National Football League

“What has the most effect on the game is the way that we played. Believe me, every Patriots player who was in uniform didn’t sleep well last night knowing that we didn’t do what we needed to do to win the game. Certainly, I’m right at the top of the list in my disappointment in myself, that I really let the team down and didn’t play the way I was capable. That’s really what my thoughts are.

You never get over losses. I’ve never gotten over one loss I’ve had in my career. They always stick with me. Some teams play and they only make the playoffs and that’s a hell of a year. That’s not what the Patriots are all about. I don’t think that’s the standard that guys like Tedy [Bruschi] and Willie[McGinest] and Ty [Law] set for us. Our expectations every year are to win the Super Bowl. When you don’t do that, there’s disappointment that lingers for a long time. Fortunately during the regular season, you always have a game the following week. In the postseason, you don’t.

Everyone will go their separate ways for the time being. Hopefully the labor situation will get itself sorted out. Everyone will come back to the mini-camps. It’s a new season. The one thing with the Super Bowl and the end of that Super Bowl game that I’ve always felt is that’s the start of a new year. Until that Super Bowl ends, you always feel unlucky. You know how you feel. And then when that game ends, you’re like, ‘Man, I’m so happy the season’s over.’ Because your goal is to win it all. It takes a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of great play at critical times. We did that over the course of the season at really critical times. We just didn’t do it yesterday. So it’s going to last for a long time.”

- Tom Brady on Sunday’s playoff loss to the New York Jets

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Source: deadspin.com