Penguins rediscovering Evgeni Malkin is bigger than replacing Phil Kessel

By Tim Benz
https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-penguins-rediscovering-evgeni-malkin-is-bigger-than-replacing-phil-kessel/
September 13, 2019


(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

There were roughly six months of happy talk about how the Steelers would benefit from addition by subtraction.

Subtract Antonio Brown’s shenanigans and Le’Veon Bell’s constant contract uncertainty.

Benefit by getting a more harmonious locker room, fewer distractions and game plans that weren’t hindered by needing to pacify egos.

Nice concept in theory.

What the Steelers are learning, however, is that while subtracting negatives is a good idea, someone needs to supplement the positive contributions of those troubled-but-productive stars.

See where I’m going with this, Penguins fans?

The narrative around the hockey team in Pittsburgh is similar.

The Steelers missed the playoffs last year, and the Penguins got swept in their first-round series against the New York Islanders. But this year will be better because the team will have better chemistry.

Brooding winger Phil Kessel has been traded to the Arizona Coyotes. Evgeni Malkin is breaking out of his depressive funk of a season ago, which allegedly was augmented by having to play on a line with Kessel. So they won’t be fighting with head coach Mike Sullivan. Therefore, Sullivan, by extension, will be able to implement the structure and discipline he needs to get his club playing the right way.

Great idea. Now, how do you restructure the power play and replace Kessel’s 82 points?

Oh. Right. There’s that.

The Penguins opened up training camp Friday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, taking the first steps toward answering those questions and putting those grand plans into practice.

The easy answer is that Alex Galchenyuk, part of the Coyotes return for Kessel, gets back to being the player that tallied 30 goals and 56 points in 2015-16. That was nearly identical production to Kessel that season (26 goals, 59 points), his first in Pittsburgh.

It ended with a Stanley Cup title.

The problem is Galchenyuk hasn’t hit 20 goals since then.

“I’m not trying to think about (replacing Kessel),” Galchenyuk said. “I’m just trying to get my game back. Compete. And get ready for Game 1. Keep working (on my game). That’s what training camp is for.”

It is. It’ll also be for figuring out the power play without Kessel’s presence.

“With his shot, the way he could see the ice over there, he played that spot for a long time,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “We are going to need to find some chemistry and some different looks. The good thing is, we have a good chunk of guys who have played together here in the past. It helps it’s not totally new. I am sure there will be different looks. We’ll have to find different identities just like we do five-on-five.”

Galchenyuk could be the fifth guy on that unit. But he’s a left shot as opposed to Kessel. The team could also go with two defensemen and have Justin Schultz man the point and put Kris Letang on the left side where Kessel used to patrol.

What does all this matter, though? Who cares if Galchenyuk, Dominik Kahun and/or Barndon Tanev combine to replace Kessel?

The real question is whether Malkin can replace Malkin.

Can the No. 71 we have seen in Hart Trophy and Conn Smythe seasons return to replace the guy in the same jersey who slugged through a minus-25, 89 penalty minutes and just 21 goals a season ago?

The Athletic recently published a story that chronicled Malkin’s downward emotional trend in 2018-19. Feuding with Sullivan. Not seeing eye-to-eye with Kessel. Missing his family in Russia. Still struggling with the English language after all these years.

OK. Maybe all that’s true. But I feel like we always read these types of stories about Malkin after the fact, following bad years.

Coming off a good year, or even during good stretches in mid-season, we frequently hear about how much of a vocal leader he has become. How mature he is now after being tagged as petulant, too reactionary and sometimes difficult to coach during extended spells of his career.

On Friday, Malkin acknowledged it’s high time for all of that to stop.

“Every day, I need to come here to do all my best,” Malkin said. “On ice. Off ice. Talk to coach more. Be professional. I’m 33 years old. I want to (show) leadership here. We have a great team again. We have a couple, two, three, four chances to win again. (It’s) just, like, not many more years maybe I have to play in the NHL. It’s just — have fun and enjoy it every day.”

Malkin is off to a good start by saying all the right things there. He also said all the right things by suggesting he was working on his power skating, stick handling, defensive-zone work and his faceoffs.

When does Malkin ever say the wrong thing, though? One of his best attributes is his honesty and verbal accountability. He often shows leadership in that regard.

It’s carrying that accountability and leadership to the ice during slumps and down times that have been sources of angst for Penguins coaches and fans.

Addition by subtraction? Subtract last year’s Malkin and add a healthy version of him from the previous three seasons.

That equation matters far more than anything else.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or viaTwitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Categories: Sports | Penguins | Tim Benz Breakfast With

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Former Steelers teammates remember ‘beloved and respected’ guard Sam Davis

By Joe Rutter
https://triblive.com/sports/former-steelers-teammates-remember-beloved-and-respected-guard-sam-davis/
September 11, 2019

On a team full of stars, MVPs and Hall of Famers, he was simply a four-time champion. He never was an All-Pro selection or invited to the Pro Bowl, yet he was named a team captain and owned as many Super Bowl rings as his more decorated teammates.

Sam Davis, a guard who trapped and pulled the way for running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier to enjoy great success in the 1970s, was underappreciated and perhaps little-known on the national landscape — but never inside the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room.

“To Sam’s teammates, he was a superstar,” former Steelers tight end and tackle Larry Brown said Wednesday. “For linemen, your name usually isn’t talked about a lot, but if you don’t hear your name, that means you’re really good. Sam was really good.

“Maybe that’s why Sam may have floated under the radar to some people, but not to his teammates.”

Davis, 75, died Tuesday at an adult care facility in McKeesport after going missing for 14 hours earlier in the day. Davis suffered from dementia and was legally blind.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sam Davis,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement, adding the former guard was “beloved and respected by his Steelers teammates, coaches and staff.”

Undersized for his position at 6-foot-1, 255 pounds, Davis spent 15 years with the Steelers, including 13 on the active roster, before retiring in January 1982.

He pre-dated Chuck Noll, his Hall of Fame coach, and he shared the field and locker room with nine players bound for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, and 11 other Pro Bowl or All-Pro members. Although he didn’t get the same recognition, Davis was considered instrumental to the only NFL team to win Super Bowls on back-to-back occasions.

When the Steelers unveiled their 50th anniversary team in 1982, Davis was tabbed as the left guard.

“He was the leader of that offensive line,” Bleier said, “unheralded as he might be.”

Davis appeared in 168 games with the Steelers, making 114 starts. A reserve on the Steelers’ first two championship teams, Davis started in Super Bowl XIII and XIV. In the third championship, a 35-31 victory against the Dallas Cowboys, Davis was tasked with blocking future Hall of Famer Randy White, the Super Bowl co-MVP the previous year.

Thanks in part to Davis’ blocking, quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns to become Super Bowl MVP.

“ ‘Tight Man’ did his job,” Bleier said. “Did it well.”

Tight Man was one of several nicknames Davis earned throughout his Steelers tenure. Jon Kolb, who lined up at left tackle next to Davis for a decade, said the moniker was coined because Davis kept the ’70s Steelers and the many egos on the roster banded together as a close-knit — or tight — group.

“Ann Landers wrote that column in the paper and solved everybody’s problems. Sam was the Ann Landers of our football team,” Kolb said. “He could talk to the coaches. He could talk to the players. He was a team captain. It wasn’t a cursory thing. He took that seriously.”

Davis went undrafted in 1967 after playing at tiny Allen University in Columbia, S.C., a historically black college where he was discovered by legendary Steelers scout Bill Nunn. When Noll arrived as head coach two years later, he cut many holdover players who he deemed unworthy of the NFL, but he kept Davis, who had started only three games the previous two seasons.

“He fit into all the pulling and trapping that Chuck wanted from his linemen,” said Kolb, who was part of Noll’s initial draft class, “and he could pass protect.”

Added Brown: “I think Chuck appreciated him very much.”

After starting just one game in 1975, Davis regained his job the following season and helped Harris and Bleier become only the second duo in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.

“That offense was perfect for me with Sam leading the charge,” said Harris, who held Tuesday night poker sessions that Davis regularly attended. “He was a great guy and had so much fun. He was a big part of our football life during our playing years.”

Davis made the cover of Sports Illustrated that season in a photo that depicted him leading a block against the Cincinnati Bengals with Bleier in tow.

“It was so apropos of Sam’s ability to pull, run sweeps, run traps that Chuck had put in,” Bleier said. “He was an imposing force.”

Injuries slowed Davis after the Steelers won their fourth championship in January 1980. He spent his final two seasons on injured reserve. In 1980, with the Steelers trying to replenish their line, they drafted guard Craig Wolfley in the fifth round.

It was on the first or second day of training camp at Saint Vincent that Wolfley was approached by Davis and given the veteran’s dormitory room number.

“If you need help or are confused about things, come see me,” Wolfley said Davis told him. “And I did. I went a number of times. He would help me, mentor me. He was an encyclopedia of how you play the game as a guard.”

Wolfley referred to Davis by another nickname that predated his arrival in 1980 — “Hero.”

“That’s what he was to me,” Wolfley said.

In September 1991, Davis was seriously injured in a fall, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was beset by health problems for the rest of his life. In May, with dementia robbing Davis of his memories, his wife unveiled the Sam & Tamara Davis Family Scholarship at the Heinz History Center. It was believed to be Davis’ last public appearance.

The Davis family awarded three scholarships — all in dollar amounts ending in 57, Sam’s uniform number — and recognized young adults dealing with a parent suffering from a mental or physical disability.

“I’ve seen a number of people have injuries and the family disintegrates,” Kolb said. “It’s cruel. Yet, all these years, Tammy and Sam’s family and kids have been there for him. They stood by him through all of his difficulties.”

Among the teammates in attendance that night were Harris, Brown, and J.T. Thomas.

Yet it was his partner on the offensive line that got Davis’ attention.

“He had this faraway look,” Kolb said. “I said, ‘Sam, what do you do on 34 Trap.’ All of a sudden that faraway look leaves.”

“I pull and block the (defensive) tackle,” Davis responded.

Kolb asked Davis about his role in a 60 Base.

“I have the tackle in front of me, and it’s a pass,” Davis said.

Kolb asked which lineman is tasked with providing help.

“You,” Davis replied. “Then, he points at me and says Jon … Kolb.”

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email atjrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Sports | Steelers

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No way Antonio Brown conforms to ‘Patriot Way’

By Mark Madden
https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-no-way-antonio-brown-conforms-to-patriot-way/
September 9, 2019


(AP
(AP)

The moon landings weren’t faked.

The earth isn’t flat.

9/11 was not an inside job.

Antonio Brown did not intend to finagle his way to New England dating to when he was with the Steelers.

Oh, it’s a believable story in the era of rigged “reality” TV.

But Brown’s primary concern always has been cash. His recent history has seen him lust for guaranteed money and go apoplectic when that pursuit was compromised.

Moving from Oakland to Foxborough cost Brown $21 million in guarantees.

Unless Le’Veon Bell is your math teacher, that’s an ‘L.’

Brown might have a great season. The Patriots have a $20 million option on Brown for 2020. If he behaves and produces, Brown wins. (That option might be mostly salary cap maneuvering.)

Anyway, that’s a big “if.” “Might” offers no guarantees.

If New England doesn’t pick up Brown’s option, the best he can hope for is a series of one-year contracts as his career fades. He’s 31. He’s closer to the end than he is the middle. Teams won’t forget the anarchy he caused this past offseason.

Ancillary revenue streams have suffered in the wake of Brown running roughshod over decency, football’s team concept and the English language. Pizza Hut and Pepsi don’t want their product represented by somebody who illegally tapes, then plays private phone conversations. Brown damaged his brand and flushed his dignity.

JuJu Smith-Schuster appears to have emerged as Pizza Hut’s primary spokesman. That has to anger Brown.

The Patriots don’t care about illegal taping. That’s part of their rich history.

Tom Brady reportedly said Brown can live at his house. I wouldn’t trust Brown to park my car, and Brady’s asking him to move into his $40 million home.

In theory, Brown makes New England a better team. (But it didn’t look like the Patriots needed him Sunday night.) New England is the defending Super Bowl champion to begin with.

But Brown was supposed to elevate Oakland and never played a game there.

The Steelers should have won a Super Bowl (or more) with Brown. But his presence damaged that quest.

Bill Belichick has a reputation for recycling agitators.

He now faces his sternest test.

Napoleon had his Waterloo. (So did ABBA.) Brown could be Belichick’s.

Belichick has dealt with troubled players before: LeGarrette Blount, Corey Dillon, Albert Haynesworth, Randy Moss and Chad Ochocinco. He has had varying degrees of success.

But Brown isn’t your average problem child. He’s a nuclear explosion. Those aforementioned are walks in the park by comparison.

Brown is a troublemaker of rare skill and innovation, as demonstrated by the use of wiretapping. His social media game is a California brush fire. He has zero shame and sincerely believes his cause is noble even though it’s sheer narcissism and greed.

Brown has said he intends to play by his rules. By that, he means no rules. He wants to do what he wants, when he wants and adhere to no schedule.

That is not the Belichick way. Something’s got to give.

Belichick might secretly compromise on occasion, but nothing about Brown is ever secret.

If Brown toes Belichick’s line, he looks like a stooge and hypocrite.

Belichick vs. Brown is the most interesting matchup of the NFL season.

It will end in a championship (or close), or in chaos.

You can’t logically bet anything but the latter.

Belichick isn’t the only factor. What happens when Brady yells at Brown after Brown improvises a route? What happens when Julian Edelman gets more targets than Brown? If Brown thought Ben Roethlisberger had an owner’s mentality, how’s he going to feel about Brady?

The upset will be if this situation doesn’t blow up. The bomb has been delivered to the Enola Gay.

Categories: Sports | Steelers | Mark Madden Columns | Top Stories

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Patriots defense opens with dominance, shuts down Steelers, 33-3

By Tom Keegan
https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/09/09/patriots-defense-opens-with-dominance-shuts-down-steelers-33-3/
September 9, 2019


((JJonathan Jones (Getty Images)

FOXBORO — As news of Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski’s justified firing made its way shortly after Sunday night became Monday morning to the theater where the Patriots’ postgame press conferences take place, Tom Brady stood at the podium, deftly handling questions about how to bring Antonio Brown up to speed and what it means to have Josh Gordon back from his most recent drug suspension.

Only in Boston, where championships stoke the hunger for more of them and cyberspace never stops flashing stories that pop eyes and drop jaws. It’s hard to create an audible buzz competing against so many bees.

So much is happening right now that it would be easy to overlook a same-old story, except that the story has gotten better when it didn’t seem to have much room for improvement.

The Patriots’ defense, known for starting the season slowly and rounding into shape, started in dominant fashion, demoralizing the Steelers, 33-3, in the season opener at Gillette Stadium.

Super Bowl standout Kyle Van Noy was at the hospital for the birth of his child and the Patriots didn’t need him to completely shut down a Steelers offense that misses Brown, even if his baggage isn’t missed.

“Whatever,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said when asked for his thoughts on his former teammate joining the Patriots.

That answer would apply to all the offseason news about one defensive assistant after another leaving the Patriots. Bill Belichick didn’t leave and neither did his brainy band of veteran tough guys on the field, so whatever.

The never-ending search for the end of the Patriots’ dynasty led some to surmise that departed de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores, more so than his predecessors, was the one guy Belichick couldn’t afford to lose.

Flores left to become head coach of the Dolphins. He lost his debut, 59-10, to the Ravens. Afterward, several members of the Miami defense finally put on a good rush, hurrying to their phones to call their agents to put them to work on getting them traded, per a Pro Football Talk report.

So, whatever on the defensive turnover on Belichick’s staff.

Belichick’s back and so are defensive backs Stephon Gilmore and the McCourty twins, Jonathan Jones and Patrick Chung. Linebacker Dont’a Hightower was blasting ball carriers so hard I half expected a referee to step onto the field and award the Patriots a victory by TKO.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that football is like a chess match, which makes Belichick a chess master. If that were true, Steelers counterpart Mike Tomlin would have walked across the field a few minutes into the second half, extended his right hand and said, “I concede.”

NFL rules do not allow for that. There is no quitting in football. So the Steelers stuck around until the end of a two-way annihilation.

The lopsided score only hints at the utter domination. The decisions Tomlin made at the end of the Steelers’ first penetration past midfield, courtesy of James Washington beating Jason McCourty for a 45-yard reception, more accurately captured the hopelessness the Steelers faced than any numbers on the scoreboard or box score.

Trailing 20-0, the Steelers faced third-and-goal from the 1. So run the ball twice and kick the extra point, right? Wrong.

By that point, the Patriots’ defense had so demoralized the Steelers that they basically waved the white flag, conceding that even with two plays they couldn’t advance the ball one yard.

So on third down, Roethlisberger threw a dreaded fade that had no shot, and then the field-goal unit came onto the field. Talk about respect for a defense. It felt like a baseball team playing small ball in the ninth inning with a 10-run deficit, desperately trying to avoid the embarrassment of a shutout.

Think about it: After kicking the field goal, the Steelers still would have needed to score three touchdowns and pitch a shutout the rest of the way to win the game, same as if they had gone for it and come up empty. That’s how demoralized they were by the Patriots’ short-yardage defense. The field goal amounted to a concession speech from Tomlin.

A field goal, a single field goal, counts as a moral victory against this defense, which has given up three points in each of his past two games. The seven months between the Super Bowl and the season-opener didn’t interrupt the flow. The Patriots played as if they have been holding secret practices every day of the offseason.

The hopelessness the Steelers felt at third-and-goal from the 1 stemmed to thwarted first-half attempts. Danny Shelton and Devin McCourty stopped James Conner up the middle for no gain on third and 1 early in the second quarter.

After a rare three-and-out for Brady’s offense, the defense was right back on the field facing another third-and-1. This time Conner tried to get the yard by going to the outside.

Jamie Collins, playing all camp like a man making sure he’ll get to stay with the Patriots this time, shot into the backfield and with last-second help from hard-charging John Simon slammed him for a 4-yard loss, the play of the day.

The Patriots’ defenders were ready for everything. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the team’s best player, was at his best.

“What a great player,” Steelers top receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “He played a great game. His whole team played a great game. We have to give it up them. They deserved it. They wanted it more than us and they came out to play.”

The Patriots played so well, a reflection of how they prepared during minicamp and training camp, so forgive Devin McCarty if he wasn’t in the mood to talk about his newest teammate.

“We’ve got plenty of time to talk about Antonio Brown,” said McCourty, who had an interception in the end zone. “I just feel like tonight is a big credit to the guys who have been putting in work since April. He’s a great player so we’ll see how everything works out, but I was just excited to be out there with this team with guys competing and playing well tonight.”

Extremely well. Already. Great sign. If the defense didn’t create a buzz that could be heard above the Brown din it’s not because they didn’t earn one.

Steelers vs. Patriots Week 1 Highlights | NFL 2019

Big Ben takes blame for Steelers' woes at Pats

By Jeremy Fowler
https://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers
September 9, 2019


(AP)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- So much for that new-look offense without Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell.

Those players were missed on a miserable night of football for the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose 33-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday left their quarterback placing blame squarely on himself.

"I wasn't good enough," said Ben Roethlisberger, who went 27-of-47 for 276 yards and one interception. "I wasn't giving guys balls where they needed to catch them. Put them in front, behind, things like that. So, just -- I wasn't good enough."

The Steelers finished the game with 308 yards, but many of those came in garbage time. At halftime, Pittsburgh had limped to four first downs, one third-down conversion and 87 yards. James Conner and the rushing attack managed 32 yards and and failed to convert several short-yardage situations.

From five-wide sets to zone running plays, nothing the Steelers tried worked, with Roethlisberger missing on three of his four deep-ball attempts.

The Steelers most recently scored three points in a season opener in 2001, losing 21-3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The message was sent.

"I think it was a wake-up call -- something we needed," said receiver Donte Moncrief, who dropped several contested passes Sunday and finished with three catches for 7 yards despite a team-high 10 targets. "It's something I felt I needed."

Struggling in New England is nothing new for the Steelers. The Patriots have outscored Pittsburgh 152-72 in their past four games at Gillette Stadium.

But the timing of the dud is noteworthy. Bell made his debut with the New York Jets on Sunday and Brown signed with the Patriots over the weekend, though he wasn't eligible to play in Week 1.

Coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers weren't ready for prime time, and that has nothing to do with ex-players.

"I'm not specifically worried about anything relevant to Brown. I'm worried about the guys in our locker room and the quality of our execution in what we did and didn't do," Tomlin said. "Antonio has been off our team for a number of months. We moved on from that stuff in March."

JuJu Smith-Schuster understands that storyline but said he believes in his offense.

"People are always going to talk about not having certain players that we had last year," said Smith-Schuster, who led the team with 78 receiving yards. "I think this year, the guys we have here now, we have ultimate guys ... we've got so many guys, we just have to make our plays."

Patriots deserve hell for shameful Antonio Brown scheme

By Mark Cannizzaro
https://nypost.com/2019/09/07/patriots-deserve-hell-for-shameful-antonio-brown-scheme/
September 7, 2019


(Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)

After the Raiders finally released the Diva Formerly Known as Antonio Brown on Saturday, the talented-but-troubled receiver shockingly became available to sign with any NFL team as a free agent at exactly 4:01 p.m. Saturday.

Presumably, at 4:02 p.m., the NFL’s reigning reclamation project experts, the Patriots, called.

Brown and the Patriots agreed to a one-year contract worth up to $15 million, according to ESPN, just hours after the Raiders shockingly released the 31-year-old superstar wide receiver.

Brown — who won’t be permitted to play in the Pats’ Week 1 matchup against his former team, the Steelers — confirmed the signing, which includes a $ 9 million signing bonus, by sharing a Photoshop illustration of him in a Patriots jersey.

“LFG (expletive) #GodsPlan,” the tweet read.

Shame on the Patriots. They should get what they deserve with Brown, which at the very least is a collective season-long migraine headache, but at the worst a team torn apart by the nonsensical distractions Browns brings with him.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and his team, whose offseason and training camp were marred by one incident after another involving Brown (each more unbelievable and ridiculous than the other), should hope they parted ways in time to save their 2019 season.

Brown — for all his greatness on the field, for his 837 career receptions for more than 11,000 yards and for the 74 touchdowns he’s produced in nine NFL seasons — is not worth the trouble.

Not even for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots. The world of sports is full of enablers. Count the Patriots as the kings of the enablers today.

Enough already.

Haven’t teams seen enough of Brown’s act, which has included accidentally freezing his feet in an offseason cryotherapy session, threatening to retire because he wanted to wear his old helmet that was outlawed by the league for lack of safety, missing practices and meetings, inciting a verbal altercation in the middle of practice with his new general manager, then the clincher, that bizarre video he put out Friday exposing private telephone conversations with Gruden?

The NFL should be finished with Brown. The only endgame justice to this Brown story is that this all blows up on the Patriots.

“We just have exhausted everything,’’ Gruden, who went out of his way to make it work, said Saturday. “We tried every way possible to make it work. I’m sorry it didn’t. I apologize, but I will tell you that I am very proud of what we did as an organization to try.’’

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

Gruden, who called Brown “the most misunderstood” person he’s met, said, “I tell you, he’s a good guy. He’s misunderstood by a lot of people. He’s a good guy. He’s a great player and I hope he gets what he’s looking for.”

Sorry, he doesn’t deserve it. Brown, who signed a contract with Oakland that gave him $30 million in guaranteed money and was to pay him $20 million per year, never played a game for the Raiders and threw that all away.

Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, as soon as the news of Brown’s release broke, issued a statement that read: “Now that Antonio is a free agent, we are focused on the future and I will immediately work on signing him to a new team. Antonio is looking forward to a new beginning.”

There should have been no new beginning in the NFL for Brown — especially after how hard Gruden tried to make it work, playing good cop in the saga while GM Mike Mayock played the bad cop.

On that bizarre YouTube video Brown released Friday, you could hear Gruden pleading with Brown to stop the off-the-field nonsense and “just play football.”

“I’m more than just a football player, man,” Brown answered. “I’m a real person. It ain’t about the football, I know I can do that. This is my life. Ain’t no more games.”

That’s actually the first thing out of Brown’s mouth that made any sense. There should, indeed, have been no more games — off or on the field — for him.

Shame on the Patriots.

Bill Belichick must be confident Antonio Brown is going to behave

By Karen Guregian

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/09/07/bill-belichick-must-be-confident-antonio-brown-is-going-to-behave/

September 7, 2019

(AP)

The forbidden fruit was too tempting. Bill Belichick couldn’t resist the talent. Antonio Brown is just too good. So the Patriots coach is taking a chance he’ll avoid the receiver’s disruptive side.

Will he live to regret it like the Oakland Raiders, who released Brown on Saturday before ever seeing him suit up in a regular-season game? They gave up draft picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers during the offseason for the diva receiver.

We’ll see. Even before Brown agreed to a reported one-year deal worth $15 million with the Pats, he didn’t seem worth the risk and all the accompanying headaches.

Belichick apparently is not bothered by Brown’s crazier side. He is banking on Brown being a model citizen long enough to make an impact with the 2019 team. The Patriots want championship No. 7. They clearly want to maximize Tom Brady’s remaining time. So here comes Brown, whose disruptive behavior quickly bought him a ticket out of Oakland.

The good news? Belichick will put up with even less than Jon Gruden and the Raiders. Brown will be gone in a New York minute if he starts with the helmets, threatens to punch anyone, or secretly records conversations with players or coaches and posts them on social media. He’ll be gone if exhibits the same kind of erratic and irrational behavior he did in Oakland.

He’ll be gone, in 60 seconds.

More good news? The rest of the NFL became ill Saturday afternoon. The Chiefs, Steelers, Chargers, Ravens, Texans and Jets in particular are throwing objects against the wall and screaming expletives. If anyone had ideas of taking the Patriots down this season, it’s not going to happen.

If Brown behaves, the Patriots should be unstoppable. As it is, they’re entering the season with a defense that should be one of the best in the league. It could be in the top five.

On offense, they’re already stacked at running back, with a great mix of skill sets. They still don’t have a tight end who scares anybody, but with Brown into the receiving corps, it will be easier to forget about Rob Gronkowski.

It’s going to be an amazing addition for Brady. Brown perfectly fits the offense. He can go deep, run crossers, basically run the whole route tree for the GOAT. Brown might be 31, but he remains a threat to score every time the football is in his hands.

If you add him in with Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman, and perhaps Demaryius Thomas for starters, that’s a scary group for any defense. And we’re not counting rookie N’Keal Harry, who will be eligible to play later in the season, and rookie Jakobi Meyers, who showed a lot of promise in the preseason.

There are question marks with Gordon, who has a constant battle fighting drug dependence, and Thomas, coming back from a second Achilles tear. Brown is a different issue, but if he can curb the irrational behavior, it should work.

Belichick hasn’t shied away from bringing in malcontents, misfits, problem children, etc.

He’ll lay down the law, and if the law is broken, or a player can’t conform, the player is gone.

Hence, Albert Haynesworth didn’t last. Corey Dillon’s shelf life was short. Ditto Adalius Thomas.

Belichick had to feel comfortable enough Brown would at least start out on good behavior. He’s not making anywhere near what Julio Jones ($22 million per season) received in his new deal. Perhaps Brown and his agent Drew Rosenhaus feel he needs to resurrect his image, so they were willing to take less to play for a contender.

If he’ll go all out, and keep the diva receiver mode in check, it’ll be great for the Patriots, and for Brown. It’ll be a win-win. That, apparently, is what Belichick is banking on.