Brady on D&C: More 'humble pie' for Pats

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady made his weekly appearance with the Dennis & Callahan show Monday morning and talked about coach Bill Belichick's reaction to Thursday's 36-35 preseason loss to the Rams. "He gave it to us pretty good on Friday after the game and then again yesterday," Brady said. "There's always a running joke with our team [about] the humble pie. He was serving it on Friday. It was just what we needed. We didn't go out and play very well. Hopefully, we can learn from it and move on."

During Thursday's game, the Patriots offense faced a fourth down with less than a yard to go, and despite pleas from Brady to go for it, the normally aggressive Belichick elected to punt. Said Brady: "I think he was just pissed off at us. … I think he wanted to do it just to yell at us."

Brady said he expects to play in this Thursday's preseason finale against the Giants. "I think we're all playing," Brady said of the starters. "I don't know how long we're playing. [Belichick] told everybody yesterday, 'Get ready to play.' "

Brady was asked why rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski has been able to be a key part of the offense in the preseason while Ben Watson struggled to be involved the last couple of years before leaving as a free agent in the offseason. "They're different players," Brady said. "And Rob has done a great job. And I will say, it is the third preseason game, it's not like this is the Super Bowl. … He has the type of speed and size and awareness you're looking for in that position."

Added Brady: "I just look forward to him scoring, because I don't know what he's going to do in the celebration. He tells us after he makes big plays he kind of blacks out and really doesn't know what he does. That's kind of the funny part."

Brady cautioned that the Patriots still are laying down the foundation of their offense in the preseason. During the regular season, the team will make substantial adjustments and additions to the offense each week based on the game plan for that week's opponent. Said Brady: "Now you've got to basically learn new techniques or blocking schemes within three practices. … That takes very mature player and person and someone who takes the time off the field to study what they're doing. That's why guys who are more immature-type players, that go home and play video games all night — I mean, this is your job, what you have to do. You're not going to learn it playing Madden 2011. You're going to learn it by reading your playbook and watching the film and understanding what we want to to run."

Asked about his experience playing video games, Brady said it's not a part of his repertoire. "I haven't played a video game in a long time," he said. "Maybe when my boys are old enough to start playing, I'll start playing against them. I wouldn't even know what to do. ... I'm not much of a video game guy."

Brady, who went to Saturday's Ultimate Fighting Championship event at TD Garden on Saturday night with teammate Stephen Neal (a former collegiate wrestling champion), talked about what he does in his free time. "I don't go out very often," he said. "There's a few shows that I watch. I like "Entourage." I like "Dexter." I loved "The Shield," that was probably my favorite. I love "The Wire." So, I just kind of DVR those. When I get some time, I'll sit down with my wife and watch those."

To hear the interview, visit the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page [1]. Check the It Is What It Is blog [2] for more highlights.