Brady: 'Why'd Jets release [Woodhead]?'

Quarterback Tom Brady, in his weekly interview on the Dennis & Callahan show, acknowledged that the Patriots' 37-31 victory over the Bills represented a somewhat flawed effort. Nonetheless, he pointed to the fact that the team is trending in a positive direction from where it was at the start of the year, when New England endured its first sub-.500 start in years. 

"We're trying to get better every week. I don't think we're ever satisfied where we're at, nor should we be," said Brady. "We've played nine games. We were sitting here at 1-2 a while ago. We really needed to get better, and we've won five of our last six. There's no question we did plenty of good things yesterday. We did some things that weren't so good. We've got to get back to work this week and get back on it because it doesn't get any easier. ... Hopefully a month from now we're in a better place than we are today."

Brady also touched on several additional topics, among them an animated exchange with receiver Julian Edelman on the sidelines, the impact made by Danny Woodhead, his thoughts on the Colts defense that he will face next week and whether he would consider leaving in the middle of a football game if his wife went into labor. Highlights are below. To listen to the complete interview, visit the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page [1]. For complete Patriots coverage, visit weei.com/patriots [2].

On his sideline argument with Julian Edelman: "Julian and I, we're locker mates. We have a great relationship. We talked about certain things. It's just one of those miscommunications. He thought I was doing one thing, I thought he was doing the other. It ended up costing us a first down in a critical game, at a critical point in the game. We've got to be on the same page. It was just some frustration boiling over. Those guys are working hard, trying to get open, trying to do the right thing. That's just part of what our frustration on the day was a little bit about. 

"It had nothing to do with blocking assignments. It was just to do with route-running," he clarified. "Julian, nobody works harder than Julian. He's very critical on himself, he's very tough on himself, and I love playing with him because he cares so much. Those are the guys you want to fight with."

On what he considers to be the most important statistic from a game: "Besides the score? I'd say probably turnover differential. I think that's the one stat that probably correlates to team success. ... I think the stats are ridiculously in one direction when you're plus-three, plus-four. ... We've done a pretty good job of taking care of the football."

On the contributions of Danny Woodhead: "He's been that way since the day he got here. I remember his first game against -- we played Buffalo at home. I think it was the third game of the season. He had a similar-type run play for a touchdown. We kind of joked on the sideline, Billy [O'Brien] and I, we kind of said, 'The legend is born.' We saw him that week in practice, what he was capable of doing, and said, 'Why did the Jets release that guy?' They had him playing receiver and he was a running back in college. 

"He's just come in and done such a great job. He's the ultimate team player and teammate -- dependable, consistent, you always know the level of play you're getting from Danny. He had a huge game yesterday for us. We really needed it, because as an offense, I'd say everyone really didn't have their best day but Danny.  He really saved the day for us."

On his thoughts during the final drive of the game, with the outcome in the balance and the Bills driving efficiently: "I always think we're going to find a way to pull it out. I've thought that since the day I got here. I practice against those guys. I practice daily. They've come up with a lot of big plays at the end. They did it against the Jets this year. They did it this game. They've done it plenty of times. They did it twice in the Jets game. 

"I have a lot of confidence that they're going to be able to shut the other team down when they need to. And that's a very good offense we played. I know their record,  but there's not one game we played against them where that offense hasn't been that good. They've got some great skill players. We knew we'd have to score a lot of points. I wish we could have scored more. We certainly had our opportunities."

On the Colts defense: "It's a different scheme than we played against. Chuck Pagano kind of brought in a new defensive system. It's more of a Baltimore-based system. They're going to be very challenging. The thing that they do well, as they've always done, is rush the passer. You won't have a lot of time to sit back there and figure things out. With [Dwight] Freeney and [Robert] Mathis, they've got some guys inside that can rush, they traded for Vontae Davis early in the year, they still have a Pro Bowl safety in Antoine Bethea. They're very talented -- they're 6-3, what more can you say about that? They're playing well."

On whether he and his wife plan to have their baby delivered on Tuesday, given that it's an off-day: "I don't think the little baby is ready to come just yet. We've got some time."

On whether he watched the Bears game on Sunday night wondering if defensive back Charles Tillman would leave if his wife went into labor: "He runs out at halftime. . . I know. I don't plan on that being the case."

On whether he would leave in the middle of a game if his wife went into labor: "It's not going to happen that way, so I'm not going to worry about it."