Brady downplays argument with O'Brien
More than a day later, the talk of the town in New
England remained the sideline shouting match between Tom Brady and
first-year Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien on the sideline
during the fourth quarter of Sunday's 34-27 win in Washington.
The argument, captured closely by the CBS cameras (Click
to watch) , came just after Brady threw an interception in
the end zone on a pass intended for first-year wide receiver Tiquan Underwood. Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson made the play but cutting in
front of Underwood for the pick.
Brady seemed to be yelling on the sideline that
the young receiver simply can't get undercut on the play. At that
point, O'Brien barked back at Brady. Eventually wide receivers coach
Chad O'Shea had to physical restrain O'Brien, and even Patriots head
coach Bill Belichick came over in a effort to diffuse the situation.
"I threw a pretty bad interception so he wasn't
happy about it," Brady said of the argument."There was probably a long
list of player not happy with me after that. Billy was pretty made at
me. I deserved it.
"We're both pretty emotional guys. That's what I
deserve. You make b ad plays, you are supposed to be yelled at by your
coaches. Wasn't the first time, probably won't be the last.
"It was just a stupid play by me."
Whether Brady deserved it or not, or if the
reigning MVP even initiated the verbal back-and-forth, such things are
rarely so clearly captured by the network cameras on the New England
sideline.
"I credit coach O'Brien for laying into him a
little bit," New England local TV and radio analyst and former Patriots
backup quarterback Scott Zolak said.
On Monday, Underwood said a portion of the blame
for the interception fell on his shoulders.
"It happens. It's just part of the game. We're all
passionate about our jobs and what we do. It's very intense, especially
on game day," said Underwood. "Me and Tom spoke afterward. He explained
what I have to do the next time in that situation. I've got to run a
better route and catch the ball. If I can't catch the ball, I have to
bat it down."
And in his weekly contractually obligated
appearance on a Boston radio station on Monday, Brady downplayed the
incident and sounded quite upbeat about his overall relationship with
O'Brien.
"We're both very emotional people and believe me,
when things don't go well, everyone gets frustrated. There are
different ways that we express our frustration and when I make a play
like that at the end of the game, it's not what he expects, or any
coach expects. That's just part of the game," Brady told WEEI.
"He and I have a great relationship. I love that
he feels that he can coach me. I think that's something as a veteran
player, you maybe don't get a lot from coaches. Because you're a
veteran, you think 'Man, I can't be yelled out.' But yeah, you can. And
you should. We're all held accountable. I'm glad our defense really
made the play to win the game at the end, because I would have been
feeling pretty crappy if we would have somehow not pulled that game out
with that interception there at the end.
"Billy and I have a great relationship, so I think
it's just that thing on both of our parts, and I do that a lot too, I
get on guys all the time. It's a way to try to get guys to respond. Our
team needs a lot of fire. We need a lot of emotion. That's the way you
play the game."
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Blows up at O'Brien on sidelines
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