Patriots fans have the right to boo, says Brady
by Omnisport
Tom Brady said New England Patriots fans have the right to boo the reigning Super Bowl champions during a tough stretch.
The Patriots were jeered by their own supporters at half-time of Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, as they trailed 20-7 after two quarters at Gillette Stadium.
New England dropped to 10-3 after a second straight defeat and third in five games.
Brady, who went 19-of-36 passing for 169 yards, a touchdown and an interception, is determined to handle the slump "gracefully", though, while accepting some fans would not be happy.
"We've had millions of people show up for our winning celebrations, our rallies after we've won Super Bowls," he told The Greg Hill Show on WEEI.
"I think when you play sports, nothing's guaranteed. You have wins, you have losses, you have highs, you have lows. You have great wins and very tough losses. How you handle those things gracefully is what's most important to me.
"Everyone has the right to do what they want to do, to feel how they want to feel.
"We as a team obviously feel very disappointed when we lose games, so you just take it for what it is and try to move forward and do the best you can do. That's what we're trying to do out there."
A key issue for the Patriots last week was the identity of their kicker, which remained uncertain heading into the weekend.
Nick Folk ultimately played just 10 days after having appendicitis, but Brady was not looking to make excuses, insisting similar challenges arrive in every season.
"I think you look at those as opportunities as an offense," he said. "We had chances there to make some plays and we just didn't.
"If our number's called, we've got to go out and execute. If special teams are called on, they've got to go and execute. And when the defense is called, they have been executing - those guys have been playing great all season and they gave us every chance yesterday.
"We've just got to keep fighting and keep battling. It hasn't been an easy season - that's fine, it's like every other year. Every season has its own unique challenges.
"We face them, we have to learn from them, and our whole season is ahead of us. We've got to rally together, trust each other, and go lay it on the line like we have been doing every week.
"This is about a one-week season for us and trying to go to Cincinnati and win on the road."
Brady was positive on an elbow injury post-game, and he added: "It's alright. I just took the helmet right on the inside of it.
"It's just a typical football game, nothing I haven't dealt with before. I'm just going to try to get some extra treatment and hopefully be 100 per cent for next week."