Just who’s in charge of the Pittsburgh Stillers?
Commentary by PalmerSucks
November 29, 2015
“Who’s the coach? Ben or Tomlin?” This was an actual text I received recently.
Dumb question, right? We all know who runs the Pittsburgh Stillers.
Or do we?
Below are two real answers given to the question “are you OK with Antonio Brown’s ‘hey look at me!’ flip?” performed after scoring against Cleveland. One answer was courtesy of the head coach, the other from the team’s starting quarterback. You tell me who said what.
“I am. Judge it.”
“Bag it… I said listen, if you get hurt was it worth it?”
So one guy’s cool with it, and even tosses in a glib little joke to make the point. The other guy, not so much. Of course, the guy that isn’t too happy with Brown is his head coach, right?
No, turns out the guy who’s all uptight about this is his quarterback. He’s the one telling Brown not to do it again. He’s the one taking all the fun out of things. Meanwhile, the dude you thought would take that role doesn’t seem to have a problem here.
I once wrote a commentary comparing Coach to a substitute teacher. Once again, the discipline issue rears its ugly head. Maybe Coach needs to reevaluate things, and decide if he wants to lead the team or be a really cool teammate. You hate that “player’s coach” name, right Mike? Here’s your shot to be just “coach.”
That is before your superstar receiver joins the ranks of the fools out there who’ve gotten hurt doing their celebration things.
I’ve said it before. This team rides on whatever play Ben pulls out of his butt to save the day. The coaching staff has mainly been there not to screw things up.
But sometimes they’ve got to lead. Otherwise they’re just a bunch of pom-pom wavers with some really bad clock-management skills.
Meanwhile, Brown’s counterpart at wide receiver, Martavis Bryant recently had this to say: “I rank myself No. 1. I don’t rank myself behind anyone. Not even A.B. He’s my teammate, but I consider myself better. You can’t go in with that mindset and think someone is better than you.”
Bryant’s got a lot of nerve comparing himself to the great A.B. And that’s why I love the comment. Show me a big-time receiving duo, and I’ll show you a pair of cutthroat competitors. The greatest pair, Swann and Stallworth, so couldn’t stand being outdone by the other that their QB used the rivalry to play mind games with them. Each, no doubt, considered himself the best.
It’s competition that breeds excellence. It’s Bryant’s job to want to be the best, then go out and prove it. Especially if it makes the guy on the other side jealous.
Where do you think AB got the idea to do that flip, anyway?
Brown is Brown, but it’s actually Bryant who leads the team in per-catch average, racking up 13 TDs in just 15 games. That’s something not even AB84 has done. So he’s not completely out of line. Personally, I’m all for him opening his mouth -- provided he backs it up on the field.
GAME PREVIEW: Russell Wilson is 6-0 against visiting AFC teams, a streak the Stillers will look to stop when they visit Seattle’s noise bowl this Sunday. That task will be made easier if versatile ‘Hawks LB Bruce Irvin can’t go, which seems likely. On the further positive side, Matt Spaeth is listed as questionable.
I think this the game key lies in how Seattle decides to cover Antonio Brown, who’s exactly the kind of smaller, quicker receiver that gives Richard Sherman fits. I expect Seattle to put Sherman on Bryant and double up Brown, which should open things up for Miller and the running game. Trying to cover Brown with Sherman is advantage Stillers, so let’s see how things play out. The Seattle defense isn’t the same unit it used to be, and the Stillers – if they’re on – will constitute the most explosive offense they’ll face all year.