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WR Antonio Brown, FA (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter Casting Couch
- Start date
You know it just kills AB that a WR was named team MVP and it wasn’t him. It could be AB’s teammates sticking it to AB, but Juju did lead the team in receptions and yards and seems like a genuinely fun dude. Moving forward, with the major cap repercussions of trading/cutting AB, the Steelers surely would like him to play nice and fall back into line for 2019, but will Antonio’s ego get in the way?
Godsbrother
Footballguy
Big Ben has been the Steelers real most valuable player for most of his career but has only won the honor once. He never whined or pouted about it that I can remember, unlike AB (who has won it 4 times)
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Interseptopus
Footballguy
Big Ben is the biggest problem on this team. He just doesn't make a media circus out of it
I think other teams do it as well. But good point by whoever brought it up that it seems kind of odd and more divisive then anything.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
A quick google search for team mvps of various franchises turns up mostly espn, usa today style ranks from a writer or analyst. Only Pittsburgh mentions such an award as a team thing.
Does seem like a bad idea in today’s “like” obsessed culture.
Ben is constantly whining and “woe is me,” but the guy passed for 5K (while missing playoffs). He is not the problem. Without Ben, this franchise would be irrelevant
Godsbrother
Footballguy
His interception number was higher than you would like but that is going to happen when you throw the ball almost 700 times. He had a bad game or two but ultimately he put the team in position to win at least 12 or 13 games. You're not going to win all of those games but if not for a horrible placekicker and a couple of untimely fumbles the Steelers would like have been in contention for a first round bye instead of missing the playoffs. Most of that was on Ben's arm.
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Interseptopus
Footballguy
Statistically he is not the problem. He doesn't take his frustrations out with his performance/availability, but his ego is about as big as ABs, he just doesn't make a fuss about it publicly. He just goes to ownership and gets coaches fired when he disagrees with them. Ownership worships Ben, and he knows it.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Certainly seems like it.menobrown said:
Interseptopus
Footballguy
Bossman
Footballguy
Ben has an ego, like everybody must have to reach the pros, but it’s not his fault his team sinks every first rounder into a defense that can’t stop a nosebleed.
habsfan
Footballguy
If he's having a meltdown because he didn't win an internal MVP award (which is sounding pretty plausible), the real question is, what do you do with a guy like that? As someone noted up thread, he's both paid and fed (volume wise). Can you ever really make a guy like this feel "special" enough?
Godsbrother
Footballguy
Ownership was the one that fired Ben's OC of choice and replaced him with a jerk that lasted about 4 games in Cleveland.
ETA: Haley HAD to go -- it wasn't just Ben that wanted him out. There was more than one offensive coach that couldn't stand him
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Bossman
Footballguy
You pick which article that you want to read ... all points to the same character flaws in BR as far as I'm concerned.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/tag/ben-roethlisberger-throws-people-under-the-bus
Maybe teammates in PIT respect that about him .. but I can't imagine any professional athlete appreciates it or expects to be thrown under the bus because Ben has "earned the right to do so" as he claims.
It's just bad to put blame on anyone other than yourself.
As far as Tomlins "Big Wins" ... if you think a regular season win at home over the Pats is a "BIG WIN" this year ... you're team is much worse than I thought.
Steelers tried giving that game to NE on several different occasions.
But by beating NE at home, Tomlin has coached this team to the same caliber as teams like JAX, DET, MIA, and TEN this year.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
The Steelers were in a do-or-die situation against a team that historically has their number whether away or at home. It was the definition of a big game.
I was pointing out the fallacy of your take that he showed up to get paid. The only way he would not get paid is if he was suspended (by the team Dr. Dan) and I never heard anyone remotely suggest the Steelers were planning to do that and fact he was on the injury report might have made that difficult, not sure. I've heard no reports that said he needed to show up at the stadium to get paid or was facing a suspension if he failed to report. He just is so half crazy that he thought he could blow everyone off and show up and play but I can't find anything that suggests the motivation was his week 17 game check.
The Fearless
Footballguy
It's pretty funny because I know Antonio Brown is coming across as crazy. But if I was in his shoes, knowing my personality and the way I would handle his success.
I would act the same way.
I would act the same way.
Cowboysfan8
Footballguy
kittenmittens
Footballguy
This is such a weird situation... I'm guessing this all blows over with the contract situation being as it is. The team may just chalk it up to players being frustrated that they missed the playoffs.
It probably won't be that long before this is out of the news cycle and Le'Veon Bell's franchise number is back at the top of the talking heads' list.
It probably won't be that long before this is out of the news cycle and Le'Veon Bell's franchise number is back at the top of the talking heads' list.
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JoeSteeler
Footballguy
A search found team MVP's for the Ravens and Rams. IIRC a lot of teams (if not all) do it.
fantasycurse42
Footballguy Jr.
They should trade him to like the Titans or Cardinals - somewhere that isn't a huge market and sucks at passing.
Then throw the ball to Juju like 250 times next season.
Then throw the ball to Juju like 250 times next season.
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Thats how the Blackhawks straightened out Patrick Kane years ago. He was becoming a massive distraction to the team and the GM sat him down and told him the coddling days were over, next stop was to trade him and it wasn't going to be to LA or NYC, it was going to be the worst team in the smallest market they could think of. Havent had many problems with Kane since (the rest of the team is another story).
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AFC playoff contender and probable 2019 opponent, doesn’t seem like a likely trade partner but stranger things have happened.
Bossman
Footballguy
LOL ... I bet Steeler fan is looking forward to hanging that banner next season.
"2018 Week 15 WINNER ... and regular season participant"
voiceofunreason
Footballguy
How babied do you want them to be? You can’t name someone the mvp because others will get their feelings hurt. This pc stuff is getting crazy.
Bossman
Footballguy
Really doesn't matter that you have "heard no reports" ...
I don't claim to know the legalities of it, but it just stands to reason that had he not shown up for a game ... aka "hold out" ... he would not be paid for said game.
Pretty sure Bell missed a check or 16 for the exact same reason.
I tend to believe hearing a report does matter since when players get suspended it's actually reported.
This is not rules as you go kind of league. Players have unions and representation, you can't just not play a player after a game because you want to, you should understand that much of the legality before continuing to make claims that AB showed up to get paid for week 17.
Also Bell was not under contract and it's actually not possible to "hold out" when you are not under contract, his situation and missing game checks is absolutely nothing like what AB just tried to pull.
AB skipped practice and the team should have suspended him. That's what Tomlin got wrong, should not have let it linger into Sunday. But without a suspension he gets paid, it's actually really that simple.
Well at least one version of this AB story is that the whole drama was touched off by JJSS being named the team MVP, so the answer to the bolded seems to be yes.
Bossman
Footballguy
So, in your mind, a player can skip a week of practice, a week of team meetings, NOT show up on game day, ... and expect to be paid for said game?
How about if he doesn't show up for the next one ... or the one after that? Still getting paid?
He showed up on game day so he would get paid. Didn't want to lose a game check.
Or maybe not showing up on game day is grounds for suspension? That's a game check too.
Either way he didn't want to be there but had a 1/16 of his salary on the line. It's actually really that simple.
I have no idea why you seem to think menobrown or anyone else thinks a player should/would get paid even if they don't bother to show up to the stadium on gameday.
Anyway, he was mainly trying to point out that Brown and Bell are completely different situations... although one thing they do have in common is that neither guy held out.
voiceofunreason
Footballguy
Then he should take his ball and go home, not be coddled further.
Having watched some Steelers games early in the year this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Juju was getting more targets while AB was struggling and every time Big Ben overthrew AB or didn’t see him open he threw a temper tantrum. This has been building all year, if not for years. Can’t see how they bring a cancer like him back into the locker room even if it’s financially difficult. The mistake they made isn't having a team mvp, it’s letting him get away with this stuff for years.
Yet, it was AB who made an amazing clutch catch on 4th-and-15 to momentarily save their playoff hopes until Juju fumbled them away.
Bossman
Footballguy
See bolded above.
Meno says the only way he misses a check is if he's suspended.
So I'm responding to Meno saying that Brown didn't have to show up for the game ... or any other game, and would continue to get paid as if he were playing.
because he "heard no reports" ... and Brown was not suspended.
I used Bell as a reference ... I understand it's a completely different situation ... but I tried to simplify for some to understand ...
Point I was trying to make, and Meno was arguing, was that Brown showed up on game day to get paid ...
because in MY head, if a player doesn't show up for a game, team does not pay him.
This concept is difficult for some to comprehend because it was not written about or spoken of in the media .... so how can this be true?
... and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he can just sit out several games and still get paid ... as long as the team doesn't suspend him?
Players that want to sit out games and get paid at least smart enough pull up with a fake hammy the first practice session if they want to sit out. ... but typically still need to show up for the game even if they don't dress.
Maybe the fake hammy is not even necessary?
Meno believes Brown is so dumb that he thought Tomlin would just put him in the game anyway .... after missing several days of meetings, practice, and failure to respond to any communication attempts by the team, coaches, and his teammates.
Brown is dumb but I don't think Brown or anyone else is that dumb.
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habsfan
Footballguy
This is the juggling act of keeping a locker room under control, a "Steeler Way" culture intact yet still try to win a football game. Long term you could argue they should have suspended AB and/or told him to have a seat on the bench - for a quarter, a half, whatever - short term consequence be damned. Instead you now have a "diva" who's probably thinks there's a rule set for him and a different one for everyone else. The Bell situation was a mess but at least money was at the core of it. This sounds like a snowflake who just isn't "happy".
Steeler
Footballguy
Godsbrother
Footballguy
I was just disputing your statement that it wasn't a big game. Since they ultimately missed the playoffs it doesn't matter much now but at the time the team was in a must-win situation against the New England Patriots.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
msommer
Footballguy
While this is true, I'm pretty sure they can't suspend a player retro-actively. They'd have had to announce this prior to the game, not in a press conference after the fact.
Bossman
Footballguy
Just heard on the radio that AB is considered by teammates to be the #1 hardest working player on the team. (hearsay but whatever)
The day the team MVP award winner was announced was just after the game where AB posted 184 yards and 2 TD's.
The award was given to Shuster/Smith.
Maybe just bad timing but sounds like a real "FU" from the coaching staff and whomever else votes for this sillyness.
The day the team MVP award winner was announced was just after the game where AB posted 184 yards and 2 TD's.
The award was given to Shuster/Smith.
Maybe just bad timing but sounds like a real "FU" from the coaching staff and whomever else votes for this sillyness.
Bossman
Footballguy
I'd rather not debate the definition of what a "Big Game" is but one could argue that the week 1 Browns game was a pretty big game as well.
But for the sake of discussion, if we compare the Patriots week 15 game and all of the other "must win" games, playoffs, win and in scenarios, etc ...
I think you would find Tomlin's track record not too pretty good as of the last decade or so.
But he is the definition of a players coach. Just the opposite of the guy in NE. So the team likes him (except for Rothelisburger - just my opinion)
As a Pats fan, I hope the team doesn't fire him.
SkippaDaFlippa
Footballguy
I always assumed the players voted on awards like this.
In fact, just did a quick google search and found
https://www.cleveland.com/steelers/2018/12/juju-smith-schuster-voted-steelers-team-mvp.html
Dizzy
Footballguy
Football is the ultimate TEAM sport. To single out any one player on the team as "most valuable" is a ridiculous concept to begin with.
Regarding the "babying" of these guys... NFL (and NBA) athletes seem (to me) to be the most mentally fragile humans on the planet. It amazes me how thin the skin is on these guys. And in that regard, the cons outweigh the pros by a wide margin for naming one as being the most valuable.
To be clear... I find both to be completely silly.
Godsbrother
Footballguy
While I agree it's silly it was never a problem until AB didn't win again (he's already won it 3 or 4 times).
