Steelers Must Find Ways for Mike Vick to Get the Football to Antonio Brown

There was a lot to dislike about the Pittsburgh Steelers' performance in their 23-20 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night. Coaching decisions, missed kicks, a poor run defense and more helped to doom the Steelers against a team, while a close rival, was winless before the contest.

But one misstep was almost unforgivable: Steelers quarterback Mike Vick, in for an injured Ben Roethlisberger, just couldn't get the ball to Antonio Brown, the NFL's most dangerous receiver. 

Before Thursday, Brown had not had less than 108 receiving yards in a game this season. Against the Ravens, however, he had only 42 yards on five catches. Vick targeted him nine times, including one end-zone would-be touchdown drop by Brown, but nine of those targets came in the first half of the game.

Week	Tgts.	Rec.	Rec.%	Yds.	YPR	TD
@ NE	11	9	81.8%	133	14.8	1
vs. SF	11	9	81.8%	195	21.7	1
@ StL	13	11	84.6%	108	9.9	0
vs. BAL	9	5	55.5%	42	8.4	0
Total	44	34	75.9%	478	14.1	2

It was certain that the Ravens would be double-teaming Brown in coverage all night in order to limit one of the Steelers' most potent weapons on a night without Roethlisberger. But that's the case every time Brown steps on the field at this point; the difference is that Roethlisberger and Brown have an on-field connection that has not been and probably will not be established between he and Vick. 

That makes Vick more cautious when throwing to a well-covered Brown. They don't have the cues and signals that Roethlisberger and Brown have worked with over the years. But Vick needs to trust Brown—he not only knows how to get open and to make the contested catch, but he also does so much work after the catch that avoiding targeting Brown hamstrings the entire Steelers offense.

For what it's worth, Vick knows that Brown needs more involvement. He said so on Friday, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Vick also acknowledged that the return of receiver Martavis Bryant next week will help Brown, as it will result in fewer double teams on Brown. This will allow Vick to feel more confident throwing to Brown. 

But that raises the question: Why the lack of confidence on Thursday? Granted, it takes time and much practice to build a rapport between a quarterback and receiver, and it's not like Vick has had many opportunities to throw to Brown, in games or in practice, before this week. But this is Brown we're talking about, not some typical, workaday wide receiver.

The bottom line is that the Steelers boast incredible playmakers, all of whom are there to help Vick out, much as they are there to help Roethlisberger. And while it may take time until Vick can take advantage of all of them, throwing passes to Brown is not rocket science. It should have been a given on Thursday.

There are tough tests ahead for the Vick-led Steelers. And while Pittsburgh's defensive front is making strides on a weekly basis, there are still issues in both pass coverage and stopping the run that again requires the offense to help carry much of the team's overall load if the Steelers are to win games.

This means that Vick cannot afford to keep Brown a marginal part of the game plan. If that requires Vick to work after practices, one-on-one with Brown, so be it. If that requires more time spent in meetings, so be it. If that requires Vick and Brown to spend free time together, just getting to know one another, so be it. Because there's little chance that the Steelers can earn more wins than losses while Roethlisberger is sidelined without Vick and Brown finding ways to be on the same page and make plays together.

The Steelers' season hinges on what happens while Vick has to take over for Roethlisberger. They cannot afford to have one of their most talented players on offense relegated to the margins because of a quarterback change.