By Karen Guregian
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.
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