I don't care about three years ago - I don't care about two years ago. I don't care about last year. The only thing I care about is this week.
The true competitors, though, are the ones who always play to win.
To me, football is so much about mental toughness, it's digging deep, it's doing whatever you need to do to help a team win and that comes in a lot of shapes and forms.
Every quarterback can throw a ball; every running back can run; every receiver is fast; but that mental toughness that you talk about translates into competitiveness.
Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be. I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I'm trying to find.
We all have experiences in our lives that change us, and we all learn from people, like my dad, but at the end of the day, it's only us. And we're only responsible to make ourselves happy.
Football is unconditional love.
I don't think there's a lot of carry-over from year to year. I don't think anybody cares what you did the year before.
It's great to learn more about sports I'm probably less familiar with - stock car racing, rodeo, e-sports - and realize that a lot of the people at the center of those sports bring the same level of passion, commitment and disciple that I try to with football. Sports is a way of life for billions of people around the planet.
I'm an emotional person. Sometimes I can't help it.
But when Gronk scores - it was like his eighth touchdown of the year - he spikes the ball and he deflates the ball. I love that, because I like the deflated ball. But I feel bad for that football, because he puts everything he can into those spikes.
When you hang with a bunch of 300-pound linemen, you tend to find the places that are the greasiest and serve the most food.
With football, you can have up to 28 guys you consider starters, and if they can pick up the slack when some aren't playing so well, you don't have to turn those two-game losing streaks into six-game losing streaks.
The only thing I ever wanted to be was a professional football player.
You don't like to see your guys take the field without you because it makes you feel like, man, maybe they really don't need me out there, which is kind of humbling.
Football is a contact sport and there's a lot that goes into it. But I have committed myself for a long time to doing it, and because I love doing it so much I want to make that commitment.
I didn't alter the footballs in any way
I'm much more comfortable and confident running out on the field in front of 70,000 people instead of standing in front of a camera trying to say some lines.
I don't put any thought into the footballs after I choose them. When you're out there playing in front of 70,000 people, like a home crowd, you don't think about it. You're just reacting to the game.
Matt Damon is a great actor, and he's from Boston, so we've got a few things in common. I've seen him throw a football, though. He definitely needs to work on that.
I play a complicated position in an intensely team-oriented game.
In Boston, they love their sports celebrities. And it's great.
If you're a quarterback, you want everything on your shoulders. You want to be the one to make the decisions.
I hope I have a lot more football left.
I love playing football. I love playing for the Patriots.
