Pittsburgh Steelers 24 Cleveland Browns 10

The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to finish the 2012 season on a strong note with a victory over the Cleveland Browns. Granted, finishing 8-8 isn’t ideal, but a win is a win.

Ben Roethlisberger finally returned to form, being rather inconsistent after coming back from his shoulder and rib injury. Big Ben was 15 for 23 for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps the most important stat for Ben was zero interceptions.

» Continue reading “Steelers Close Out 2012 Season With A Win”

Week 17

Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Time: 1:00 PM

TV: CBS

Site: Heinz Field

Last Meeting: 11/25/12, L 14 – 20

Cleveland Browns on Aerys: Dawg Treats

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrap up a disappointing 2012 season by taking on the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field. The Steelers will hope to end the season on a high note despite the absence of Ike Taylor, Mike Wallace, and team MVP Heath Miller. All three are injured and will finish the season on Injured Reserve.

The Black and Gold will take on a Browns team that in all likelihood will be playing to keep their jobs. With an offseason to mull things over, the new owner of the Cleveland Browns may look to make some personnel changes.

No job is safe on the Steelers side of the ball either. The Steelers made waves this past offseason by cutting veterans such as James Farrior and Hines Ward to make room under the salary cap. Between the salary cap and the lackluster season, the Rooneys may be looking to make changes of their own.

You’d have to be living under a rock to be unaware of the countless injuries the Pittsburgh Steelers have sustained this season, and Week 12 was no exception.  Several more players went down in the slugfest vs the Cleveland Browns, resulting in a mind-boggling shift of players on the active roster and practice squad.  Check it out:

1. RT Marcus Gilbert, hoping to return from an ankle injury, suffered a setback and was placed on IR.
2. Rookie T Mike Adams, the 2012 2nd round draft pick who has been filling in for Gilbert, suffered an ankle injury and will reportedly miss “significant time”.
3. Rookie Kelvin Beachum will likely start in place of Adams, whom he relieved during the Browns game.  It will be his first NFL start.
4. 2012 1st round draft pick RG David DeCastro, who sustained a knee injury during preseason, was activated from the “IR with designation to return” list.  It is unclear if he will start, as Ramon Foster has played well in his absence.
5. LG Willie Colon has been sidelined with a swollen knee and may sit this week again…rumor has it that if Colon can’t play, ProBowl center Maurkice Pouncey may slide into the guard position, leaving backup Doug Legursky to fill in at center.
6. Rookie G John Malecki continues to bounce between practice squad and active roster.  This week, he’ll again be on the list of 53.
7. WR Antonio Brown practiced well this week and is expected to make his return against the Ravens.  This is good news indeed.
8. With Brown returning, rookie WR David Gilreath was released to make room on the roster.  The Steelers would likely have signed Gilreath back to the practice squad, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed him off waivers.
9. Other rookies that were released were lost to other teams as well: WR Toney Clemons was signed by the Jaguars and G Ryan Lee was signed by the Saints.
10. To fill out the practice squad, T Joe Long (brother of Dolphins 1st round pick Jake Long), G Justin Cheadle (no relation to the actor Don Cheadle),  and WR Bert Reed (not in any way connected to paper towel dispenser killer K Jeff Reed) were all added.
11. RB Jonathan Dwyer will get the start over Isaac Redman and Rashard Mendenhall, who sits at #3 on the depth chart after fumbling twice on 4 carries against the Browns as part of the turnover marathon.  I guess Dwyer’s fumble was the least offensive?
12. WR Mike Wallace got a mini-demotion and now shares the starting position with Emmanuel Sanders opposite Antonio Brown.  Sanders has performed well in AB’s absence.

1. LaMarr Woodley will sit out with an ankle injury, and Jason Worilds will again start opposite James Harrison.  Both Worilds and Harrison have been performing well recently.
2. QB Ben Roethlisberger if officially out vs the Ravens, and Charlie Batch will again get the start.  Byron Leftwich continues to recover from rib fractures.
3. WR Jerricho Cotchery is also trying to return to the field from his rib injury, but don’t expect him to play this week.  Plaxico Burress will fill his spot.
4. After playing a mere 1.25 games this year, safety Troy Polamalu may finally make his return this week.  The #1-ranked defense has been playing so well the past few weeks, I think a lot of fans have stopped missing him.
5. Safety Ryan Clark has managed to avoid even minor concussions since he started wearing his new, big (unfashionable in his opinion), kevlar reinforced helmet.  Looking good, Ryan.

I don’t know about you, but all this roster movement makes my head spin…I need to rest up for the big game Sunday.  Steelers vs Ravens is always huge, and never more so than this week.  Ravens will essentially clinch the division with a win.  If the Steelers can pull off the upset, who knows?

Cleveland Browns 20 Pittsburgh Steelers 14

This sums up the Steelers’ offensive effort in one simple image.

The Steelers were playing without Ben Roethlisberger and the rest of the offense decided to take the game off as well.

How else can you explain the million fumbleceptions given up by the offense?

With the third-string quarterback starting for the Steelers, the running game was going to be the primary focus. Unfortunately for the Steelers, the entire running back corp came down with a severe case of fumblitis. Rashard Mendenhall kicked things off in the Fumble Sweepstakes, but Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, and Chris Rainey also managed to fumble the ball.

Not to be outdone, Charlie Batch threw three interceptions.

It’s rather telling that the best looking Steelers throw on the afternoon came on a last-ditch lateral by Mike Wallace.

The defensive unit put forth another spectacular game in a wasted effort. Considering the sheer amount of turnovers and the field position advantage the Browns had, this game should not have been this close. Credit the Steelers’ defense for pushing the Browns out of field goal range.

» Continue reading “Steelers Fumble Game Away Against Browns”

Week 12

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

Time: 1:00 PM

TV: CBS

Site: Cleveland Browns Stadium

Last Meeting: 01/01/12, W 13-9

Charlie Batch and the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns in yet another AFC North mach-up. The Browns may be a 2-8 team, but they are not to be taken lightly. The Steelers have had more than their fair share of issues with teams with losing records this season. Two of their loses came to the Oakland Raiders and Tennesee Titans, and the Steelers have looked less than impressive against the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs. With this being a divisional match-up, it could be another one of those ugly close games that the Steelers are all too familiar with this season.

» Continue reading “Week 12 Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns”

The NFL announced suspensions for four players today as the final penalties for the pay-for-performance “bounty” program that the New Orleans Saints promoted. Included was Scott Fujita, a linebacker who now plays with the Cleveland Browns, who will be suspended for the first 3 games of the regular season. Unlike Saints LB Jonathan Vilma, who is suspended for an entire season effective immediately, Fujita will be allowed to participate in off-season activities and preseason games.

According to the official release from the league office:

The record established that Fujita, a linebacker, pledged a significant amount of money to the prohibited pay-for-performance/bounty pool during the 2009 NFL Playoffs when he played for the Saints. The pool to which he pledged paid large cash rewards for “cart-offs” and “knockouts,” plays during which an opposing player was injured.

This is yet another challenge that the Browns must overcome as the weakest team in their division, a blow that they may not have considered heading into the draft.

So now that the adrenaline of the 2012 NFL Draft has worn off, it’s time to assess the impact.  It goes without saying that Steeler Nation is excited about the new rookie Steelers.  The O-line got a significant upgrade, and the team appears to have found the heir to Casey Hampton at nose tackle.

But what about the AFC North rivals?  Emily Miklasevich has already reviewed what the Bengals draft means for the Steelers.  Up next is the Browns.

The Cleveland Browns entered this year’s draft with 13 picks, more than any other team.  They were still reaping the rewards of a 2011 trade with the Atlanta Falcons (who moved up to take WR Julio Jones), which had added additional 1st round (#22) and 4th round (#118) picks for this year.  They had many areas of need and seemed primed to address them, a slightly concerning scenario for the Steelers and their fans.  Would this be the year the Browns finally rebuild?  In a word…no.

Despite what Mike Holmgren claims, the Browns got duped into trading up one spot from the 4th to the 3rd selection.  It was a brilliant move by the Minnesota Vikings, who received 4th, 5th, and 7th round picks and still selected OT Matt Kalil.  The Browns secured RB Trent Richardson, who would still have been there at #4.  Richardson is a true talent, and he will help the Browns offense to some degree.  Without an effective passing game, however, the team will struggle against defenses expecting him to run the ball.  Oh, and the Browns play 3 of the top 10 rush defenses of 2011 twice each (Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals).

The second 1st round pick, QB Brandon Weedon, was a true reach at #22.  He would have been there in the second round.  The Browns also passed on OG David DeCastro (to the Steelers’s delight), and every pick from 23-28 had better value for that round.  It’s hard to know if Weedon will succeed, coming from a spread offense where teammate WR Justin Blackmon may have made him look better than he truly is.  He’ll need to adjust to Pat Shurmer’s west coast offense without much WR help.  After a failed MLB career, Weedon returned to college and football, which makes him a rookie at 28 years old.  And the Browns say they don’t plan to trade Colt McCoy despite the obvious vote of no confidence.  Hello, QB controversy.

Their 2nd pick, OT Mitchell Schwartz out of Cal, is puzzling only because they left Cordy Glenn and Jonathan Martin on the board, both of whom were rated much higher.  Not the best news if you’re Trent Richardson.  Or Brandon Weedon.  Or even Colt McCoy.  Glad tidings indeed for James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.

In the 3rd round, the Browns traded down 20 spots, taking DT John Hughes (not the film director) and gaining a 4th round pick.  Not a bad pick, but not a great strategy.  If they hadn’t wasted picks trading with the Vikings, they could have taken one of a few decent WR available earlier in the round.

The 4th round brought a WR finally, Travis Benjamin, a slot receiver fairly similar to the WRs on the current roster.  He won’t stretch the field, and that’s what they needed, so he doesn’t upgrade their offense.  Later in the round, they selected ILB James-Michael Johnson.  He may move to OLB and adds depth.  The 5th rounder, G Ryan Miller, won’t be a starter but again adds depth.  In addition, the Browns selected an LB, DL, CB, and a FB-TE.

Obviously, the Steelers will always have to take the Browns seriously, or they’ll find themselves the victims of a trap game (painful memories of that Thursday night loss in December 2009).  The missed opportunities and mismatched picks that characterize the Browns 2012 draft, however, don’t help make the Browns a legitimate rival.  If the Steelers don’t sleepwalk through the games, they should be 2-0 against the Browns in 2012.

Melanie Friedlander is a contributor to Steel City Blitz.  You can follow her on Twitter www.twitter.com/girlsurgeon.

Pittsburgh 13 Cleveland 9

Can somebody please tell me why the starters played so much in this game?

With a playoff spot secured long ago, and hopes of a higher seed pinned on a Bengals victory, this wasn’t a must-win scenario. And yet, Ben Roethlisberger played the entire game on his injured ankle.

Why?

Injuries will loom over the Steelers as they head into next week’s Wild Card game in Denver. Rashard Mendenhall went down with a knee injury in the first quarter. His replacement, Isaac Redman, ran for 92 yards on 19 carries. Unfortunately Redman had a severe case of the fumbles and coughed up the ball twice.

On the defensive side of the ball, LaMarr Woodley missed yet another game due to his hamstring injury. Woodley has seen limited playing time since injuring his hamstring against the Patriots in Week 8. There are also questions as to whether or not Ryan Clark will play the Wild Card game in Denver. Clark was not injured in today’s game, but lost his spleen and gall bladder in 2007 due to a blood reaction caused by a sickle-cell trait and playing football in high altitude.

Time will tell as to who will be able to play.

On a brighter note, Hines Ward had five receptions in the game, giving him 1,000 career receptions. Congrats to Hines for that remarkable achievement!

Week 17

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

Time: 4:15 PM

TV: CBS

Site: Cleveland Browns Stadium

Last Meeting: 12/08/11, W 14-3

First off, Happy New Year! The Football Gods have been kind enough to flex today’s game from 1:00 to 4:15 to give you all a little more time to recover from the previous night’s activities. Unfortunately for me, the Football Gods also decided to flex the Ravens/Bengals game and actually have Bengals fans show up to that game meaning that I have to leave the comfort of my own home to find the Steelers game somewhere.

The Steelers try to stay sharp as they head into the playoffs. Roethlisberger is expected to start, but will hopefully play just long enough to work off the rust and be productive. I’m hoping that Charlie Batch sees the majority of the snaps.

As of right now, the Steelers are sitting pretty for the number 5 seed in the AFC. They still have a shot at the number 1 or number 2 seed, but will need some help in that department. I’m hoping that the Bengals will prove me wrong and have just one more win in them. Come on guys, I’ve been taunting you all year.

Top 5 Burning Questions

• How many snaps will Roethlisberger get?
• Will Hines Ward get five receptions in this game?
• Will James Harrison be fined for the earthquake in Ohio yesterday?
• How much playing time will Polamalu see?
• Which seed will the Steelers wind up with?

Steelers 14 Browns 3

Ben Roethlisberger is one tough son of a gun.

In other news, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the Browns aren’t a very good football team.

Roethlisberger left the game in the second quarter with a “high ankle sprain”.  The injury was pretty nasty looking and it seemed like the Steelers would be lucky to get Roethlisberger back in time for the Monday Night game in San Francisco in 11 days. The footage of him being carted to the locker room certainly supported these suspicions.

Naturally, Roethlisberger came out to play in the second half.

The play of the game was Roethlisberger’s 79-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown to seal the Steelers victory. The offense had been lackluster all game. Hines Ward and Heath Miller had uncharacteristic fumbles in the red zone, and Rashard Mendenhall failed to score from the Browns’ two yard line, despite having four shots at punching the ball in.

The other story in this game is James Harrison’s helmet-to-helmet hit on Colt McCoy. Harrison was penalized on the play and will certainly be fined.

This game was a lot closer than it should have been, but a win is a win and I’ll take it. The Steelers don’t play again until the 19th, so the Steelers will have a few extra days to get healthy.