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Byrant has been a valuable addition. And he should be that much better next year. But until he learns how to high point the ball he wont be all that he could be. I'm not even sure it's something you can learn? It seems like the guy's with the ability to rise to catch the ball at it's highest point in traffic come into the league doing it. Swann was the greatest ever at it. Stallworth was exceptional too. Randy Moss of course. Fitzgerald. A.j. Green. etc... But even if he never quite gets to that level. He still doesn't utilize his height like he can or should. Perfect example was this past game against the Chiefs. He had a ball thrown to him on the left sideline, Chiefs were in 0 coverage. strict man to man. The ball was thrown in a catchable position. Yet the defensive back, who Bryant had a decisive height advantage over, easily breaks up the pass. Bryant waits for the ball to get to him. If he elevates at all to the ball once it gets close enough to make a play on, even if it's just his hands, (take advantage of that wingspan), it's going to be hard for the defender to make a legal play to break up the pass. There's got to be at least 8-12 similar plays this year with Martavis where he didn't utilize his height and wing span to their full advantage. He can be a superstar in this league if he can get this down even just a little bit better, such is his overall skill set.
"A man's got to know his limitations."
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I've noticed this about him too. He cradles it with his body in situations where he needs to jump up and snatch the ball at its highest point. If we've noticed it, I'm sure the coaches have noticed it too, and are working on correcting it.Originally Posted by zulater
This. So much. Also, he needs to learn to come back to the ball instead of letting DB's close in on him and smack the ball away. Luckily he's only a rookie. Would be awesome to see him pick it up in these areas for the playoff run though
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Great point. More than one thing lacking from his game. Yet he still made a huge impact on the team in a limited role. Once he learns his craft a bit better he could really be special.
"A man's got to know his limitations."
The Steelers have scored 285 points in 9 games with Bryant in the lineup
It was only 124 points in the first six games for the steelers
wow... just... wow. why was he not playing?
It was my understanding that he was hurt for part of that time, and had to get up to speed....(pun intended).
Other than possibly QB, receiver is the hardest position in the NFL for a rookie (even a great one) to come in and excel at right away. There's just so much to learn and adjustments to make in the transition from college to pros. This year is actually pretty unusual with the amount of rookie receivers making the impact that they are (but of course this has been when one of the deepest drafts for quality WRs in a long time). It makes total sense that the really good rookie WRs all started picking up their games more and more as the season went on. It wasn't just Bryant.
The point is, you can't just look at how good he is now and assume he should have been a day 1 starter. I can almost guarantee you the results would have been no so great. The knowledgable fans would have been screaming at Haley and Tomlin for starting him too soon. The less knowledgable fans would have been calling him a Sweed-like bust.
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