Receiver attempts to clear the air
about. I’m committed to this program, this organization. I’m fully here. I go to work every day, about my business and I don’t take it for granted. My business is winning here, I come here to win. When we ain’t winning, you’re damn right I’m pissed off.”
Brown has had 33 passes thrown to him in two games, the most in the league. He’s caught 18 of them for 160 yards, which ranks third on the Steelers. He led the NFL last season with 1,533 yards. His 8.9yard average per catch pales in comparison to his 15.2 last season, when he was named All-Pro for the fourth straight time.
“Stats depend on the team,” Brown said. “I can’t throw it and catch it myself. It’s a team game. I got to depend on Ben, I got to depend on the O-line, I got to depend on the running backs, I got to depend on the other guys to do their jobs so I can make stats.
“But our business is winning. If we don’t win, nobody cares about your stats.”
Brown admitted that he should not have responded on Monday to a Tweet from Ryan Scarpino, a former Steelers public relations employee, who suggested that Brown was fortunate to play with Ben Roethlisberger. Brown’s response: “Trade me let’s find out.”
“It was a guy who used to work here, a PR guy … taking a personal shot at me,” Brown said Thursday. “Obviously I don’t want to be traded. I’m still grateful to put on my uniform, grateful to be part of this organization. I don’t take it for granted. Obviously, it was a stupid remark online. I just got to stay away from online and the distractions.”
Fichtner, quarterbacks coach for the Steelers while Brown was in college, was the first from the Steelers organization to take serious notice of Brown when he was playing at Central Michigan. The Steelers ultimately drafted him in the sixth round.
“I never yelled at Randy,” Brown insisted. “We just talked. I got a great relationship with Randy. Randy is the reason I’m here, he recruited me. So if you see me in his face talking, that’s just because we have that kind of respect for each other where I can talk to him like that. It’s no disrespect.
“Obviously, I’m misunderstood.”
Despite what it appears at times, Brown says he still enjoys the game.
“Absolutely it’s fun. I don’t take this game for granted. It’s a blessing, playing. Obviously, I’m grateful for playing for this organization. I don’t take it for granted.
“But losing is not fun. When you lose, it’s not fun. You got people saying everything about you, you got the hate, you got the writeups, you got the bad looks. I’m a guy who takes this seriously …
“I’ m not upset about anything. I’m upset about we’re not winning. We’re getting our ass kicked. I can’t throw the ball to myself. I don’t count stats, you guys do that. That’s not my job, my job is to help the team win. My stats will take care of themselves. We got a long way to play, we only played two games.”
But, he said, the 0-1-1 Steelers need to start winning.
“We have to find a way to win. Monday night is another opportunity to erase the doubt, erase the misfortunate thoughts about us as a team.”