Patriots 28, Jets 14
THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Cam.
Q. How nice was it for you today to go out this season with the three touchdowns and that receiving touchdown?
CN: I don't think that was necessarily more or less about me than a great team win. We just wanted to start the year off in a great way that we know we needed to, knew we could, so...
Q. Do you anticipate being back here in New England next season?
CN: Listen, I have my desires. I know where my heart's at. I know the things, who I am. But as far as that, I can't really speak on it right now.
But just my whole time here in New England has been a blessing. I've learned so much about myself, about great teammates, unbelievable coaching. Yeah, so I just see how it goes, go from there.
Q. What was it like to throw or see a camp attendee throw a touchdown pass to a camp counselor today?
CN: I was teasing with him. I was like, Listen, I'd like to thank my hands for really catapulting us and giving us the momentum to win. You know what I'm saying?
But Jakobi is great, man. We had fun throughout this whole season, with this game. For the guys to battle back not even to blink going down seven points here the early part of the second half, guys just kept plugging away and found a way to win.
Q. Devin Asiasi is a guy we don't know really well. You finally get him his first catch, first touchdown. Seemed like you made it a point to run down there and celebrate. How important is it for you to be a part of guy's lives?
CN: Number one, he's still young. There was a growing element as part of his season. Just for him to head into the off-season with a game like today is a great step in the right direction for Acai Bowl. For him to make a great catch for the touchdown, something that he needs to keep doing, he will keep doing. He has so much talent. He shows so much flashes in practice. It's great just to see it in a game.
Q. I don't want to read your body language. You just looked very joyful out there today. Describe how you felt at different points in the game, if you were joyful.
CN: I'd put it like this. There is nothing, no one, nothing, that was going to get me out of the spirit that I was in. I don't know what it was, but I had a great manifesting party New Year's Eve, going into the new year. That was kind of what I kind of foreshadowed. How to kind of visualize it, for it to play as it did, means I should have been doing that more this year, right (smiling)?
Q. On the drive when you were down 14-7, tied the game, take me through your mindset on that. The big third down, the catch from Jakobi Meyers. Seemed like you were having fun. Has that been missing this year to some extent?
CN: Sometimes because you were thinking. Today everything meshed in ways that we wanted it to mesh. Obviously we hit a lull there, but we knew we just needed to keep going and keep plugging away. That's what we did.
Success brings a different swagger, a different comfort. Obviously scoring touchdowns, back-to-back touchdowns, will kind of do it for anybody.
Q. When you went into the locker room after the game, was there a sense of finality in how you were going through things from a mental standpoint? What was your mindset postgame?
CN: No, it wasn't. Yeah, we play this game to win, but our season is done. We got the talent in that locker room to be still playing for a playoff berth, making a deep run in the playoffs. That's the realization of things. You know what we can possibly do. You know what we're capable of. We just didn't show it enough this year. But yet through it all, we did finish strong today.
Q. When you look back on this year, obviously you didn't get all of the results you wanted on the field, what are you most proud of? Do you think things could have gone differently if you had more time to learn the Patriots' system?
CN: Yeah, without a doubt. Without a doubt. I think one of the main things for me this year was a small but yet important thing for me, just to finish healthy. I think that was one of the most frustrating things for me, was that I was healthy but still not getting the results that I was yearning for.
Through it all, my shoulder held up, foot held up, mental held up. I had nicks and bruises, but who doesn't have any nicks and bruises in the NFL? Nothing lingering enough to stop me.
I'm going to take that as a blessing and do it in the off-season.
Q. As you and we know, Bill Belichick is a man of few words, at least with us. He just wrapped up his press conference with praises for your leadership. As the season comes to an end, knowing he praises your leadership and you were the starting quarterback under Bill Belichick, which is something few guys can say, what is your reaction to that?
CN: I mean, I respected him prior to not even knowing him. I respect him even more just because -- not because of the words that he said today, but just being around him in this stint.
I mean, the guy is just a walking historian of knowledge. He's probably forgot more football than I know. With me, I'm always eager to learn, eager to kind of talk about the good old days from his time wherever he was. He's just such a great teacher, teaching the game of football.
For him, if his mentality is up here, everybody else, the coaches, the players, then everyone else, it kind of rubs off. There's no question why they've had so much success in this franchise during his 10 year. He's such a master of focusing on the details.
I keep going back to it. We didn't do it enough this year. At times when we did, it was a thing of beauty to watch.
For him, it all starts with the head coaching. He speaks on fundamentals each and every single day.
Q. What does or what did being the starting quarterback of the New England Patriots mean to you?
CN: Well, you got to understand I didn't really get the full effect, too, because we didn't have any fans. That was a regret for me that I was anticipating just playing in front of the fans in Foxboro or New England. I've had the opportunity to play against the Patriots obviously with the other team. Seeing how emphatic they were about their team, I just wanted to witness it. I know that would have probably been cool to experience.
With me being such an emotional energy type of guy, not having the fans there to give you that extra boost, who knows what would have happened.
Q. You've been very honest this year about some of the ups and downs. After some of the downs, how much does it mean for you just to finish the season on a strong note? I don't think you lack any confidence, but does a performance like this just maybe give you a little bit more confidence heading into the off-season?
CN: No. I need to get better. That's what it all comes down to. For me, I'm such a stickler about did you win, did you win, doesn't matter what the statistics were, did you win, find ways just to win.
Yeah, having a game like today is good, but you wish you would have had more games like this.
Q. For those of us who might not be familiar, can you describe what a manifestation party looks like?
CN: A manifestation party is when you call people, obviously practicing social distancing or quarantining, so to speak, and what you would do is FaceTime people or be in a room where a lot of people from family or close friends, and you kind of manifest, you set your intentions on things that you want, right? From sage, to incense, gem stones, a lot of different things, even the Bible, you just kind of had this meditative experience where nothing else matters outside of what you want, what's obviously on your heart, whatever your heart's desire.
Obviously 2020 was such a great and trying year for a lot of us. For me, all I really wanted was some things to be a little different for 2021, a lot of people, the masses, the close ones, loved ones, family for me.
Q. Who were you waving to at the end of the game in the stands?
CN: They are my partners. My folks up at the top top that was shooting the guns. Yeah, I better watch out. Don't be saying too many crazy things about them because I have the shooters stashed away at the top of the stairs. I'm just messing with you (laughter).
No, the cheerleaders and guys, the end zone militia. They was all the way at the rafters. I tried to throw them a ball after the touchdown. It didn't get there. But I still get an E for effort for that, though.
Q. After a season like this, after a game like today, what do you want to be remembered for, especially for the fans, of the quarterback for the New England Patriots for the 2020 season?
CN: I don't know. That's a great question.
2020 was a weird year, man. I think for me, my legacy is all I have as a man. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, we came up short a lot. It's not necessarily more important than the fans than my most focus was to make as much of an impact that I could for the people on this team.
I came in with the mentality each and every day to try to get better, to try to impact lives in a positive way, and to be receptive of change. It was a lot of things that I had to disassociate myself from. That was on the field as well as off the field.
I've learned over time, no disrespect to your question or to the fans or anything else like that, but my main focus was just to impact this locker room as best as I could. I tried. That's the only thing I can say at the end.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports