Antonio Brown

[Ross12]

K'neal Harry's head must be spinning....

July: "I'm going to start opposite JE for the NEP. Yay me!"
Aug 15: "OK, I'm a little hurt but I'll be OK. I'll still start".
Aug 17: "Josh Gordon was reinstated? Ok, I'll be WR3
Aug 29: " DT activated and played great vs the NYG. OK, WR4 isn't too bad. I'll play still"
Sept 1: "IR won't be too bad. I'll play when I get back.
Sept 7: "AB is here now? Sheeeeeeeet".

He's on a 4 (likely 5) year deal though, Brown and DT are here for one year. Can't recall if Gordon's deal ends this year or not. Worst case scenario is he gets a red-shirt year to learn the ropes. Not the worst situation for a rookie to be in.

 

[Deus Irae]

On the "Hey, feel better about this, because you could be looking at something more like...." front:

Atlanta and Pro-Bowl WR Julio Jones just reached agreement on a landmark three-year, $66 million extension that includes $66 million guaranteed - $64 million of which is due at signing, sources tell @mortreport and me. It ties together the two sides for the next five seasons.

 

[RIpats88]

I think that, regardless of which side of the yes/no equation a person falls on, pretty much everyone is in agreement about "Of course, this clown could do something stupid before he even shows up on Monday, for all we know, never mind over the course of the whole season."

to have been a fly on the wall when Bill spoke with him today....I can only imagine what was said.

hopefully he can realize this is a great opportunity for him and if he screws it up with brady/bill after the raiders fiasco no team is going to go after him.

 

[MassPats38]

That’s what they said about:
Josh Gordon
Randy Moss
Corey Dillon
Rodney Harrison
Ted Washington

And of that list, how many were frustrated about their roles on crappy teams and just wanted to win? AB was on a playoff team, so mark that issue a no. Dillon was relegated to number two and wanted off a perennial loser in the Bengals after being the good teammate rather than die there without a shot at the playoffs.

How many dragged private team issues public in order to self-promote a personal brand?

Harrison was released by the Chargers when he got older. How was he a team problem? He was a team leader (the public issue was he was alleged to be a dirty player) on the Chargers and Patriots.

Gordon works his butt off and quietly. Smart, good teammate. He has mental health and addiction issues. I am unaware of him sniping teams or teammates prior to the Pats, or fighting with his coaches.

Moss got sick of the circus that was the Raiders and wanted to win. He was a diva and showboat, but he was a competitor who was good with the Vikings and Patriots.

Do you mean Albert Haynesworth or Ted Washington? I don't recall baggage with Washington at all.

Haynesworth didn't pan out. This notion that the Pats can cure all whackos that appear on the roster turns on the competitive spirit of the player and desire to do whatever the management requires of you to win. If you suffer from a God complex, then you won't work out. The Adalius Thomas mutiny in the lousy 2009 season is proof of that. When Moss went public with contract issues and argued with staff, he saw the door.

The Pats have worked successfully with some problem children, but success or failure rests on the nature of the problem. Problems can be created by the team, by the player or both. Almost all of the success stories (Gordon is hopeful, but he sat out the playoffs) had problems created by bad organizations. I hope that is the root of AB's issues, or he will be an ex-Patriot quickly. I will trust BB in adding him, but I wouldn't bet the house on future glory just yet. I would love to be proven wrong and see AB redeem himself this year.

 

[JDot]

Me too.

I really don't know what to say.

My gut reaction is "In BB I trust" and I'll just sit back and see what happens.

I hate Brown. Can't stand him. I hate David Price too but whatever.

I guess as long as he produces and doesn't F with this team I'm cool.

If Brown Fs with the team BB will cut him. End of story.

It's weird as hell man. I am no fan of Brown. But if I where to build a WR that is perfect for this O, and for Brady the QB, it would be AB.

Whatever, give me 12 hours and I will convince myself AB is just misunderstood. If AB makes it 5 games I will start defending his canton credentials. LOL.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Anybody else glad that Humphries guy did them a solid and signed with the Titans? Weren’t his words were that they were “on the rise?” Lol.

I bet he’s regretting that move.

 

[sanvara]

What I can't explain is the video taping of Tomlin's victory speech in the locker room. That one I can't explain.

Even worse was him recording and posting a private phone conversation with Gruden on his social media.

 

[farn]

Even worse was him recording and posting a private phone conversation with Gruden on his social media.

They were both horrendous.

 

[Betterthanmost]

Knock on wood if this is wild for you too.

 

[turkeyneck]

...I can only imagine what was said.

"You secretly record me and you will never be heard from again..."

 

[Gwedd]

To my mind, this is Coach Belichick showing Brown how REAL trolling is done. He signs AB for a song, and has him lace up his cleats to greet Ol' Ben and the Squealers tomorrow. Hopefully Brown stands on the sidelines and waves at Pittsburgh while their offense (see what I did there? ) s on the field and cause them to get flummoxed and frustrated all get out.

Coach Belichick, you magnificent bastahd!

 

[PP2]

You don't turn a guy like that around overnight.

You cut him overnight. Simple as that. And I'm pretty sure he knows it.

 

[PP2]

To my mind, this is Coach Belichick showing Brown how REAL trolling is done. He signs AB for a song, and has him lace up his cleats to greet Ol' Ben and the Squealers tomorrow. Hopefully Brown stands on the sidelines and waves at Pittsburgh while their offense (see what I did there? ) s on the field and cause them to get flummoxed and frustrated all get out.

Coach Belichick, you magnificent bastahd!

Can't be on the field, but my bet is that he'll be sitting next to Kraft tomorrow night.

 

[RIpats88]

They were both horrendous.

well, one thing I will say is that both the Steelers and Raiders ran a loose ship and seemed to let brown get away with whatever he wanted...which is what made him the entitled player he is today. Tomlin let his players run the team, and we saw how poorly the raiders handled browns situation. first suspended, then reinstated, then fined, then released.

that wont fly in New England. question is, will he buy in with a more structured environment with two HOF'ers in Brady/Belicheck? if he can for just one year he can reap the benefits. but Bill will not tolerate any transgressions.

 

[Betterthanmost]

To my mind, this is Coach Belichick showing Brown how REAL trolling is done. He signs AB for a song, and has him lace up his cleats to greet Ol' Ben and the Squealers tomorrow. Hopefully Brown stands on the sidelines and waves at Pittsburgh while their offense (see what I did there? ) s on the field and cause them to get flummoxed and frustrated all get out.

Coach Belichick, you magnificent bastahd!

He cant be on the field tomorrow.

 

[mgcolby]

To my mind, this is Coach Belichick showing Brown how REAL trolling is done. He signs AB for a song, and has him lace up his cleats to greet Ol' Ben and the Squealers tomorrow. Hopefully Brown stands on the sidelines and waves at Pittsburgh while their offense (see what I did there? ) s on the field and cause them to get flummoxed and frustrated all get out.

Coach Belichick, you magnificent bastahd!

That has been the best part of this for me. Watching the rest of the NFL fanbase lose their minds is admittedly satisfying.

 

[The Scrizz]

I was just thinking, wow Antonio Brown of all people got released and there wasn't a huge SIGN THE BEAST thread. And then we actually sign him. Huh.

He really is a controversial signing that's for sure. We're in for an exciting season at the very least.

 

[mgteich]

1) Does the #1 defense really win the SB? We will have a top 5 defense by the playoffs, if not earlier.

2) This does NOT change with the addition of AB. If a top defense and Brady is enough to win the SB, then we will.

3) HOWEVER, and it is a big however, AB will be the Moss of 2019. Gordon and Edelman will definitely be helped by the addition of AB, big time.

4) One of the WR's will likely be gone by the playoffs. So, having 4 to start is great keeping Thomas or Dorsett).

Just a note:

We already had a decent WR group, but it didn't include a dynamic player. Now it will. It will move the needle of how efficient this offense will be. BUT lets be clear. We added an elite WIDE RECEIVER. It's not like we had a JAG QB and added Tom Brady. It will make a difference, but NOT a big one.

IT's just a WR. How many times do we have go through this. Great WR's NEVER determine a team's success or failure. They just help, otherwise the Texans, Falcons, Chiefs, etc all would have passed us years ago. Because everyone of those teams AND more, all have better WR's than we have had. Yet it's the Pats who have been to 4 of the last 5 superbowls, not them.

This team's success was NEVER going to be determined by who our WR's are. Brady was always going to have 4500 odd yds, 30 TD's, 10 picks, etc. Do you really think that it will be THAT much better if he's at 5000 yds, 35 TD's and 10 pick with AB?

No our Team's success is REALLY going to be determined by how good our OL turns out to be. How good our DL is against the run. This year isn't going to be determined by how dynamic AB is, but by how dynamic the DEFENSE is.

So regardless of how this AB experiment turns out to be for good OR bad; it will be those other areas of the field that will determine if we get our 7th Lombardi Trophy, not because we added a luxury WR.

 

[Bradyking12]

I wouldn't be surpised if they put Harry on season ending IR at some point...he's not going to see many targets.

Yea if all goes according to plan this will be a red shirt year for the kid.

I don't that will happen or think that would be good for his development especially that we spent a first on him and based on his 2 plays he's seems pretty plug in play might not see much but I'm sure he'll get rotated.

 

[RobertWeathers]

To my mind, this is Coach Belichick showing Brown how REAL trolling is done. He signs AB for a song, and has him lace up his cleats to greet Ol' Ben and the Squealers tomorrow. Hopefully Brown stands on the sidelines and waves at Pittsburgh while their offense (see what I did there? ) s on the field and cause them to get flummoxed and frustrated all get out.

Coach Belichick, you magnificent bastahd!

When you put it that way that is epic trolling.

BB is THE Illuminati