Steelers – Browns Post-Mortem & More

Who Is At Fault
Put this one squarely on the offense.

When an NFL team holds an opponent to 10 points, you should win. When the Browns hold someone to 10 points, it should be cause for celebration. Unfortunately, a loss is a loss – regardless of how you got there.

As usual, the Steelers found a way to beat Cleveland once again – that’s 10 straight and counting. This time, it involved playing close to the vest knowing the Browns were unlikely to score a touchdown unless Pittsburgh fumbled it in their own end zone and promptly ran away from the bouncing football as if avoiding the plague. Even then, the odds were 50-50 the Browns got possession before the pigskin fluttered out of bounds.

The Browns offense was so anemic, that when they got in the red zone – which was just three times by my count, on one occasion they never took a shot in the end zone, and in their final drive, decided to settle for a field goal instead of going for it on fourth down with under four minutes to play.

The logic of not trying to convert on fourth down eluded me last night.

Had they failed, they still had all their timeouts left with the Steelers pinned in their end. Even with the field goal, giving them a grand total of six points on the night, the Browns still needed to get a stop AND score a touchdown to win – something they have done just once in eighth quarters this season.

Others will focus in on that decision and try to convince you the game was lost there. Wrong. It was lost because the offense didn’t show up AGAIN.

DA
I said I would not pile on and I won’t. You all know my position on this dating back well over a year. When they (Browns) and the media figure it out, someone can call me.

Meanwhile, I just have this to say – Please DA, stop looking for timeout instructions from the sidelines during the 2-minute drill. You are the QB. You should know the situation at all times.

Secondly, NEVER throw a pass short of the goal line when you have 0:08 seconds remaining on the clock before halftime and no timeouts remaining. Had that pass been caught by a receiver instead of intercepted by Paluamalu, the defender was in position to make the stop short of the end zone. That’s not good.

Perhaps a fade would have been a better call?

To Anderson's defense, it's hard to completely judge him yet because he's had to deal with, by my count, eight drops in two weeks.

He’s Back
When a Pro-Bowl receiver has three non-descript receptions to go along with six drops after two weeks of play, it’s a story. Until he has more receptions than drops, he will once again be appropriately named “Butterfingers.”

It’s only right to do so. At least he (Edwards) takes credit for his flaws. Right.

HOF Duel
It was a pleasure watching K2 and Paluamalu go at it. Those two were locked in on each other all game long. If the pair stay healthy the rest of their careers, we will be seeing them in Canton.

Playmaker
We mentioned in the pre-season the Browns did not have one impact player on defense. Last night, nose guard Shaun Rogers was playing downhill from start to finish, disrupting the Steelers’ offense to not end. It was as good a performance as I have seen from a Browns’ defensive lineman in a long time.

Bad Trends
The Browns are the only NFL team to open with a pair of losses at home this season. Cleveland is already two games out of first after two weeks. The Browns have four of their next five on the road. They would need to go 10-4 the rest of the way to put themselves in a realistic position to make the playoffs – and that includes closing out the season week 16 at Pittsburgh.

How do things look so far?

OSU
I have been able to watch more Division I college football in the past two weeks than I have for the past 20 years. Here are my thoughts when it comes to Ohio State and its inability to beat other top programs.

The talking heads would have you believe it’s because the Buckeyes lack the overall speed and talent the SEC or Pac-10 have. Wrong.

OSU has had as many or more players reach the NFL than any other college football team in recent memory. The Buckeyes can recruit all over the country – just like USC, the Florida teams, LSU, etc… The Buckeyes have terrific talent.

Then why are they falling short against other top programs?

First, their schedule is weaker (Big 10); therefore, they are not as prepared. Secondly, the quarterbacking in the Big 10 is mediocre at best. That hurts them on the defensive end when they have to face a good QB out of a good conference who plays in a good system. And finally, the coaching is better elsewhere than in the Big 10, and I am not just talking about the head coach.

As for the loss to USC, I told my wife 10 minutes before kick-off we should have put this month’s mortgage check on the Trojans. That’s okay, had I done so, the Buckeyes would have covered. The point is it’s unfair to completely judge OSU by that loss because their best player by far (B. Wells) did not play.

The only, and I repeat, only chance they had in that game, was to have a healthy Wells carry it 35-40 times, be productive, and keep SC’s offense on the sideline. Wells is a top-5 pick in the 2008 draft if healthy. He would have made a difference. Would they have covered? I doubt it. But without him, they had no chance. No chance.

By the way, someone tell Tressel not to run the option with a non-option quarterback. That’s truly ugly to watch and fools absolutely no one.

NE – Jets
Again, I can’t stand him, but Mr. Bill is a genius. He took a QB who had not started since high school went on the road and beat a first ballot Hall of Famer in Brett Favre. That’s amazing. Meanwhile, the Browns complain about losing Sean Jones.

Vince Young
I don’t know all the facts, but one hopes Vince Young gets straightened out. When a pro athlete has a lot of time on his hands, bad things tend to happen, especially when they are injured and don’t feel like being part of the team anymore.

The locker room is the only place many of these young men feel comfortable and at ease. Take that away from them and trouble often follows. This is especially true for athletes who come from single parent homes. Here’s hoping he’s back playing soon, but more importantly, Young can learn to deal with the bumps on the road we all have to face.