What can Brown do for you?
LATROBE – The Steelers don’t give out an MVP award for their training camp, saving that honor for the end of the regular season.
But if they handed one out for the 2017 training camp, it just might go to a player who didn’t play in their preseason opener and won’t do so again Sunday when the team hosts the Atlanta Falcons at Heinz Field.
That would be wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Brown is in great shape and working hard has become a given during his time with the Steelers. But the challenge he presents to Pittsburgh’s defense on a daily basis just might be Brown’s most important contribution to the team’s success this season.
Whether it was working against Artie Burns, Ross Cockrell or Coty Sensabaugh, all of whom were tasked with following Brown during this year’s camp, it’s the hard work from Brown that lifts the play of those around him.
If you don’t come to practice hard on a daily basis against Brown, you’re going to have a long day. And he’s going to let you know about it every step of the way.
“I’ve played against a lot of great players in the past, that doesn’t bother me at all,” said Burns, who has squared off against Brown when healthy throughout the offseason and in training camp.
“It can only make you better.”
After getting a four-year, $68-million contract extension in the offseason, some might think Brown would have taken a break from his legendary maniacal workouts.
But, if anything, Brown worked harder this offseason to show he deserved that extension.
He came into this training camp noticeably faster than before, something he said he spent the offseason trying to improve.
“The great thing about AB, when the season ends, he comes to you and asks what he needs to do to get better,” said offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “He chose to work on his speed. That wasn’t one of the things we talked about because I haven’t seen that as a limitation for him.
“He looks, each and every year that I’ve been here, better than he has the year before. When you’re talking about somebody that’s played at the level he has, that’s exciting stuff. The guy, there is no ceiling for him. Until you see him flatten out and stay the same, there just isn’t, because he’s done nothing but get better.”
Pittsburgh’s defensive backs have gotten a first-hand look at that in training camp.
The good news is that they have made some plays on occasion against a player who has 481 receptions in the past four seasons, the most in a four-year span in NFL history. And if they can do it against Brown, working against opposing receivers should be easier.
“Artie and 84, they’ve got a war going on every day,” said defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “I like to see that, though. It makes them both better.”
To that point, Burns has held his own against Brown for the most part. Cockrell and Sensabaugh both had their moments, but Brown had a much easier time getting open against them.
That’s all part of the process, according to Butler.
“If you look at it, when he’s covering 84 with a pass rush, see what the odds are then,” Butler said. “When there’s not a pass rush, man (Brown) should win every time, even 7-on-7s. The offense likes to say, ‘We won that one.’ Of course you did. I would like to see what the ratio is when (Burns is) covering 84 bump and run with a pass rush.”
Regardless of who wins, the competition is making both sides better, which is what really matters.
“He seems to have added a strength element to his game that’s really useful,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “He’s very combative at the release (of his routes) and so forth. I know he provides a great example with his demeanor and the work ethic he brings.”
It’s something Brown learned early in his career when head coach Mike Tomlin pitted him against Ike Taylor on a regular basis in training camp.
The two battled – literally at one point – throughout camp in 2012, Haley’s first as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.
Brown and Taylor, who are friends off the field, got so heated that they fought in the end zone at one point late in that training camp on family day, when the players all had their loved ones in attendance on the sidelines.
“Since we’ve been here, it’s probably AB and Ike Taylor going at it on family day,” Haley said of his favorite memories of training camp since joining the Steelers. “It’s one we still talk about a bunch.”
That competitiveness and will to get better is apparent every day. Brown never takes a day off unless something is seriously wrong. In this training camp, the only time he missed practice was to witness the birth of a son.
“He’s unique and special. There’s no doubt about it,” Haley said. “And the work ethic is real. A lot of people talk about it, but you see it first hand with him. It’s paying dividends for him and us.”
Rain forced the Steelers to move their final open practice of training camp to Latrobe High School’s turf field Friday. … In addition to Brown, Tomlin said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not play Sunday against the Falcons. … Sitting out practice Friday were Roethlisberger, guard Ramon Foster, receiver JuJu Smith-Shuster, safety Mike Mitchell and linebacker Keion Adams. … Linebacker Ryan Shazier returned on a limited basis after missing most of the past two weeks with a hamstring injury but is not expected to play against Atlanta. … Tomlin said rookie Josh Dobbs will start the game against the Falcons.