Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin loves to pit guys against each other throughout training camp, creating major competition on both sides of the football.
In 2018 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, he did just that with star receiver Antonio Brown and standout cornerback Joe Haden. In a goal line drill in a 1-on-1 setting pitting wide receiver against cornerback, Tomlin created a tense moment, which unfortunately for Haden led to a viral moment that will live for a long, long time.
In the 1-on-1 situation, Brown torched Haden with a series of moves, leading to a touchdown in the drill.
For Haden, who appeared on the latest episode of “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” and All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, he couldn’t believe how many routes Brown ran on one play to win, and knows that it would have never happened in a game in that setting.
Nevertheless, he still recalled the moment and joked about it all these years later.
“Show the clip. I couldn’t even line up first, he hit me with the [release],” Haden recalled of the viral play, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “First of all, this is a red zone [drill]. Where’s the pressure? Where’s Cam Heyward? Tuitt? I try to get my head — oh, miss. Then he runs a comeback, and I slipped it! And then he…how many routes?”
The route from Brown was spectacular. That’s who he was as a receiver. He was an exceptional route runner, and he made even the best cornerbacks look incredibly silly in space, even a guy like Haden.
Of course, the drill was designed to give the receiver the advantage. Brown took that advantage, though, and tripled it, hitting Haden with a great release off the line and then running two different routes within five yards. This led to the wide-open score, leaving Haden grasping at air.
Going back to this 2018 slow-motion clip that Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan put together, just watch Brown’s footwork.
It’s a thing of beauty.
Of course, at the end of the 2018 season, it all came crashing down for Brown in Pittsburgh. He ultimately forced his way out after a meltdown in practice and was never truly the same after that. Though he went on to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers near the end of his career, he spiraled out of control in the NFL and has been a mess off the field as of late, too.
But that clip will live on, and Haden will always remember it, even if he was on the wrong side of it.
