Brady on D&C: We only listen to Belichick

Tom Brady made his weekly appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show Monday morning to analyze the Patriots' performance in Saturday's 34-10 loss to the Lions.

"It's not a regular-season loss. It doesn't count in the standings," Brady said. "It identifies a lot of things we need to do better. And the game is certainly important, the preseason game. But we're glad that game didn't count toward the regular-season standing. We're going to go out there and have a good week this week and certainly play a lot better this [Thursday]."

Asked if the Patriots might get some inspiration from Saturday's struggles after turning heads with impressive performances in the first two games, Brady said the team isn't looking at the preseason the same way as the fans and media.

"Who knows at this point? You hate losing anytime you take the field in competition," he said. "I'm sure there's a lot to be learned, a lot to be understood by our entire team of the things that we need to do to win on a consistent basis so we can win games. We're getting back to work today. We had yesterday off and I think everyone's excited to go in there and see what the issues were and see the positives that we can take from the game so we can move on and hopefully go out and play better this week."

Brady said the Patriots never got that high after the previous week's domination of the Buccaneers, and they won't get that down after Saturday's disappointing performance.

"We really try to make a concerted effort not to do that," he said. "That's probably one of the great characteristics of playing for a Bill Belichick-coached team is that we don't really listen to what everyone else says. We pretty much stick to what our coach is telling us. He wasn't as overly enthusiastic about the Tampa game, he thought there were plenty of things we could have done better. And there were plenty of things we could've done better this weekend.

"It's all part of our maturation as a team. It's all part of the learning process, part of the training camp process is, How do we respond to things when they don't go so well? How do we play on the road? How do we rebound from a tough loss? We got off to a pretty fast start last week, how do we respond we don't get off to a fast start? These are all things that need to be conditioned into a team."

Former teammate Tedy Bruschi, now a television analyst, commented last week that the Patriots need to stop relying so much on Brady to carry the team to victory.

"The quarterback needs to play good," Brady said in response. "I certainly try to go out there and expect to perform at a very high level every single game. And when I don't, it's extremely frustrating for me. That's why for a day and a half all I do is think about the game, whether it's a preseason game or not. When you don't play to the level that you think you're capable, you rack your brain, play after play of, 'Why did I do that? What am I doing? What do I have to do better?' So, there is an awareness so that you can go out and play better.

Brady completed 12-of-22 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown Saturday, and he was picked off once. Asked if there was miscommunication with Chad Ochocinco on the interception, Brady said: "No, no. Other than a terrible play by me. That was a bad play. I thought they were blitzing and I checked it. I was trying to fool them, and they fooled me. They got me on that one."

Ochocinco hasn't shown much in the preseason, but Brady said the veteran is progressing during his first preseason with the Patriots.

"He's been a great player for a long time also," Brady said. "Just in talking to him, he gets frustrated when things don't go well for him either. He's racking his brain, Why do I feel this way, why do I feel that way? He and I, we're always in communication. I have a lot of confidence in Chad as a competitor. In the short time I've been with him, he's really fun to be around. He really loves playing the game. He's going to be an exciting player, I've got no doubt about that."

Ochocino said early in the preseason that he would live with a fan because he did not have a home yet. Brady was asked if Ochocinco was staying at Brady's home. "I don't have enough room in my apartment for him," Brady said with a laugh. "He's makes a few bucks. I'm sure he can find a place to stay."

The Patriots close out the preseason when they host the Giants on Thursday night.

"I hope to go out there and play, and play as much as they'll let me," he said. "I want to get through there and for us to really start stringing some good plays together, good drives together before the games do start counting. If it's up to me, I'm playing a lot. It's always up to coach Belichick, and no one really questions what he does because he's been coaching for a long time. But I'm certainly going to put my two cents worth in."

For a complete transcript of the conversation, check the It Is What It Is blog later in the morning. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots.