Brown makes sure Steelers don't miss Wallace

Source: Pittsburgh Post-GazetteOct.迷你倉 17--For all the player defections and all the problems that led to their 1-4 start this season, one player the Steelers do not miss is wide receiver Mike Wallace.Not the way Antonio Brown is playing, they do not.Brown not only is back from what was, for him, a disappointing 2012 season, he leads the AFC in receiving yards per game and has become so important to the Steelers they have devised new ways to deploy him.His performance has blown away the one Wallace has displayed in Miami after the Dolphins acquired him for $60 million over five years.Brown leads the AFC with an average of 99.6 yards receiving and 8.3 receptions per game. He has 41 catches for 498 yards and two touchdowns.Wallace? He's not exactly lighting things up for the Dolphins with 22 receptions for 281 yards and one touchdown after leaving the Steelers as a free agent this year. In the meantime, the Steelers are trying to spring Brown into secondaries any way they can."We're moving him around, [throwing] short passes and long passes," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "They're doubling him. They're doing a lot of different things. It's a credit to him and the work that he's putting in to get open and to other guys. He's not open if [tight end] Heath Miller isn't creating some issues and getting attention."Miller led the Steelers with 71 receptions in 2012, and they elected him as their MVP. Brown was MVP in 2011, when he had 1,108 yards receiving. But with Miller and Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery surrounding him in 2012, he dropped off to 787 yards, although he also missed three games.That drop-off seemed about to continue when Brown had five catches for 71 yards in the opener and caught just two passes for 22 yards in the first half in the second game in Cincinnati. He approached coordinator Todd Haley and expressed his unhappiness over not seeing the ball more.Since then, he has been on fire. He averaged six receptions for 61.3 yards through the first two games. Over the past three, he has averaged 113.3 yards and nearly 10 catches a game."I just think he gave me more opportunities and put me in position to be successful," Brown said. "Coach Haley is doing a good job of mixing up the formations, getting me inside, moving me a little bit in the slot so guys can't get a bead on me. Those are things we're going to have to do."Roethlisberger predicted the other day that things might open up for others because defenses will pay more attention to Brown as his numbers thrive. Brown listed some of what defenses have done to try to thwart him:"Usually, they assign a guy to press me and a guy to help over top," he said, explaining it as a true double-team where the corner stays with him the whole way, or tries to. "They try to use their hand, strike me, try to get me out of my routes."Little of it has worked, and Brown continues his march toward what would be Steelers records for receiving yards and receptions.Talk about a good dayDefensive end Cameron Heyward had an even better game statistically in the first starting assignment of his three-year career. His coaches credited him with six quarterback hurries, and he now leads the team in that category with 15. Brett Keisel has 13.Keisel led the team in quarterback pressures or hurries each of the past three seasons."Between having good blitzes and being at the right spot at the right time, it just worked out that way. I'd rather have sommini storage sacks."Bell tough on himselfLe'Veon Bell did not agree with his coach's assessment of his play Sunday after Mike Tomlin used the word "great" to describe his performance, which included 34 yards rushing on 16 carries. Bell said he would give himself a D-plus."There's a lot I can improve," the rookie running back said after playing just two games. "I'm hard critiquing myself. I know the things I can do. I don't feel like I did everything I'm able to do."Bell acknowledged his timing may be off because of all the games and practices he missed because separate knee and foot injuries since training camp."No, it's not where I want it to be. The more reps I get as a player, I'm going to keep getting better. It's a long season. I still have a lot of time to get myself together."Spence back on fieldLinebacker Sean Spence donned pads and joined his teammates in practice for the first time since that terrible Aug. 30, 2012 preseason game at Heinz Field when it looked as though his career ended before it could really start."We'll take it day by day," said Spence, who came off the physically-unable-to-perform list. "I'm not going to try to look into the future, I just want to master each day."Spence looked like a rookie with a good future, impressing everyone through the 2012 preseason after the Steelers drafted him in the third round from Miami. But, in that fourth preseason game, his left knee was damaged nearly beyond repair. Torn were the anterior collateral and lateral collateral ligaments, the kneecap was dislocated and, most importantly, the peroneal nerve that helps control movement down to the foot was damaged.The nerve could not be repaired; they had to hope it would heal itself. So far, so good, said Spence, who believes in pulling off the miracle that linebackers coach Keith Butler said would allow him to play again."I do. But we'll see. I still have a couple more steps to make."The Steelers have three weeks to observe him in practice before NFL rules force them to decide to keep him on the 53-man roster, put him on injured reserve for the rest of the season or waive him.Family reunionIt's going to be interesting Sunday for the Gradkowski family of Dormont. Son Bruce is the backup quarterback for the Steelers and his younger brother, Gino, starts at center for the Baltimore Ravens."It's pretty cool," Bruce said. "It's a blessing to have a brother in the NFL and for both of us to be in the NFL. And the opportunity for our family to come together to watch our game against one another is special."OK, but who do they root for."The Steelers!" Bruce said. "I mean, they have to. You know, your parents have to root for both sides. But all my cousins and my wife, they'll be wearing that black and gold. They're true fans back here."Gino Gradkowski, the Ravens' fourth-round pick from Delaware, earned a Super Bowl ring as a rookie, when he backed up Pro Bowl center Matt Birk. He beat out fellow Pittsburgh native A.Q. Shipley to start this year after Birk retired."I'm proud of him," big brother said, but added that "No holds barred this weekend, the older brother needs to take this match, for sure. It's exciting. This rivalry is enough with Baltimore and Pittsburgh, now it brings an extra special something knowing Gino is on the other side. We have to get this one."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at .post-gazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存