“One thing I do know is the guy is 100 percent a passionate when it comes to football,” Kraft said on ESPN Boston Radio. “He loves football. He wants to win. He doesn’t like losing. I don’t know specifically what people are questioning, but he’s an ultimate competitor. I think the team did accomplish a lot this year. Unfortunately, we fell a little bit short of the ultimate goal. I do think that he and other players probably have different ways of both celebrating what we were able to achieve and dealing with the disappointment of the night, and I think it’s hard to personalize how any individual would deal with that and project it on someone else.”

Gronk partying and dancing looks bad to a lot of people. It’s not the way heartbroken fans want to see their players respond to a loss. But we’re not in their shoes, and we don’t know how we would have reacted. And like I said, Gronk had a phenomenal year. He obviously knows what works for him and what doesn’t.

When you’re playing a team with as many receiving weapons as New York, you try to take away the best options. The best options for the Giants are obviously Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. With Manningham’s history of drops and erratic play, Belichick’s was wise to preach what he did.

“This is still a Cruz-and-Nicks game,” Belichick was heard saying. “I know we’re right on them. It’s tight, but those are still the guys. Make them go to Manningham, make them go to (Bear) Pascoe. Let’s make sure we get Cruz and Nicks.”

Our reaction: duh. Eli Manning made a perfect throw and Manningham made an even better catch. It happens. The bottom line is the call was the right one. New England had to make Eli beat them with his less-reliable options. For most of the game, it worked. On the final drive, they paid for it. The fact that Manning and Manningham turned the game around with one play has everything to do with execution and nothing to do with the coverage.

*Editor’s note: A previous version of this posted stated that Belichick made a snarky remark about Gisele after his round at Pebble Beach on Thursday. As it turns out, I didn’t read the story carefully enough. The quote we included earlier in this post was fabricated by ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski for humor.

Rob Gronkowski didn’t wait too long after the whole shirtless partying incident to make a public appearance. The Patriots tight end attended the Celtics-Lakers game in Boston Thursday night along with teammates Vince Wilfork, Julian Edelman, and Tiquan Underwood, and team owner Robert Kraft. The group reportedly received a standing ovation when they were shown on the jumbotron in the arena, so apparently New Englanders still love them.

Kobe Bryant noticed Gronk in the crowd and yelled at him during the game.

“I told him the Eagles need a tight end,” Bryant said after the win. “I’m recruiting! He’s a freak athlete. He shouted at me, I shouted back.”

Even Kobe respects the Gronk. And if you’re wondering why Gronk wasn’t looking at the camera for the picture, well, that’s simple: he’s a popular dude — his attention is in demand. The Gronk can look in whatever direction he pleases.

Picture Credit: Glenn Gronkowski

“I think I was paid relative to where I came in this year and, you know, I came in as a free agent so that’s the salary I was on, so I don’t feel like I was underpaid,” Cruz said. “I feel like after my performance this year I deserve to be paid more money at this point. But that’s something I’ll let my agents and those people take care of and I’ll just go out there and play the game.”

Cruz is set to make $490,000 next season. In the same spirit that teams ask players to take pay cuts, the Giants should give Cruz the raise he’s earned. Maybe signing him to a long-term deal is the way to go.

Cruz also weighed in on Rob Gronkowski, who made headlines when videos and pictures showed him dancing like a madman after the loss. Cruz, who’s become known for his salsa dancing touchdown celebration, says he probably would have left the gyrations at home.

“I don’t think so,” Cruz said when asked if he would have been dancing after losing the Super Bowl. “I think I would have been in my room, watching TV, soaking in the moment. It’s not every day you make it to a Super Bowl, man. . . . Some guys play 15, 16 years in this league and don’t make it the Super Bowl. Or even the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl. I would have been home soaking in the moment, I probably wouldn’t have been partying too much after that.”

Who knows how Cruz would have responded has his team lost. He should just be happy he wasn’t in that position.

“I have no answers as for why I’m here,” Owens said according to the Star-Telegram. “I know God works in mysterious ways. It was an opportunity for myself and my family. It’s a way for myself to keep in shape. I haven’t retired from the NFL. I want to play a couple more years. I know I’m physically fit to play the game still.”

It is also an opportunity for Owens to make $500,000. Although he made around $35 million during his NFL career, T.O. sounds like he could use the money.

“I allowed people to tell me they were taking care of my situation, (and for me to) go out and focus on football,” Owens said. “I am partially at fault for that. It was an eye-opener for myself and my family. … I feel like I have been put on this platform to tell these guys, ‘Be on top of your finances.’ Because they say they are doing one thing and they’re not.”

As for furthering his NFL career: I highly doubt it. There is always an outside chance that a team in desperate need could take a chance on a guy like T.O., but he is 38 years old and a year removed from football. I don’t know much about the Indoor Football League, but I doubt it helps a receiver keep his skills sharp for the NFL. Don’t hold your breath.

“Forgive this term because I didn’t make it up: He was having a good time. He was white boy wasted,” Rose said on Mike and Mike Thursday morning according to Pro Football Talk. “He was having a good time.”

Just before the program ended, Rose delivered a half-hearted apology.

“You guys got me in trouble,” he said. “Earlier in today’s show we were talking about the Patriots’ post-game party and I made some comments that other people — some people — took as insensitive remarks, so for those that took it that way I definitely apologize. Pretty sure I always say things that upset people, get under people’s skin. I guess today was no different. So I’m sorry for the pushback.”

Sounds like somebody got a prompt slap on the wrist after making the remark. Rose obviously didn’t mean anything by it, but you can see how that would tread the line of racism even if he was joking. Is it acceptable for everyday conversation? For me, yes. For a radio show, probably not.

“Given the fact that it’s a colleague of mine’s wife, I do apologize for saying that, because I shouldn’t have said that,” Jacobs said on ESPN Radio’s Doug Gottlieb Show according to Pro Football Talk.  “It’s his wife and I should respect that just as much as anyone else.”

Gisele should not have said what she did about the Patriots’ receivers, but Jacobs was also out of line. We had wondered if he would issue an apology for those comments in the same way he did with his decapitation remark, and it looks like he decided that was the best choice. Regardless of how inappropriate Gisele’s comment was, it was not directed at Jacobs and was none of his business. He either realized that or — more likely — someone had to tell him.

“We’re all in lockstep as an organization that Alex Smith is our guy. It’s well-documented. You saw the way he played this year,” coach Jim Harbaugh said on Comcast Bay Area Tuesday. “(He is a) tremendous leader on our football team.”

“There’s Alex and there are other guys, too, that are high priorities. We want our guys. There are guys who play like 49ers, and what they do is they play their hearts out for our team. So Alex and others, (it’s) going to be a high-priority to get those guys signed.”

Harbaugh has backed Alex Smith since the moment he was hired by the 49ers. Even before the quarterback was signed to a new contract Harbaugh was telling him he would be the team’s signal caller. In November, Harbaugh called him elite. A month later, he said the former No. 1 overall pick was the team’s long-term answer. Many people believe the confidence Harbaugh has shown in Smith led to the young quarterback’s career year.

I give Smith credit for playing well (and playing extremely well against the Saints in the playoffs), but I believe he overachieved and was supported by a stellar defense. If either one drops off, the 49ers won’t look as good.

Rob Gronkowski’s shirtless dancing after the Super Bowl loss has become one of the biggest postgame stories. Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison joined The Waddle & Silvy Show Wednesday and was told about the incident by the hosts. Harrison says that was the first he had heard about it, and he did not respond well.

“I guarantee you this, if Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Richard Seymour or myself had been at that party, (Gronkowski) probably would have got his head rung. There’s no reason for that to happen,” Harrison said.

“When we lost the Super Bowl, any of my Super Bowl losses, I was so devastated the last thing I ever wanted to do was party, let alone dance or take off your shirt,” he added. “It’s just immaturity. It’s not right. He made a mistake and I’m sure he feels absolutely stupid about it at this point. There’s a time and place for everything.”

“The leadership has to step up and someone has to pull (Gronkowski) to the side and say, ‘Look young man, this is inappropriate, this is not the time nor the place. You need to grow up. And that’s what it comes down to. I like this kid. I think he’s a good kid, works hard, is unselfish. But he made a mistake …”

You wonder how someone who hadn’t seen the pictures or video could have commented so harshly, but I guess that’s Rodney (or he’s not telling the truth). Harrison believes Bill Belichick was probably disappointed and that he probably dealt with Gronk.

Again, tearing my shirt off and dancing around probably isn’t the way I would have reacted to a loss, but I also didn’t have the best season ever by a tight end. Translation: whatever Gronk’s been doing has been working for him. It’s just the public perception that makes it looks bad.

Tom Brady got hurt in the third quarter of the Super Bowl and many people feel he wasn’t the same after that. The Patriots quarterback was sacked by Giants defensive end Justin Tuck with 6:12 left in the third and was examined by doctors on the sideline. Even backup Brian Hoyer began throwing after the hit.

So what happened on the play? According to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, Tuck drove Brady’s left shoulder into the turf and aggravated a sprain from earlier in the season.

Brady did not miss a play after the hit, but he was only 7-17 afterward including an interception on a bomb to Rob Gronkowski. Brady’s accuracy wasn’t perfect like it was when he hit 16 straight passes, but he still looked good enough. Drops by Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez hurt the team late. Maybe if he felt better his pass to Welker would have been more on point, but he still seemed close enough.

Is this a legitimate explanation for why New England’s offense was ineffective late in the game? Maybe so, but if the blocking were better, there wouldn’t have been an issue. Credit the Giants defense for getting to Tom and knocking him around.

Photo Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
(note: it is unclear if the picture above is from the play in question)