Josh Norman has no time to waste this season. He will be tested early and often in week one while covering Antonio Brown, a top receiver in the league.
This is the first of five nationally televised games for the NFC East defending champions. The Skins will luckily square up against the Steelers without Le’veon Bell on the field, while he is serving a suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. It is also looking like they will be without Ladarius Green, their free agent acquisition, because he is dealing with a multitude of unknown injuries. When Bell makes his season debut in week four, they will expect him to overshadow the loss of their other suspended player, wide receiver Martavis Bryant.
The matchup between Josh Norman and Antonio Brown is one of the bigger headlines heading into the opening night Monday Night Football Matchup between the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedEx Field. There is a lot of anticipation surrounding this showdown because both Norman and Brown are the top talents at their respective positions.
When Odell Beckham Jr, another top receiver, went up against Norman, it got very chippy very quickly. Norman is known for these tactics and has a history of initiating trash talk with his opposing wide receivers. While Odell and Norman clearly do not have a good relationship, Norman and Brown have mutual respect for each other.
Norman has such a high opinion of Brown that he says he would not even think about engaging in any trash talk during the game. In his recent feature on ESPN he also had extremely high praise for the star WR. "Watching [Brown] and what he's able to do is freakish. When you look at the receivers in the NFL you don't have to stop nowhere other than Antonio Brown. It starts and ends with him. That's going to be a tall task to take on, and I respect that. I'm looking forward to what he brings, because that matchup is going to be a physical one and a fun one. I have nothing but respect for that guy."
Is Norman just using these tactics to get inside his head?
Does anyone actually believe that Norman will not try to get physical and talk trash to Antonio?
The competitive gene is just simply in some player’s blood and we will see if Norman follows through with what he said. Ben Roethlisberger is definitely not buying into Norman’s statements and warned Antonio ahead of the matchup on Monday.
“The big thing for both—they might try to play mind games with each other—I’ll talk to my guy and make sure he keeps a level head and just plays football,” Roethlisberger said.
Nobody knows if Joe Barry will have Norman follow Brown around the field the entire game. Brown can play from any receiver position, but one would assume that Norman’s focus will be primarily on Brown. “Going into this game, I don’t know if it’s a matchup or not, but I’m going to go out there and do the best that I can to guard a guy like that,” Norman said.
Expect to see third-year cornerback Bashaud Breeland get his chances to slow down the top receiver throughout the game.
The Steelers offense will not be at full strength, but they will still have the best player on the field. It will be a difficult task, but If Norman can contain Antonio, the Redskins will have a good chance of getting above .500 in season openers, as they are 40-40-4 all time.
#HTTR
