Team Notes week 20 2016

As the Associated Press reported it, Antonio Brown wanted to let the world in on the party when he live streamed the giddy celebration in the Steelers' locker room after an 18-16 playoff win over Kansas City.

The All-Pro wide receiver also happened to catch coach Mike Tomlin indelicately describing the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh's opponent in the AFC Championship game.

Tomlin's word choice -- an expletive -- didn't bother his players as much as Brown's decision to throw back the curtain on what is usually a private moment.

"Personally I'd like some of that stuff sacred," long snapper Greg Warren said Monday. "But this is a changing world, a changing environment. I can't be some old guy stuck under a rock, that's for sure."

Brown's 17-minute video collected more than 900,000 views in a few hours before being removed (though it lives on through YouTube).

It included players dancing and Tomlin -- who was out of the shot and unaware it was being filmed but who could be heard clearly in the packed locker room -- beginning his postgame speech by telling his team to "say very little moving forward" then adding "we spotted those (a--holes) a day and a half."

New England advanced to the AFC title game by beating Houston on Saturday night, 24 hours before Pittsburgh held off the Chiefs.

The Patriots beat Pittsburgh 27-16 on Oct. 23 behind two touchdowns from Tom Brady and 127 yards rushing from LeGarrette Blount.

Pittsburgh (13-5) played without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who sat out while recovering from surgery on his left knee.

Backup Landry Jones was steady if not spectacular, throwing for 281 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The Steelers actually outgained the Patriots by 13 yards (375-362), but settled for three Chris Boswell field goals when they needed touchdowns in hopes of pulling off an upset.

It's an issue that popped up again on Sunday night, when Boswell drilled a postseason record six field goals to provide all of Pittsburgh's 18 points.

Boswell is 14 of 14 on field goals in four career postseason games and is just three shy of setting the franchise record for most postseason field goals in team history, so he'll be standing by as needed this weekend. But more will almost certainly be required against New England, which is averaging 31.6 points at home when Brady plays this season.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday that Big Ben's return makes the Steelers' primary offensive options — running back Le'Veon Bell and Brown — only that much harder to contend with. Bell rushed for 81 yards in the first meeting and Brown had seven catches for 106 yards.

"They're a tremendous offense. Kansas City was able to make some plays in the red area, but I mean (the Steelers) could've easily been up in the 40s," Belichick said.

"They do a lot of things well; can run it, can throw it. Brown's the main guy, but all of the receivers, tight ends, backs, I mean they're all a problem."

The Chiefs may have planted the seed for how to keep Roethlisberger out of the end zone, however.

The Steelers were held without a touchdown in Sunday's 18-16 divisional-round win over Kansas City. They also ranked 12th in the NFL during the regular season in red zone efficiency, scoring a touchdown on 59 percent of the trips inside the 20-yard line. They were 0 for 5 in their trips against Kansas City.

Roethlisberger had 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions in the red zone in 14 regular-season games.

But so far in the playoffs, Big Ben has just two total passing touchdowns and three interceptions.

Still, the Steelers coaching staff's trust in him to throw the deep ball is something that will be a point of emphasis this week, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said.

In particular he said Roethlisberger's calm in the pocket and his offensive line's ability to protect him helps him buy time to improvise.

"If those plays can get extended or prolonged, that's when it becomes really difficult," Patricia said. "I think Roethlisberger right now (is) very mobile, very healthy, a guy that showed even again (Sunday night) that just a slight bit of movement or a slight bit of ability to maybe evade the rush, or stand in there just a little bit longer gives his guys enough time to get open in those situations."

Of course, getting past the Patriots will be challenging enough, not worrying about getting worked up over something Tomlin thought he was saying in the intimacy of the locker room or even the slight head start the Patriots will have in preparations.

As ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler pointed out, the Steelers and Patriots haven't clashed in the playoffs since Roethlisberger's rookie year in 2004-05. But the Steelers rarely have won a meaningful regular-season game against the Patriots, who own seven of the past nine games in the series. In his past six games against Pittsburgh, Brady has 19 touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

Perhaps the Steelers are a different team than those of the past, complete with a triumvirate of Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell, who just set a playoff record with 337 rushing yards in his first two postseason games.

"I think I'm a lot more confident in myself. Our team is confident. We feel we can beat anybody right now," Bell said. "We feel we owe those guys one. It's going to be tough. ... It's going to be fun. It will definitely be a showdown."

Meanwhile, as Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio pointed out, when it comes to devising a defensive game plan, Belichick has a simple approach: Take away what the opposing offense does best.

So what will he try to take away from the Steelers on Sunday?

Putting the clamps on Bell could open up a passing game for Big Ben and Brown. Taking away the passing game means Bell could run wild.

One of Belichick's best game plans came when he served as the defensive coordinator of the Giants in Super Bowl XXV. He persuaded the New York defense to buy in to an approach that invited Bills Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas to run the ball, allowing Thomas to have a big day on the ground but slowing down the quick-strike K-Gun offense.

Fifteen years ago, when facing the Greatest Show on Turf in Super Bowl XXXVI, Belichick focused on taking away the passing game, dropping extra players into coverage and daring coach Mike Martz to run the ball.

Martz, too stubborn to deviate from what we wanted to do, refused to adjust.

So what will Belichick do against the Steelers and Bell? Sunday night's 170-yard output from Bell resulted in zero touchdowns for the team, so maybe Belichick should be willing to let Bell get his yards with a bend-don't-break effort to avoid big plays and easy scores in the passing game.

That might not be the best idea. After Sunday night's output, Bell has the most rushing yards through two playoff games in a single postseason in NFL history. John Riggins holds the record for most rushing yards over an entire postseason, with 610 over four games in 1982.

Whatever the case, the Steelers realize what they're up against.

"It's tough," Roethlisberger said on Tuesday. "It's just like playing a Bill Belichick team. His hand prints, his fingerprints, are all over that whole team, all three phases. They often out-coach their opponents…When you're playing a defense like that, you have to be prepared for everything."

The Patriots are playing in an NFL-record sixth consecutive AFC Championship Games. The Steelers, meanwhile, will play in the title game for the first time since 2010.

"It means everything," said Brown, who was a rookie in 2010. "That's why we play this game to get to those type of situations. I know, last year at this time, I was on the couch. I'm just grateful I can be here in this moment with my team, with all the guys healthy. We're a step closer to next week. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Ladarius Green is still in the NFL's concussion protocol, Tomlin told reporters on Tuesday.

The athletic tight end did, however, work on a limited basis Wednesday creating some optimism about his availability this weekend.

Green has been out since mid-December with a concussion, leaving his status for Sunday's game uncertain at best. If Green is unable to pass the league's concussion protocol before then, Jesse James should once again see a majority of the Steelers' tight end targets, as he recorded five catches for 83 yards against the Chiefs in the divisional round.

We'll have more via the News and Views section of the site in coming days. ...

By the way. ... Tomlin on Tuesday said that he is sorry for the language he uses in the video posted by Brown, and wishes he hadn't been shown that way in his role as the leader of the Steelers.

"The language on the video is regrettable, by me and by others," Tomlin said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "That's why we go to great lengths to preserve certain moments and interactions between us. As a parent, as a member of the community I take that very seriously. I issue an apology in that regard."

Tomlin also said the Steelers will issue an internal punishment to Brown, and he indicated he thinks the league may punish Brown as well.

"It was foolish of him to do that, selfish and inconsiderate. It was violation of our policy and league policy," Tomlin said. "He's a great player, respected in the locker room, but incidents such as this don't help him in that regard."

Tomlin said he hasn't yet spoken to Brown about the matter, but will deal with it and then move on to preparing for the Patriots.

Brown apologized late Tuesday night

"I let my emotions and genuine excitement get the best of me," Brown wrote. "And I wanted to share that moment with our fans."

For the record, Brown violated the league's social-media policy, which prohibits tweets, live videos, etc. from 90 minutes before kickoff through the conclusion of the post-game media obligations. For that infraction, Brown undoubtedly will be fined.

In addition, as Profootballtalk.com pointed out, the broader problem from the team's perspective is that Brown's decision to broadcast live video triggers a violation of the league's TV contracts. The broadcast partners have exclusive rights to video shot in the locker room after the game, and the teams or the league can't use it for 24 hours.

While it's unlikely that NBC will make a fuss about it, it's the kind of practice that teams need to prevent; if unchecked, it eventually could trigger a claim that the deals are being breached.

And finally. ... According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, suspended Steelers wideout Martavis Bryant has applied to the league for reinstatement. The process can take some time for the league to process (see Aldon Smith), so this simply sets the stage for a potential return next season.

Bryant was suspended for a year for multiple violations of the league's substance abuse policy.

The Steelers made their disappointment with Bryant clear, so it's not automatic that they're going to want to bother with him.

They're not overburdened with depth without him, but they're also proving by still being on the field in January that his absence didn't kill their chances.

DEPTH CHART
QBs: Justin Fields, Tyson Bagent, Nathan Peterman
RBs: Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Khari Blasingame
WRs: D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, Tyler Scott, Velus Jones Jr., Trent Taylor, Equanimeous St. Brown
TEs: Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Jake Tonges