Q. Mac, I just wanted to ask you how you felt. You obviously took a lot of hits today, how you're feeling. I was just curious what prompted taking the knee brace off, if you could just share any of that or why you did that.
MJ: My body feels good. Obviously, it wasn't our day. We didn't play as well as we wanted to. On the knee brace, I just slid and it kind of came loose, so I just took it off.
Q. I know you always want to score, but on these long drives that you have, how hard is it to just take three when seven is right there?
MJ: I think it just goes back to execution. I can do a better job just sticking to my reads and being patient and letting things develop. I didn't do a good job of that today. We'll get better, and we've made it a point of emphasis.
Today it didn't show, but we're going to just flip the page and continue to work and try to find ways, whether it's creativity or whatever. It's really not my job to call the plays. Josh is going to do a great job coming up with ways to improve that. I know he will because he's a competitor just like all of us and we're all wanting to score points. It's not like we're all happy with just kicking. We want to score as much as we can.
Q. Obviously, it was a tough day, but to have comforting words from your teammates maybe coming up to you after interceptions, how much does that maybe really soothe out that you have their support even if it's a bad play?
MJ: I think interceptions are a part of the game. You obviously don't want to throw them, and sometimes they're bang-bang plays and sometimes they're things you can control. I just have to learn from those errors. Everyone did have my back. It seemed they were very supportive.
For me, I've worked a lot on just playing the next play, and I felt like I wasn't lingering or thinking about the last play at all and neither was any of our team.
Yeah, we can definitely get better there, and I appreciate everyone supporting me, and I've got to get better. So I will.
Q. Can you speak to the role that James White has had in helping you get accustomed to this offense? And what impact did his departure from the game have on the game itself, and as a team, if you're going to be without him for any long period of time?
MJ: I think James is a great player, but he's also a good person. He does everything right all the time. It seems like he just goes about his business. He comes into work every day. It's not like he's cutting any corners short because he's an older player and knows it all. He continues to work.
That definitely sucked to see him go down. We're all behind him 100 percent, and he's a team leader, and he's a great team leader, and he's a great Patriot. We all want to be, if we can, like James. He's a big role model for me.
I hope he's okay, and thoughts and prayers to him and his family.
Q. On the third and one handoff to Brandon before the half and a couple of the other red zone runs, were those called runs in the huddle, or are those plays that you kind of get a little bit of an option there?
MJ: In the red zone, I think just improving throwing the ball. I need to just improve that. When I have a chance to, I need to take what they give me, but also take some chances. A lot of the plays, I could have stuck with them instead of changing them or whatever, and I'll get better at that.
We'll improve the red zone. We have to improve. We've got to put points on the board. We can't just continue to not do that. We've just got to flip the page on today and learn from it, watch it, and just identify the problem because you just have to fix the problem and try and find ways to make that better.
Q. Taking the cue on flipping the page, this happens fast. You'll make the corrections and then turn the page. Along those lines, have you ever had any contact with Tom Brady, and what are your thoughts on the Buccaneers coming to town as you flip that page?
MJ: I think we're just going to focus on learning from the tape. I think that's most important. It definitely stinks to lose, but you can learn from it, and it definitely eats away at you when you lose, but you've got to learn and move on.
That's what a lot of the older guys were telling me, just keep my head up. Obviously, no one likes to lose here, and the Patriots have done nothing but win for a long time. We've got to get back to that. It just happens through everyday grind, every day work, and not focusing on the results. Play each play. Play each day one day at a time. If we can do that, then I think we'll see progress, and we'll just go from there.
Q. Was there anything that the Saints did that forced you to hold on to the ball a little bit longer than you would have wanted? And was there anything you could have done differently on that first interception?
MJ: No, I think, obviously, they have a great defense, the Saints do. They did what they did. But it's more about us and me just executing our plays. I can do a better job of that. I don't like to assume anything. I just like to watch the tape and look at it from a bird's eye view and don't be emotional about it. Just look at it and learn from it and then flip the page.
I'm sure there's plays I left on the field. I know there are. And I'm sure that the offense as a whole, we can all play better together, and we will.
Q. Disappointing day today for Jonnu Smith. What maybe is missing with the connection of the timing there?
MJ: I think Jonnu has done everything right. He's out there running. He's out there blocking, doing what he's supposed to do. Me and him, we're not always going to have perfect days. Nobody is. I think it's more about just getting that connection in practice and the timing. That comes with reps.
We've kind of been together for a few weeks now, and we've just got to keep growing and turn the page on some of the bad things we did but also learn from them. There's always good conversations that come out of bad plays or bad days or bad games. You just have to talk through it and look at it through a positive lens. That applies with everybody on the team, so I think that's what we'll do.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports