MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — There was a lot of love in the cramped visitors’ press conference room of Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
While the Miami Dolphins were mourning their 43-0 loss, the New England Patriots were heaping praise on one another after their shutout win.
Wide receiver Josh Gordon was overshadowed by Patriots receiver Antonio Brown and the team’s defense, but he still caught two passes for 19 yards as he continues to make progress after missing most of training camp with a suspension.
“He’s doing a great job,” quarterback Tom Brady said of Gordon. “We got him late last year into the season — Week 2 — and it’s a lot to pick up. It’s a hard offense to learn. You try to integrate a guy and whether it was Phillip (Dorsett) the year before or Josh or this year with Antonio, it’s a lot for those guys to learn. The more we’re together, like any team, the more comfortable we get.”
Gordon has played under a ton of different offensive coordinators since coming into the NFL with the Browns in 2012. He went from Brad Childress to Norv Turner to Kyle Shanahan to Hue Jackson to Todd Haley in Cleveland and now to Josh McDaniels in New England. Through it all, Gordon never has seen an offense like the Patriots’.
“There’s so many intricate details. It’s to the T. It’s just different. That’s the best way I could describe it,” Gordon said, “It’s just different. I can’t say it’s like something that I’ve seen before, because I’ve never seen it before, this type of offense.”
Gordon also has never had a quarterback like Brady. He doesn’t have to tell Brady he was open after a play. The QB knows.
“Tom sees it all,” Gordon said. “Even if he throws it somewhere else, he’s like, ‘How was it back there?’ I was like, ‘It was all right.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I know. I saw you.’ He knows. Just have faith and trust in (offensive coordinator) Coach (Josh) McDaniels and him and (head) coach (Bill) Belichick. Our time will come. As long as we continue to work hard, we’ll get a chance to make a play.”
Gordon was suspended after Week 15 of the 2018 season after violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement. Gordon is back to being conditionally reinstated by the NFL this season, and he’s showing a different, more comfortable side with the media.
“I always love being with him and around him,” Brady said. “He’s a great teammate.”
The Patriots didn’t need a big performance out of Gordon in Week 2, but they got one in Week 1, and they’ll surely need one later in the season.
