LATROBE _ Wide receiver Antonio Brown celebrated his return to 11-on-11 work this afternoon by doing what he so often does.
Brown's day began by working from the front of the wide receiver's line in position drills (he had been in the back upon his return to campus on Tuesday, when Brown worked only in individual drills).
He was likewise front and center during a wide receivers/defensive backs one-on-one session. Brown beat cornerback Artie Burns for a touchdown on a throw from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, then exchanged a few words with Burns about it afterward. Burns had been in coverage on what became an incompletion from Roethlisberger to Brown in "Seven Shots."
Brown next escaped cornerback Joe Haden on a double-move and hauled in another touchdown from Roethlisberger.
After a subsequent TD at Burns' expense, Brown celebrated with some fans lined up at the fence that was just behind the end zone.
The fans loved it, and even cheered Brown when he took a quick break a few moments later to get drink of water.
"Chill out," defensive end Cameron Heyward yelled back at the fans from the defensive sideline.
Brown hadn't participated in 11-on-11 drills at Saint Vincent College since Aug. 30 due to a quad injury, so his excitement at being back was as understandable as it was obvious.
At one point he even threw a good-natured complaint at defensive coordinator Keith Butler.
'You can't double-team me in practice," Brown insisted.
Butler's response: "You're on the field, you're getting doubled."
MEDICAL FILE: Free safety Sean Davis (groin), outside linebacker Bud Dupree (concussion), center Maurkice Pouncey (undisclosed), guard B.J. Finney (quad contusion), offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (birth of a child), tight end Vance McDonald (foot) and outside linebacker T.J. Watt (hamstring) were among the players who didn't participate in 11-on-11 drills.
Tight end Xavier Grimble (wrist) didn't finish practice.
Cornerback Brian Allen was among those who returned to practice.
DOLLAR BILL: The Steelers worked their seven-defensive backs sub-package (the "dollar") in 7-on-7 drills and on the first series of an 11-on-11 two-minute drill at the conclusion of practice. Safety Nat Berhe took Davis' place and joined cornerbacks Burns, Haden and Mike Hilton, safety Terrell Edmunds, and safeties Morgan Burnett and Cameron Sutton, who played linebacker-type roles.
REVISED LINE: With guard Ramon Foster still sidelined (knee) and with Finney, Pouncey and Gilbert not participating, the first-team offensive line was deployed as follows left to right: Alejandro Villanueva, Matt Feiler, Patrick Morris, David DeCastro and Chukwuma Okorafor.
TWO-MINUTE DEFENSE: The "dollar" allowed a 30-yard completion from quarterback Mason Rudolph to wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and then came up with a tip-pick (Burns on a ball that deflected off wide receiver Justin Thomas). That stopped a drive that was trying to go 48 yards for a touchdown in 1:18 with one timeout in two snaps.
The second-team "nickel" opposed quarterback Joshua Dobbs on the second two-minute series (cornerbacks Coty Sensabaugh, Allen and Dashaun Phillips, and safeties Jordan Dangerfield and Malik Golden comprised the five defensive backs). Dobbs hit four of his first five passes for 14 yards but threw incomplete on fourth-and-9 from the 34-yard line with 16 seconds left on the clock. Vince Williams and Jon Bostic opened the series as the inside linebackers. Bostic was eventually replaced by Tyler Matakevich.
EXTRA POINTS: The offense prevailed, 4-3, in "Seven Shots," the Steelers' practice-opening two-point conversion/short-yardage drill. Roethlisberger hit running back James Conner and Smith-Schuster for conversions/scores. Rudolph found wide receiver James Washington in the end zone, missed Washington on a fade and then hit wide receiver Marcus Tucker, who was uncovered by the defense, on the seventh rep with the score tied at 3-3 … Farrington Huguenin (for Watt) and Anthony Chickillo (for Dupree) opened with the first-team defense at outside linebacker … Outside linebacker Keion Adams collected a tip-pick in 11-on-11 play … Sideline visitors included Dwight Stone and Ike Taylor.
