Wes Welker

New England receiver Wes Welker said Tuesday he has signed the $9.5 million tender offer that came along with being designated the team's franchise player. Welker made the announcement on Twitter. He said he loves the game and his teammates and "hopefully doing the right thing gets the right results. " A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Welker led the NFL with 122 receptions and was second in the league with 1,569 yards receiving. Welker, 30, is only the second receiver to catch at least 120 passes in two seasons.

Passing yards: Charlie Frye, Raiders, 333 Passing TDs: Tom Brady, Patriots, 4 Rushing yards: Jonathan Stewart, Panthers, 206 Rushing TDs: Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson, Packers, 2 each Receiving yards: Roddy White, Falcons, 139 Receptions: Wes Welker, Patriots, 13 Receiving TDs: Randy Moss, Patriots, 3 Sacks: Aaron Schobel, Bills, 3 Long field goal: Sebastian Janikowski, Raiders, 61

THE DALLAS Cowboys signed journeyman Frank Walker to bolster a depleted corps of cornerbacks. Orlando Scandrick is expected to miss at least the upcoming game at San Francisco because of an ankle injury, and Terence Newman has been sidelined since early in training camp because of a groin injury. Mike Jenkins was in and out of the opener because of a variety of injuries, leaving Dallas down to its fourth- and fifth-stringers, plus a backup safety. Walker has played in 93 games over an 8-year career with the Giants, Packers, Ravens and Vikings.

MIAMI - Tom Brady passed for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, leading New England to a 38-24 romp past the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. Defensive end Jared Odrick picked off a deflected pass to set up a Miami touchdown and end Brady's NFL-record streak of 358 passes without an interception. After that it was all Brady, who went 32 for 48 and became the 11th quarterback to throw for at least 500 yards. Norm Van Brocklin set the record of 554 yards in 1951.

FOOTBALL is a team game. Strutting on the catwalk is flying solo. So is it any wonder that superdupermodel Gisele Bundchen started finger-pointing after the Patriots' loss Sunday? How could her husband, Tom Brady, have gone down in defeat without it being someone else's fault? Heck, she'd prayed for him. She'd asked her relatives, friends and fans to pray for him. Maybe she should have asked them to pray for his team - for receivers Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Deion Branch and for the linemen he needed for protection.

1. Give 'em a mettle: The Steelers were manhandled by the Eagles and Giants, so rallying to topple the Cowboys was especially sweet. So was winning despite only 71 yards rushing. They could still gain the conference's best record. 2. Back to Tony Nomo: Everytime Dallas is at a crossroads, the stud QB seems to gag. One TD, three INTs is NOT why Dallas signed him to a 6-year, $67 million deal. 3. Dis-Gusting display: OK, the Vikings are 8-5 and lead the NFC North. But they barely edged the winless Lions and lost QB Gus Frerotte, who hurt his back.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Tom Brady got the offense going just in time to lead the New England Patriots to the winning touchdown in the final minute of a 20-16 victory over Dallas on Sunday. Brady threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left, and the Patriots' top-ranked offense overcame the Cowboys' stingy defense. Dan Bailey's 26-yard field goal for Dallas had broken a 13-13 tie with 5 minutes, 13 seconds left. Each team ran one series before the Patriots got the ball after a punt with 2:30 remaining.

GREG LEWIS MET HIS new quarterback yesterday. Lewis, traded to the Patriots earlier this month after playing six seasons with the Eagles, said he chatted with Tom Brady and came away impressed. "I met him today at a workout in the locker room and he came up to me and welcomed me to the team," Lewis said on a conference call. "He seemed like a great guy. I've seen him on film do great things and I'm just looking forward to [getting to work]. " As for the health of his new quarterback who missed almost all of last season with a knee injury that required surgery?

MIAMI - Tom Brady sat on the bench, his sweat-soaked hair hanging in his face as he fumed about his first interception in nearly 11 months. A little later he was back in the same seat wearing a wide grin as teammates congratulated him on a record-setting performance. Brady shook off a rare turnover to throw for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, and the New England Patriots started with a victory for the eighth consecutive season last night by beating the Miami Dolphins, 38-24.

Kellen Winslow was told he no longer fits in Tampa Bay's plans for next season. The ninth-year pro told SiriusXM radio on Monday that first-year coach Greg Schiano was "kind of upset" that Winslow was not working out with the team this offseason, and told the tight end he will facilitate a trade to another club. Winslow had 75 receptions for 763 yards and two TDs in 2011.   Manning on target The Denver Broncos got their first look of Peyton Manning under center with a spirited, fast-paced workout, the four-time MVP's first full practice in more than 16 months.

New England receiver Wes Welker said Tuesday he has signed the $9.5 million tender offer that came along with being designated the team's franchise player. Welker made the announcement on Twitter. He said he loves the game and his teammates and "hopefully doing the right thing gets the right results. " A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Welker led the NFL with 122 receptions and was second in the league with 1,569 yards receiving. Welker, 30, is only the second receiver to catch at least 120 passes in two seasons.

DID ESPN drop Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football because of his age? Possibly, the 60-year-old Jaworski told 97.5 The Fanatic yesterday. Last week, ESPN removed the former Eagles quarterback as a commentator from its three-man MNF team, but retained play-by-play man Mike Tirico and color commentator Jon Gruden. The network did give Jaworski a 5-year extension for what it termed a multiplatform NFL analyst role that includes appearances on "Sunday NFL Countdown," "Monday Night Countdown," and "NFL Matchup.

FOOTBALL is a team game. Strutting on the catwalk is flying solo. So is it any wonder that superdupermodel Gisele Bundchen started finger-pointing after the Patriots' loss Sunday? How could her husband, Tom Brady, have gone down in defeat without it being someone else's fault? Heck, she'd prayed for him. She'd asked her relatives, friends and fans to pray for him. Maybe she should have asked them to pray for his team - for receivers Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Deion Branch and for the linemen he needed for protection.

UNLESS you're a co-star on VH1's "Basketball Wives," a professional athlete's wife doesn't publicly diss her husband's teammates. No matter how badly she feels about how things went, she doesn't trash-talk other players, especially if the team is still smarting from a disappointing Super Bowl loss the way the Patriots were on Sunday night. But c'mon. Gisele Bundchen's a supermodel - not superhuman. New England's 21-to-17 loss to the N.Y. Giants was devastating, and Mrs. Tom Brady was still reeling when a pack of bullies confronted her outside a VIP elevator at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, and hassled her about her husband's performance.

INDIANAPOLIS - Tom Brady's two long incompletions in the final minutes, and several missed chances throughout the game cost the New England Patriots a chance at another Super Bowl victory. It also resulted in their second loss to the New York Giants in the big game in five seasons, 21-17, last night. "We just came up a little bit short," Brady said. "There were some missed opportunities out there. It was a very hard-fought game. We fought 'til the end. I'm very proud of that.

INDIANAPOLIS - This is where it stands as the New England Patriots and New York Giants finally get down to playing Sunday's 46th edition of the Super Bowl: The Patriots are bloodthirsty for revenge after the Giants embarrassed them four years ago and thwarted their run to 19 games of perfection. Bill Belichick, despite his efforts to say the contrary, has used that loss to motivate his players. As relaxed as the New England coach has seemed this week, Belichick has a chance to win his fourth title and warrant mention as the greatest coach the game has ever had. The same holds true for the Patriots' Tom Brady, who would join Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only four-time Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.

INDIANAPOLIS - You have officially become a phenomenon when Madonna mimics your end-zone celebration salsa. Victor Cruz's undrafted-to-all-pro story is one that has been oft-told in the NFL: Small-school prospect gets overlooked by teams, scrapes his way onto a roster, gets a break when a player is injured, and goes on to capitalize on his opportunity. But Cruz's tale is no less worth retelling. In fact, it may prove to be the best of the lot. His season has been that special and is still a game away from being over.

What: AFC Championship Game Who: Baltimore (2) at New England (1) When: Sunday, 3 p.m. TV: CBS3 (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Steve Tasker). Radio: WIP, 610-AM (Dave Sims, James Lofton, Tony Boselli). Point spread: Patriots -7 1/2. Over/under: 50 1/2. Last meeting: Patriots, 23-20 (ot) on Oct. 17, 2010. Deion Branch filled in for recently traded Randy Moss and had two key catches on the game-winning drive. Playoff history: Ravens won the only meeting, a 33-14 victory in a wild-card game following the 2009 season.

I'd like to nominate an unconventional candidate for 2011 Fantasy MVP. No, it's not Aaron Rodgers, who has been consistently outstanding all season. It's not LeSean McCoy, who tops the running back rankings with 1,482 total yards and 17 touchdowns - five more than his nearest competitor. Nor is it Wes Welker, who leads all receivers with 100 receptions and 1,339 yards, plus nine TDs. Rather, my choice is Welker's teammate, Rob Gronkowski - the most lethal tight end in the business.