Although Antonio Brown and the pirates have obviously gone from close lovers to predecessors, the pirates will still miss AB very much, because they will face the tragic situation that AB and Chris Godwin will not be able to play at the same time.
Godwin left the game two weeks ago with an injury in the middle of the game against the Saints, while AB staged the "drama of the year" this week.
The only options left under Brady's men today include top receiver Mike Evans, Patriots' old partner Gronkowski, and a whole bunch of guys who haven't proven themselves.
Replace Godwin
In fact, Goldwin and Evans are both pirates' top catchers, and counting who is stronger is tantamount to nitpicking. However, Godwin's contribution may be more valuable, as his main slot is usually the weak link of the opponent. Seeing how the Saints treated Godwin in Week 15 shows how much they value the star catcher.
In week 8, Godwin scored six shots against the Saints at 111 yards and 1 touchdown, so in week 15 the Saints dealt with the slot receiver by chasing and blocking (No. 14 above).
But when Godwin retreated from his injury, the saints gave up such a bag. Other teams have adopted similar defensive principles against Godwin in the past.
In the two games after Godwin's injury, Taylor Johnson took over the job of slot succession, running the 39th gear route from the slot in both games, but the harvest only received 17 yards twice, and both were short-range 5-yard routes. The deadly option alignment between Brady and Godwin is completely invisible.
Brady is used to being a fast, fast route runner who can quickly create space to catch the ball in shallow areas, so his connection with Johnson needs to be improved. Among the other options, Scotty Miller, the hero of last year's National League Championship, has only played 30 slots this year. The Pirates could also try to get Grand Gron and receiver mid-ranger Cameron Brett to play more slots.
Big Gron, the third choice after Evans and Godwin, has performed well this season but has slipped from week 15 onwards, with he promoted to a more prominent role in the Pirates offense.
In the three games before week 15, Gron had a PFF catch score of 82.1, and the next three dropped to 63.4 — although he received an iconic Gron-style catch late in the game against the Jets. While he may no longer fit in as the number two receiver, it would be foolish to ignore the future Hall of Fame near-end wingers in the crucial playoffs.
Alternative to AB
Even though short, AB has been playing as an outside receiver in the league. Maybe he can't replace Godwin's slot, but when Johnson tops the slot, AB can still play the outside.
Over the past two weeks, Cyril Grayson has run more 40 gears on the outside than AB's 37th gear, which is due to AB's negative return to the locker room. Still, in both games Grayson received a pass from him on the outside and advanced 153 yards, including a shootout against the Jets.
AB is one of the best sideline catchers in history.
Operating near the sideline usually means he will face a one-on-one, and he has been wrecking since he entered the league. If you interfere with his starting line, he will directly suppress it with speed; if you retreat to give him some space, he will use his own method to obtain the vacancy:
The depth of the sideline line is important because shallow defenders can enter the outer shallow area from the inside. Once he pushes vertically beyond 10 yards, almost no matter what the staring mode, he is faced with a head-to-head.
Grayson had a beautiful far-reaching comeback route with the Jets' three-gear long yards, but it remains to be seen whether he can beat more opponents on those routes.
Grayson has scored nine of his career 11 catches in the last two games, and the Pirates hope the lost draft will continue to form.
Make use of Evans
In the end, the absence of AB and Godwin should have left Evans more responsible, but the receiver position will be very important. He's one of the best back-shoulder receivers in the league. From 2018 to 2020, he was far ahead of the PFF statistics on the back shoulder pass and catch rankings, and the PFF of such catches in the regular season was as high as 93.3. But this season, the catch score of these passes dropped to 75.1 in an instant. So some people will think that when the talent around Brady declines, Evans can use his talent to get those back-shoulder passes back.
But when AB and Godwin are absent, the security guard attack Evans will face can also be imagined.
Some hope that the Pirates can walk more and attack more after losing their catcher talent. Instead, it was wise for them to continue to use Evans in a richer way. He did run 225 slots in the slot this season, although only 27 goals were passed, as many times it was as a shield to open up space for Godwin. In the absence of Gold and AB, having Evans run around helps pirates maintain production.