Tom Brady plays down hype
Sunday's upcoming Patriots-Packers matchup is already being dubbed a possible Super Bowl preview, but New England quarterback Tom Brady isn't buying in to the hype.
"We are so far from [the Super Bowl]," Brady said during his weekly interview with WEEI's "Dennis & Callahan" show. "We have so many games [left]. If we are lucky enough to make it there, no one ever cares who we play. But that's so far down the road. We think about the one game we have ahead of us, which is a good opponent.
"We have nine wins. We've done a good job getting ourselves to this position. This is when the weather turns, the mental toughness, the discipline, how much we've improved really comes into play."
The Patriots will bring their league-best seven-game win streak and No. 1 scoring offense (32.5 points per game) into Lambeau Field. The Packers, led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, are right on the Patriots' tail with the No. 2 scoring offense (32.2 points per game).
The Packers are riding a three-game win streak, tied with the 49ers for the second-longest active win streak in the NFL. So when all is said and done on Sunday in Green Bay, one of these teams will have the NFL's longest active win streak.
The Packers are undefeated at Lambeau Field this season with a 5-0 record. Brady sees similarities to his own team's dominance at home in Gillette Stadium.
"We're playing one of the best teams in the league," Brady said. "This team plays better -- they play like we do at home -- we always play well.
"We have our work cut out for us. They have a great offense, a great defense. They do a lot of things defensively that are a challenge for us. They have a good rush, good coverage. They play the run well, and they score a lot of points."
The matchup pits the NFL's top two teams in point differential against each other, as the Patriots are at plus-130 while the Packers are at plus-108.
The Patriots and Packers have had similar trajectories this season, as the Patriots suffered an embarrassing loss on the road against the Chiefs that sounded the alarms in New England. The Patriots have now rebounded with seven straight wins and are beating opponents by an average of 20 points in those games.
The Packers started the season 1-2, prompting Rodgers' now infamous "R-E-L-A-X" comments. Since then, the Packers are rolling with a 7-1 record. Brady is excited for a showdown at legendary Lambeau Field.
"It's fun going to Lambeau," Brady said. "I've only been there once. I think I've been there for a preseason game, but only once in the regular season, and we won, which was great. But I'd love to get to 2-0."
