Unless a major turn of events happens, Michael Vick will be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals. While Ben Roethlisberger has returned to practice, the Steelers are not banking on their quarterback being healthy enough to play by Sunday. That leaves Vick under center once again as the quarterback has struggled to find rhythm in the passing game. Antonio Brown is letting him know that he is here to make plays.
Vick has had a modest four games with the Steelers as their starting quarterback. He has tossed a total of 58 passes while recording just two passing touchdowns in that time. The biggest loser with Vick on the field is Antonio Brown who has been quiet since Roethlisberger went down. Brown has just 87 yards in two Vick starts. While Brown is trying not to complain, he is letting Vick know that he is ready to make plays if he throws him the ball.
"He's got to take some shots," Brown said, via ESPN.com. "I told him, trust me a little bit. Let me make some plays. Let's get a victory. It doesn't have to be that hard."
With Vick under center, Brown has been targeted just 15 times in two games. That is down from the 35 targets he got in the first three weeks. Instead, it has been the Le'Veon Bell show in Pittsburgh as the running back continues to be the biggest playmaker for the team. Vick will get back Matavis Bryant in the passing game which could mean that Brown's targets drop even more. Vick told the media that he is aware getting the No.1 receiver some passes is important.
"It's very important," said Vick, via ESPN.com. "I'm still working on that. This week we said we're not going to put an emphasis on it. We're just going to let everything happen naturally, go out there and play to win, that's the most important thing ... Trust me, those plays are going to come."
There is a slim chance that Roethlisberger is the quarterback in Week 6. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the quarterback has returned to practice, but the chance that he is healthy enough to play following the knee injury is unlikely. In an interview with the NFL Network, receiver Markus Wheaton said that Roethlisberger looked healthy and ready to go in practice. The Steelers have not made a definitive call on the matter so fans should expect Vick to be back under center at least for one more game.
