Tom Brady and Patriots will focus on stopping Indy's passing attack

ProFootballTalk: The PFT crew examine the game between the Colts and Patriots, keying in on what each team needs to do to have success on Sunday. Ross Tucker says the Pats will focus on stopping the Colts aerial assault.

You think Saturday night was hard on you?

Imagine the roller-coaster of emotions Tom Brady put himself through. His first-quarter touchdown run and the earth-denting spike that followed. His late-half pick and burying his head in his hands in the wake of that. Flipping out at a Baltimore defensive lineman and referee Bill Vinovich for reasons unknown.

For a guy who hawks Uggs, shaves his armpits and embraces goats, it’s still incongruous to see that -- at 37 -- he’s still one of the most crazed players in the league.

And it doesn’t cause his teammates to bat an eye.

“No, that’s just Tom, it’s just Tom,” said defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. “Everything he does he wants it to be perfect. He strives for greatness. That’s your leader. That’s what you want to follow -- somebody that’s always going to strive to be great at whatever he does. And that’s he does.”

And what he’s always done.

Almost 13 years ago to the day, Brady stumbled into the end zone against the Oakland Raiders, lost his balance drilling the ball into the Foxboro Stadium turf and went rolling through the snow. It was the only touchdown the Patriots scored in the Snow Bowl (or Tuck Game, depending on your preference).

Two weeks later, he was headbutting Drew Bledsoe to a pulp in the tunnel before the Super Bowl.

Earlier that season, he sprinted downfield after a touchdown pass in Denver and got in the face of Broncos linebacker John Mobley. NFL officials used the footage in their 2002 video of how not to act.

While the other legendary quarterbacks -- Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana in particular -- had that preternatural cool, Brady’s bananas. And combative.

“I know it’s an emotional game and I need to be emotional out there to play at my highest,” Brady said Wednesday as he prepares for his ninth conference championship game. “I try to rest up all week and I’m actually pretty mellow most of the time, as you guys know. It’s just for those three hours on Sunday that you get to let it rip, which is really, I think, when you can be yourself. You’ve got to go out there and bring a level of energy and enthusiasm and all the guys do that. And certainly making good plays helps that. When you see your teammates make good plays that’s all part of it. Hopefully we make a lot of good plays.”

Given the responsibilities of keeping the offense poised and in sync, it’s actually remarkable that Brady can toggle between irate, jubilant and deliberate as often as he does.

I asked him if playing like a little bit of a maniac has ever been an impediment to staying cool in the huddle.

“I can always find a way to bring it back to balance,” said Brady. “I don’t think I ever lose track of plays or things that I need to do to help coordinate our offense when we’re on the field. I just think the emotional part is a really important part for me and I think that’s always been a part of the way that I play. It’s a lot of fun, what we get to do for a living, so certainly to get to this moment and play in this game, there’s nothing better.”

The rest of the team drafts off the behavior of its Alpha dog, says Wilfork

“He is so competitive,” said Wilfork. “That’s the first thing I always see. And everybody always asks me, ‘How is Tom?’ I don’t think there’s anybody else in this locker room that is more competitive than Tom. I mean, I don’t care if it’s a conversation, I don’t if it’s practice, I don’t care if it’s seven-on-seven, I don’t care if it’s gameday, I don’t care if it’s in the film room. He wants to be at his best. He wants everybody else around him to be at his best so as a teammate it’s easy to see my top leader coming to work, smiling, having fun and being at his best in the practice. It’s easy for me to go to work to see that guy do it. And he demands the same thing out of us, so I think a lot of the things he does he doesn’t realize how it affects everyone around him. He doesn’t have to say much.

“When he’s here in this building, he’s working,” added Wilfork. When he’s home, he’s working. A lot of the guys don’t understand that. That’s the type of person that he is. He’s going to give you everything he has. I mean, I don’t care how he’s feeling – mentally or physically – but he’s going to put his best on that field and you have to love that. You have to respect that. And that’s what I love and respect about Tom. I mean he always comes to work and trust me, we trash talk a lot in practice, I’m in his ear and he’s in my ear, but at the same time we make practice live and we make practice competitive because we try to get is as close to a game [atmosphere] as possible.”

When you hear Brady talk about playing into his mid-40s, the notion is dismissed. How can he maintain his physical edge that long?

A theory? Because the mind craves the pursuit.

“After we won on Saturday and then you have that little moment of time where you’re not really preparing for anybody and then as soon as you know the opponent the anxiousness starts building and building,” Brady said. “You do everything you can through the preparation to get an understanding of what the team is doing and how you’re going to play and which plays you’re going to install and how you’re going to run the plays and did you execute the plays and then did you execute the plays and all of those things lessen your anxiety because you can go out and perform and build confidence in what you’re doing. It’s kind of the ebbs and flows of the week.”

The in-game ebbs and flows would be easy to chart just by watching Brady’s face and body language. The day he stops acting insane would be the day to be concerned.

Tom E. Curran serves as Comcast SportsNet's NFL Insider. Read more from Tom here, or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.