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Antonio Brown did not show up for work on Monday, missing meetings and a film review with his Pittsburgh Steelers. It's a story, but it's not totally new. There is always drama with the Steelers, just as there have always been injuries with Ben Roethlisberger. Allow yourself this week to see how coach Mike Tomlin continues to react to this absence.
(Tuesday, Tomlin told Brown's reporters, "We'll talk about it and stuff, I'm not going to wonder if he's excused or not.")
It always seems like it's happening in Pittsburgh. We have already seen it.
What we have not seen is how these Steelers react to the loss.
We can see that now.
Antonio Brown's agent said the Steelers receiver's absence on Monday was due to a personal problem and Brown did not ask for an exchange. (Getty Images)
The year Brown entered the league in 2010, the Steelers achieved 12-4 and won the AFC championship. The following season, they went 12-4. They then had two 8-8 seasons and then won 11 games, 10 games, 11 games and 13 games. They are closest to the New England Patriots in the league. But like the patriots, the hair strings are graying. Roethlisberger is 36 years old. Brown is 30 years old. The 2018 team opened the season in Cleveland and could not win. The Steelers then returned home and lost 42 points in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. All of this resulted in a playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in which the Steelers had 45 points. And the next stop is Tampa and the sizzling Bucs with a sudden explosive attack. Even if Pittsburgh recovers Le'Veon Bell, the loss of linebacker Ryan Shazier remains devastating for the Steelers defense, and there may not be an easy solution to this problem.
Which brings us back to Brown.
He is one of the sport's most popular players – at least in the same stratosphere as Tom Brady and Odell Beckham Jr. – and his Instagram is a constant display of flash. Still, part of him is still an undersized catcher who was desperate to get involved in central Michigan after being kicked out of the FIU because of a campus security issue. In the mountain He was pleasantly welcomed by the assistant coach Zach Azzanni and his wife Julia. They saw a turbulent person with a contagious smile and a lot of raw emotions.
"Behind being angry," said Julia Brown, "there was this little child hurt."
Zach Azzanni said, "He did not trust many people. He was still pushing the envelope. Nobody taught him to respect people, to be a man.
It was a long time ago, of course. Brown is now a wealthy superstar with a family and 10,000 reception yards as part of a Hall of Fame resume. But that does not mean that he is less sensitive. Until now, GI photos can only hinder criticism. A feature article recently published in The Undefeated dug holes in the carefully crafted "AB" image and Brown reacted by physically threatening the reporter (he later apologized). Then he was seen on the sidelines barking to assistant coaches Sunday. And when a former Steelers employee suggested on Twitter that Brown was lucky enough to land in the same offense as Big Ben, Brown retaliated in his own tweet: "Swap me and find out.
Now, Brown was away for a day from the Steelers building. This is probably not the beginning of a definitive break. Brown is not a crook, not a quitter. However, the B – Browns, Ben, Bell – have always been able to draw schisms with victory. There have been no pressing issues that last more than a week or two in Pittsburgh. But now that Bell has been gone for more than a week or two, Brown has more than one touchdown and Big Ben has had a hurt elbow. There is urgency and a little warmth from rivals improving in the division. Even worse, there may be nothing the top three can do to solve the real problem, the defense.
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