He's so emotional

Apparently Tom Brady never loses his temper during a game. Never gets upset with himself or teammates. Never raises his voice. It seems that he's always been Mr. Kumbaya during his Hall of Fame career. Drop another pass, Ocho? No problem. Let's get some pizza after the game. Make a bad call and kill a touchdown drive, Bill O'Brien? It's cool. It's nobody's fault. Let's just try harder. Miss a block and let #12 get planted, Matt Light? It's all right. I should have gotten rid of the ball faster.

Tom Brady yelling and acting like the next drive is the most important drive of the season is what makes him Tom Brady. It's what pushes his teammates. Most Pats' fans love the moment just before the team took the field of their Super Bowl against the Rams. Brady grabs Drew Bledsoe by the neck and starts screaming in his face like a lunatic. Bledsoe looks at him with an odd smile before Willie McGinnest steps in and tries to calm Brady down. No moment illustrates the difference between Brady and Bledsoe. Two great quarterbacks. One mad man.

Most of the talk after the Pats' win over the Jets has focused on Brady yelling at his receivers most of the game. The Pats scored one touchdown all night. It was a frustrating, wet night. But it doesn't take a game when the offense scores 13 points to get Brady fired up.

The video above? The Pats scored 34 points in this game.

The 'drop'

Where's Tom Brady?

Penn State's Bill O'Brien came out this weekend and said that the Brady-to-Welker touchdown-pass-that-wasn't in the Super Bowl "wasn't a drop."

That's right. It wasn't. I've been saying that since the play happened. As the ball rolled along the Lucas Field turf, I believe my words to the room full of stunned family members were "How can Brady miss a wide-open pass like that in the Super Bowl?" Then the replay was shown. Bad pass. And shown again. Bad pass. And shown again. Bad Pass. In the 30-plus times I have looked at the play ... bad pass.

Former offensive coordinator O'Brien defended his player. "That would have been a tremendous catch and he should never think twice about that. I would tell (fans) they should be very grateful ... to have a player like Wes Welker as a Patriot. He is what Boston is all about, in my opinion. He's a hard-working guy, he's a tough guy, he's an honest guy, nothing was ever given to him." Couldn't have said it better myself.

So where's Brady?

Welker has taken a lot of criticism for "the drop." There seemed to be more people willing to let the All-Pro wide receiver walk in free agency after that play. (Fortunately he and his 122 catches aren't going anywhere). I was surprised how many NFL experts -- not the media, but ex-players and ex-coaches -- who said they thought it was a decent throw and a catch that should have been made. No matter how many times I watch the replay I can't see that. (Skip the next few graphs if you don't want to go back there).

Super Bowl. The Giants and little Manning -- again. Pats up 17-15 with just over four minutes to play and a 2nd-and-11 at midfield. Score on this drive and the game is over and the fourth Lombardi is hoisted high. As the ball is snapped, TV analyst Chris Collinsworth says it looks like the Giants D is confused. He is right.

Welker, lined up in the left slot, flies past the defensive back down the left hash marks and comes wide open at the 30. If Brady -- as he should have -- hits Welker in stride on the inside shoulder Welker goes for a touchdown. Watch the replay. He's that open and going that fast. The safeties are a good five yards away and out of position to break the play up. Instead Brady throws it outside shoulder -- way outside shoulder -- and a little too high. Welker spins around to grab it. He leaps and the ball hits him in the hands... ... but it bounces away. Welker usually catches the ball when he gets both hands on it, but not when he has to twist his body back-around 90 degrees and hurl himself in the air. Welker feels he should have caught the ball. And maybe he should have. But what really should have happened is Brady dropping the ball right into the cradle of Welker's arms for a touchdown and a highlight that would have taken its place next to some of the best moments of the past ten years.

The defense had done its job. Brady and the offense were making a memorable championship drive. They had a chance to secure the victory -- which is what great players and offenses do -- and they let it slip away. Those things happen. That's sports. You really can't win 'em all. But it doesn't make it any less tough to take. You could see the look on Brady's face. He couldn't believe he had blown such an easy, Lombardi-clinching play. (Giselle apparently couldn't believe it either).

Welker came out after the game and -- team player that he is -- took complete blame for the play. "The ball was right there. I've got to make that play. It's a play I've made a thousand times, and at the biggest moment of my life I don't come up with it." Class act. The Globe's Greg Bedard quickly came out with a story saying that, actually, it's not a pass that Welker has caught a thousand times. Not even a dozen. Bedard went over every pass to Welker throughout the whole season (when does he find the time?) and, not surprisingly, found that Welker never had to make a leaping, twisting, spinning catch a couple feet above his head.

But Welker still took the blame. "I let the team down," he added. That's being a stand-up guy.

Where's Brady? On the beach with Gisele somewhere (with Welker, by the way).

The last thing Brady was heard saying about the "drop" was this right after the game ...“Wes went up to try to make it, as he always does, and we just couldn’t connect. I’ll keep throwing the ball to him for as long as I possibly can.”

There's a word implied in that statement. "But." As in "... we just couldn't connect BUT I'll keep throwing the ball to him for as long as I possible can." That was the sound of Brady very subtly throwing Welker under the bus. Translate it into "Wes dropped the ball but I still love him." Where was the "It was a bad throw. I put it too high. It's as much my fault as his."? Anything like that. He didn't say it that day and, from what I've read, he hasn't said it since. Hopefully he has said it to Welker while strolling along the beach. And hopefully Gisele didn't hear him because it might have gotten ugly.

"It was my fault." How hard is that? Brady said it two weeks earlier after the AFC Championship victory over the Ravens. "I sucked," he said in front of the home crowd. He made some big mistakes. But he also made some great plays, including the tough-as-nails goal-line dive into the teeth of the Baltimore D for the winning score. That's why it was OK to say "I sucked." Because he was also great. But I guess the real reason it was OK to say it was because the team won the game despite Brady's mistakes. Not so in the Super Bowl. Not so in what could have been the biggest moment of Brady's career. There really is no shame in competing but coming up short. But the pressure of trying to cement his place in NFL history seemed to get the best of Brady. You could see it in his face. He knew he had made a huge mistake but he was so upset and disappointed that he couldn't bring himself to say it.

It was disappointing. Bourque would have said it. DJ would have said it. Bruschi would have said it. Brady should have said it. "It was my fault," It's what has separated Brady from most other star players in today's "me first" sports world. While Manning was blaming his offensive line or his coaches, Brady was always saying "It was my fault. I have to do better." He learned that from Drew Bledsoe. You are the leader. Take the blame if you deserve it. Brady always has.Till this time. It was surprising, especially since it's clear how tight Brady and Welker are together. I guess the pressure got to Brady that day -- on the field and off.

Brady losing in his last two Super Bowls hasn't lowered my opinion of him as one of the greatest players ever. But his letting Welker take the heat for that play has lowered my opinion of him as a person. A despondent Welker concluded his post-game comments back on Super Bowl Sunday by saying "I'll have to figure out a way to shake this one off."

Maybe if Tom Brady came out and said "It was a bad pass" it would be a little easier for Welker to do that.

We'll be seeing the highlight of the "drop" for years to come. Here are a few that are more fun to watch...

Show of emotion

Highlights of yesterday's very entertaining victory in D.C.:

• Gronk catches two more TDs to set the record for tight ends.
• Brady throws for 357 yards and three touchdowns.
• McCourty and Ihedigbo play the entire game with basically one arm and still come up with some big plays.
• Andre Carter is once again a force on the D line. And Big Vince wasn't too shabby.
• Wes Welker continues his amazing season.
• The defense adds to its turnover total.

The thing that dismissed Globe writer Ron Borges decides to write his column about? Well if you read Borges you know he wrote about the epic Brady-O'Brien shouting match. What else?

Borges offers that the fight is a result of the fact that the Pats keep playing in tight games and that has increased the pressure-cooker level on the offense. Classic Borges.

He ignores the fact that Brady was the same way in '07 when the team was winning games 45-10. He ignores the fact the Charlie Weis did a lot of yelling at his quarterback when the team was winning Super Bowls. He ignores the fact that if Brady hits an open Welker for a TD on the play before the pick the game is over and everyone can relax. He ignores the fact that any win on the road in the NFL is a good win. Instead he compares the moment with the old Bronx Zoo of the Yanks. Classic Borges.

In Borges's thinking the Pats should win every game 20-3 so that there's no stress on the offense. That way Brady can put up a few touchdowns then sit back on the bench and relax with a cup of Gatorade in the second half as the defense stuffs the other team. Anything other than that is a team that isn't good enough. Problem is that the other teams have offensive players who can make plays. Like the Redskins. Even the soon-to-be-perfect Packers have played in a lot of close games (till yesterday). That's the NFL. The Saints barely won yesterday. The Niners were upset by Arizona. The Ravens -- with their great D -- lost to Seattle. What the Pats did in '07 was a freak of football nature. Even the best of teams spend most of their times winning close games. That's what makes them the best teams. They can handle the pressure and win those games.

There's a moment in one of the "America's Game" video highlights from one of the Super Bowl years where offensive coordinator Weis is ripping the offensive players for sloppy play. He goes on a profanity-laced rant for about 15 seconds and then at the end looks at Brady who is standing off to the side and barks "You included!" It's a great moment. (You can watch it in the video below. Start around the 22:30 mark). As someone who has had a great view of the team's bench for many years I can say that's one of the best parts about watching the Patriots. The intensity. Doesn't matter if the score is 30-0 or 30-30. Belichick, his coaches, and his players are all focused on the next play. There's not a lot of celebrating and relaxing going on like you see, say, on the Cowboys bench.

Bill O'Brien fits right into that approach. It's great to see that a young offensive coordinator isn't afraid to get in the Hall of Fame QBs face. O'Brien -- like Weis and McDaniels before him -- knows that Brady can take it. In fact he thrives on it. And he will give it right back. The Pats don't always win (two home playoff loses proves that) but they are always prepared and focused. Too much pressure? On Brady and the hated Patriots? Please.

Borges says everyone will just brush the incident off as "it happens all the time" but don't you be fooled. Borges knows better. He always has. Belichick was a bad hire. Seymour was a wasted first-round pick. Cutting Lawyer would destroy the team. Moss was washed up. Oh, and of course Bledsoe was better than Brady.

Borges always knows better.