Branch on M&M: 'My legs were shot'

Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch made his weekly appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Monday morning to talk about Sunday's impressive victory over the Eagles.

Branch caught six passes for 125 yards vs. Philadelphia, but he came up one yard short of the end zone on his most memorable catch, a 63-yard pickup from Brady on which Branch veered from his route on Brady's direction and broke free from the secondary before being tracked down just shy of paydirt.

Branch explained that he was tiring badly on the play.

"The crazy part is I think I was a little bit more fatigued before I even ran that last route," he said. "It was just all sheer will. I was just running trying to get that [touchdown]."

Added Branch: "I just knew my legs were shot. They were shot. That's the only thing I knew. My thing was like, 'I'm fitting to run this cat over. I ain't got time to be trying to run across the field 20 more yards.' "

The Patriots got off to a slow start, falling behind 10-0, but found their rhythm quickly thereater.

"It was more so the adjustments that we made on the sideline," Branch said. "It was just all about us staying calm and not getting all [worried] and start pressing with the fact that Philly just went down and scored a touchdown, then they kicked a field goal. Offense sometimes, we have to make these adjustments on the sideline once we realize what the defense is doing, and then we can go out and attack. And that's what we did. The best thing about it is we stayed patient, we stayed within the game plan, we didn't start doing all this extra stuff. Coach stuck with the game plan, and once everything settled in, we realized exactly what they were doing. Now we can sit back and attack these guys, and we did that."

Following are more highlights from the conversation.

On Branch and Tom Brady being compared to an old married couple because of their communication: "I'm like the stepson. His real marriage is with the guy who comes in the studio, Troy Brown. I'm the little brother.

"I just think overall, all the work that we put in in the classroom and on the football field at practice, that's the stuff that turns over into the game. We're on point. Except that last play when Tom threw me the ball. That one play, I kind of messed up and it felt like we were about to get a divorce on the football field. … He's like, 'Tito, what are you doing? Come on, baby, we've got to make this play! You're almost messing up our drive!' "

On the New England running game: "We know we can sit around and throw the ball. But we as a team, we want to start running the football. That's what we're priding on, the guys on the front line were committed to the running game. And then once we have time, we'll come back to the passing game. But I think most of all we're going to need BenJarvus [Green-Ellis] and this front line, and they're doing a a great job for us."

On the improved Patriots defense: "We're making the right strides right now. We're hitting on the right cylinders. We don't have all our main guys on the football field. The guys that stepped in, they're making the plays and doing exactly what coach asks of them. The thing is, we don't want to peak too early, and I think we're peaking at the right time on the defensive side of the ball."

On next Sunday's opponent, the Colts: "When you've got Dwight Freeney and [Robert] Mathis, these guys coming off the ends, the secondary's still the same. … Honestly, you look at these guys on film, they're one or two plays away from victory."

On Bills receiver Stevie Johnson's over-the-top touchdown celebration vs. the Jets that drew a penalty: "I wouldn't do that. My thing is, we have fun, but I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our team. And I'm sure this guy, once he looks back on it … I'm sure that's something that he didn't really want to do as well, unfortunately. But I don't play with him. I wouldn't put our team in that position. I'm going to have fun, dance around. You've got to know when your stuff is old."

To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots.