King: Brown will be supremely motivated with Pats

Mike Florio and Peter King break down Antonio Brown's impact in the Patriots' offense and how Tom Brady should help Brown's transition to the Patriot Way.

Video Transcript

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MIKE FLORIO: Welcome to PFT OT on Yahoo Sports. He's Peter King. I'm Mike Florio. And the big topic in the NFL right now, Peter, relates to Antonio Brown officially now a member of the New England Patriots. Crash course in the offense coming this week. Practice on Wednesday. Game on Sunday in Miami against the Dolphins. What do you expect Antonio Brown's impact on this new team to be?

PETER KING: Well, Mike, I think that what happens when you go to New England is you've got to fit in. You ask players like Corey Dillon and Randy Moss, who obviously worked very, very well, you know, as troubled players walking in. Didn't work out as well with Albert Haynesworth or Chad Ochocinco. It wasn't that they were huge problems, it just that they were not huge stars by the time they got to New England. So to me, I think Antonio Brown will be supremely motivated to leave all of his baggage at the doorstep of the locker room, and to walk in and to be one of the guys.

You know, it was interesting talking to an ex-Patriot, Donte Stallworth, over the weekend. And one of the things he said is that he said, listen, obviously you know that, with Belichick, there's gonna be no fooling around. But he said, there's something about walking into a locker room and seeing Tom Brady there. And he said, oh my god, I'm playing with one of the greatest guys of all time. And he said that, I don't care how Antonio Brown has acted to this point, he's gonna go in there-- and it's not like this is Derek Carr, you know? He's gonna go in there and he's gonna say, I am not gonna screw this up. And I kind of buy that, Mike. I think there's about a 65-35 chance that this works and he plays the full season with the Patriots.

MIKE FLORIO: Yeah, two things. And you mentioned Derek Carr. And look, Carr played great on Monday night for the Raiders against the Broncos. But I remember back in March, Larry Fitzgerald was speaking at the MIT Analytics Conference they do every year, and he had a message for Antonio Brown, be careful what you wish for, because you've had Ben Roethlisberger your whole career. And at the time, we didn't know where he was going. But the idea is you've got one of the all-time greats, there may be a step down. And who knows? Maybe at some level, Antonio Brown perceived it was a step down. Well, now it's a huge step up to Tom Brady. And you're absolutely right, I think that helps keep him in line.

And for me, Peter, this is the second point. How much of the antics that we've seen as he tried to get out of Pittsburgh and then later tried to get out of Oakland, how much of it was the result of him consciously flipping a switch? How much of it is deliberate and engineered? And can he turn it off? Can he turn off that side of him that will do things that will get him in trouble in New England? If he can turn that off and keep it off, he'll be fine. If he can't control it, at some point, something's gonna happen that's gonna test Bill Belichick and force him to decide, do I get aggressive with this guy, do I let him do whatever he wants to do?

You know, I think of that story of Randy Moss and others showing up late one day because there was a blizzard in New England. And they have a legitimate reason to be late. There's a blizzard. And what did Bill Belichick do? He said, get in the car and get your ass home. So I think whether or not Antonio Brown can control that craziness we've seen on two different occasions this year is going to go a long way toward determining whether or not he makes it as a Patriot.

PETER KING: I'll be surprised if he doesn't control it, Mike, because he has to know that this is the end of the gravy train. He's talked himself off two teams in nine months. And they're both teams that wanted him to stay. One with a Hall of Fame quarterback, one with a team that paid him $50 million. So what possibly would motivate anybody to give him another chance if he shoots his way out of New England? This is it. This is the last chance at the OK Corral for Antonio Brown. And not to say-- because I think he's gonna play and play well this year. We'll see what happens at the end of this year. But right now, I will be surprised if he doesn't subjugate his ego and play football in New England.

One other thing. It won't take Bill Belichick long to get rid of Antonio Brown. It just won't, because he will understand soon that, if Antonio Brown pulls the stuff he pulled in Oakland, we're just not gonna deal with it. Belichick understands two things about his team. One, he has Tom Brady. Two, he's got a defense that's gonna keep them in games while they figure out what they're gonna do on offense.

And I'll give you sort of-- this is number three, but it kind of goes to the Tom Brady part of it. Josh McDaniels has been making chicken salad out of chicken feathers for years. And I think he'll continue to do that, even without Rob Gronkowski, and even if he has to play the air at some point without Antonio Brown.

MIKE FLORIO: Well, with Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman, Josh McDaniels can make chicken salad out of filet mignon because he's got some great components, along with Tom Brady, the greatest of all time, throwing the passes. That is it. Check out more PFT OT on Yahoo Sports throughout the NFL season.

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