Julian Edelman says Tom Brady's yelling is evidence 'he really loves me'

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is an exceedingly competitive individual, as evidenced by his on-field demeanor over the past 17 NFL seasons as well as accounts on how he trains privately and with teammates in the offseason.

A recent example occurred in the first quarter of Monday night's Patriots-Ravens tilt on a 3rd and 20 when Brady threw what might have been a 41-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman if the wideout hadn't hesitated twice on the route and ended up tangled with defensive back Jimmy Smith. Brady was not pleased with the outcome of that play, to put it mildly.

On WEEI’s "Ordway, Merloni & Fauria" show on Tuesday, Edelman addressed how Brady yelled at him on the field:

“We’ll keep that between us, but there was a miscommunication,” Edelman said. “I have to do better and go on from there. Ebbs and flows of competitiveness in a crucial game. I know how he is. He would be a little more scared if he wasn’t yelling at me because if he yells at you then he says he loves you, so he really loves me I guess.”

And on being Brady's "punching bag" he said:

“It’s like a relationship where he knows my look when I’m like ‘Alright, bub. Pump the breaks. It’s snowing, don’t slam those breaks, pump them.’ I’ll give him a look and he’ll know when I’m a little pissed about that, or this, that. I let him take his steam off. I’ll be that punching bag as long as it makes him feel good. It’s a relationship. It’s give and take.”

Of course when things are going well, nobody is more jubilant than Tom who is happy to give out high-fives if people are willing to receive them.