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GBMelBlount
09-26-2014, 04:43 AM
By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There never will be another Triplets in football, just as we’ll never see another Steel Curtain.

The Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s had quarterback Troy Aikman, halfback Emmitt Smith and receiver Michael Irvin. Three Super Bowl wins, three Hall of Famers. Case closed.

But something can be said for the trio of Steelers statistically assaulting the NFL: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, halfback Le’Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown. The Steelers are the only team with a 750-yard passer, a 300-yard runner and a 250-yard receiver. Pittsburgh native Dave Dameshek of ESPN suggests they are the latest version of the Triplets.

So what to call them?

“We’ll see,” Brown shrugged, seemingly uninterested in the question. “We’ll see.”

Roethlisberger has ranked among the NFL’s elite quarterbacks practically since he stepped onto the field as a rookie 10 years ago. Brown, a two-time Pro Bowler and among the better punt-returners in the league, crushed the team record with 1,499 yards receiving last season and is second in the AFC with 296 now. His three touchdown receptions are tied for most among wide receivers in the AFC.

Bell leads the NFL with 461 yards from scrimmage and leads the AFC with 315 yards rushing, with 20 first downs. His 5.9-yard average per carry leads all NFL rushers with more than 200 yards. His 81-yard run in Carolina was the longest for the Steelers in the past 45 years.

http://www.chatsports.com/pittsburgh-steelers/a/Steelers-offense-ready-to-make-a-name-for-itself-0-10461654

GBMelBlount
09-26-2014, 05:25 AM
"The Big Brown Bongers"?

Moose
09-26-2014, 05:30 AM
How about waiting until we start 'winning' constantly before we start with nick-names and titles ? Especially taking care of business at home and on bottom feeder's !

X-Terminator
09-26-2014, 07:39 AM
How about waiting until we start 'winning' constantly before we start with nick-names and titles ? Especially taking care of business at home and on bottom feeder's !

The media, dude. Blame them. The Steelers' players are not out there seeking nicknames for themselves in this situation.

Edman
09-26-2014, 07:48 AM
It's the media. The Steelers aren't doing any of this.

The "Young Money Crew?" now that was on them. Only Brown ended up being worthwhile in that bunch.

tube517
09-26-2014, 08:00 AM
Since when have we had a nickname for the offense? And who in the blue hell is Dave Dameshek?

ALLD
09-26-2014, 08:53 AM
It's the media. The Steelers aren't doing any of this.

The "Young Money Crew?" now that was on them. Only Brown ended up being worthwhile in that bunch.

Sanders is leading the NFL in receiving right now.

zulater
09-26-2014, 03:25 PM
All good stuff, but I really think it's time the Steelers relieve Antonio of punt return duties. Yeah I know he's a weapon, and can flip field position or turn a game with a huge return. But surely someone else can return punts on the team competently? What about Archer?

Anyway Brown gets enough touches as it is. If we were to lose him for even so much as a game because of an injury incurred on a punt return how do you explain it? Our receiver core is next to nothing without AB.

Is risk / reward being properly evaluated?

steelreserve
09-26-2014, 03:54 PM
All good stuff, but I really think it's time the Steelers relieve Antonio of punt return duties. Yeah I know he's a weapon, and can flip field position or turn a game with a huge return. But surely someone else can return punts on the team competently? What about Archer?

Anyway Brown gets enough touches as it is. If we were to lose him for even so much as a game because of an injury incurred on a punt return how do you explain it? Our receiver core is next to nothing without AB.

Is risk / reward being properly evaluated?


Dude, the return man gets injured about half as often per play as receivers do. They've done studies on this. Most of the injuries on returns are to guys who are blocking and tackling. Plus with every play potentially being a big play, the reward there is huge. Plenty of big-name stars over the years have returned punts for all/most of their careers, and I can hardly think of any serious injuries from it.

Of course, the first time Brown puts a foot wrong on a return, people will be calling for Tomlin's head, "OMG why are you taking that kind of risk!!!" Well, it's football. Your star return man is not going to make any big plays for you while you're keeping him in a glass case on the sidelines. You have a guy who excels at something, you use him for it. There's risk on every play, but the formula for winning is that as long as it's not a blowout, you want your best guys on the field for as many plays as possible, period. The call for removing star players from returns is mostly based on people not understanding that's not how it actually works, plus a healthy dose of hype that has made it fashionable to treat highly-paid players in all sports like they're porcelain dolls. Like ... it doesn't matter what you're paying them, they're not going to help you from the bench.

I wouldn't mind Archer trying his hand at it, but as far as I know he's still injured. It also remains to be seen whether he "gets it" with returning punts in the NFL ... kickoffs are one thing, but even if you're good at that (not that we really have kickoffs anymore), it may or may not translate to punts.

GBMelBlount
09-26-2014, 04:15 PM
Dude, the return man gets injured about half as often per play as receivers do.



Thanks for mentioning this. Good stuff.

I was just thinking about how many receivers get blasted and wondering what the risk / return (haha) is compared to returns.

So it sounds like Brown gets more yards per unit of risk returning than receiving (unless he averages double the yards per reception.)

steelreserve
09-26-2014, 04:54 PM
So it sounds like Brown gets more yards per unit of risk returning than receiving (unless he averages double the yards per reception.)


He actually averages significantly more yards per reception than per punt return, though not double. Kick returns are another story, but his value there is a little less certain, since you could expect just about anyone to average 20 yards or so.

I look at it this way: A great year for a receiver is to have 100 catches; Brown was just under 70 for a couple years until he really took off last season. Punt returns add about another 30-40 touches per season if you handle most of the duties. So here's an opportunity to give another 40% more chances to your best big-play weapon. Who in their right mind wouldn't sign up for that? We're not talking about a huge risk over a trivial part of the game - this is a serious fuckload of opportunities to make a big difference.

One more way to look at it: Would it be a good idea to randomly pull Brown off the field every second series to lower his injury risk, and go with Wheaton as the #1 receiver? That's the same tradeoff you'd be making with returns.

Count Steeler
09-26-2014, 06:40 PM
"Work in Progress".

Shoes
09-26-2014, 06:56 PM
Fire Bouchette, hire Chidi!

Steelerette
09-26-2014, 07:37 PM
How's about Team Rocket

http://dailysnark.com/wp-content/gallery/nfl-players-as-pokemon-characters/leveonbellsprout.png