New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker was so upset over dropping a crucial pass late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 21-17 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, he nearly started crying at the podium.
Welker isn't going to get any pity from quarterback Tom Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen, though.
After her prayers for a Patriots' championship went unanswered, Bunchen lashed out at the team's receiving corps for failing to haul in her husband's passes. While waiting for an elevator at Lucas Oil Stadium, Bundchen was being heckled by Giants fans when she spoke to people in her group.
"My husband can not f------ throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times," Bundchen said in a video captured by theinsider.com, a gossip website.
Wide receiver Deion Branch and tight end Aaron Hernandez dropped passes on New England's final drive.
After the game, Welker said he let the team down when he failed to come up with a Brady pass he says he catches "1,000 times."
"Wes is a phenomenal player and a teammate," Brady said. "I love that guy."
If only his supermodel wife felt the same way.
Brady was not available for comment on Monday, when the team flew back from Indianapolis and arrived at Gillette Stadium on buses. Asked if the team had any comment, Patriots spokesman Stacey James pursed his lips together and shook his head from side to side.
But defensive back James Ihedigbo says Welker was a big reason the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl, and he's not to blame for the loss.
"You can't point fingers at anybody. Wes made amazing plays all season," Ihedigbo said. "You win it as a team; you win it and lose it as a team. And we lost to a good football team."
Bundchen made headlines leading into the game when the press received an email she sent urging her close family and friends to pray for Brady on Sunday.
Mike Mazzeo is a frequent contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.