Tag: Antonio Brown

Do the WR-hungry Patriots now have the best receiving core in the NFL?

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The Patriot Way

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For year it seems, the Patriots have been sort of weak at wide receiver. I know what you may be thinking – “The Patriots somehow get over 300 passing yards a game, Will! How do you make that claim after winning six Super Bowls in this pass-happy league??”. Well, the Pats have had very good slot receivers and receiving backs (Edelman and White) in recent memory along with Gronk. Pair those with adequate split receivers who can make a few good catches every now and then (Hogan/Amendola), and you have a tough running game featuring the likes of Blount, Michel, Burkhead, and others in recent years with the aforementioned receivers who can win you a Super Bowl.

However, the one weakness in this offense I kept hearing about this offseason were the receivers. Apparently, the Pats had offered a 1st and a 5th round pick to Pittsburgh for AB when he was making a mockery of their locker room late last season. They then struck out on Adam Humphries among other second-tier wide receivers this offseason. Hell, they even drafted N’Keal Harry in the first round this year! But as we take the turn into the NFL season, their WR depth chart features Antonio Brown, Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas, and Harry. I can’t think of another team with the high-end and well-rounded talent that the Patriots have at that position right now. While yes, there is a chance that AB tears down the Patriot Way from inside Gillette, I think that is a miniscule possibility and that if he doesn’t do what they want, they’ll trade or cut him before their chances at SB54 are squandered.

While the Patriots by no stretch NEEDED Brown to get to the Superbowl, boy is it nice to see the rich get richer. I can’t wait to watch Kansas City and New England in January in Foxboro. Only 131 more days until the AFC Championship.

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Showtime. #LFG

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Is Antonio Brown Still Feeling the Effects from Vontaze Burfict’s Dirty Hit?

Most major sports media outlets are exploding with today’s news that Antonio Brown has been suspended by the Raiders for not paying a team-imposed fine and getting into a shouting, almost-physical altercation with Raiders GM Mike Mayock today at practice. Apparently, Brown had to be held back by none other than Vontaze Burfict, who delivered the hit above during a 2016 playoff game. Brown was obviously concussed as a result of the attempted beheading hit.

Since being traded to the Raiders this past offseason after forcing his way out of Pittsburgh, Brown has been a human roller coaster. He ruined the bottoms of his feet by forgetting to wear proper footwear into a cryogenic chamber, then refused to practice because he couldn’t wear the type of helmet he had worn for his entire career. See, the helmet he prefers was banned by the league because it was found to be more likely to cause concussions. This ban affected several players, including Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Brown made far and away the biggest stink out of any player affected by the ban.

Where did this diva-ish behavior come from, though? Brown has been an elite receiver for over half a decade now (100+ catches and 1,200+ yards every year since 2013), and until the last year or two has been a pretty quiet guy.

It makes logical sense that after years of being a top-three receiver, Brown got tired of keeping his mouth shut. There have been dozens of diva wide receivers in the NFL through the years (as an Eagles fan, I would like to present the case of one Terrell Owens). But do you know what else makes sense? That Vontaze Burfict hit Brown so hard in the head that he suffered a concussion with serious long-term effects. Brown was wearing a helmet that was found to insufficiently protect him from concussions, after all.

Is this definitive? Absolutely not. I’m just speculating based off of some stuff that I saw on social media. If it is true, there’s no way the NFL will ever acknowledge it (after all, this is the league that vehemently denies that there is any correlation between concussions and CTE). It’s certainly interesting, regardless of how true it is.