FOXBORO -- Antonio Brown isn’t built like Megatron, Larry Fitzgerald or even Dez Bryant, but there was no more productive wide receiver in the NFL last year than the Steelers premier pass catcher. 129 receptions, nearly 1,700 yards and 13 touchdowns. Even in a league that’s made playing in the secondary damn near impossible, that’s some kind of year.
Is it possible for Brown to be even more involved in Pittsburgh’s offense on Thursday night, especially as they deal with the suspensions of star tailback Le’Veon Bell and number-two wideout Martavis Bryant?
“Could they get him the ball more?” questioned a bemused Bill Belichick. “I guess they could. But they get it to him a lot. He's definitely a go-to guy in the passing game, not just in terms of just making plays and {Ben} Roethlisberger going to him, but in terms of scheme, and plays that are designed to -- if not get him the ball -- at least get him a look. Then if the defense takes him away, they can go somewhere else, but at least get him a look at it.”
Brown measures at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, but he plays bigger than that. You see that in his ability to go up and catch the ball at its highest point. While that’s a big deal, Belichick notes it’s Brown’s feet that are the initial difference maker.
“He's got really good quickness so he's got the ability to get separation, even when guys are close to him, his one-step or two-step quickness to get away," Belichick said. "And he's got really good hands, so he doesn't need a lot of separation.”
But with Brown, it goes beyond that. He’s one of those receivers with that innate ability to get open, processing information quickly both pre-snap and as he gets off the line of scrimmage.
“Even if you're in a good leverage position and you have him covered or you have him covered downfield, he's really smart enough to understand what the coverage is, how the coverage leverage works and be able to work off of it,” said defensive coordinator Matt Patricia in a conference call earlier in the week.
New England Patriots
Belichick echoed those thoughts Monday morning.
“He's a good technique route-runner, so he does a really good job of making routes look the same that are different,” he said “Making the inside route and the outside look the same or the over and the corner route look the same. Things like that. His releases are good. He does a good job of at the line of scrimmage of getting into his route and attacking the defense quickly.”
Todd Haley, the Steelers' offensive coordinator, has been smart enough to move Brown across the formation. He’ll line up anywhere, and that’s an added headache for Patricia’s defense. Do the Pats decide to take their best cover corner in Malcolm Butler and have him shadow Brown all over? Or do they stick to what they’ve done throughout the preseason, leaving Butler on the left side and trust that Bradley Fletcher, Tarell Brown and Logan Ryan can hold their own? The latter seems like a risky proposition because it’s difficult to always get help over the top on someone as quick a Brown is.
As you would imagine, Belichick didn’t tip his hand to which way the Pats were leaning.
“This is not the kind of guy you want to back off, let them throw it to him and then come up and make the tackle. That'll be a challenge,” he said. “On the other hand you don't want him to get over the top of the defense either. He's a huge problem.”
One that must be solved, or the Pats will find themselves in an unwanted shootout against as good a receiver as they’ll face at any point this season.