At one time, the addition of Antonio Brown was seen as a luxury for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It seems his presence has become more important to the Buccaneers.
When Tom Brady first came to Tampa Bay, the excitement was already palpable when it came to the prospect of him slinging the rock to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, already one of the top wide receiver duos in the NFL. When the team then went out in acquired AB, along with other additions, the office was seen as an embarrassment of riches. As a result, along with a difference coming alive, the Buccaneers were able to win the franchises second Super Bowl championship in the 2020 season.
While the Bucs were able to return all 22 starters and some change from that team, the road to repetition or “going for two” has been a bit of a rocky road. To be fair, around this time last year they were sitting at seven and five, but that’s a discussion for another day.
The mountain of injuries certainly has not helped, one of which being to Brown. He was in a walking boot the last couple weeks, and has since ditched it, and his return may come sooner rather than later. In a rather cryptic message on his Instagram page, Brown simply said “fireworks soon.“
This return could not be better news for the Buccaneers, who perhaps shockingly, Find themselves on a two game skid. However this stat coupling with the news of an apparent imminent return AB, should be music to Buccaneers fans ears.
In today’s day and age with the Internet and technology being how it is there’s all sorts of advanced stats and analytics that can occasionally go far beyond the realm of comprehension. However, this simple stat, perhaps the simplest of all should bring a sense of calmness for fans.
The stat is this: when Brown has played in 2021, the Buccaneers are 5-0. That is nothing to sneeze at. Now granted, recently we wrote a piece about how the Bucs do not need to rush him back due in large part of the towel and they already have and the way the office was still humming. Perhaps we may have spoke a little too soon. So hand up, that’s on us. We’ll wear that one. Of course there’s a difference between rushing a player back and wanting him back as soon as possible.
There’s no denying when you look at the record that the office is better when he’s on the field. At one point he was on pace to have 1000 yards receiving this season, along with Godwin and Evans, which would have made them only the blank trio in NFL history to accomplish such a feat in one season. Thus far he has which is certainly impressive for a five game span.
In a nutshell, the return of Antonio Brown will be huge for the Buccaneers. There’s a reason Brady is constantly going to bad for this man. Fortunately, it seems that we won’t have to wait long.