Nearly every word that came from Antonio Brown's mouth over the course of his five-or-so-minute rant Tuesday on the opening day of Steelers' minicamp was cringe-worthy.
Brown was upset about some misinformation out there about why he wasn't at the final seven OTA sessions. Some reports said it was because he didn't want to work with any quarterback except Ben Roethlisberger.
As reported here, however, it was because both Roethlisberger and Brown were told it would be OK if they didn't go to the optional sessions. The coaching staff wanted as much time as possible with some younger players.
In that respect, Brown was right. It was unfair for rookie Mason Rudolph to have to hear — or think — Brown didn't want to work with him.
But then things kind of went off the rails.
"I’ve got to wake up to the Google alerts,” Brown said. “I’m constantly under the pressure. I can’t go nowhere and work out by myself. Fans come meet me at the field. I can’t do nothing normal. You guys write about me every day. My mom and my kids see it, so we have to deal with these type of things, and I start to think to myself: am I really free?”
Irony alert. This is a guy who has made a point of posting everything he does, morning, noon and night on social media. And now you're going to complain that you don't have any privacy?
In full disclosure. I hosted a radio show with him for two years on ESPN 970-AM. I have dealt with him in ways most media members have not. And he is a very likable guy. He works harder than anyone. There's no myth involved with his work ethic. It's real.
But the social media stuff can be way over the top, such as the incident in Kansas City a couple of years ago when he was posting Facebook Live videos from the locker room following a playoff win.
When Brown starts asking questions about whether he's really free or not and then blaming the media for paying too much attention, he'd be better served looking in the mirror in that regard.
The man looking back at him is much more responsible for any lack of freedom he might feel than the media could ever be.
• As much as Joe Musgrove's beaning of Chris Owings in the seventh inning Monday night against Arizona earned him the respect of his teammates, it also showed why some pitchers might be skittish about hitting an opposing player.
Musgrove was cruising along in that game prior to the hitting Owings in retaliation for Josh Harrison getting hit and then Austin Meadows getting brushed back with a high fastball later in the top of the inning.
A few batters later, Musgrove, who had pitched six scoreless innings to that point, was out of the game. By the end of the inning, the Pirates had blown a 5-0 lead. They wound up losing, 9-5.
• This is not to say Musgrove did the wrong thing. But the team imploded behind him after that. And then it continued to implode Tuesday night, making three errors in a six-run first inning against the Diamondbacks.
Ugh.
If the pitcher is going to protect his teammates, his teammates had better have his back, as well. And that means somebody, anybody has to make a play.
• When Christian Hackenberg was at Penn State, I kept hearing the same thing over and over again about him. "He's young, but he's going to be really good."
That never really transpired. Hackenberg was more hype than reality at Penn State. He got off to a good start as a freshman, but things went downhill from there, as he threw 28 TD passes and 21 interceptions in his final two seasons in State College.
Tuesday, Hackenberg was released by his second NFL team, the Oakland Raiders, less than a month after they made a trade with the Jets to acquire him.
A former second-round draft pick of the Jets, Hackenberg has never taken a snap in an NFL game. The Jets chose instead to start such quarterback luminaries as Bryce Petty, Josh McCown, Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Hackenberg is still just 23 years old. He might still hook on with another NFL team.
But those people who were thinking he's going to be "really good?" They're running out of time for that to happen.
• Randy Fichtner and the Steelers' coaching staff are feeling pretty good about Rudolph, who has consistently shown the ability to get the ball down the field accurately.
He throws a nice, catchable ball with accuracy, especially down the field. But you could see that watching his college tape.
How would the Steelers' offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach assess what he's seen from Rudolph thus far?
"Mason’s been everything we’ve asked. He throws a nice ball," Fichtner said. "Physically, it’s all there. Mentally, learning is an acquired taste and has to come through reps, physical reps and in-helmet perspective, things that you’re going to get. But it’s not going to happen overnight. I just thank God you still have an opportunity to have a franchise quarterback."
In other words, Rudolph is doing some good things. But let's not let the cart get ahead of the horse just yet with the Rudolph hype train.
• Tuesday was the first day the media could go into the locker room. Prior to this, all interviews were conducted coming off the practice field.
It offered the chance to see who longtime equipment manager Rodgers Freyvogel put the rookie lockers next to — likely at the behest of Mike Tomlin.
Rudolph's locker was right next to that of Landry Jones, tucked inbetween the offensive linemen.
"I hadn't really given that much thought, but I guess you're right," Jones told me with a sly look on his face. "Maybe there's something to that."
