David Griffin, Cavs to receive Key to the City of Independence
November 18, 2016Buckeyes release trailer for revenge game at Michigan State
November 18, 2016The Pittsburgh Steelers have been awful at times during the 2016 season as they are a below .500 team that has struggled to create an identity and rise above the scrum of mediocrity that has plagued the 2016 NFL season. Fans of the Browns should still be terrified of a potential blowout in Cleveland this week though and worse is that Steeler fans will likely equal or outnumber the brown and orange in the stadium.
There are still six games left in the 2016 season with plenty of young players on the Browns that need the experience and the front office that needs the snaps to help evaluate those players. The slow death march has begun, this year a bit earlier than usual.
Let’s see if anyone at WFNY thinks that Browns can salvage some hope by making Pittsburgh the lone victory this season.
Outside the painted lines
Are there any good things that come out of Pittsburgh? If so, do you avoid them during Steeler week?
Craig: Pittsburgh is a really great place other than the Steelers. I used to bag on Pittsburgh a lot because I hated their football team, but then I went to a rock show in the middle of winter to see Mansions play, and it couldn’t have been a nicer experience. The people were nice. The atmosphere was great in the neighborhood. I limit my hate to the “Terrible Towel” at this point.
Joe: The McDonald’s Big Mac was invented in Pittsburgh and I like the Big Mac. So, I will now avoid the Big Mac this week.
Michael: I find no shame in admitting a love for Quaker Steak & Lube (though that is originated in Sharon, PA which might as well be a suburb of Youngstown, OH) as well as an affinity for putting french fries and coleslaw on sandwiches. I shall rebuke them for this week.
Josh: If I were to avoid anything from Pittsburgh this week, it would mean that the Browns and Steelers are a rivalry, which definitely isn’t the case. Both teams needs to win at least once every couple of years for it to be considered one. But, for what it’s worth, I like BBQ sauce way more than Heinz Ketchup and don’t like coleslaw on my overstuffed sandwiches, so there’s that.
Scott: The last thing I would let alter a week of my life is the Browns’ opponent on a given Sunday. I bank with PNC. I can’t think of another Ketchup I’ve used in the last decade that wasn’t Heinz. If I needed something shipped, I’d take it to FedEx right now. Similarly, if I had any fuel perks, I’d go to GetGo every day. Loaded sandwiches are delicious. The Clarks are a fun listen and Wiz Khalifa’s last album was decent. The Browns are still trash. There’s no rivalry here.
Pat: Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was from Pittsburgh. There’s nothing more #TeamSunnyside than Mr. Rogers. So, for this week – and only this week – I shall drop my sunnyside flag and pick up for #TeamStormClouds.
Dave: I go out of my way to avoid Pittsburgh products. I am a Hunt’s man through and through.
What percentage of the stadium do you expect to be filled with opposing fans? Do you have a problem with it?
Craig: I don’t think it will be that high this year, compared to the Dallas game. Pittsburgh fans aren’t having the most fun this year either, despite it looking like a dream season to Browns fans. I think the motivation to invade Cleveland will be a little bit less than years past. I have a problem with it inasmuch as I am a season ticket holder and I wish things were different. However, I don’t blame Browns fans for cutting their losses and not attending these games. Browns fans are the furthest thing from “fair weather,” and this team deserves nothing from its fans right now.
Joe: I expect the stadium to be 50/50 Browns to Steelers fans. I have no problem with it because the Browns have gone through so much that the fans do not need to be loyal and watch a horrible winless team. It is what it is.
Michael: 50percent Steeler fans, 40 percent Browns fans, 10 percent empty seats is my expected breakdown. I would be disheartened by it except good for any Cleveland fan who can get some money back on their season ticket package this year and the opposing fans taking over the stadium sends the appropriate message to the front office that Sashi Brown admitted they noticed in the presser this week.
Josh: I was at the Indians-Blue Jays series when Toronto fans took over The Jake. Luckily, I won’t be at FirstEnergy Stadium when Steelers fans take over this weekend. While I think there will be plenty of Browns fans there, it will be at least 50 percent black and yellow. The noise will be 90/10 just because Browns fans have nothing to cheer about, honestly.
Scott: Hopefully all of it. Literally—the entire thing. The Browns don’t deserve anyone wearing orange and brown walking through those stadium doors. until they get their shit together.
Pat: We like to say the Steelers suck. This year, their team matches the chant. An under .500 club who are on a four-game losing streak. Too bad the Browns are even worse than suck. Of course, they’ll still have a bunch of locals who cheer for the Steelers show up. Hate those guys.
Dave: I don’t care about the number as long as they can show me proof of residence of Youngstown or points east. Nothing worse that North East Ohio Pittsburgh fans.
Actual football
We all know that giving Ben Roethlisberger time is a death knell to any defense, but especially one with a poor secondary such as the Browns. Is there any way to generate pressure this week?
Craig: Nope. Short of guys making plays on the linemen in front of them, there’s nothing else that can be done. Blame for Ray Horton might be justified, but I don’t know how anyone can say so with the lack of talent on the roster. In a season like this where the front office has gutted the team and decided to play so many young players, the idea that anyone on the coaching staff could be scapegoated simply on results is laughable. The Steelers have allowed Roethlisberger to be sacked 14 times in eight games. We’ll see if the Browns’ defense, including Jamie Collins, can keep that rate going.
Joe: I think Jamie Collins and Emmanuel Ogbah will need to be able to push pressure on the quarterback. They are the two best pass rushers on the team. But in the end, the Browns will once again struggle to get to the quarterback.
Michael: The Browns have been horrific generating a pass rush with just 16 sacks and I don’t see it changing this week even if Horton utilizes Collins as a pass rusher more often. Martavius Bryant looks to miss this game but Roethlisburger will still have enough weapons to dissect a bad defense.
Josh: Unless Carl Nassib, Danny Shelton, Emmanuel Ogbah, and (a blitzing) Jamie Collins play their best game of the season, our pass defense is going to be lit up on Sunday. Imagining Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell playing against the Browns’ defense is truly scary.
Scott: Nah. And if the Browns decide to blitz too many, and the Steelers can’t pick it up, expect a heavy dose of Le’Veon Bell draw plays and screens to take advantage of the numbers gap downfield.
Pat: Screw it. Let’s have some fun with it. Line the defense up in that dumb Harbaugh single file line formation. Play the amoeba defense. Send every single player on a blitz – the secondary is leaving receivers wide open anyway. I’m not sure which is worse: our OL’s ability to protect our own quarterback or our ability to get to opposing quarterbacks. Sigh, I’m going to pull up the happy Hue face on my screen now because there’s no way he’s making it into the progress report this week.
Dave: I expect that they will get good pressure and some hits on him in the first half. And suck in the 2nd half.
Has Hue Jackson learned his quarterback lesson? Will the Kessler-Hogan-McCown carousel stop? And, do you think it benefited Kessler at all to have him benched mid-game last week?
Craig: The idea that Hue Jackson needed to learn a lesson isn’t really fair. I don’t know that anyone has to agree with Hue Jackson to at least understand what he was doing. He thought he could get a spark before Josh McCown’d all over the field. This idea that going to McCown is some unforgivable mistake because it worked out putridly is silly. I get the idea that Cody Kessler has more future, but if Hue was calling his game one way and the rookie was checking down or otherwise not taking advantage the way Hue thought that the Browns could do so, then he was right to bench him. The idea is that McCown could do those things and help the Browns win a game while also showing the younger Kessler what he’d been missing. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but unless we know what was called and what Kessler was executing, we don’t know how much of a match or mismatch those two things were.
Joe: It better stop. Cody Kessler needs to play the entire game, unless he gets injured. The Hogan gimmick is done. Teams can now expect it and stop it. McCown is an over-the-hill quarterback with no future with the team. We do not need to see him for the rest of the season.
Michael: Benching him sure drove home the point that Hue thought he was leaving plays on the field. Every rookie has an adjustment period and I despise coddling them during it. But, I doubt Hue goes back to methods that failed so spectacularly. With previous Browns quarterbacks who did not want to throw deep, the Steelers would go into an umbrella zone whose purpose was to punish receivers after the catch. If Kessler wants to build some goodwill with those receivers, then he needs to test out that mid-to-long range game this week.
Josh: I don’t think it was technically a “lesson”. Did the change at quarterback last week backfire? Absolutely. But, hindsight is 20-20. For the first time in a long time, I actually believe in the Browns head coach this season, so he might have known something that we, as fans, didn’t. As a rookie, that could have either deflated Kessler’s confidence or made him realize that he has to produce more on the field or else his head coach isn’t afraid to pull him. But, with that being said, I think he learned from it and won’t do it again. I think Kessler will get the majority of the snaps from here on out.
Scott: If we see McCown again, it’ll be due to an injury. Hue has some brass balls, but there’s no chance he pulls that crap again. Don’t count out Kevin Hogan though. I do still think he likes mixing things up a bit there as it’s a different look for the defense. McCown is nothing more than a stronger-armed version of Kessler who also happens to like throwing to the opposing team.
Pat: Considering the week was spent pondering if Michael Vick wannabe RG3 can make it back onto the field, I’m guessing that’s a big fat N-O. Being a Hokie and living in Virginia, I’ve lived through the Michael Vick experience. While it can be exhilirating on the upswing, the fall is terrifying. RG3 is full-on the downswing right now and Jackson is initimating he’ll get another shot (smh). Yay?
Dave: I don’t understand the Kessler benching at all. To me it was a bit pointless, as McCown threw those interceptions. Thus any idea that he should have taken more shots deep were proven wrong.
Can the Browns offense put up big numbers against the Steeler defense?
Craig: They can if they’re willing to commit to the things they do best. The Browns need to run the ball with Cody Kessler at quarterback and it’s frustrating to see Isaiah Crowell’s carries go the way they have. He averaged nearly 15 carries per game for the first five games of 2016. Since that time, The Crow has averaged just 9.4 carries per game, including a 7.5 average over the last two games. Some of that has to do with shuffles on the offensive line and the loss of Joel Bitonio, but going pass-heavy with Cody Kessler has been a losing proposition as well.
Joe: I think the Browns receivers could take advantage of the Steelers pass defense. Pittsburgh ranks 28th in passing yards allowed per game in the NFL at 278 yards per game this season. It also has allowed the 11th best passer rating for the opponent’s quarterback this year. The Browns could use a big day from Terrelle Pryor, Corey Coleman and Cody Kessler to hurt the Steelers.
Michael: The Steelers defense is not good and gives up the fifth most yards per play (6.1 y/p). They are certainly susceptible if the Browns are aggressive with them from the start especially through the air where the Steelers are giving up a 95.1 QBrating to opposing quarterbacks and have only generated four interceptions. Do you want to have your mind blown though… the Steelers have only registered 13 sacks this season (worst in NFL). Kessler should have time.
Josh: In the first half: absolutely. But, then the Steelers will make adjustments and the offense, which will be down by double-digits on the scoreboard, will try to do too much and Pittsburgh will make them pay, just like they seemed to do in almost every game since 1999.
Scott: Early, perhaps. Once the defense allows Pittsburgh to hang 21 in the first three drives, however, the game planning will get lopsided and the Steelers defense will simply feast on Cleveland’s desperation.
Pat: What’s a big number? The Steelers have given up 30+ three times this year. The Browns have yet to score 30 points. So, if the big number is 30 points, then probably not. I’m literally shaking right now though at the visions of defensive backs sitting on five yard routes and blowing them up from the Brady Quinn versus Pittsburgh games.
Dave: I expect that we can score a few touchdowns in the first half with Terelle Pryor having a huge game. And then they will suck in the second half.
Are the Steelers beatable? I mean by the Browns as they are eminently beatable by even mediocre NFL teams. How do you expect this game to go?
Craig: Oh yes, the Steelers are as beatable as they’ve been in some time. It just so happens that the Browns are far far more beatable than the Stillers. The Browns are more than touchdown underdogs at home with 10 losses hanging around their necks. Oh yes. The Browns are more beatable.
Joe: I expect this game to be a high scoring affair with the Browns unable to keep up with Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh’s offense. It will be hard to watch the Browns defense once again. 0-11 seems to be coming.
Michael: If the Browns are to win this game, then they would need to turn it into BigXII football where neither team plays defense. Be prepared to see a bunch of points bit hopefully the Browns don’t put themselves into a spot where they need to come back because I’m not sure the defense is capable of slowing down Pitt in crunchtime.
Josh: If Big Ben is healthy, it will be hard for any mediocre team to keep up with the Steelers’ offense. Unless the Browns pull of some incredible trade that lands them a new-look offensive line (not counting Joe Thomas), Tom Brady, and Julio Jones, they just don’t have enough to pull off an upset.
Scott: Beatable, yes. By the Browns? Only if Jackson has secretly been using the last 14 weeks to prepare for this game.
Pat: The Browns lost to the Steelers by 16 and 21 points in 2015. The Browns stripped down that bad team to the bare bones for 2016 and this season they are worse. Any given Sunday for the Browns might as well mean that they might not fully embarrass themselves.
Dave: I don’t care how negative all of these guys are up there. The Browns have been bad yes, but they’ve been close several times. No point starting to be pessimistic now. But they will probably suck in the second half.
6 Comments
They split with the yinzers in 1964.
And lose on point differential.
Just sayin…
I will gladly split and lose on point differential this year
Just sayin…
😉
… because we’ll win the NFL championship!
I like where your heads are, guys.
I just don’t think 6-10 will be enough to get the Wild Card.
“can you say the Browns will win ?? … I knew ya could” https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b1e995ba34b66f677833594457202f6080c46f79dbdb06980b44af0ee441f96d.gif
Your Cleveland Browns: Redefining the Land of Make Believe.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yinzer
“Top Definition:
A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Known for their love of all things Steelers and Donnie Iris and extreme hatred of Cleveland. Consists mainly on Primanti Brothers and ethnic cuisine. Yinzers can be easily identified by their one-of-a-kind, ridiculous accent.”
Gotta love the Cleveland call out.