After last night's Monday Night Football victory, Ben Roethlisberger is now 17-1 in his career while having a true #1 wide receiver playing a signficant role on his team.
In his rookie year, Roethlisberger was 15-1 with Plaxico Burress. In 2012, Roethlisberger and Burress re-united for one game and won. And last night the dimwitted Steelers top brass finally activated Martavis Bryant, a very talented rookie from Clemson. I am a Steeler fan and one of the few Steeler fans who actually has any comprehension of or appreciation of the receiver position. I have been checking the inactive list an hour and a half before every game, only to see Martavis listed as inactive during the first 6 weeks. This almost defied belief as a matter of football logic, but it did make sense if you understand how awful the Steelers have been in choosing wide receiver talent in the past decade.
In Martavis Bryant (Dez's cousin), they finally have a receiver who can get open on conventional routes and give Roethlisberger some margin for error. Not every pass he throws to Bryant has to be perfect, and he can put the ball in the air and let him go and make a play. He also doesn't have to pumpfake as much and buy as much time to find ways to get his receivers open.
It was no surprise at all to see the Steelers go on a torrid run after Bryant's touchdown catch yesterday. I had been waiting almost 10 years to see that happen, and it showed just how much of a mistake it was for the Steelers to let Burress go in early 2005 as they did.
If the Steelers continue to involve Bryant as much as they did last night, him and Roethlisberger are going to build more chemistry and establish better timing, and when that happens, they are going to be a dynamic combination. Assuming that Roethlisberger and Bryant stay healthy the rest of the season, I expect the Steelers to now finish 12-4 or 13-3.
As happens every year, everyone is tooting Peyton Manning's horn in the regular season, setting him up for yet another "shocking" playoff loss. That said, Denver's defense is better this year because the secondary is much better with Ward and Talib. I would still expect the Steelers, with an involved Bryant, to beat them in the playoffs anyway since Roethlisberger is a better quarterback than Manning. He has had far less talent around him on offense, he has played 6 less seasons, and he still has more Super Bowls than Manning.
In his rookie year, Roethlisberger was 15-1 with Plaxico Burress. In 2012, Roethlisberger and Burress re-united for one game and won. And last night the dimwitted Steelers top brass finally activated Martavis Bryant, a very talented rookie from Clemson. I am a Steeler fan and one of the few Steeler fans who actually has any comprehension of or appreciation of the receiver position. I have been checking the inactive list an hour and a half before every game, only to see Martavis listed as inactive during the first 6 weeks. This almost defied belief as a matter of football logic, but it did make sense if you understand how awful the Steelers have been in choosing wide receiver talent in the past decade.
In Martavis Bryant (Dez's cousin), they finally have a receiver who can get open on conventional routes and give Roethlisberger some margin for error. Not every pass he throws to Bryant has to be perfect, and he can put the ball in the air and let him go and make a play. He also doesn't have to pumpfake as much and buy as much time to find ways to get his receivers open.
It was no surprise at all to see the Steelers go on a torrid run after Bryant's touchdown catch yesterday. I had been waiting almost 10 years to see that happen, and it showed just how much of a mistake it was for the Steelers to let Burress go in early 2005 as they did.
If the Steelers continue to involve Bryant as much as they did last night, him and Roethlisberger are going to build more chemistry and establish better timing, and when that happens, they are going to be a dynamic combination. Assuming that Roethlisberger and Bryant stay healthy the rest of the season, I expect the Steelers to now finish 12-4 or 13-3.
As happens every year, everyone is tooting Peyton Manning's horn in the regular season, setting him up for yet another "shocking" playoff loss. That said, Denver's defense is better this year because the secondary is much better with Ward and Talib. I would still expect the Steelers, with an involved Bryant, to beat them in the playoffs anyway since Roethlisberger is a better quarterback than Manning. He has had far less talent around him on offense, he has played 6 less seasons, and he still has more Super Bowls than Manning.
