Denver's Antonio Smith confirms New England's Tom Brady is a 'crybaby'

DENVER, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Often, when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady takes a sack, you'll see his head snap toward a referee for acknowledgement.

On Monday, Denver Broncos defensive end Antonio Smith was asked by the Colorado Springs Gazette's Paul Klee if he thinks Brady is a "crybaby."

"That would be an accurate statement," Smith told Klee. "I've never seen any quarterback look to the referee right after he gets sacked more than Brady. Every time he gets sacked he looks at the ref like, 'You see him sack me? Was that supposed to happen? He did it a little hard. Please throw a 15-yard penalty on him. Get him fined."

"He's not going to rattle just because you hit him hard," Smith said. "I've tried over the years. That's what D-linemen think: 'The harder you hit the quarterback, the better it will make it on the secondary.' "With Brady, he's a great competitor. You know it's coming. He's going to cry about getting hit, but he's going to take the hit and keep going."

Brady said he loved getting the flags.

"I love it when the refs throw flags at the defense," Brady told USA Today Wednesday. "It advances our team. That is just part of football."

On Wednesday, the New York Post and New York Daily News each profiled Brady on their covers, as a crying baby.

The Patriots kick off the AFC Championship at 3:05 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24 against the Broncos. The game will be played at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. Brady and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning have faced each other 16 times total and three times in the AFC Championship. Manning leads Brady 2-1 in AFC Championship match-ups.

An All-Time box score, complied by Sports Illustrated, gives Brady an 11-5 edge over Manning. Brady has completed 367-of-553 passes for 6,637 yards, 4,013 yards, 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions against Manning's teams. Manning has completed 410-of-657 passes for 4,809 yards, 33 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

On Jan. 14, Smith told USA Today that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was "like Obi-Wan Kenobi" by saying that he is "really hurt" before going out to "ball."