Despite being starter, Burns still learning
Steelers cornerback Artie Burns made his first NFL start Sunday at Baltimore. Burns was Pittsburgh’s first-round draft pick in the offseason.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was impressed with the play of cornerback Artie Burns, left, shown defending Baltimore receiver Steve Smith, in his first start.
PITTSBURGH – Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace called the Steelers’ decision to put rookie cornerback Artie Burns on him man-to-man with little safety help “disrespectful.”
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown also didn’t care for the decision, which resulted in a 95-yard touchdown pass – the Ravens’ lone offensive touchdown – to Wallace last Sunday in Pittsburgh’s 21-14 loss in Baltimore.
“He has a lot of confidence and the team has a lot of confidence in him, obviously,” Brown said of Burns. “We left him in one-on-one coverage with a single-high safety on the other side of the field. That’s not putting him in the best position, leaving him one-on-one with an NFL receiver.”
But the Steelers (4-4) are developing that kind of trust in Burns, their top pick in this year’s draft.
Burns made his first career start Sunday, replacing William Gay, who was moved to the slot cornerback position.
Brown was only partly right about what was supposed to happen on the play. Burns was expected to jam Wallace at the line of scrimmage to slow his release. Instead, Wallace beat the rookie’s attempt to knock him off his route, giving him a free release and making an easy throw for quarterback Joe Flacco on a quick slant.
From there, once Wallace fought off a tackle attempt by safety Mike Mitchell, the speedster was off to the races.
“Yeah,” said Burns when asked if he should have gotten a jam on Wallace. “We were in man and I took a gamble. I hurt my team on a 95-yarder.
“I could have done numerous things except what I did on that play. I could have done anything except that.”
That’s all part of the learning process for Burns, who earlier in the game had his first career interception.
In an effort to speed up the learning process for Burns, the Steelers matched him early and often in training camp against Brown, one of the league’s top receivers. It caused a lot of painful experiences for the rookie, but it also helped excellerate his learning curve.
“When you come into this league as a rookie, trying to compete with guys who have been around six or seven years, you’re going to get beat,” Brown said. “That’s what I told him, you’ve got to learn from it. You’ve got to continue to grow because one day, you’re going to be that guy who’s been here six or seven years and you’re going to have to tell a rookie receiver that it’s going to be alright.”
Burns will face another tall challenge this week when the Steelers host the Dallas Cowboys (7-1) and talented receiver Dez Bryant.
Bryant, like Brown, is in the conversation when people talk about the best wide receivers in the game and the Steelers are hopeful all the work Burns has done against Brown pays off.
At 6-2 and 220 pounds, Bryant offers a different kind of challenge than the 5-10, 190-pound Brown.
“He’s a big receiver, but A.B. plays a lot bigger than he is,” said Burns.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the change to Burns was made with an eye to what the team wanted to do defensively against the Ravens, particularly blitzing more than they had earlier this season. More blitzing can leave the cornerbacks in man-to-man situations.
Though Tomlin wasn’t pleased with the outcome on the 95-yard touchdown, he was otherwise pleased with the play of Burns, who had four tackles, including one for a loss, and two pass defenses.
“He’s adept at playing on the line of scrimmage. We wanted to do that in that game,” said Tomlin. “We felt like it gave us a leg up. We felt like his style of play allowed us to do what we needed to do in terms of minimizing some of the running lanes. He did a solid job.
“We’ll look and see what the tipping points are, the determining factors are this week for us in terms of how much he plays.”
Burns is expected to start again against the Cowboys in a game the Steelers enter with a three-game losing streak.
Burns’ interception was the first by a Steelers defensive back this season and he expects to have a lot more by the time he’s finished his career.
“You’re never ready until you go out there and do it. I feel like I did pretty good,” Burns said. “I can always get better on some things I did during the game. I can play even better.
“AB, he helped me a lot just going against him every day. He’s the best guy I’ve gone against so far. There’s nobody that can compare.”
Safety Jordan Dangerfield (groin), receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot), center Maurkice Pouncey (thumb) and running back DeAngelo Williams (knee) did not practice Wednesday. Wide receiver Sammie Coates (finger) was limited. … Linebacker Bud Dupree (groin) was activated off injured reserve to practice Wednesday. The Steelers have 21 days to decide whether to place him on the active roster or keep him on injured reserve. … The NFL announced that the Steelers’ game Nov. 20 in Cleveland will remain at 1 p.m.