Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was a guest Tuesday morning on 93.7 The Fan and during the interview, he was asked if there were more than a few guys who didn\’t take last season seriously.
“I think a lot of guys took it seriously, but I don\’t think that the focus was just there to win ball games,” said Brown. “I think we had a lot of situations to where guys focus was with other places other than where it was at. So I just think that we need to make sure that all guys are locked in where they\’re at and what we\’re doing at that point and time.”
Brown was then asked what things those other players were focused on instead of winning ball games.
“I mean different guys got different scenarios and different worries,” said Brown. “Guys worried about contracts – are they going to be here. Some guys worrying about playing time. This year we just need to focus all-in on the task, the task at hand. The walk-through that\’s right now The practice that\’s right now We got to take that approach with everything we do. We just have to focus on what\’s important right now.”
Brown\’s remarks on not surprising and they match the remarks made by former Steelers safety Will Allen, who signed with the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, during his interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio a few weeks ago.
While neither player pointed a finger, it is obvious that wide receiver Mike Wallace could indeed be one player whom they both were referring to. Running back Rashard Mendenhall, who has since signed with the Arizona Cardinals, quite certainly could be another player who had his focus elsewhere.
I admire Brown trying to take more of a leadership role this offseason, but I really wish that he would back off of all the interviews that he has been doing recently. He is way on down the list of players on offense that should be doing the talking right now with only three seasons under his belt. If I were him, I would leave the offseason interviews to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has been nothing short of exceptional in his interviews as of late. He is the leader of the offense, not Brown.
Talk, as we all know, is cheap anyway. Leading by example, however, is another thing, and that is exactly what Brown should be doing right now.
As far as fellow wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders goes, Brown admitted that he didn\’t think the Steelers would match the one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet that he signed with the New England Patriots, but he is glad that they did.
“It was a great decision by the team to bring him (Sanders) back and keep an experienced guy around,” Brown said.
