Neutralizing Green always a priority
Like a rite of passage, the Steelers game plan for the Cincinnati Bengals always has included one basic tenet: Shadow A.J. Green.
Assign one cornerback to follow the Bengals Pro Bowl receiver just about everywhere he lines up. A number of players have held the responsibility, mostly Ike Taylor, but the list also includes Antwon Blake, Ross Cockrell and, most recently, Joe Haden.
But Haden, a long-time nemesis for Green, is injured and will miss his third game in a row with a fractured fibula. So defensive coordinator Keith Butler has a decision for the game Monday night at Paul Brown Stadium: Leave cornerbacks Artie Burns and Coty Sensabaugh on their respective sides of the field or have one of them follow Green when they use man coverage.
“I think you’re foolish if you don’t [shadow him],” Butler said. “We pretty much have since he’s been there. He’s the guy you have to try to keep from beating you.”
Using Haden to shadow Green in the Oct. 22 meeting at Heinz Field was a no-brainer. He covered Green in college when both played in the Southeastern Conference and for seven games when he was with the Cleveland Browns. Green has called Haden the secondtoughest cornerback he ever has faced.
Haden held Green to three catches for 41 yards, shut him out in the second half and had an interception. But it wasn’t the typical Steelers approach against the Bengals. Haden didn’t always follow the 6-foot4, 210-pound Green everywhere he went, unlike the way the Steelers would employ Taylor when he would flip-flop sides of the field every single play.
The Steelers played a lot of zone coverage against the Bengals in the first meeting and are likely to do so again.
“I don’t know yet,” said Burns, a second-year corner who has not played as well in Haden’s absence. “We’ll see what our game plan is, see what best fits.”
Decisions to assign a player to shadow a receiver are based on several factors, including who the other receivers are and how involved they are in a team’s offense. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton does not have the luxury he had two years ago when his other receivers were Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu and tight end Tyler Eifert.
Jones and Sanu left in free agency before the 2016 season and Eifert is on injured reserve. Attempts to find replacements in the draft have not paid immediate dividends. Former Pitt receiver Tyler Boyd, a No. 2 pick in 2016, missed a month earlier this season. And John Ross, their No. 1 pick this year, has appeared for only 17 snaps.
“How many targets they’re getting, how many targets the other guys are getting, who they’re trying to go to on first, second and third down, all that we try to bring into play,” Butler said, ticking off the factors that go into following a receiver such as Green. “You try to take away what they do best and make them beat you left-handed.”
The problem for the Bengals is that most teams have been taking away Green, making it difficult for Dalton to get him the ball. After being held to three catches for 41 yards in the first meeting at Heinz Field, Green has not had more than five catches in any game since. He did have 115 yards receiving against the Tennessee Titans Nov. 12 that included a 70-yard touchdown.
But he also was ejected early in the Nov. 5 game against Jacksonville after getting into a fight with Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
In 12 career games against the Steelers, Green has 74 catches for 1,016 yards and six touchdowns, a Pro Bowl season for most players. But a large part of that was built early in his career when he had 52 catches, 687 yards and four touchdowns in his first eight games. Lately, though, Green has not been posting such gaudy numbers. The Steelers, who have given up five touchdowns of 54 yards or longer in the past three games, hope to keep it that way.