vader29
11-22-2013, 08:33 AM
For all I care, Antonio Brown can throw a party every time he finds his way to a first down. He can point that football forward, then release it a la the classic mic drop. He can dance the salsa, take a Lambeau Leap, try the Ickey Shuffle and, before he gets back to the Steelers' huddle, whip out a Sharpie and sign a deal to make a rap video.
It's all good.
Because he's that good.
Or is that great now?
One look at No. 84's still-growing 2013 ledger, and it's getting easy to call it the latter:
• His 74 catches lead the NFL, and he has had no fewer than five in any game. This despite the Steelers' offense having virtually no other vehicle through that 0-4 start.
• His 952 yards rank fifth in the league, and 298 have come after the catch. This despite the bubble screen.
• He has made 15 catches of 20-plus yards, third-most in the league. This despite only five touchdowns, a powerful sign of how hard he has had to work to get open for Ben Roethlisberger.
• This one's my favorite: He has made those 74 catches on just 105 targets from his quarterback. That's a 70.5 percent rate and best in the league among the top 10 receivers.
Stop and think about that: Every time Roethlisberger throws a ball Brown's way, and those often travel downfield and into double coverage, he has nearly a 3-in-4 chance of catching it.
That's amazing.
I would say it's akin to Calvin Johnson or Wes Welker, except that Megatron is at 54.1 percent and even the possession ace Welker is just behind at 70.1. Oh, and you won't see Brown vanish for an entire half, as Megatron did here Sunday.
Small wonder Roethlisberger is running out of words: “I say it every week, but AB's been so good for us, so steady … I'm not sure what else I can say.”
Well, here's something: Brown is on pace — a comfortable one, at that — to break the franchise's most important single-season receiving records: Hines Ward set the mark for catches in 2002 with 112, but Brown is on pace for 118. Yancey Thigpen set the mark for yards in 1997 with 1,398, but Brown is on pace for 1,523.
Never mind the franchise. If Brown tops 1,500 yards, he'd be just the 22nd in NFL history.
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/5110911-74/brown-catches-haden#ixzz2lNvh4Cqs
It's all good.
Because he's that good.
Or is that great now?
One look at No. 84's still-growing 2013 ledger, and it's getting easy to call it the latter:
• His 74 catches lead the NFL, and he has had no fewer than five in any game. This despite the Steelers' offense having virtually no other vehicle through that 0-4 start.
• His 952 yards rank fifth in the league, and 298 have come after the catch. This despite the bubble screen.
• He has made 15 catches of 20-plus yards, third-most in the league. This despite only five touchdowns, a powerful sign of how hard he has had to work to get open for Ben Roethlisberger.
• This one's my favorite: He has made those 74 catches on just 105 targets from his quarterback. That's a 70.5 percent rate and best in the league among the top 10 receivers.
Stop and think about that: Every time Roethlisberger throws a ball Brown's way, and those often travel downfield and into double coverage, he has nearly a 3-in-4 chance of catching it.
That's amazing.
I would say it's akin to Calvin Johnson or Wes Welker, except that Megatron is at 54.1 percent and even the possession ace Welker is just behind at 70.1. Oh, and you won't see Brown vanish for an entire half, as Megatron did here Sunday.
Small wonder Roethlisberger is running out of words: “I say it every week, but AB's been so good for us, so steady … I'm not sure what else I can say.”
Well, here's something: Brown is on pace — a comfortable one, at that — to break the franchise's most important single-season receiving records: Hines Ward set the mark for catches in 2002 with 112, but Brown is on pace for 118. Yancey Thigpen set the mark for yards in 1997 with 1,398, but Brown is on pace for 1,523.
Never mind the franchise. If Brown tops 1,500 yards, he'd be just the 22nd in NFL history.
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/5110911-74/brown-catches-haden#ixzz2lNvh4Cqs