there. And they’re just like, no, we’re just not doing that.’ And to Joe, I thought he came in and played well. Obviously led us in a touchdown drive with a great touchdown to Quae [JaQuae Jackson] and I was very proud of him.”

 

(On taking this win into practice and the next game)

“I think it’s cool to now like, you watch this game and you see the little things that got put under the lights, those things that come up that you kind of thought were things you could brush under the rug that you’re like, ‘alright, we need to focus on this, clean up on this,’ and things like that. So I’m excited to watch the film and correct the small things that will help us go forward.”

 

(On how much work he wants to get heading into the season to prepare as the starting quarterback)

“As much as I can get. I don’t think it’s any set number or any set amount of plays, it’s just going out there and working hard every day. Kind of just going about it like that.”

 

Joe Milton III, QB

(On what playing his first NFL game was like)

“I had a lot of fun man. It’s a blessing. You know, a lot of people where I’m from, they dream of being in this situation, so just go out there and cherish it all. It means a lot to me. Me, my family and obviously my teammates. My night was – my day itself was pretty calm. Just the calm before the storm, that’s how I look at it. I went home, walked my dog like I always do regularly. Just sit down on my bed and look over the call sheet. I try not to scramble my brain too much and study it too much. Once I got it, I got it. Before the game, I might look at it a couple more times, but other than that, just trusting the guys are going to do their job and trusting that I’m going to do my job and that the coach is going to make the right call at all times.”

 

(On how much he feels that he’s progressed since arriving in Foxborough)

“I feel like the coaches, the team itself have put a lot of work in to get us where we need to be, especially at a quarterback position. The OC, Coach AVP [Alex Van Pelt] and T.C. McCartney and Ben McAdoo, they put a lot of stress on getting the details right. Your eyes don’t match your feet – and just being able to go where your feet tell you to go, and if it’s not there just being able to move on. So being able to trust the coaching, the guys around you and just trust the knowledge that they’re passing along. Being able to just be there and just take it all in.”

 

(On what leads to him being so comfortable for his first game)

“I feel like, no matter if it’s the first game or the last game of the season, I feel like the more you relax, just having a calm mind and not having a scrambled brain, just being you regardless. Like, I have a big personality, I’m going to show my personality every time I have the chance to. My thing is, I want to make sure everybody smiles. Every day. Day in and day out. Make sure everybody smiles day in and day out. Just going out there letting guys know, ‘listen man, you don’t have to be stuck up, have fun, talk, talk trash.’ It’s football. At the end of the day, it’s football, so no matter what you do, you go out there and have fun and operate and do the assignment your coach told you to do throughout the week. It’s going to allow you to have fun. Just having fun and showing my personality is all I like to do.”

 

(On Coach Mayo’s comment that he has exceeded his expectations and his own evaluation of his performance)

“Man, hearing that from the head coach, thanks to him, but I feel like I’ve got a lot more work to do. There’s a lot of things in the offense that I need to learn, and I need to learn fast. Just being hard on myself, that’s the only way I got this far, is being myself. Thanks to Coach Mayo for saying that, but I feel like I’ve got a lot of work to do, got to keep studying. Can’t get complacent no matter how good the game went tonight. Just being able to wipe it off and put it in the books and get ready for the next one.”

 

(On how he stayed engaged on the sidelines)

“I feel like me, Jacoby, Drake and Bailey just have a bond to where no matter who’s in, we always communicate. We see things the other quarterback doesn’t see while he’s in the game, so when that quarterback comes out of the game, being able to talk about what happened. Seeing the iPad, just being able to discuss the small details. T.C., he’s always on it man, he’s just always on it. He’s a great guy, but at the same time he’s just a hell of a coach, he’s always on it.”

 

Drake Maye, QB

(On his performance and how his first NFL game went)

“Yeah, I think it was awesome. First of all, to get out there in the stadium. Really the first time since I think the day after I got drafted being in the stadium, other than the walkthrough yesterday. Being there with the fans, it was a different feeling. I felt some little chills through my body, but it was just awesome getting to compete against somebody else. We’re going through camp and practice with ourselves and finally get a chance to come together and compete as one. Thought the guys did a great job, that was the biggest thing, through the rain, through the weather in the first half. It cleared up and was glad that we came up on the right side. That’s what preseason is for, I think just a good group of guys, having them make the plays and it’s just fun to cheer on your teammates. So for me just kind of an idea of how much I played tonight and just going there and trying to take care of the football and execute and other than that just fun to be out there.”

 

(On the series he played and what he can improve on)

“Yeah, I think just enjoying the moment is kind of the biggest thing out there. As a rookie in their first preseason game, I thought I handled the nerves pretty well. Cheering on my teammates, that’s the biggest thing, cheering on the guys. Loud on the sidelines, engaged, that’s the biggest thing. You know, as a rookie, coming in there, you want to be engaged. Take a look at the iPad, at the plays, other than that, on the field, not a lot happening. Threw a screen, first down moved the chains, but I think on a third down maybe should’ve moved down the field, had some routes on the chains instead of throwing to the flat. But hey, that’s why you watch film.”

 

Bailey Zappe, QB

(On the touchdown drive he led)

“Yeah that was a good drive. Definitely helps when the defense plays good and especially when you kind of get a short field. Kayshon [Boutte] made a great catch. I think that drive, we obviously ran the ball, Kevin [Harris] ran it pretty good.”

 

(On the young wide receivers)

“Those guys came in and understood what the game plan was. They knew what they were supposed to do and ran great routes and caught the ball when the ball was thrown to them. That’s really all you can ask of your receivers. Speaking for the guys that I was in with, those guys played well, caught the ball well. I’m sure tomorrow we will get critiqued as far as what they could have done better or what they did good or not good from the wide receiver coaches and keep improving and keep going.”

(On the communication among the quarterbacks on the sidelines and any in-game tips)

“I mean we had a pretty good idea going into this game as far as what we were going to get. Both sides were kind of playing their base stuff, obviously it’s the pre-season so you don’t want to show everything. It’s nice to have all four of us quarterbacks rooting for each other. As we come off the series and everyone has an iPad, everybody is talking about, ‘maybe we should do this next time, maybe we should attack this guy, or do this route.’ I mean, it’s more stuff like that that can translate when you go back out there on the field.”

 

(On being the only returning quarterback and what has been different offensively)

“It’s pretty much the same. You look back to last year, a lot of it was kind of the same stuff. Come off the series whether it was a touchdown, whether it was a turnover, or whether it was a three-and-out. No matter what the outcome of the series was last year, I could always come off the field and count on [Coach Bill O’Brien] and even Mac [Jones] and the other quarterbacks we had to kind of go over that series and see some of the things we did good and did bad. I think that was the same today. Obviously the quarterbacks and [Coach Alex Van Pelt], all of us kind of combined minds and looked at the last series and looked at what we could do better going into the next series. I think it was more of the same, so I think it’s nice to do keep doing that because it helps everybody.”

 

Transcripts are provided by the Patriots media relations department as a courtesy to the media and are edited for readability. All press conferences are posted and archived in their entirety on patriots.com. The duplication or posting of this transcript in its entirety as original content is prohibited. Media are encouraged to link to the complete transcript on patriots.com when sharing full quotes with their audiences.

Download the Word Doc here: PatriotsPlayers 080824