Antonio Brown was ‘surprised’ Josh Norman did not shadow him

Antonio Brown made things look easy in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 1 win over the Washington Redskins, and it sounds like he anticipated more of a challenge heading into the game.

In an appearance on PFT Live Wednesday, Brown was asked about all this talk regarding Redskins cornerback Josh Norman not shadowing the opposing team’s best receiver. While Brown is glad the Steelers came away with a win, he was caught slightly off-guard by the game plan.

“I was a little surprised,” Brown said. “I kind of figured they weren’t, you know, studying his history from Carolina, he’s never been a guy who traveled with guys. I think he may have done it maybe once or twice maybe with Julio Jones, but I knew it wasn’t the case with competing against him. I didn’t think for one bit they was going to want him to follow me or guard me around all day.”

Brown added that he wishes he saw more one-on-one coverage from Norman.

“Absolutely man; that’s what the NFL is for,” he said. “To measure guys of who are the best based upon how you perform against the best corners, and that’s the match up you want to see. I think that’s what people want to see and that’s how you discover good on good. It lets the best guys go against each other and compete.”

The Redskins have chosen to use their $15 million-per-year cornerback to take away one side of the field, though there have been indications that Norman will shadow one of the NFL’s best wideouts this weekend. Brown put up eight catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Dez Bryant caught seven balls for 102 yards last weekend, and Norman wasn’t following him around, either. It’s about time Washington tried something new.