FOXBORO \u2013 When you look inside the Patriots locker room and see leaders like Matthew Slater, Tom Brady, Devin McCourty and Dont\u2019a Hightower, it\u2019s a safe assumption that most players fall in line and do the right thing the right way.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what the Patriots thought would happen with Antonio Brown. That\u2019s why they took the chance on him back on Sept. 7 after the Raiders released him.<\/p>\n
After all, they saw how Josh Gordon and Jamie Collins and reinvigorated their careers in New England on the 2019 Patriots and saw the work ethic both have demonstrated and figured it would be the same story with Brown.<\/p>\n
If only Brown could\u2019ve been what Gordon and Collins and have turned into for these Patriots.<\/p>\n
Gordon caught six balls Sunday, including pair of acrobatic beauties, overcame a hard fall on his backside and lower back and an ugly right hand run-in with the facemask of Nate Hairston to show he\u2019s not only talented he\u2019s damn tough, too. After jamming his right hand, he returned the game to convert an amazing, leaping grab of a Tom Brady lob to the left sideline on third-and-22 from the Jets 32.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just really glad he still had faith in me throughout the course of the game to keep dinging it my way,\u201d Gordon told me. \u201cI think with each opportunity, at some point in time, you know that it\u2019s going to hit. I\u2019m glad he saw me on the back side there and a converted type of a route versus their cover 2 look. I just had enough space to make a play on the ball at that point in time and try to stay in, and I really just wanted to make a play and move the sticks and keep us out there a little bit longer and try to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LknqGNklg3s<\/a><\/p>\n But the bigger point was his team-first attitude post-game Sunday. He knows just how big his role could be know with no Antonio Brown and Julian Edelman dinged up a bit from Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s way too early for me to be feeling any type of comfortability, from a standpoint of being content,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cI\u2019m very ambitious; I think this team is. Expectations are high. I want to continue to try to climb that ladder and reach those personal and team goals together. It\u2019s way too soon. I think there\u2019s a lot left out there that we left on the table this afternoon that I think we wish we could have had back. So, moving forward, I think we need to try to capitalize and continue to stay focused in those critical moments of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the mindset going into every game as a wide receiver is to attack the ball ferociously. You can\u2019t come down with all of them, but the ones that you\u2019ve got a good chance of grabbing, you better try to grab it as best you can.\u201d<\/p>\n “We call that War Daddy Deluxe because he was out there taking hits, dislocating or whatever he did to his finger, I’m assuming it wasn’t good. He showed a lot of toughness today,” Matthew Slater laughed when speaking of Gordon’s ability to come back twice into the game after injury.<\/p>\n HOW?!<\/p>\n What a catch, @JOSH_GORDONXII<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/2LSyzkPbj8<\/a><\/p>\n\n