Ok, so this headline is pretty obvious. The answer: because it’s Antonio Brown.
We all know Brown is the best in the business. But it’s always nice to hear why, especially in a news cycle that hasn’t been totally kind to the Pittsburgh Steelers this week.
Brown is this team’s X receiver. Typically, those are the burners. The triangle number kids. Height. Weight. Speed. That’s not Brown. But it hasn’t stopped him just like no cornerback has been able to stop him.
Speaking to reporters today, Ben Roethlisberger talked about what makes Brown such a big threat on the outside and specifically, the sidelines.
“You know you can miss wider than usual,” he told the media. We always say, it’s our guys ball or it’s nobody’s. WIth AB, you an throw it a little bit wider than usual because he’s always going to find a way to get a toe-tap in. Anytime a ball is caught on the sideline and the official says no, I’m always quick to say let’s think about challenging this because I’ve never seen anybody better on the sideline.”
Brown’s body control is the best in the league, highlighted by several catches shown in the linked article on Steelers.com. The best receiver is an open one and no one in the NFL is better at getting open than Antonio Brown.
He’ll see one of his toughest tests right off the bat, squaring off against Washington’s Josh Norman. For Roethilsberger, and the rest of the world watching, it’s a five-star showdown.
“AB is one of the best in the business. So is Josh. So I think it’s a primetime matchup. I think everyone will tune in to see the matchup. I think it’ll come down to is AB’s quarterback good enough to get him the ball when he needs to.
He did, however, offer one word of caution.
“I think the big thing for both of them is that they’ll try and play mind games with each other. I’ll take to my guy and make sure he keeps a level head and just plays football.”
Norman’s trash talk is nearly as famous as his play. It’s been well-documented he goes into “character” each week, playing the role of a movie icon to psyche out his opponent – Captain America, Optimus Prime, and Batman to name a few. He’s the first cornerback method actor.
None of this is likely to bother Brown but it’ll make the matchup all the more interesting.
