Antonio Brown to the Patriots: Why Does This Always Happen?

Well, friends, we are only a day away from NFL kickoff Sunday. We've already gotten to witness the first opening game on Thursday night with that Packers-Bears snoozefest. Sunday should offer some much more compelling games. Now, though, all eyes are going to be on the New England Patriots (once again) after they picked up Antonio Brown off waivers following his release from the Oakland Raiders. Yet again, the Patriots went out and nabbed a disgraced yet insanely talented wideout for Tom Brady to target. It's a tale thats beginning to become lore in the NFL: if the first team doesn't want you, New England certainly will. AB's addition is another example of the Patriots' front office wisely waiting for the drama to die down so they can secure a Top-5 talent without having to overpay the player.

AB will be signed to a one-year contract, so he is not guaranteed to be a stud under Bill Belichek's guidance and playcalling. But he is Antonio Brown, the same receiver who has caught 74 touchdown passes and over 11,000 yards and he is still an active player.  He is the same receiver who used to be the threat Ben Rothlisberger targeted for eight seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. For any team, this acquisition is mammoth in proportion. Not only will opposing teams have to plan even harder to stop the train that is New England, they still have to worry about Tom Brady finding his other receivers like Julian Edelman, Philip Dorsett, and Josh Gordon.  The Patriots' receiving core is almost unfair to the rest of the NFL.

New England has a history of picking up controversial players who were either suspended (in the case of Josh Gordon), immature (Rob Gronkowski comes to mind to this writer), or fallen out of favor with their original team (Darrell Revis). The coaching skill and no-BS attitude of Belichik often revitalizes their careers, and often leading them to championships. It has almost become the norm for players to go to New England, even for just one season, and be part of a Super Bowl-winning squad. The NFL has come down to anyone who can dethrone the Patriots. I think this move also speaks to the timidness of other NFL franchises to not take gambles on players with character issues or troubled pasts. They let players slip through waivers to rival teams, and in this instance, New England pounced on the Raiders' release of Brown. The Pats aren't guaranteed to make the Super Bowl, but every football fans knows New England are still the favorites to win it all once again. It'll be exciting (and gut-wrenching for Jets, Jags, and Bills fans) to watch that new Brady-to-Brown connection. This new NFL season is already producing some great off-field drama with Brown's beef with Oakland and Ezekiel Elliott's contract holdout. Let's see how it will on-field.