Mike Wilkening from Pro Football Weekly recently caught up with Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to talk about his goals for 2011 and get an update on his broken right foot he suffered during Super Bowl XLV. We reported a while ago that Sanders had two surgeries and it ends up that Sanders has had both feet operated on instead of two surgeries on his right foot.
Sanders told Wilkening that his right foot is healed and that his left foot is on pace to be healed by late June. Sanders also said that he worked out recently with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a few other teammates and did so with his left foot still in a boot. Sanders explained he did so to show his dedication to the team, but now reports that he is out of the boot and will be ready to go whenever the lockout ends.
As far as his goals for 2011, Sanders told Wilkening he wants to improve his YAC (yards after catch) as he feels he missed some opportunities to create bigger plays during his rookie season. Sanders contributed 28 regular season catches as a rookie for 376 yards and 2 touchdowns and also caught 7 passes for 91 yards during the playoffs for the Steelers. He successfully unseated veteran Antwaan Randle El as the teams number three receiver during the second half of the season and looked very polished in his route running, in-game recognition and blocking. Sanders is expected to contribute greatly in his second season as his role in the offense is surely to expand.
