All the Justification That Was Needed to Dump Bruce Arians

[Buzz]

He wanted to cut Antonio Brown ahead of the 2010 season.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/06/report-bruce-arians-wanted-to-cut-antonio-brown-ahead-of-his-rookie-2010-season/

[The Man of Steel]

Wasn’t 2010 around the same time that Ben was on that “I need a tall receiver” kick?

[Buzz]

Wasn’t 2010 around the same time that Ben was on that “I need a tall receiver” kick?

Could be. Seemed like we were talking about it every year for awhile.

[feltdizz]

Probably cost us a ring. He designed the whole offense around Sanders for the SB and he went down early. If he had faith in AB... who knows how it plays out.

[Slapstick]

Probably cost us a ring. He designed the whole offense around Sanders for the SB and he went down early. If he had faith in AB... who knows how it plays out.

Eh, we lost because of a bad Kemoeatu block leading to a pick 6 defensive TD...we cemented the loss with a Mendenhall fumble...

I don’t know what rookie AB would have done about that...

[feltdizz]

Eh, we lost because of a bad Kemoeatu block leading to a pick 6 defensive TD...we cemented the loss with a Mendenhall fumble...

I don’t know what rookie AB would have done about that...

BA said their whole offense was based around Sanders exploiting the defense.

If he had more faith in AB maybe he could’ve got more reps in practice and filled in for Sanders.

edit: of course we still lose if we played the same game and it played out the exact same way. My point was the game probably plays out differently if we gave AB more reps. Dude was and is a special talent.

first game he played in he had 128 yards on 2 kickoffs and a punt return. Last game of the playoffs he set up the go ahead TD with the 58 yard helmet catch on 3rd and 19.

[Steel Maniac]

Eh, we lost because of a bad Kemoeatu block leading to a pick 6 defensive TD...we cemented the loss with a Mendenhall fumble...

I don’t know what rookie AB would have done about that...

yeah..this is the way I see it too. Those turnovers in the first half put us behind the 8 ball. And Mendenhall put the nail in the coffin with that fumble when we were dominating them in the second half of the game. I was mad about that Mendenhall fumble for a while.

[Steel Maniac]

BA said their whole offense was based around Sanders exploiting the defense.

If he had more faith in AB maybe he could’ve got more reps in practice and filled in for Sanders.

Yeah..he should have had AB more in the game plan. Planning your whole philosophy for a game around one guy doesn't sound too smart. Should have had a viable plan B and C.

[Northern_Blitz]

BA said their whole offense was based around Sanders exploiting the defense.

If he had more faith in AB maybe he could’ve got more reps in practice and filled in for Sanders.

edit: of course we still lose if we played the same game and it played out the exact same way. My point was the game probably plays out differently if we gave AB more reps. Dude was and is a special talent.

first game he played in he had 128 yards on 2 kickoffs and a punt return. Last game of the playoffs he set up the go ahead TD with the 58 yard helmet catch on 3rd and 19.

That's pretty easy to say now because Brown panned out.

If I'm not mixing up my seasons, AB was a 6th round rookie receiver with 16 catches and 167 yards (drafted in 2010 playing in the SB in Feb 2011). Sanders wasn't much more as a rookie with 28 catches and 375 yards.

It also looks like Brown and Sanders both got 3 targets in the SB against GB. Brown caught 1 for 1 yard, and Sanders caught 2 for 17. I think that's actually a pretty reasonable example of Arians trusting Brown despite being a 6th round rookie.

[Steel Maniac]

That's pretty easy to say now because Brown panned out.

You make a valid argument. Who knew a 6th round pick would end up being that good?

[feltdizz]

That's pretty easy to say now because Brown panned out.

If I'm not mixing up my seasons, AB was a 6th round rookie receiver with 16 catches and 167 yards (drafted in 2010 playing in the SB in Feb 2011). Sanders wasn't much more as a rookie with 28 catches and 375 yards.

It also looks like Brown and Sanders both got 3 targets in the SB against GB. Brown caught 1 for 1 yard, and Sanders caught 2 for 17. I think that's actually a pretty reasonable example of Arians trusting Brown despite being a 6th round rookie.

nah.. I disagree.

I think AB was electric from the moment he touched the field the first time. From the first time he was given a hat he showed us he was a playmaker. Everyone in the sports bar was wondering why he wasn't getting more playing time. I know he was raw but still, the guy had IT

One thing that stands out is Sanders had 50 targets with 28 receptions. AB had 19 targets with 16 receptions. Maybe they were all bubble screens but dude had sticky hands.

Sanders only had 2 catches but he was injured in the 2nd quarter I think..

[Northern_Blitz]

nah.. I disagree.

I think AB was electric from the moment he touched the field the first time. From the first time he was given a hat he showed us he was a playmaker. Everyone in the sports bar was wondering why he wasn't getting more playing time. I know he was raw but still, the guy had IT

One thing that stands out is Sanders had 50 targets with 28 receptions. AB had 19 targets with 16 receptions. Maybe they were all bubble screens but dude had sticky hands.

Sanders only had 2 catches but he was injured in the 2nd quarter I think..

That part seems pretty important.

In the previous 2 playoff games, Sanders had 10 targets (5 rec, 74 yards) and Brown had 5 targets (4 catches and 99 yards). He had a big game in the WC game against the Ravens that year. The target numbers suggest Sanders would have been a bigger part of the SB game plan than Brown.

Either way, I don't think many OCs would center the SB game plan around a 6th round rookie WR with 20 NFL receptions (or a 3rd round rookie with 33). The starters were Ward and Wallace who combined for 25 targets / 15 rec / 167 yards / 2 TDs in the SB. It would have been nice if that number was closer to 200 yards, but I seem to remember GB having a pretty good D that year.

Note: I feel like I remember thinking that it looked like we got two good receivers in the draft after camp and that AB might be as good as Sanders (hard to tell if hindsight is making me remember things differently).

[feltdizz]

That part seems pretty important.

In the previous 2 playoff games, Sanders had 10 targets (5 rec, 74 yards) and Brown had 5 targets (4 catches and 99 yards). He had a big game in the WC game against the Ravens that year. The target numbers suggest Sanders would have been a bigger part of the SB game plan than Brown.

Either way, I don't think many OCs would center the SB game plan around a 6th round rookie WR with 20 NFL receptions (or a 3rd round rookie with 33). The starters were Ward and Wallace who combined for 25 targets / 15 rec / 167 yards / 2 TDs in the SB. It would have been nice if that number was closer to 200 yards, but I seem to remember GB having a pretty good D that year.

Note: I feel like I remember thinking that it looked like we got two good receivers in the draft after camp and that AB might be as good as Sanders (hard to tell if hindsight is making me remember things differently).

Sanders was said to be a secret weapon in our game plan because he was matched against the 3rd best CB and BA thought Sanders could exploit that mismatch. Once Sanders went down BA said it threw a wrench in their game plan.

Now imagine if AB was given a few more reps and BA had more faith in him? Maybe he did trust AB and he didn't step up but its definitely a good what if given AB's recent post about Arians not believing in him.

one other thing, BA only coached AB for 2 years. Probably never had much faith in him. Imagine what Browns career would be like if we never fired him? Coaches can be funny.

Also makes me wonder about JH sitting on the sideline and never getting playing time under Cowher. It's wild how coaches can miss on players right under their noses.

[Northern_Blitz]

Sanders was said to be a secret weapon in our game plan because he was matched against the 3rd best CB and BA thought Sanders could exploit that mismatch. Once Sanders went down BA said it threw a wrench in their game plan.

Now imagine if AB was given a few more reps and BA had more faith in him? Maybe he did trust AB and he didn't step up but its definitely a good what if given AB's recent post about Arians not believing in him.

one other thing, BA only coached AB for 2 years. Probably never had much faith in him. Imagine what Browns career would be like if we never fired him? Coaches can be funny.

Also makes me wonder about JH sitting on the sideline and never getting playing time under Cowher. It's wild how coaches can miss on players right under their noses.

I agree that it probably would have been good if AB got more opportunities in the SB (he was 1/3 in that game, but that's a pretty small sample).

BA may have only coached AB for two years, but he had 124 targets and > 1100 yards in year 2. I don't think that shows any kind of anti-AB bias. Sanders was still on the team that year and got 43 targets 288 yards and only played in 11 games. He did have issues with his foot early in the season, but it's not like we stopped using AB when he came back.

[feltdizz]

I agree that it probably would have been good if AB got more opportunities in the SB (he was 1/3 in that game, but that's a pretty small sample).

BA may have only coached AB for two years, but he had 124 targets and > 1100 yards in year 2. I don't think that shows any kind of anti-AB bias. Sanders was still on the team that year and got 43 targets 288 yards and only played in 11 games. He did have issues with his foot early in the season, but it's not like we stopped using AB when he came back.

true...maybe Sanders injury opened the door for AB to get more PT.

or maybe AB just outworked everyone else that off season.

I think BA motivated him something serious for wanting to cut him his rookie year.