We’ve been waiting all season for it. There have been points this season where we thought it would never come. With Antonio Brown now out for the rest of the regular season, it’s time for Martavis Bryant to live up to all his vast potential. This season has been nothing short of a complete disappointment. It’s been a year full of lackluster efforts, benchings, and trade requests. Suddenly though, Bryant finds himself in a very intriguing position. Coming off his most impactful game so far, Bryant has a real chance to turn this all around.
It’s no secret that Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown have tremendous chemistry with each other. That often leads to an exorbitant amount of throws that go Brown’s way. In fact, maybe too much as Big Ben has been known to force the ball into coverage while throwing to his favorite receiver. It’s hard to blame him though. Brown has earned his trust over years by running correct routes and making tough catches. With AB now out, Bryant must cease the opportunity to gain some chemistry of his own with Roethlisberger.
It’s not just a good opportunity for Bryant, the Steelers offense would be far better off with a contributing deep threat. Just take the Patriots game as an example. New England made the decision right from the start to double up on AB with one safety, while leaving the other safety in the box to help deal with Le’veon Bell. The result of this was Bryant being covered one on one with Stephon Gilmore. The Patriots were quickly realizing that this wasn’t going to work out well for them because Gilmore simply couldn’t handle Bryant. It would have been interesting what kind of night Bryant might have had if Brown remained in the game. Honestly this should be an every week occurence. There is no way Bryant be covered one on one with other teams second corner. If he were ever to get going like he has in the past, it could have devastating effects on opposing defenses.
Antonio Brown’s injury may end up being a blessing in disguise for this team. If Martavis Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger use this time as a way to build up the trust lost, the Steelers will be a much better team for it. Just in time for another Super Bowl run. Wouldn’t that be something.