LLT
09-06-2012, 05:27 AM
Published: September 6, 2012 12:31 AM EST
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH -- The horn signaling the end of Steelers practice Wednesday hadn't finished echoing off the surrounding hillside when a stream of players dashed off the field and into the locker room.
Not Antonio Brown.
The third-year wide receiver stripped off his shoulder pads, walked over to the sideline and spent an extra 10 minutes catching passes. It's a routine Brown began as a rookie and he's not about to stop now, even if the five-year, $42 million contract extension he signed a month ago means he's officially graduated from sixth-round flyer to budding star.
"If you want to be the best, you have to simply outwork your opponent," Brown said with a shrug of his shoulders.
That's something Brown, 24, did with spectacular results in the second half of 2011 when he became quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target. As defenses adjusted their coverage to take away Pro Bowler Mike Wallace's blazing speed, Brown showcased the soft hands and precise route running that won Roethlisberger's respect in the summer of 2010.
As Wallace's numbers dipped, Brown's soared. He finished with more receptions (35 vs. 29) and more yards (677 vs. 393) than Wallace over the final eight games and while Wallace spent the offseason and the first month of training camp sitting out hoping for a new deal, Brown was a regular at Organized Team Activities and slid into the locker vacated by the recently retired Hines Ward.
Brown downplays the symbolism. He doesn't view the move as a passing of the torch so much as a matter of convenience. The locker puts him right next to Wallace, giving two of the best young receivers in the league plenty of time to commiserate on how to help the Steelers earn their seventh Lombardi Trophy
Read More:http://www.goerie.com/article/20120906/FOOTBALL04/309069896/Steelers-WR-Brown-looks-for-encore-to-big-season
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH -- The horn signaling the end of Steelers practice Wednesday hadn't finished echoing off the surrounding hillside when a stream of players dashed off the field and into the locker room.
Not Antonio Brown.
The third-year wide receiver stripped off his shoulder pads, walked over to the sideline and spent an extra 10 minutes catching passes. It's a routine Brown began as a rookie and he's not about to stop now, even if the five-year, $42 million contract extension he signed a month ago means he's officially graduated from sixth-round flyer to budding star.
"If you want to be the best, you have to simply outwork your opponent," Brown said with a shrug of his shoulders.
That's something Brown, 24, did with spectacular results in the second half of 2011 when he became quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target. As defenses adjusted their coverage to take away Pro Bowler Mike Wallace's blazing speed, Brown showcased the soft hands and precise route running that won Roethlisberger's respect in the summer of 2010.
As Wallace's numbers dipped, Brown's soared. He finished with more receptions (35 vs. 29) and more yards (677 vs. 393) than Wallace over the final eight games and while Wallace spent the offseason and the first month of training camp sitting out hoping for a new deal, Brown was a regular at Organized Team Activities and slid into the locker vacated by the recently retired Hines Ward.
Brown downplays the symbolism. He doesn't view the move as a passing of the torch so much as a matter of convenience. The locker puts him right next to Wallace, giving two of the best young receivers in the league plenty of time to commiserate on how to help the Steelers earn their seventh Lombardi Trophy
Read More:http://www.goerie.com/article/20120906/FOOTBALL04/309069896/Steelers-WR-Brown-looks-for-encore-to-big-season