Did you see the comments made by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley to wide receiver Martavis Bryant during Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals? If not, the whole video is certainly worth watching just for that.
“I’ve never seen anyone with what you have, dude I’m telling you,” Haley told Bryant.
Hyperbole? Well, maybe just a little, but there’s no denying that Bryant has the makings to be another Randy Moss if he can stay clear of future suspensions.
During his Thursday session with the local media, Haley was asked to talk about what it is that makes Bryant so hard to defend.
“He is big and he’s fast. He’s really fast. He gets to speed fast. Those are not always characteristics you see that go together,” said Haley of Bryant. “A lot of times, you get big receivers like him and they are more built to speed, long speed, so to speak. This is a guy after a couple of steps he’s at full speed. His full speed is as fast as anyone. And he can catch. It’s a deadly combination.”
That deadly combination was on display Sunday as Bryant scored from 88 yards out late in the fourth quarter after catching a short pass from quarterback Landry Jones over the middle. It was Bryant’s second score of the game and his 2015 debut ended with him registering 6 catches for 137 yards.
Bryant’s return from his four-game suspension couldn’t have come at a better time being as starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been sidelined with a left MCL sprain. Once Jones entered the game Sunday against the Cardinals, he and Bryant together took the contest over and it resulted in one of the more surprising Steeler wins in recent memory.
This coming Sunday on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jones might make his first career start so it’s good that both he and Bryant have a had a full week of practice together to further sharpen their chemistry with one another. While the Chiefs defense has been good against the run so far this season, they’re currently ranked in the bottom third of the league when it comes to passing yards per play and passing yards per game allowed. Additionally, the Chiefs defense has already given up 17 passing plays of 20 yards or more in their first six games of the season.
While the Steelers offense might be centered mostly around the run on Sunday against the Chiefs, regardless of who starts at quarterback, you can bet that Bryant will be given several opportunities to stretch the field deep in addition to being allowed opportunities to make plays with his legs after the catch. In other words, it won’t be surprising if Bryant has a game this week similar to the one that he had against the Cardinals.
Dude, I’m telling you, it’s hard not to get excited about what the rest of the 2015 season holds for Bryant.
