Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans are panicking after the team’s 0-1-1 start. Considering the fact that I had to remind myself they weren’t 0-2 and rather 0-1-1, it’s understandable. After all, failing to defeat the Cleveland Browns has thrown a lot of people off. So seeing a tweet indicating that Antonio Brown basically owes a good portion of his money and performance to Ben Roethlisberger can be easily chalked up to concern going a bit over the top. But then something even stranger happens. Yep, Brown actually responds to the tweet. And what he said can’t help but get you thinking.
Trade me let’s find out.
First thing’s first- Brown has been very, very fortunate to have Roethlisberger throwing to him throughout his career. Then again, Jerry Rice was very fortunate to have Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing to him. Michael Irvin was quite lucky to have Troy Aikman slinging it to him. Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were pretty lucky to have Terry Bradshaw chucking balls downfield to them too.
You get the point, I’m sure.
But perhaps what should never, ever be forgotten is that Roethlisberger- and all Pittsburgh fans for that matter- have been quite lucky to have Brown. Remember this catch against the Green Bay Packers last season? How many receivers in the history of the game could make that one? Remember that grab on the big stage against the Jackonsville Jaguars in the playoffs? Same deal. The bottom line is that Brown is already one of the greatest wide receivers to ever put pads on.
Fact is that Brown has caught passes for over 1,000 yards in six-of-the-eight seasons he’s been in the NFL, and caught over 100 balls in five of those seasons. Last year he managed 1,533 yards receiving, the second most of his career. Roethlisberger has thrown the ball to a lot of wide receivers during his time in the NFL, including the great Hines Ward. Fact is that Ward never caught over 100 balls from him in a season (even if the intangibles were admittedly what made Ward great). None of the other receivers that Roethlisberger has thrown to have ever even come close to the consistent production of the hard-working Brown.
In other words, both Roethlisberger and Brown have been lucky to work with each other. This has hardly been one-sided.
So although I have no idea why Brown decided to respond to a naysayer on Twitter, what I do know is that Pittsburgh would not be better off without him. Not at all. Barring a serious change in circumstance, trading him would be one of the worst moves in team history. So taking him up on that dare (of sorts) won’t be happening.
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