Dunlap: Martavis Bryant Still Creating A Problem For Steelers
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - The Steelers don't have a No. 2 receiver right now.
You know what this all comes back to? Martavis Bryant.
Selfish is good way to describe it.
Thoughtless and inconsiderate would probably work, too.
You know the backstory of Bryant letting his team down --- we really don't need to go back over it again chapter and verse. He ran afoul of the NFL policy on substance abuse multiple times and got himself suspended for the 2016 season.
As the Steelers sit tied atop the AFC North --- albeit with just that 5-5 record --- and ready for a short-week trip to Indianapolis, one of the glaring problems for this team has been the cultivation of a No. 2 receiver behind the inexhaustible Antonio Brown.
Bryant was supposed to be that guy. Instead he's relegated to the butt of weed jokes and tweeting here and there.
Just a quick glance at the Steelers' 2016 stats to date bangs home what could have been for Bryant and what might not ever happen for the Steelers without him this season.
Brown, predictably, leads this club with 77 catches for 907 yards and 7 TD grabs through 10 games.
Know who the second-leading receiver is? A running back who was suspended the first three games.
Know who the third-leading receiver is? A young tight end who just took over for Heath Miller.
Eli Rogers, an undrafted free agent who spent last season on injured reserve and was questionable to even make the 2016 Steelers, is the wide receiver with the second most catches through 10 games as he has 27 grabs.
So that's how it is right now for this prolific offense quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is asked to command. He has Brown, who is most often bracketed or double-teamed, then a secondary option in Le'Veon Bell who he has to swing the ball to out of the backfield. After that it's young tight end Jesse James. And then, only after that, does a wide receiver come into the mix as Rogers (27 catches), Sammie Coates (20) and Cobi Hamilton (8) are targets.
That's a real shame for Roethlisberger --- and more to the point Todd Haley --- who still are dealing with the rippled impact of the me-me-me ways of Bryant, even as he's not around the team. In short, he really put them in a huge bind.
To look at the box score from the Cleveland win on Sunday, a 24-9 victory which, in my estimation was a better victory than people give the Steelers credit for, is to understand how Bryant's selfish ways are still profoundly impacting this club.
Le'Veon Bell was an absolute brute on the ground with 28 carries for 146 yards. He was the only Pittsburgh Steelers player to attempt a rush. That's right --- no other man carried the football for the Steelers, just Bell.
He was a total workhorse on the ground, but that wasn't enough. He was also asked to pull in 8 passes against Cleveland.
Now, I'm not one who screams about Le'Veon Bell being overworked, but Bryant's selfish ways could force an overuse with Bell that is just, well, patently unfair to all involved.
So make no mistake, while he might be out of sight and out of mind to many right now, Martavis Bryant's decisions in the past are still really influencing this team in the present --- and probably will for the future of the 2016 season.
The Steelers sure could use a No. 2 wide receiver right now.
And they could use someone to take some of the heat and mileage off Brown and Bell.
But, instead, that guy wanted to act selfishly.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
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