Robby Anderson's breakout season began months ago

[Sir Purr]

Anderson pointed to a time in the offseason where Brady talked a lot about a particular route, illustrating its importance in the offense. So, Anderson told Bridgewater he wanted to master it.


"We spent multiple days working on that particular route, really getting the timing down," Anderson said. "He kept shooting me texts about showing me certain things, how to run certain routes, just breaking it down. He was always giving me gems to get better."


He didn't want to reveal the route and get too far into trade secrets. But the trust those two built in those months has paid off.


Bridgewater recalled that much of the time they worked together, he'd put Anderson in the slot so he could run different routes. Bridgewater would also sometimes slow things down, just to give Anderson a better feel.


"I think it was always in him," Bridgewater said. "All you ask for is an opportunity to do different things."


After four seasons with the Jets, Anderson hit free agency with a reputation for being one-dimensional. Critics would say he all he could do was run in a straight line.


But that never made sense to him.


"Anybody that really knows football could tell you this — the hardest ball to catch in football is the deep ball," Anderson said. "So when everybody would always say, 'Well, he's only a deep threat. He can only catch deep passes. He can't catch short routes.' It just sounds stupid because if I can catch a deep pass and that's 30, 40, 50 yards down the field, however many yards in the air, what makes you think I can't catch a short pass?"


That's the opportunity Anderson was looking for, and while it's only been five games, Anderson's 2020 season has made the pundits look foolish.