Steelers receivers Wallace, Brown look to playoffs

By Mark Kaboly, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

All of Mike Wallace's long touchdown catches mean little to him now.

Antonio Brown's team MVP and 1,000-yard season are nice but rather inconsequential.

Wallace and Brown, the lifeblood of the Steelers' offense, combined for 142 catches, 2,301 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season. Those statistics don't translate into success during the postseason, but the self-proclaimed 'Young Money Crew' doesn't expect a decline in production Sunday when the Steelers travel to Denver for an AFC wild-card game.

Even if they will face some of the most physical cornerbacks in the league.

"This is when the great players step up," Wallace said. "It is good to be good in the regular season, but this is where legends are made. This is where you can make a name for yourself."

That especially can be true when you face veteran cornerbacks like Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman, who have a combined 23 years of experience and 288 career starts between them.

Making big plays in a playoff game against Bailey would expedite the process of making a name for yourself, especially with receivers who have two career postseason starts between them like Brown and Wallace.

"They don't have a lot of experience," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. "Every play is critical — that's the difference between the regular season and the playoffs."

The Broncos play a lot of press-man coverage that could present a problem for the Steelers, especially when combined with a pass rush provided by Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller.

Read more: Young Steelers receivers Wallace, Brown look to playoffs - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_775280.html#ixzz1igtLKany
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If the O-line can do a halfway decent job of blocking, I hope the Broncos continue to play a lot of press coverage. Wallace could become quite familiar with the Denver end zone.

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If the O-line can do a halfway decent job of blocking, I hope the Broncos continue to play a lot of press coverage. Wallace could become quite familiar with the Denver end zone.

We will live or die with Ben's decision making on Sunday. If he's smart and accurate we'll be fine, but if he starts getting greedy and forcing the ball it could be a long day.

supytalpeht wrote:

Quote :

If the O-line can do a halfway decent job of blocking, I hope the Broncos continue to play a lot of press coverage. Wallace could become quite familiar with the Denver end zone.

We will live or die with Ben's decision making on Sunday. If he's smart and accurate we'll be fine, but if he starts getting greedy and forcing the ball it could be a long day.

Yeah, I agree. I was just thinking that if they were to play press coverage against Wallace, they'd better have some safety help deep. That would open up underneath stuff. IF Ben would take it.