Robby Anderson poised for big year

Robby Anderson’s goal: Take his game to the next level.

The guy who may help him get there: Hines Ward.

“He’s a great resource,” Anderson said Thursday. “He’s done it at a high level consistently. What else can I ask for? I’m picking his brain in every way.”

The Steelers great, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver and two-time Super Bowl champion, is spending the summer at Jets training camp as a coaching intern, and Anderson is one player new coach Adam Gase hopes Ward can help. The two are working on Anderson’s conditioning, so he doesn’t tire out late in games, and becomes a tougher player to cover.

Since becoming the Jets’ coach, Gase has talked up Anderson. He has stressed the importance of him becoming a more versatile receiver, not merely a big-play threat teams had to worry about beating them deep.

“We want him to experiment with some different types of routes,” Gase said following the team’s first practice of training camp. “I know he can run a go-route; everybody knows that. We just want to keep finding ways to mask that and keep running different stuff and when that time comes, it helps him get open that much easier.

The undrafted 6-foot-3 Anderson wasn’t happy with his third season in the league, describing it as a “down” year. He was too inconsistent, held under 30 yards five times, and finished with 50 catches for 752 yards and six touchdowns, down from his breakout second season. He had four or more catches in just five games, though he did finish well, catching touchdown passes in three of his last four games and burning the Packers for nine catches and 140 yards in the second-to-last game of the year.

Anderson took a different offseason approach this year. Instead of taking it easy following the season, he remained in top condition. In past years, he would need to get back into shape before training camp.

“What I’ve done in the past is not what I’m trying to do,” he said. “I’m just trying to find ways to get myself to that next level and get better. I’m not going to backtrack, but until we reach the playoffs and to those things, that’s when I’ll be happy.”

In previous years, Anderson has talked about specific goals for himself — such as reaching the Pro Bowl and being a 1,000-yard receiver — but he spoke more on Thursday about team success. It is a big year for him. He is a free agent after this season and can make himself a lot money this year. But that only happens if he produces.

“What else do you need to be motivated? It’s that time,” he said. “But that’s not my main focus. That’s going to take care of itself. Winning, producing, that’s going to solve [everything].”

In June, Anderson had a chance to make some extra money. He entered the NFL’s fastest man race, with the winner taking home $1 million. But after prevailing in the first race, he took the rest of the competition off. His explanation was simple.

“That’s not on my goal sheet,” Anderson said. “If I did win that, yeah, I would’ve won a million dollars, but I’m focused on a lot of millions of dollars. Not just one.”

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