Brady on D&C: 'Been called a lot worse'

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady joined the Dennis & Callahan show Tuesday morning for his weekly interview, and he talked about Sunday's win over the Chargers, the upcoming game against Randy Moss and the Vikings, and his views on the Celtics' chances on the day of their season-opener.

Vikings coach Brad Childress on Monday called the Patriots one of the all-time great signal-stealers [1], referencing a Patriots-Vikings game in 2006. Responded Brady: "We've been called a lot worse than that. … That's come and gone. That's been not a part of football here for a long time, and we've still won a lot of games. In '07, they changed the rule and so forth. I don't buy a whole lot into that. The team that's going to win this weekend is the team that plays better. I promise you that."

Asked about critical comments Childress made about Brett Favre after Sunday night's three-interception effort in a loss to the Packers, Brady said different coaches motivate their players in their own way. "I think every head coach has different styles to motivate their players.," he said. "Coach [Bill] Belichick, he doesn't ever do that to anybody. It doesn't matter if I threw seven interceptions, he would never do that. But there's no doubt that he's going to bring that up to me at some point, probably right away, in front of the team, as well. He's going to make the point that he needs to make in order to try to get his players to play better."

Added Brady: Everyone does that in different ways. We're all big boys. We can handle the criticism. If we don't do something well, we know that we didn't do something well. Often times, players are their harshest critics. When I don't play well, I know it. Sometimes it does hurt your ego a bit when somebody tells you you've got to do it better. But that's the truth. If that's what you need as a player, then in the end you'll be pretty happy that someone actually came out and said it, because maybe that will motivate you a little bit more to get it improved."

Despite the news that Favre has a stress fracture in his ankle, Brady said he won't be surprised to see the veteran under center for the Vikings on Sunday in Foxboro. "You can be as tough as you want. But sometimes, like Tony Romo last night in the game, you just can't make it out there," Brady said. "You get hit, you fall awkwardly, you break a bone that just won't allow you to play. Brett's played through some incredible injuries. … He's had broken bones before. If there's any chance of him playing, he's going to make it out there. He's one of the toughest payers to ever suit up in the NFL."

The Patriots won this past Sunday in San Diego despite having some offensive struggles, especially in the first half. "We just got into a bad rhythm as an offense," Brady said, adding: "I'd love for it to go great every single series, and believe me, there's nobody as frustrated as I am out there when it's not going well. But sometimes you've just got to hang in there, and ultimately when you get the opportunity to things around, you do."

Talking about the controversial fourth-and-1 call at midfield with two minutes remaining, Brady supported his coach's aggressive decision. "We feel very confident that we can gain a yard," Brady said. "I said that after the game. They had three timeouts, a two-minute drive with a very good passing offense, playing at home — that's a lot of time to move the ball down the field. We all felt, 'Man, if we gain one yard, pretty much the game's over.' It's just that we didn't execute it very well. The reality is — and I said it after the game — there's no reason it should come down to a fourth-and-1 when we had the opportunities on offense that we had all day. I like the fact that coach feels that we can get it. I love the fact that coach feels like our defense can stop them. He's expecting us to get that. We're all expecting to get it. Hopefully, next time we're put in that situation, we're able to do it."

For more highlights, check the It Is What It Is blog [2] later in the morning. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page [3]. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots [4].