Tom Brady opened his press conference appropriately enough.

“I don’t have long guys, I’m going to warn you,” Brady said, with Michigan family and friends waiting.

That was appropriate because it was exactly how the first half unfolded and one of the big reasons the Patriots were down 17-10 at halftime to the 2-8 Lions. Taking a page from Al Davis‘ handbook on quarterbacks, the Lions sent Brady down to the ground in the first half, and sent him down hard.

Ndamukong Suh sacked Brady in the first quarter and the Lions’ athletic front, led by Kyle Vanden Bosch, hit Brady hard at least five other times as Brady was held in check.

“Once the speed of the game slowed down, we got everything under control,” Brady said. “They’ve got a hell of a pass rush.”

Then the offensive line held their end of the bargain in the second half, keeping Brady upright and allowing the QB to fire four TDs, including a long, game-changing 79-yard bomb to Deion Branch, abusing poor Lions CB Alphonso Smith in the process. The Patriots went on to score a 45-24 win over the Lions in Detroit on Thursday.

“He was supposed to run and in-cut and the guy was sitting on it,” Brady said. “He threw his hand up and I threw it out there for him. He made a great run after catch. Certainly it’s not the way we drew it up. Just a great play by a great player.”

Wes Welker also had a great day, catching a pair of touchdown passes. Welker and Branch are Brady’s kind of guys.

“They’re everything you look for smart, tough. Patriots kind of guys, do whatever you ask,” Brady raved. “Right in the mold of the Troy Browns and David Pattens and the David Givens. Just spectacular players.

But it was rookie cornerback Devin McCourty who was just as important to Brady. He picked off Shaun Hill twice, leading to a pair of Patriot TDs.

“We showed some resiliency, coming out playing in the second half the way we did,” Brady said. “The crowd was really into it. I think Devin’s interception was a huge play in the game. We executed much better in the second half so it was a great effort.

“I think we’ve shown improvement. We’re not where we need to be. Still haven’t played 60 minutes yet. This is a tough group. I think we’re going to fight to the end. We showed some resiliency and that’s what we needed.