AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger

Browns

Browns third-round WR David Bell explained that he’s looking for perfection from himself at the next level. Bell dropped a pass during OTAs and he’s been stressing it since. 

“I think it was at the first OTA, second OTA,” Bell said, via the Akron Beacon-Journal. “I just dropped one. So, yeah.”

“I’m real big on myself. So when that does happen, it’s uncharacteristic of myself to do that. I take it to heart. I try to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Every time I drop a ball, it’s always one minor thing that I didn’t do, whether looking it in or my hands aren’t in the right place. So when I drop a pass, I know why I dropped that pass.”

Bell added that he takes pride in being a reliable pass catcher for quarterbacks. 

“The quarterback trusts you to make those catches because they have a lot going on their plate,” said Bell. “It’s really an easy job for us because we have to get up and catch the ball and run the right routes. That’s something that we all take pride in as a receiver, being able to catch the ball.”

Ravens

Ravens WRs coach Tee Martin explained how the different quarterbacks impact the team’s receivers both in the huddle and on the field. Baltimore didn’t have QB Lamar Jackson for most of the spring and there was an adjustment period upon his return. 

“It starts with how he talks in the huddle. We have a lot of verbiage in the huddle. ‘Snoop’ [Tyler Huntley] talks different than Lamar. Lamar says it a lot quicker; he annunciates a little differently; he emphasizes certain things differently. And so, once you get used to that … And now we carry it onto execution on the field … But he [Lamar Jackson] came in ready. Oh, man, the ball shot out of his hands, and [at first, the wideouts were like,] ‘It got on me fast,’ so that was one of the first adjustments – was adjusting to his arm strength and his precision on his throws. And we’ve had two days so far, and we’ve been pretty much on par. It’s good to have him back, and we’re excited about training camp, where we can be together every day, getting better every day,” Martin said, via RavensWire.com.

Steelers

Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger revealed that GM Kevin Colbert, who is also retiring, was ready to get rid of him last season and added that HC Mike Tomlin was also ready to move on from him. However, team owner Art Rooney wouldn’t allow it to happen and brought Big Ben back for a final season that didn’t go exactly as planned.

“It was mostly Kevin. He was ready to move on. I think Mike was a little ready to move on, but I think he was OK with me coming back. I think Mr. Rooney really wanted me to come back last year to play,” Roethlisberger told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I thought I went out on my terms. I never wanted to stay too long. I know some people might think I did. ‘You stayed last year.’ But I thought I played pretty well last year, to be honest. My arm feels like I still could go out and play. I’m pretty confident I could still play. But it’s every day. It’s mental. Not having to prepare for camp and the season has been the biggest blessing for me. I’m fine with where I’m at with everything.”

Roethlisberger also mentioned that he feels the reason the team has only won three postseason games after their most recent Super Bowl is due to the game-changing and younger players being coddled as they come into the NFL.

“I feel like the game has changed,” Roethlisberger said. “I feel like the people have changed in a sense. Maybe it’s because I got spoiled when I came in. The team was so important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this, that and the other. I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that’s my biggest takeaway from when I started to the end. It turned from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard. It’s hard for these young guys, too. Social media. They’re treated so well in college. Now, this new NIL stuff is unbelievable. They’re treated so special. They’re coddled at a young age because college coaches need them to win, too. I know coach [Terry] Hoeppner never coddled me [at Miami of Ohio]. Neither did [Bill] Cowher.”