New England Patriots LB Willie McGinest Transcript

Courtesy of New York Jets

On the Patriots improving and making it to the playoffs…
Well, we’re not really worried about playoffs and the SuperBowl and that type of stuff, we’re just trying to play better as a team. What we were doing the first half of the season is kind of uncharacteristic of us, and you got to credit the coaching staff and the guys for getting back on track for what we’ve been doing in the past. I think preparation has been a lot better for what we’re trying to do, get guys back on the same page and get back to the way we play football.

On specific areas where the Patriots defense has improved…
I just think we’re playing better together. First it starts with the run, being able to stop the run. Then, when your offense and your team is playing together a whole lot better, special teams and offense putting up points, and you stop the team, it kind of allows you to make the game one dimensional. You can get more aggressive. I just think guys are playing better. It’s not like we had a bunch of new guys who came in, it would be a different thing. I think we’ve just been preparing harder and we realize the mistakes we were making. On both sides of the ball and special teams are kind of complimenting each other.

On defending Brooks Bollinger for the first time…
He’s a good QB. He can get the ball to where he needs to get it to. He can also beat you with his feet and that will probably be a big emphasis for him. Trying to slow him down and keep him in the pocket, instead of getting outside of the pocket; he’s dangerous and that’s something that we definitely have to do against him. He can run, throw the ball on the run, and sometimes it can be kind of hard to defend guys like that. You have guys come out of coverage to try and stop the QB and he just throws the ball down field. He’s pretty accurate when he has time. He’s pretty versatile.

On not having the dominant record they have had in the past and their reputation…
Well we don’t really care about what’s happened the past couple years. I think we’re just concentrating on what’s going on now. I think it’s an advantage against everybody else. They can think what they want to think, they can worry about that and if they have that perception of us, great. They line up against us, we got them thinking like that, then they’ll see a different team. What we’re trying to do is play one game a week. We’re not worried about the future or the past or what’s going on. We’re just trying to improve steadily, all on the same accord each week. Teams try and underestimate us because they hear it’s not the same team or whatever. Well, you’re right, it’s not, it’s a new year, different people doing different things. Theyr’e still living in the past it gives us that edge

On winning an away game and preparing for post-season play…
We’ve been on the road before. We didn’t have all of our games at home last year or the year before or none of the times we went to the SuperBowl. If you watched us or paid attention we’ve been on the road. We had to go to PIT, we had to play in a hostile environment.

On playing in the SuperBowl at home…
Yeah, just one time out of the three. We’ve been on the road, that’s part of game. Got to play well wherever you’re at. Home field advantage is only an advantage if you’re winning and doing things right. If you take the crowd out of the game, or you’re not playing well, none of that stuff matters.

On certain things that have to be done to be successful…
We’ve got to take one play at a time. Can’t be caught up in fans and everything else going on. You can’t make a lot of mistakes. You can’t go into a game with a hostile environment making a lot of mistakes. You’ve got to play your best ball on every inch, every yard, every stop. Every big play counts. You’ve got to understand that if you don’t do something right, if you play 55 minutes of good football, and the last five minutes not play good, you could go home.

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