Gummi worms and cash exchanges: Inside the Steelers' WR room
Dec 17, 2015
Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer
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PITTSBURGH -- No NFL receiving corps has it rolling quite like the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have seven performances this season from a receiver gaining 130-plus yards (four from Antonio Brown). The trio of Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton has combined for nearly 1,500 yards in the last five games.
To find out about the weekly dynamic of this group, we reached out to wide receivers coach Richard Mann and several receivers in efforts to describe the NFL’s best wide receiver room.
No playbooks allowed: The image of a well-studied football player carrying a spiral notebook to meetings doesn’t apply in Pittsburgh. The offense does not use a playbook. Learning is based on repetition and recall, Darrius Heyward-Bey explains. The receivers might take something that was taught in training camp and roll it into the game plan in Week 15. They like it this way. “That’s really, really rare,” Heyward-Bey said. “I think that’s also what makes us good.” Newcomers struggle at first, but eventually the system becomes part of you. “We basically know the whole offense right now,” Bryant said.
You will be fined: Steelers receivers keep track of everything. There’s a board in the room that lists all fines for tardiness, for example. And that’s just a start. “You drop balls, it costs you money,” Heyward-Bey said. “You mess up on routes, it costs you money. I’m not going to talk about the [exact] money, but we get into each other’s pockets.” Wheaton recently acknowledged that Bryant, who has by all accounts matured since his four-game suspension for multiple failed drug tests, is being fined much less than a year ago.
Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton have combined for nearly 1,500 yards in the last five games. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Antonio gets the balls, the rest fight for scraps: The Steelers aren’t trying to sell equal opportunity. The Brown precedent is set directly by the receivers coach inside the room. “We don’t hide it,” Mann said. "Sooner or later, they will get their number called. Sometimes the coverage dictates that, 'this is your week.'" Brown acknowledges this can be hard on younger receivers but adds, “It’s kind of my time right now.”
The room must be stocked with goodies: Rookies are required to show up with Gatorade and water, but Mann hooks it up with the occasional Costco trips. The go-to snack during film work is gummi worms. They can eat fruit, too, but that’s not as fun. “We try to keep it healthy, but there’s a lot of stuff in there,” Heyward-Bey said.
Music debates happen between breaks: Movies, family and music are primary topics when coaches pause the film study. Rapper J. Cole has sparked spirited discussion among Steelers receivers with his recent material. Young Jeezy, too. Sometimes, a player will pull out his phone or a portable stereo for a quick jam-out before it’s time to re-engage.
The Big Ben pop-in means pay attention: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has his own quarterbacks room, but as the orchestrator of the offense, he needs to communicate something to the receivers from time to time. So, he pops into the room fairly often, almost like clockwork on Saturdays. “He’ll come in and say a few things that he wants, detailing routes,” Brown said.
Get ready to be called out: After 31 years as an NFL assistant, Mann is blunt but fair with his critiques. While the group watches film, Mann will ask a player to break down what went wrong with a teammate’s route, not for shaming but to encourage peer coaching. “If there’s a problem we’ve got, we will talk about it, make sure we want to do it the way Todd [Haley] wants it done,' Mann said. "If there’s a problem, I’ll talk to Todd and we’ll get it done.” Bryant knows rule No. 1: Always be respectful when Mann is talking. “He don’t have any problems with us. We always take care of our business,” Bryant said.
Watch Brown take copious notes: Heyward-Bey calls Brown the ninja of the room, because just when you think he’s not paying attention, you’ll see pages of highlighted notes from the back of the room. Brown jokes outside the room but doesn’t mess around inside it. “I’m the lead-by-example type,” Brown said.
Dec 17, 2015
Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer
205
Shares
comment
PITTSBURGH -- No NFL receiving corps has it rolling quite like the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have seven performances this season from a receiver gaining 130-plus yards (four from Antonio Brown). The trio of Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton has combined for nearly 1,500 yards in the last five games.
To find out about the weekly dynamic of this group, we reached out to wide receivers coach Richard Mann and several receivers in efforts to describe the NFL’s best wide receiver room.
No playbooks allowed: The image of a well-studied football player carrying a spiral notebook to meetings doesn’t apply in Pittsburgh. The offense does not use a playbook. Learning is based on repetition and recall, Darrius Heyward-Bey explains. The receivers might take something that was taught in training camp and roll it into the game plan in Week 15. They like it this way. “That’s really, really rare,” Heyward-Bey said. “I think that’s also what makes us good.” Newcomers struggle at first, but eventually the system becomes part of you. “We basically know the whole offense right now,” Bryant said.
You will be fined: Steelers receivers keep track of everything. There’s a board in the room that lists all fines for tardiness, for example. And that’s just a start. “You drop balls, it costs you money,” Heyward-Bey said. “You mess up on routes, it costs you money. I’m not going to talk about the [exact] money, but we get into each other’s pockets.” Wheaton recently acknowledged that Bryant, who has by all accounts matured since his four-game suspension for multiple failed drug tests, is being fined much less than a year ago.
Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton have combined for nearly 1,500 yards in the last five games. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Antonio gets the balls, the rest fight for scraps: The Steelers aren’t trying to sell equal opportunity. The Brown precedent is set directly by the receivers coach inside the room. “We don’t hide it,” Mann said. "Sooner or later, they will get their number called. Sometimes the coverage dictates that, 'this is your week.'" Brown acknowledges this can be hard on younger receivers but adds, “It’s kind of my time right now.”
The room must be stocked with goodies: Rookies are required to show up with Gatorade and water, but Mann hooks it up with the occasional Costco trips. The go-to snack during film work is gummi worms. They can eat fruit, too, but that’s not as fun. “We try to keep it healthy, but there’s a lot of stuff in there,” Heyward-Bey said.
Music debates happen between breaks: Movies, family and music are primary topics when coaches pause the film study. Rapper J. Cole has sparked spirited discussion among Steelers receivers with his recent material. Young Jeezy, too. Sometimes, a player will pull out his phone or a portable stereo for a quick jam-out before it’s time to re-engage.
The Big Ben pop-in means pay attention: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has his own quarterbacks room, but as the orchestrator of the offense, he needs to communicate something to the receivers from time to time. So, he pops into the room fairly often, almost like clockwork on Saturdays. “He’ll come in and say a few things that he wants, detailing routes,” Brown said.
Get ready to be called out: After 31 years as an NFL assistant, Mann is blunt but fair with his critiques. While the group watches film, Mann will ask a player to break down what went wrong with a teammate’s route, not for shaming but to encourage peer coaching. “If there’s a problem we’ve got, we will talk about it, make sure we want to do it the way Todd [Haley] wants it done,' Mann said. "If there’s a problem, I’ll talk to Todd and we’ll get it done.” Bryant knows rule No. 1: Always be respectful when Mann is talking. “He don’t have any problems with us. We always take care of our business,” Bryant said.
Watch Brown take copious notes: Heyward-Bey calls Brown the ninja of the room, because just when you think he’s not paying attention, you’ll see pages of highlighted notes from the back of the room. Brown jokes outside the room but doesn’t mess around inside it. “I’m the lead-by-example type,” Brown said.
