Tom Brady: 'Any week in the NFL is a tough week'

November 30, 2011|By Steve Silva, Globe Staff

By Steve Silva, Globe Staff

FOXBOROUGH -- On any given Sunday, any team can come away with a win in the National Football League.

That's Tom Brady's belief heading into Sunday's showdown again the winless and Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium.

"We're 8-3. Has it been everything perfect? No," Brady said today during his weekly news conference. "But we've got to go out there this week and try to get to 9-3. Any week in the NFL is a tough week. This team [Colts] obviously with the threats they have offensively, the threats they have defensively, they can change the game in one play."

Brady offered his usual glowing praise for the Colts defense and some veteran pass rushers he's been all too familiar with during the many battles between the AFC rivals over the years.

"I think they've got some players that can really play," Brady said. "I played Dwight Freeney a bunch, I wish he was out this week, but he's in there again, he's a phenomenal player. If I could be a defensive end, I'd be like him. And Robert Mathis on the other side. Both those guys can really wreak havoc. Strip sacks, coach said this morning that Freeney has like 99 career sacks, 43 forced fumbles. Almost half the time that he sacks you, he strips the ball from you, he's a great player. They've got Jerraud Powers, I really like the way he plays. I think they have some very good defensive players."

Brady hasn't seen any evidence that Indy has packed it in during its season-long losing streak.

"When you're having a season like they're having, obviously no one wants to be in that situation," Brady said. "But I'll tell you this, they play hard. They have a lot of pride. They've been in a lot of close games, they haven't won them, but they're in 'em."