Antonio Brown Is Unstoppable—and the Steelers Might Be, Too

[katmandu]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...s-might-be-too

The Broncos tried to cover Steelers receiverAntonio Brown with shutdown stud Aqib Talib. No bueno. Brown burned him.They tried other defenders one-on-one. Yeah, um, no. Brown burned them. Denver's defensive backs had tire tread marks on their backsides.
Zone defense? Nope. Double-teams? Uh uh. Once, it looked as if there were three guys on Brown: a linebacker cutting off the slant route, a safety over the top and a corner in his face. Nah, dude. Brown still made the catch.


Slant routes, go routes, stop and go, curls...look up "route tree" in the dictionary and there's Brown, smiling, climbing that tree like Jack on a beanstalk.I wrote a week ago that the Steelers werethe most dangerous team in the AFC, and that's what they continue to show. No offense this season had scored 30 points on the Denver defense, the best in football. The Steelers were the first, winning 34-27 at Heinz Field on Sunday.
There are many reasons Pittsburgh won this game. One of them was a defense that in the second half put the clamps on Brock Osweiler, who started hot in the opening two quarters. The Broncos' limp, gutless play-calling didn't help in the second half.
But make no mistake, this was the Brown show. As long as the Steelers have the modern-day Jerry Rice, and Ben Roethlisberger throwing to him, they will be difficult to stop down the stretch. No, make that almost impossible to stop.
Brown had 16 catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns. His explosiveness helped the Steelers overcome a 17-point deficit.
ESPN Stats & Info had a couple of good stats for Brown on Sunday:
It's really even more impressive than that. Calvin Johnson is the only receiver to have more than 1,600 receiving yards in consecutive seasons, in 2011 and 2012, and with 1,586 already, Brown seems sure to join that club. In fact, if he hadn't come two yards shy of 1,700 last year, he'd have a pretty good shot at consecutive 1,700-yard seasons, which no one's ever done (receivers have only gotten there once five times).
Some of you hate the Steelers so much, your hatred overwhelms your logical thinking. What Brown is doing should appeal to any football fan who loves precision route running and an unstoppable force. Again, we are watching the Rice of our time turn the Steelers offense into a force so explosive, it can travel anywhere. The Steelers are currently the sixth seed—but seeding, schmeeding when it comes to these guys. Seeding won't matter if Pittsburgh gets in the tournament. They remain the only AFC team that can go to New England and win. The Bengals can't. The Jets can't. The Chiefs can't. The Steelers can.
Putting Brown in the same sentence with Rice will be blasphemy to some, and maybe it is. I knew Rice well, covered him extensively, and Brown is comparable. The comparison works because Brown, like Rice, has the ability to still be explosive despite the massive allocation of defensive resources put against him. Everyone game-plans against Brown, and still, many times, he shreds teams.
Brown doesn't just keep defensive coaches awake at night. He's Beetlejuice.


"I don't know how many catches he had," Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Sunday, "but it sure looked like he caught a bunch."
It was more than a bunch. Multiply a bunch by a crapload, and you get what Brown did.
The passing offense is formidable because it is deep. On the rare occasions Brown gets slowed, Martavis Bryant gets you. He is to Brown what John Taylor was to Rice. If you stop Bryant, they can go to Markus Wheaton, who had a touchdown against Denver.
Coach Mike Tomlin was asked if Brown's performance was a response to something. "He walks into stadiums," Tomlin said, "and he's Antonio Brown, and he made Antonio Brown plays."
In other words, Antonio gonna Antonio.


Brown met the media after the game, and his soft-spokenness betrays his ferocity on the field. The best thing he said was how he and Roethlisberger have worked hard to build what is maybe the best chemistry between a quarterback and a wide receiver in the conference. Perhaps the only duo that's hotter is Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin for Seattle.
NFL Network reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala told Brown that Chris Harris, the corner for the Broncos, hadn't given up a touchdown in coverage for two years. Brown beat him twice. Brown seemed surprised, but he shouldn't have been. There isn't a corner Brown can't beat.
Brown said the Broncos were the toughest defense the Steelers faced all year. And he torched them. Imagine what he would do against almost any other defense in the AFC (including Kansas City's).
This is how you stop Brown, this generation's Jerry Rice: Bring an alien armada. Of androids. Throw in The Avengers.
Then cross your fingers.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.

[katmandu]

- - - Updated - - -

https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/statu...00751909474305

Targeted 18 times.Caught 16 balls.189 yards.2 touchdowns.Against one of the best defenses in the game.

[HollywoodSteel]

I think the comparison to Jerry Rice is apt for the reasons stated in this article plus one more that the article didn't bring up, and it's probably the key to all of it: the way AB practices. Rice was physically gifted as most really good NFL receivers are (and AB is probably more naturally gifted than Rice) but what made Rice the GOAT was the way he practiced. He was so dedicated and meticulous in his practicing that route running, starting and stopping, the ability to extend plays, became perfect. If there was ever even a tiny way he could improve in any aspect as a football player, he would work on it - over, and over, and over... Until it was perfect. Than he'd practice it a million more times. First on the practice field, last off, of course. But even in the off season he never missed a workout. Never altered his perfect diet. That will power and mental control is what it takes to be the best ever, and last for years after other guys are retiring. AB does exactly that stuff as well. All of that. Rice was fortunate to have Montana and Young to let him take advantage of his abilities. AB has Ben. So, barring injury or playing with a bad QB, I see no objective reason why AB can't be Rice's equal.

[polamalubeast]

[Count Steeler]

This is not a put down on Brown, but a put down on the hype, he is nowhere near this special without Ben.

That being said, Jerry Rice is nowhere near as special without Joe.

[polamalubeast]

This is not a put down on Brown, but a put down on the hype, he is nowhere near this special without Ben.

That being said, Jerry Rice is nowhere near as special without Joe.

I think AB can produce with a lot of QB in this league.I mean, Brown had 124 yards in KC with Landry Jones.This is sure that its production would not be the same without Ben, but he is still elite

Not Judge Antonio Brown with his time with Vick since Vick was so BAD.

[Count Steeler]

I prefer to look at tandems, not just 1 side of the coin when you look at WRs.

Same as RBs. Is Emmit Smith anywhere near those numbers without the dominating O Line that the Cowboys had?

I don't mean to diminish them, but put it in proper context and share the credit, because he ain't catching what ain't thrown.

What you can look at is YAC. Once the WRs have the ball, what do they do with it. In that arena, I think Brown is one of the best. Speed, quickness, jukes and jives. He has it all.

[86WARD]

Shut down stud Aqib Talib?

[86WARD]

What's there to say about Brown? If you don't think he's the best WR in the NFL, you're either blind or just a hater. There's nothing more you can say to how good Brown is...he's ridiculous. Just imagine the numbers he'd be putting up if he didn't "miss" those games when Vick was "QBing".

[polamalubeast]

[Dissolv]

Have to agree with 86WARD. Brown is the real deal. The fact that he plays a team sport that relies on other team members to be better than....well Michael Vick....does not somehow diminish his individual skill just because other team mates fail to perform on their end. Similarly if he played on an 80's/90's era "run-first, run-last" Steelers Offense, he wouldn't have close the numbers he has now. But he would still be the stud he is. An underutilized stud, sure, but a stud none the less.


Dissolv

[katmandu]

Shut down stud Aqib Talib?

IIRC, Brown got BOTH of his TDs off Chris Harris which has NOT given up a TD in over 2 years!

[polamalubeast]

Antonio Brown's numbers would be more insane if he played a full season with Ben Roethlisberger, who missed four games. The two average about 9.9 catches and 135 yards per game this season - that's 158 catches and 2,160 over 16 games. Unfair.


http://espn.go.com/espn/now?nowId=21...082298705460-4

[hawaiiansteeler]

This is not a put down on Brown, but a put down on the hype, he is nowhere near this special without Ben.

i agree, AB is not unstoppable at all.

just put Mike Vick at QB and watch what happens...

[polamalubeast]

[HollywoodSteel]

i agree, AB is not unstoppable at all.

just put Mike Vick at QB and watch what happens...

And he's stoppable if you break his leg, but we're comparing him to Rice and every other WR, accounting for variables like that. If you don't throw to him there's not much he can do but draw coverage away from someone else. Vick was most likely scared to throw to him because AB was surrounded by defenders at all time so he doesn't look open when he is. AB's routes are precise so it's as easy at it can get for a QB as long as that QB has the timing and precision down as well. Give Vick a year to practice with AB, AB would make Vick look way better than he is. But Vick is still gonna miss more often than Ben so AB's numbers would suffer accordingly. The point is AB is probably the best WR in the NFL, and given enough time and good QB play, and AB could very well become the best ever.