Steelers wonder what Ladarius Green can do for Antonio Brown
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Ask not what brown can do for you, in Pittsburgh they ask: What can Green do for Brown. That would be Steelers tight end Ladarius Green and wide receiver Antonio Brown, of course.
If Thursday鈥檚 28-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts is any indication, Green can do plenty for Brown and the Steelers.
Green had a modest two catches on Thanksgiving night, but each was the sort of splash play the Steelers envisioned when they signed the tall and talented tight end to a four-year, $20 million contract in free agency in March.
鈥淚 just made a couple plays,鈥� Green said. 鈥淚 messed up a couple times, so I still got a long way to go.鈥�
Still, on a pivotal third-and-13 in the second quarter, Ben Roethlisberger lofted a 32-yard pass to Green down the left sideline and into Indianapolis territory. That play set up Brown鈥檚 33-yard TD catch. In the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger connected with Green on a 35-yard strike down the right sideline to the Colts鈥� 29 to set up Brown鈥檚 22-yard TD catch, his third of the game, establishing a new single-game career high for the two-time All-Pro.
Few players seemed happier to see Green succeed, after sitting out the first eight weeks of the season on the PUP list while recovering from off-season ankle surgery, than Brown.
鈥淚 was excited for him,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a guy that鈥檚 been through a lot. I think a lot of people put a lot of pressure on him, he puts a lot of pressure on himself. So to see him have some success was exciting.鈥�
The Steelers were also excited to see Brown play like the best receiver in the world again.
Brown has had a great season by any other player鈥檚 standards but his own. He entered Sunday as the NFL鈥檚 leader in touchdowns (10) and receptions (82) but was a distant second behind Atlanta鈥檚 Julio Jones in receiving yards (1,105-998).
But on the national stage in prime time on Thanksgiving, Brown came through with five catches for 91 yards against the NFL鈥檚 29th-ranked pass defense that lost cornerback Vontae Davis to injury in the second quarter. Brown鈥檚 91 yards were the most in a Steelers win since his 126 in Week 1 at Washington.
With Sammie Coates unable to catch much of anything with his broken fingers, Darrius Heyward-Bey sidelined with a mid-foot injury and Markus Wheaton lost for the season with a shoulder injury, the Steelers are in desperate need of pass catchers. Green, who had 37 receptions for 429 yards last season for San Diego, would seem to fit the bill.
Getting Green healthy and up to speed has been an arduous process but now that he is, it should peel away some of the exotic defense鈥檚 that Brown has been up against.
鈥淲ell, I think the more and more he gets going the more he鈥檚 going to help us out as a total offense,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚 think he did some positive things (against the Colts) and we have to continue to see that.鈥�
Obviously there鈥檚 been some bumps along the way for Green, including a pair of drops and a miscommunication with Roethlisberger against the Colts. Green played 14 snaps against Indianapolis after playing just 12 and eight in the previous two games. By comparison, starting tight end Jesse James played 161 snaps over that same span.
But there鈥檚 no reason to believe that Green won鈥檛 see more snaps when the Steelers host the New York Giants next week and throughout the rest of the season. If the Steelers are to get where they think they can still go, they will need Green to build upon what he did on Thanksgiving.
鈥淵ou know he鈥檚 just getting acclimated and getting on a moving train and we respect that process,鈥� said coach Mike Tomlin. 鈥淭here鈥檚 one thing to be ready and healthy, there鈥檚 another thing to be football ready, and he鈥檚 been healthy for a number of weeks and we鈥檙e seeing him display some football readiness, so hopefully that continues.鈥�