FOXBORO (CBS) -- It's not often that the comments made on pregame shows generate too much attention, but when Steve Young and Trent Dilfer spoke about the Patriots on ESPN on Monday night, it didn't go unnoticed in New England.
Young spoke out against the Patriots for the team essentially trying to rebuild while wasting precious years of Brady's career.
"How do you look Tom Brady in the eye and let Logan Mankins go?" Young said. "They say to him it's for the team and the cap, but what you're saying is, 'We're transitioning, Tom. Hope it works out, but it's not about you.' I've got to believe it needs to be about Tom Brady while he's still here."
Dilfer took it a step further, accusing the Patriots of simply being content making the playoffs instead of doing whatever's necessary to win a championship.
"It's kind of this dirty secret that organizations just want to get in the tournament," Dilfer said. "They're trying to fill their seats, make money, and try to put a good enough product out there that it's competitive. If you look at the New England Patriots after the championship run, that's how they've drafted, that's how they've handled free agency — not to go attack a championship and say, 'We have Tom Brady. We need to take some chances to go win one more.'"
During Tuesday's Felger & Massarotti program, the show aired footage of Brady chatting with both Young and Dilfer on the field prior to the game and prior to their comments on Monday night. So at his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Brady was asked if he had any comments on what the former QBs-turned-analysts said about his team and his situation.
"Nope," Brady said. "I don't [know what they said]. I haven't paid attention. I probably don't pay attention to much because I understand what's going on. I know probably a lot more information than you guys have, a lot more information than they have. We're just trying to focus on the things we can do to get better."
Though Brady didn't look like he had much hope for the team in the midst of that 41-14 loss, he certainly sang a positive tune on Wednesday.
"It's a long year," he said. "We've got a lot of football to play, and we've got a lot of high-character guys in our locker room, we've got a lot of mentally tough guys, and that's what it takes. It's not the time to fold the tents up and call it a season. We're 2-2, we're tied for the best record in our division -- not that that is a great feat by any stretch. But we'll see what we're made of as we continue to fight through these tough weeks. Hopefully it builds character and builds resiliency, and the mistakes that we made last week, we've got to figure out a way to improve on those things so that we can come out and play a great game this week. So that's what it's going to take."
Brady was also asked whether he believes the Patriots' problems are correctable or if there is a lack of talent.
"I hope they're correctable," Brady said. "There's always going to be mistakes in football. ... It's a tough league. When you don't play well, certainly you don't play well on the road, we got behind, those are things that we've got to try to correct."
The quarterback, who at times has exclusively zeroed in on Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski with passes, was asked if he trusts his teammates on the field.
"Yeah, absolutely. I trust all the guys in the locker room," Brady said. "Guys on our team work really hard, we try to do things the right way, we try to work hard to earn each other's trust."
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE FROM CBS BOSTON
Tom Brady Offers No Comment On Steve Young's, Trent Dilfer's Assessment Of Patriots
/ CBS Boston
FOXBORO (CBS) -- It's not often that the comments made on pregame shows generate too much attention, but when Steve Young and Trent Dilfer spoke about the Patriots on ESPN on Monday night, it didn't go unnoticed in New England.
Young spoke out against the Patriots for the team essentially trying to rebuild while wasting precious years of Brady's career.
"How do you look Tom Brady in the eye and let Logan Mankins go?" Young said. "They say to him it's for the team and the cap, but what you're saying is, 'We're transitioning, Tom. Hope it works out, but it's not about you.' I've got to believe it needs to be about Tom Brady while he's still here."
Dilfer took it a step further, accusing the Patriots of simply being content making the playoffs instead of doing whatever's necessary to win a championship.
"It's kind of this dirty secret that organizations just want to get in the tournament," Dilfer said. "They're trying to fill their seats, make money, and try to put a good enough product out there that it's competitive. If you look at the New England Patriots after the championship run, that's how they've drafted, that's how they've handled free agency — not to go attack a championship and say, 'We have Tom Brady. We need to take some chances to go win one more.'"
During Tuesday's Felger & Massarotti program, the show aired footage of Brady chatting with both Young and Dilfer on the field prior to the game and prior to their comments on Monday night. So at his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Brady was asked if he had any comments on what the former QBs-turned-analysts said about his team and his situation.
"Nope," Brady said. "I don't [know what they said]. I haven't paid attention. I probably don't pay attention to much because I understand what's going on. I know probably a lot more information than you guys have, a lot more information than they have. We're just trying to focus on the things we can do to get better."
Though Brady didn't look like he had much hope for the team in the midst of that 41-14 loss, he certainly sang a positive tune on Wednesday.
"It's a long year," he said. "We've got a lot of football to play, and we've got a lot of high-character guys in our locker room, we've got a lot of mentally tough guys, and that's what it takes. It's not the time to fold the tents up and call it a season. We're 2-2, we're tied for the best record in our division -- not that that is a great feat by any stretch. But we'll see what we're made of as we continue to fight through these tough weeks. Hopefully it builds character and builds resiliency, and the mistakes that we made last week, we've got to figure out a way to improve on those things so that we can come out and play a great game this week. So that's what it's going to take."
Brady was also asked whether he believes the Patriots' problems are correctable or if there is a lack of talent.
"I hope they're correctable," Brady said. "There's always going to be mistakes in football. ... It's a tough league. When you don't play well, certainly you don't play well on the road, we got behind, those are things that we've got to try to correct."
The quarterback, who at times has exclusively zeroed in on Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski with passes, was asked if he trusts his teammates on the field.
"Yeah, absolutely. I trust all the guys in the locker room," Brady said. "Guys on our team work really hard, we try to do things the right way, we try to work hard to earn each other's trust."
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE FROM CBS BOSTON
In:
Featured Local Savings
CBS News Boston
Mets fans blame David Stearns, Steve Cohen after Carlos Mendoza fired
Mets fire manager Carlos Mendoza, replace him with Andy Green
Howard and Miles score 21, Reeve ties WNBA coaching wins record as Lynx beat Wings 85-77
Twins defeat Rockies 9-8 in 10 innings after blowing 7-run lead
Astros beat Tigers 8-6, keeping manager A.J. Hinch at 999 career victories
Ian Happ's 3-run homer sparks Cubs' 8-2 win as David Peterson steadies after 1st-pitch HR
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve bows away from WNBA work for Hall of Fame induction
Kamilla Cardoso shoots 13 for 13 and scores 30 in WNBA-record shooting night as Sky beat Fire 124-94