Goal for Steelers’ Brown remains a Super Bowl

PITTSBURGH – Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes.
They are names that live in the memory of Steelers fans because of performances in the playoffs, the NFL’s biggest stage.
Antonio Brown has had good postseason moments. Who can forget his 58-yard catch in a 2010 AFC Divisional Playoff against Baltimore, pinning it to his helmet, to set up the Steelers’ winning score?
Brown turned in some monumental seasons since then, becoming the first player in Steelers history and sixth in NFL history with 100 or more catches in three consecutive seasons.
His 375 receptions since 2013 are the most in NFL history for a player over a three-year span, and his 265 catches set the standard for a player in a two-year span.
His yardage totals the past two seasons – 3,532 – are second only to Calvin Johnson’s 2011 and 2012 combined campaigns.
What’s missing is a championship. And Brown, who played in a Super Bowl loss as a rookie, desperately wants to reach that goal.
“We’ve still got hope. Our team is still rolling,” Brown said this week as the Steelers prepared for their AFC Wild Card game today at Cincinnati, referred to as “The Jungle” by Bengals fans. “That’s what’s important. To do something special, not only as an individual, but from a team standpoint, for the city and for everyone who supports us, starting at training camp, standing in those long lines in the hot sun and watching us work.
“I’m just excited to go back to postseason football and have a chance to make a run.”
A run is something the Steelers have not made since Brown’s rookie season. Outside of his big catch against the Ravens, Brown didn’t have a great impact on the Steelers’ navigation through the postseason in his rookie year. He finished with five catches for 90 yards, and also returned punts and kickoffs.
In 2011, the Steelers were bounced from the postseason at Denver, 29-23, though Brown did his part, catching seven passes for 70 yards.
Last season, Brown and the Steelers again lost their first playoff game, this time to Baltimore, 30-17. Brown caught nine passes for 117 yards.
The lack of playoff success since his rookie season is part of what drives Brown.
Brown’s story starts in the Liberty City area of Miami, a rough-and-tumble neighborhood developed in the 1930s as a depression-era, middle-class housing project.
But as the years passed, Liberty City became a run-down area, better known for its rising crime rates than its manicured lawns.
Football became a way out of the troubled neighborhood for many young men, and Brown was one of them.
“Growing up, going to elementary school, the teacher would ask what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I would say be a professional football player,” Brown told Steelers.com. “I worked hard and God blessed me with the ability to be in this position.”
But it wasn’t easy.
Childhood friends ended up in prison. Others fell victim to other distractions. But he had a talent that was obvious from an early age when a local youth football coach saw Brown running around a playground.
The coach, Tyrone Hilton, father of Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, approached Brown’s grandmother and asked if he’d like to play football.
The rest could have been history, if not for some speedbumps.
At 16, Brown became homeless, a difficult situation for an adult, let alone a teenager. Brown stayed with anyone who would have him, moving from home to home.
Instead of giving up, Brown continued to work toward his dream of playing professional football.
“I’m just a guy who embraces life,” Brown said. “Growing up as a teenager shaped my life, not only as a football player, but as a person. I want to live each day giving it my all. I want to be the best person, the best dad, the best player, the best individual spiritually. “
He was offered a scholarship by Florida State – among other schools – but failed to qualify academically. That was not surprising given his situation at home. Instead, he enrolled at North Carolina Tech Prep to work on his grades.
After leaving North Carolina Tech, Brown contacted current University of Tennessee head coach Butch Jones, who recruited him heavily as an assistant at West Virginia. Jones had just been hired as head coach at Central Michigan.
Brown would be part of Jones’ first recruiting class for the Chippewas, which also included current Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt.
Watt, then a tight end, would later transfer to Wisconsin, but Brown would stay at Central Michigan, where he eventually caught the eye of Steelers quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner, who was scouting Chippewas quarterback Dan LeFevour.
The Steelers didn’t pick LeFevour in the draft, but they did select Brown in the sixth round, another thing that still drives him.
While he wore No. 27 in college, he switched to 84 in the NFL because, “32 teams passed on me and 8 times 4 is 32,” he explained.
Brown’s work ethic has become a thing of legend among his teammates and helped transform a sixth-round draft pick into a player who is not only considered one of the best receivers in the NFL, but one of its best players. Last offseason, NFL Network ranked him eighth among all players, regardless of position, in its top 100 players.
“I just have a totally newfound respect about how he goes about his business every day,” said Steelers cornerback Brandon Boykin, who heard about Brown’s work habits as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles but didn’t get to witness them until joining the Steelers this year.
“Not a day has passed that he hasn’t impressed me. I see how hard he works. I think he’s the best receiver in the league, hands down. He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. It’s just a great level of respect for a teammate and a person I’ve gotten to know. It’s really cool being able to play with him.”
How hard does Brown work? The Steelers have their players wear a GPS during practice. During a recent practice, head coach Mike Tomlin pointed out to his teammates that Brown ran 5,600 yards. The next closest player? Brown wouldn’t name names, but the guy logged around 4,600 yards.
And that doesn’t include Brown’s outside training habits. He not only lifts weights daily, he does work in a swimming pool, runs, stretches and does other things daily outside of the Steelers’ facility long into the night.
“I think he doesn’t just want to be the best, he wants to be legendary, the best ever,” Boykin said. “He has that type of ability and that type of work ethic. He’s just going to continue to get better. He doesn’t just have that mindset that he’s the best. He probably still has that chip on his shoulder. You’ve got to have that to maintain your edge around here. That’s important.”
To be considered the best ever, Brown has to get that Super Bowl ring that has eluded him. At least that’s his belief.
Despite already having 526 receptions for 7,093 yards by age 27, putting him in position to challenge Jerry Rice’s all-time records of 1,549 and 22,895, Brown wants a championship.
He’ll get another opportunity to start a journey toward one today.
“I think the postseason was what kind of sparked my career,” Brown said. “Being a rookie and having those opportunities to step up. Right now, the position I’m in is getting the people around me to step up. When I come out to play, teams are going use two or three guys around me. To do something special, we’re going to need other guys to step up and make plays. But I want to make all the plays. I want to be 100 percent on every target to take advantage and make plays. It’s win or go home. There’s no, ‘We’ll get better or we’ll see this team next week.’ It’s all on the line.”