Despite all the negative things that have been said and written about Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown over the course of the last several weeks, one of his former teammates showered him with praise during a recent interview on radio row in Houston.
During his talk with Jim Rome, former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor was asked to name the one player who was the toughest for him to cover during practice over the course of his career.
“I say Antonio Brown before Antonio Brown was Antonio Brown was the toughest cover for me, period. Period,” Taylor said.
Taylor was then asked if Brown is the toughest player he’s ever covered during his 12 seasons in the league with Pittsburgh.
“Antonio Brown before he was Antonio Brown – going against him in practice made my game on Sunday easy,” Taylor said. “He’s a precise route runner. He’s probably the most elusive young receiver right now. He gets in and out of breaks faster than anybody and even when you’re on him, he’s catching the ball.
“So, when you have a 10-yard curl route, instead of drifting on that route, he’s coming back to the ball. So, when he has that 18-yard come-back on the sideline, instead of drifting, he’s coming back to the ball. He can be covered, he’s still going to catch the ball.”
Taylor said that Brown heightened his own coverage skills during the time he practiced against him in Pittsburgh and it helped him have clean feet as a result.
“So, when I say, ‘my feet clean’, that means I’m smooth in and out of my transition,” Taylor said. “So, he made my feet clean.”
That’s high praise for Brown and I don’t think Taylor said what he said just because they’re former teammates. While Brown’s no longer helping Taylor keep his feet clean, he has no moved on to help Steelers cornerback Artie Burns shine his up.
Now that Burns has a full season in the NFL under his belt, it should be interesting to see how he fares against Brown during team practices moving forward. Covering the best wide receiver in the league every day during practice can’t hurt, right? Just think how much cleaner Burns’ feet are likely to get.
.@Ike_SwagginU told @jimrome covering @AntonioBrown in practice during the week made Sunday easy. pic.twitter.com/qdnNjlKjcn
— CBS Sports Radio (@CBSSportsRadio) February 3, 2017
