Could this week’s weakest link be Artie Burns?
After taking a beating for choosing Ben Roethlisberger as last Sunday’s potential “weak link” I look ahead to Thursday’s short week of preparation to see where the next potential problem could be and the Steelers cannot afford to have one.
Choosing a weak link is always a difficult task. First, I’m taking a wild guess as to how a game could end up: both wins and losses. Which player on the roster, for this specific time and place, needs to be on top of their game? Which player would be the one who cannot afford to have a lapse or else the rest of the team could suffer the consequences.
Following the secondary’s loss of Joe Haden, and surrendering their longest pass plays of the season (twice) I’m stuck on Haden’s counterpart: Artie Burns.
This “week” (a short one at that) Burns will need to step up his game in Haden’s absence. Yes, Haden and Burns both stick to one primary side of the field, and it might be easier to pick on Haden’s actual replacement, Coty Sensabaugh, as the weak link this coming Thursday against the Titans. However, Sensabaugh wasn’t the one responsible for one of those big plays against the Colts: Burns was.
Therefore, Artie will have to step up and be ready to shut down his side of the field just as Haden has all season. This shouldn’t be too tall of a task, considering that Burns’ side of the field has been relatively quiet as well this season. Yet, that one play, a long pass to Chester Rogers, looms large. It’s on film. Teams will no doubt attempt the same or at least similar play, hoping to get Burns to bite.
Pittsburgh may also be more in tune with helping Sensabaugh’s side. There’s also the possibility of Mike Mitchell not being 100%, which really makes things skew toward Burns needing to absolutely be at the top of his game Thursday. If he can shut down his opponents with little or no help, that should go a long way toward helping the rest of the secondary cope with the loss of Haden.
If Burns is off, even a little bit, it could be open season on the Steelers. Rishard Matthews has been a solid receiving threat for the Titans, who also started getting first-round draft pick Corey Davis involved recently. Add in capable veterans such as Eric Decker and TE Delanie Walker, and now you can visualize how important it is that Burns not give up any similar big plays.
Therefore, while the potential is based on what we saw in Indianapolis, it is potential that’s there… for Burns to be this week’s weakest link.
