Post Game Press Conference – Patriots Players
Hunter Henry, TE
(On what this game came down to and lessons learned from it)
“Yeah, there’s some positives, obviously, when you just look at it right away. I think some of the negatives, obviously penalties, were big for us. Obviously, turnovers are always big. We’ve got to be better in the red zone, finishing those drives. I mean, I think that was the story of the game. They were able to finish a little bit more in the red zone than us today.”
(On what he’s seeing from Drake Maye week-to-week)
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, he has a lot of talent, and we see that day in, day out. But I think just the growth in the offense, growth in seeing things, growth in just even simple things of how he views the run game. There’s so many little things in an offense that go a long way, and I think each week he’s continuing to grow, and it’s fun to kind of continue that growth with him.”
(On how his expectations for the team have evolved)
“I mean, I always feel like I’m going to win, to be honest. I don’t step on that football field expecting to lose. I don’t think anybody in that locker room expects that. So, when we step on that football field, we expect to win. I mean, that’s what we get paid to do, and that’s what we want to go out there and do. We didn’t get it done today, but every time I step on the field, we expect to win.”
(On not being able to string wins together)
“I mean, all I can speak on is just today’s game. I mean, we just turned the ball over, penalties. Obviously, we controlled the ball in a lot of aspects; just, we’ve got to be finishing in the red zone, like I said, and score more points, obviously. We’ve got to find a way to come out with a win and kind of dominate the game offensively, like with scoring points. We were able to move the ball, but we’ve got to finish in the end zone.”
Vederian Lowe, T
(On if he’s ever scored a touchdown and the backstory of the play)
“So, first of all, I’ve never caught a touchdown, ever, in any level of football that I’ve ever played at, but it’s always been a dream of mine. Since I was a little kid, I always thought I could play tight end growing up, and I always thought I had fairly great hands. So, I always thought – stuff with the O-line, saying I’ve got the best hands on the O-line, all that other stuff. So, I’ve been waiting for a moment like this. I’m just glad when the play got called, everybody executed, and we were able to score a touchdown.”
(On what went through his mind during the play and what the celebration was like)
“Yeah, when it comes to special plays, you never know when the OC [offensive coordinator] is going to call them. You never know if he’s going to call them. Whenever our big guys came in, I was like, ‘Oh, [expletive]. This is – I think this is the time, and I’m ready.’ I was ready for it. I’ve been – like I said, I’ve been waiting my whole life to catch a touchdown and let alone it being in the NFL. So, I was just ready for it. I knew exactly what I had to do. I knew I had to shed my guy, and we were so close to the goal line. I’m like, ‘Oh, you just made it way easier.’ Now, I don’t have to run anywhere. So, yeah, once the play got called, I knew exactly what I had to do. I just had to catch it, and I knew I was going to do that.”
(On practicing the touchdown play this week and how it feels to have confidence from the coaches to catch the ball)
“I said, ‘About damn time.’ I have been – like I said, I’ve been waiting all my life to catch a pass, let alone a touchdown in the NFL. So, I was like, ‘About time.’ Once they showed me the play earlier this week and running it in practice, you’ve got to give the coaches the confidence to call the play. So, we ran it in practice, I did the same thing every single time, caught it every single time. So, I was just really glad that this in this moment, I was able to execute and make a lifelong dream of mine come true.”
Christian Gonzalez, CB
(On the difficulty of handling the Rams offense)
“They came in with a plan and we didn’t start well. Defensively, we got into a rhythm at the end, but we didn’t finish well enough, we just didn’t get into the rhythm fast enough. Props to [Matthew] Stafford, Puka [Nacua] and [Cooper] Kupp, they came in and did what they had to do.”
(On the difficulty of facing Matthew Stafford)
“Yes, I mean he’s a veteran, he has been doing it for a long time at a real high level. He’s seen every type of defense, he’s seen whatever you throw at him, so I mean he’s a great quarterback, a smart quarterback and knows where he has to go with the ball. It’s a challenge, but we invite a challenge. Defensively, we just have to come out and execute better.”
(On seeing Drake Maye’s development)
“I’m behind Drake, everybody is behind Drake. Mistakes are going to be made but he still made a lot of plays today. The offense came out and they really did what they had to do. They were making plays and scoring points, so it’s good rallying behind Drake. He’s a leader, and it will be fun to continue to play with him.”
Kendrick Bourne, WR
(On his journey from being benched last week to scoring a touchdown today)
“Proud of the team and the way we fought. Like you were saying, we want the end result. That’s all it’s about. Personally, just working. Just working. Coming to work, doing what I have to do to get better and help my team win. I had a good week. I think we all had a good week. That gives us a chance to win. We all had the same approach, so I’m just one of the guys in the bunch playing my part. Just trying to be better so I can contribute to the team.”
(On if his attitude changed today after not getting any snaps last week)
“No. Just working. If my coaches see something, I might not see it. They evaluate, they watch us every day. Honestly speaking, I could have played better. My coaches’ job is to make me get better, so whatever they have to do to make me get better, that’s how I have to approach it. That’s what happened. I came back to work, focused through the week, and had a good game. At the end of the day, we didn’t win, so it’s not good enough.”
(On what he says to Ja’Lynn Polk as a veteran WR)
“Yeah, it’s tough. Adversity, it hits, just like what she asked. I was down last week, but just kept going. That’s what you encourage him, just keep going. You never know what play is going to change your career. You never know what the future holds. Don’t hold onto bad things for too long. It’s not easy to do, but that’s the words of encouragement.”
(On how the first drive set the tone for the day)
“Yeah, I appreciate the coaches for keeping on believing in me. It was a tough situation, but that says a lot about how they’re approaching it. They’re doing their job. Shoutout to the coaches. That’s what they have to do. They have to make tough decisions. It’s not easy running a team. I’m just a player on the team. I couldn’t imagine what they talk about, and what they go through up there. I’m just thankful that they still believe in me.”
Christian Barmore, DT
(On his journey returning to the football field)
“Blood clots aren’t a joke. I had real bad shortness of breath, and it messed with me a lot. Mentally, I had my teammates, my medical team, my guy Wally [Physician Assistant/Performance Assistant Matt Fuller] that was with me every day grinding. There were days that I just wanted to stop, but he kept me going. He kept me
strong. My teammates really support the hell out of me, and I love them all, coaches and all. I told myself I was not going to lose that battle. I told myself I was going to keep fighting, keep going.”
(On how he feels after his first game back)
“I felt good. Felt good. Still trying to get in game shape, but I felt real good. I really just have to keep grinding, man. Just keep doing extra work. Stuff is out of my lungs now, thank God. I just have to keep grinding, but I feel really good. I feel really good.”
(On how valuable it was having David Andrews around him)
“Man, that man D.A. [David Andrews] is a legend. He kept my head up. Every time I needed to talk to him, every time I had my head down, he came up to me. He talked to me, especially hearing his story. That motivated me really well to keep going even stronger, to keep going and keep fighting. Ignore the noise, keep working on myself, and make myself a better man.”
(On how he felt learning the news he was cleared to play)
“Man, it was a blessing from God. First, they said I was going to miss the year, and that hurt. When they said that news, I was really excited, I was anxious. I couldn’t go to sleep because I was so excited. It was all God, man.”
Jonathan Jones, CB
(On if the Rams offense was what they expected)
“Yeah, I think just our checkmarks that we wanted to hit, we didn’t do it. I told the team at the end, I always start with myself, you have got to go with no big plays coming out of the half. Giving up the big plays, the one-on-ones. I was one-for-three on one-on-one action as a cornerback, and that’s what it comes down to. We just didn’t do a good job with our checkmarks, getting them off on first down like I said at the beginning of the week and forcing them into third downs where they are not a good team. Just did not hit our boxes.”
(On what makes Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp so good)
“I just think the timing that they have with their quarterback and the trust. I think he puts the ball where only they can go get it and they know where it’s going to be. They have good chemistry and good timing. Just a good set up of how to run their plays off of play action. They do a good job of whether we were matching up in big personnel, trying to take their shots, and just a good scheme they have.”
(On the lack of takeaways recently)
“I think with today with a team like that, we just have to force them into obvious passing situations. Like I said, they did not have enough third downs to where they had to drop back, pass, we could get some pass rush. They were just in control of the game. We have to force teams to get in more passing situations. Whether it was last week, when they were in passing situations we got a lot of sacks. So you have to capitalize, put pressure on them, and then on the backend make some plays.”
(On the long touchdown he allowed)
“Yeah, zero-coverage, one-on-one, no man’s land. That is just on me, got to find a way to make that play.”
DeMario Douglas, WR
(On today’s offensive performance)
“I think we did pretty good, we just need to focus on execution.”
(On areas that are holding him back)
“I have to go to film and look into those areas to see what is going on to correct those things.”
(On the growth in the offensive performance)
“It’s getting there. I love to see that whoever is catching the ball is doing their job. We are doing pretty good and have to focus on stringing everything together.”
(On Kendrick Bourne returning to play and getting his first touchdown of the season)
“Yes, just to see him come back here after what he went through and ball after adversity. The way he set out and came back, he balled. Shoutout to him.”
(On what Drake Maye has brought to the passing offense)
“I feel like when Drake Maye is back there, the opposing team has to fear a lot of things. You know, his arm, his legs and his vision. He’s a rookie that is really developing.”
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB
(On the game)
“It was a battle out there, I think we played hard. We didn’t do enough to win, but I thought we went out there and played hard.”
(On plays in the first quarter)
“We went out there and played fast. That was a great thing, that’s what we need to do, what we wanted to do. We have to sustain that for the rest of the game.”
(On the Rams momentum after Cooper Kupp’s first touchdown)
“I think they got some momentum from that, but I felt like we were still in control of the game, honestly. Coming in at halftime, so just stringing them along, being consistent for four quarters.”
(On his mindset moving into the end of the season)
“Same thing. I feel like we come in here every week, work hard, so nothing’s going to change. We just need to string some wins together.”
(On Drake Maye)
“He’s a competitor like all of us and wants to win. He’s competing out there.”
Davon Godchaux, DT
(On Matthew Stafford)
“He’s for sure in my top 5, top 10 in the league right now. I think he’s a Hall of Famer, lot of respect for him. He doesn’t get a lot of credit, but he’s a gamer. I wish we would’ve won that game because it was just so close. We’ve got to learn how to string wins together as a team. We’ll get there.”
(On being so close to winning two straight games)
“It’s tough, but Drake [Maye] had some good throws. The throw to Lowe in the end zone, that was pretty cool. I know we worked on it in practice, but I didn’t know we were actually calling it, but that was a great time to call it. We’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We’ve got to keep control of the game, I thought we had control to begin the game. We’ll get back to it, we have a great football team. We’ve just got to play like it. You see bits and pieces of it, but we don’t play like it for a full 60 minutes. We see things like this happening with the Rams winning the game, but credit to them. They played a great game and were able to win the game.”
(On Vederian Lowe’s touchdown)
“You know, we see a big guy and you think he’s going to drop it, but it was good for him to compose and catch the ball, so shoutout to him. I know we worked that in practice, and he was able to catch it and score the touchdown. But we’ve just got to close games, that’s what it boils down to. Everybody could’ve easily had a different feeling in this locker room, had great joy. But we’re sitting here at 3-8 and we’ve got to go on the road and win a tough division game in Miami, who I think they won today. They’re playing great football, they’re stringing wins together. We have the ability to do the same, we’ve just got to do it. Don’t talk about it, just go out and do it.”