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WR Antonio Brown, FA (11 Viewers)
- Thread starter Casting Couch
- Start date
Statorama
gangster
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Bi-Polar
Needs help but doesn't know how to ask for it so he just lashes out and has abhorrent behavior.
Needs help but doesn't know how to ask for it so he just lashes out and has abhorrent behavior.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
wormburner
Footballguy
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
Anyone else still carrying him on a roster? Ive been fortunate to be able to waste the slot to this point but each week I think I should cut bait for a TE 2.
Ben & Jerry's
Footballguy
I think AB has burnt every bridge to reentry in the NFL.
The old adage, "If he can play, someone will sign him" doesn't apply here. AB is toxic × 10
-fish-
Footballguy
The Frankman
Footballguy
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Anarchy99
Footballguy
I would suggest there is a 1 in 1,000 chance that AB, NE, and the league come to an agreement to allow Brown to come back and finish the season with the Patriots. Brown has already missed 8 games this year, which is essentially the same punishment as a half year suspension. NE will probably end up having to pay him anyway and there is still 11 days left for Brown to get on a team and be playoff eligible (if my memory on roster requirements is right). To reiterate, no other player has been suspended for a civil suit or for actions that were not reported to and investigated by law enforcement before. None of that will change that AB is out of his mind, but IMO NE would take him back if Kraft is up for it. It's very unlikely, but I am not sure it can be totally ruled out as a possible (but extremely unlikely) outcome.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Tom Brady got suspended for an on-field incident not a personal conduct issue away from the game of football. Not even remotely similar.
kittenmittens
Footballguy
Maybe soon when this resolves there will be a Josh Gordon style good news honeymoon period where everyone loves AB because of previous stat lines, and a sell window opens...
Conspiring with equipment guys to cheat by deflating footballs is hardly an on-field incident. Sounds a whole lot more like personal conduct to me.
kylechoffman
Footballguy
Eagles should have signed AB before the bye week.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Except it's not. The rules for proper football inflation are contained in the league game day operations manual and not meeting those requirements are considered a game day equipment violation. No matter how you slice it, the whole Deflatgate fiasco was based on actual football. The AB mess has nothing at all to do with football (potential inappropriate sexual conduct, lack of payment of debts, threatening text messages, throwing furniture off a building, etc.).Conspiring with equipment guys to cheat by deflating footballs is hardly an on-field incident. Sounds a whole lot more like personal conduct to me.
Earlier you stated Brady was suspended for an "on-field incident", which is clearly not the case. Brady was suspended for a bunch of phone calls and texts. Those obviously took place away from the field.
Those semantics notwithstanding, your assertion that nobody gets suspended without a police investigation is surely incorrect. Brady is just one example. If I cared enough to go digging I'm sure I could find others.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Huh? Brady got suspended because the footballs were tested and found to be improperly inflated during the AFCC game against the Colts. That directly had to do with football. Brady did not get suspended for inappropriate player contact or criminal / legal reasons, which is what AB is going through. Sure, players have been suspended for on field issues, helmet to helmet hits, PED's, drug possession, failed drug tests, etc. before. That wasn't the point.
For instances of suspected CRIMINAL activity, if Brown were to be suspended, he would be the first player suspended based on incidents unreported to, and not investigated by, law enforcement. He would become the first player suspended for a civil case where the incidents were not even looked into by the police. What Brady did was not remotely close to a potential crime.
whole-show
Footballguy
Ditkaless Wonders
Footballguy
He can't stay out of his own way.
whole-show
Footballguy
Patriots have “kicked the tires” on AB. Says there have been discussions about the player per Michael Giardi
Hu-Tang Clan
Footballguy
I know there's a deadline of 10 days or something like that for Gronk to sign if he plays this year, is that the same window for someone like AB? Is there a time frame that he needs to be on a roster for in order to play this year?
whole-show
Footballguy
Was wondering the same, but I don’t believe so since AB is a free agent and Gronk is retired.
Twenty-Four Eighty-Four
Footballguy
I dont think so. I would imagine it's because of Gronk "retiring" he has to notify them by the 30th if he plans to come back.
RealReactions
Footballguy
Dropped Gallman for him. Don't really need WR depth but if he comes back he is a WR1. His upside is unmatched. If NE struggles again against Dallas I wouldn't be suprised if they sign him. Brady was clearly unhappy when they let him go and I would bet he has a strong voice behind "kicking the tires" on him.
Statorama
gangster
Twenty-Four Eighty-Four
Footballguy
Could be put on the commissioner's exempt list too.
RealReactions
Footballguy
SeniorVBDStudent
Footballguy
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Every year is said to be the Patriots last shot at a SB. If the defense can stay together and BB is still the coach, they may not have to score a ton of points and it may not matter if TB is the QB next year.
Over their past 16 games, NE has gone 14-2. If they beat DAL this week, that will actually improve to 15-1. In their last 16 games, the NE defense has only allowed 75 points in the first half of games (an average of 4.7 points). Overall, the defense has allowed 171 points across their last 16 games (10.7 ppg). (To be clear, opponents have scored more points than that based on turnovers committed by the NE offense that were returned for TD's).
And before people chime in that they haven't played anyone, those games include two games against PIT with Big Ben, three high scoring playoff teams from last year (LAC, KCC, LAR), and the Bills and Eagles from this year (and the Ravens). So there were 8 teams with non-losing records (half their games). Combining all of last year (HOU, IND, KC x 2, CHI, LAC, LAR) and this year (BUF, BAL), the Pats have gone 8-1 against playoff teams or likely playoff teams (and still face 4 potential playoff teams this year in DAL, HOU, KC, and BUF (with 3 of those games at home).
Put another way, if NE had only scored 17 points in every game this season, they would still be 9-1. Even with a ton of injuries to offensive personnel, the NE offense (JUST the offense) has averaged 24.3 ppg (ignoring the points scored by the defense).
Bottom line, the narrative that NE is in desperate need of a play maker is getting a little overblown these days. If their OL and WR's get healthy and the offense gets used to playing together (something that hasn't happened yet), they should be fine. They probably won't win games 41-27, but they should be in position to win games 27-13.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Lucky for NE, they actually are getting a LT back . . . which should make a huge difference.
Tom E Curran reporting that Sanu has a high ankle sprain and could be up several weeks. Dorsett has been dinged twice now.
Everyone hoping I. Wynn solves all problems. I wonder.
They're already paying AB.
I don't know. It's possible. Bill B. is the only one in the NFL that would be able to stand at that podium stonefaced and just give everyone the stiff arm.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I already posted several days ago that a return of AB was not entirely out of the question. Newhouse carries the lowest rating for a LT in the league according to PFF. Wynn doesn't have to come back and be a Top 5 LT. If he can just be replacement level, he would be a HUGE improvement. I think he will be better than average, so that will only help the offense.
Dorsett is probably 50/50 to play Sunday. He's a situational piece, not a difference maker. Brady needs to start using and trusting Harry and Meyers more. And they will use White and Burkhead more with Sanu out. In general, the offense should be able to put together 3-4 drives that end up in points on the scoreboard, even if that results in 1 TD and the rest FG's. When the defense adds in points or a forces a turnover in the red zone, that should get them 20 points each week (and more if they start to put things together).
Unfortunately, the way the offense is built and the deficiencies they have, that likely means running no huddle and Michel becomes pretty much useless. They aren't going to be able to run the ball effectively no matter what, so their best bet is to spread defenses out, not let them substitute, and occasionally audible a running play to White or Burkhead to scrap together a few rushing yards.
On defense, it seems like the only time opponents get a scoring drive lately is when a NE defender commits a penalty (or there are several penalties on a drive). They have been flagged at the worst times or else drives would have ended on three and outs. If the defense keeps from getting flagged for penalties, I think they are as good as the numbers indicate. The Ravens game was the exception. I have watched some of the game again and the defensive scheme didn't work. They had guys keying on players but there were too many bodies in the way to get to them or they had the wrong angle to be able to tackle the ball carrier. Guys didn't cover the right gaps or didn't set the edge. BAL did a good job, but the NE chess pieces weren't in the right places. BB will clean that up if there is a rematch.
Who knows if AB will be back and the net impact he would have on the team. But I think it would be faulty logic to thing that he would have changed for the better. He still is a loose cannon.
Statorama
gangster
Anarchy99
Footballguy
After this week, AB will have missed 11 games. He’s served a de facto suspension already. I doubt the league would exempt or suspend him to give him even more time off. It could take years for his civil suit to be resolved.
That being said, I think the league will either stay out of the way and allow him to come back to the Patriots or run interference and let AB deal with finding a new team in the off season. The reason I say that is NE will likely have to pay him for this year anyway, so the league may give them a chance to get something out of him. I don’t think the league wants AB getting the go ahead and then immediately signing with a direct competitor to NE when they will be the ones paying him.
I’m still not sure how Brown ended up off the Patriots roster. Who knows if the league pressures the team to bench him release him, or have him go on the exempt list. I know it’s been reported Kraft insisted Brown get the boot, but the whole way it went down seemed really odd.
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I very much doubt the NFL would view the last couple months as a "de facto suspension". When you're suspended, you have to miss games you otherwise would have been playing in.
Being unsigned/unwanted is not the same thing as being suspended.
kittenmittens
Footballguy
Rumors back to Patriots? I mean again, after it was shot down by Howe the first time.
Seems unlikely but who knows I guess.
Seems unlikely but who knows I guess.
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