stillers4me
12-05-2011, 05:57 AM
Antonio Brown wasn't overly thrilled when he was stripped of his kickoff return duties last weekend against Kansas City.
He reluctantly relinquished the job to Emmanuel Sanders. Coach Mike Tomlin made the decision to lessen Brown's workload as the Steelers jockey for a playoff position down the stretch.
Still, Brown wanted a chance to fulfill a preseason goal of taking one the distance. So, he lobbied to continue returning punts.
On Sunday, Brown's persistence paid a huge dividend as the Steelers roughed up the Cincinnati Bengals, 35-7, to keep pace with Baltimore in the AFC North.
The mercurial wide receiver returned a punt 60 yards for a special teams touchdown that gave the Steelers a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.
Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber may have out-kicked the coverage, but the Bengals' defenders simply didn't possess the speed to deny Brown the end zone once cornerback Bryant McFadden delivered a block that enabled him to turn the corner...................
Read more: Steelers' Brown goes distance on punt return - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_770410.html#ixzz1fem1mSA4) http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_770410.html#ixzz1fem1mSA4
He reluctantly relinquished the job to Emmanuel Sanders. Coach Mike Tomlin made the decision to lessen Brown's workload as the Steelers jockey for a playoff position down the stretch.
Still, Brown wanted a chance to fulfill a preseason goal of taking one the distance. So, he lobbied to continue returning punts.
On Sunday, Brown's persistence paid a huge dividend as the Steelers roughed up the Cincinnati Bengals, 35-7, to keep pace with Baltimore in the AFC North.
The mercurial wide receiver returned a punt 60 yards for a special teams touchdown that gave the Steelers a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.
Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber may have out-kicked the coverage, but the Bengals' defenders simply didn't possess the speed to deny Brown the end zone once cornerback Bryant McFadden delivered a block that enabled him to turn the corner...................
Read more: Steelers' Brown goes distance on punt return - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_770410.html#ixzz1fem1mSA4) http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_770410.html#ixzz1fem1mSA4