Tom Brady picked apart a supposedly revamped Pittsburgh Steelers defense with the ease of a valet driver mind-numbingly pulling around the latest patron's car. 'Here's your keys, thanks for coming to Foxborough.'
Even after blasting Pittsburgh for 341 yards and three touchdowns, slinging dimes to Julian Edelman (6/83), Josh Gordon (3/73/1), Phillip Dorsett (4/95/2), James White (5/56), and Rex Burkhead (5/41), Brady has another pass-catching demon waiting in the wings. Antonio Brown will officially join the Patriots this week, upgrading an already souped-up offense. Brady could be trading in a Ferrari for a Bugatti.
After Sunday night's shellacking of the Steelers, Brady sounded as if he expects Brown, whose contract includes a 2020 option year for $20 million, to slide right in with the rest of the gadgets the Patriots deploy.
"You know, I think all us players are trying to be the best player that we can be for the team." Brady said, per the team's official transcript. "There's a lot of things that play into that, but we're all trying to reach our highest potential individually so that we can reach our highest potential collectively. It doesn't come together just because you say, 'Oh, all you guys are going to come together.' Antonio's had a lot of production, Demaryius [Thomas] has had a lot of production, Julian's had a lot of production, Josh has had a lot of production, Phillip had a great game tonight. So, the point is we've got a lot of players that are talented and we've just got to figure out how to make it all work. We're going to work hard. It's a long year. It's the beginning of a long marathon and the NFL's very competitive and it's going to be a great challenge, but I think we're all looking forward to it."
The addition of Brown could give Brady his best top-to-bottom receiving corps in his 20-year career, if they all remain healthy with their head on straight. It's worth noting, however, the Patriots didn't win a Lombardi Trophy with Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Donte' Stallworth catching passes for a historic 2007 offense.
Brady understands the weapons only work when all 53 players on the roster are doing their job every day.
"The NFL's a competitive place," Brady told Peter King for his *Football Morning In America* column. "Lots of moving parts. Lots of adjustment, constantly. Week to week, a guy gets hurts, a guy gets picked up you don't know, you're constantly manipulating your team. We lost our right tackle [Marcus Cannon, with a shoulder injury] tonight for who knows how long. Like, oh sh-, that's a big deal. Now we'll add Antonio, and he's got to ... there's a lot to learn. ... The point is, it's one thing to talk about, it's another thing to go do it. Let's go do it. That's what my attitude is."
If Antonio Brown buys into the attitude of his potential new roommate, the Patriots will boast an offensive cast few can match. Given the past few months in the Brown saga, that remains a tenuous if.
