ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills quarterback Matt Cassel spent three years as Tom Brady's backup and one season as the New England Patriots' starter, potentially giving him inside knowledge of how Brady prepares his footballs for a game.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the NFL suspended Brady four games earlier this month, Cassel deferred comment to the league about the discipline.

"I'm really not going to get into that," Cassel said. "Obviously that was a league decision and it's something that the league came down with a ruling and we're going to go out there and play against whoever's going to be out there on the field."

Cassel, who said he hasn't spoken to Brady since the penalty came out, was asked about Brady's role in preparing footballs for games.

"I think it's the same everywhere," he said. "I think we all have a say in what balls we want and all that stuff and that's about the extent that I'll go into that."

On a lighter note, Cassel addressed a photo of him, Brady and other players with Patriots ties at the Kentucky Derby earlier this month that caused a stir with some Bills fans.

"No, I don't have a Twitter or Facebook or anything like that, so I don't know [about the criticism]," he said. "The fact of the matter is I've been going to the Kentucky Derby for the last 10 years with those guys, and they're going to be my friends off the field. It doesn't mean that I don't want to beat them just as much as every other Buffalo Bills fan out there.

"So I wouldn't look much into the competitiveness that's going to come out on the field. But at the same time, they're still going to be my friends off the field."