Jon Gruden To Patriots: Good Luck With Antonio Brown
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- On Tuesday morning, Bill Belichick didn't sound particularly concerned with any potential problems with his newest receiver, Antonio Brown.
A few hours prior, out in Oakland, Brown's former coach offered some slightly insincere words of encouragement.
"Well as much as people talk about it, I mean, my God. I mean, I feel like someone's smashing my temple on the side of my head. Get over it, man. It's over," Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said after his team's Monday night victory over the Broncos. "We were good in the preseason without him, and we're gonna be fine without him.
Gruden added: "We wish him the best, but, uh, you know, we gave it a shot. And now New England gets their turn. Good luck to them. But I just can't deal with it anymore, really, sorry."
The "good luck" message certainly seemed more sarcastic than sincere, which is understandable, considering everything Brown put the Raiders through this summer. From the helmet protest, to retirement threats, to recording phone calls with the coach for self-promotional videos, to missing practices, to aggressively confronting the general manager, to finally requesting his release from the team, Brown's tenure in Oakland was bumpy from Day 1.
As such, Gruden didn't appear to really appreciate facing any Antonio Brown questions after his team picked up a victory in Week 1.
"What happened here the last couple of days may have been big news to some. But there were no distractions. I think you could tell that tonight. Our team was ready to roll," Gruden said. "I'm never gonna bring it up again. That incident, whatever you call it, had nothing to do with our team's focus or preparation. That's it. End of story. Sorry."
That story is indeed over in Oakland. In New England, though, it's just beginning.
