Harrison considers retirement

Thursday, October 21, 2010
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Larry Roberts/Post-Gazette

The NFL fined Steelers linebacker James Harrison $75,000.

Coach Mike Tomlin still insisted Wednesday that James Harrison's hit on Cleveland wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi was a legal one, yet maintained that his players should not be confused about how to tackle after the NFL came down hard on the Steelers' linebacker.

"There's no confusion," Tomlin declared. "There really isn't. It's a very emotional thing, but there's no confusion."

Confusion, though, dominated the Steelers' locker room, a place that did not include Harrison. The three-time Pro Bowl linebacker was absent from work, and he and his agent said he was contemplating retirement after the league fined him $75,000 Tuesday for the high hit on Massaquoi. Tomlin, however, said that after meeting with Harrison early Wednesday morning, he gave him the day off.

"A very productive conversation," Tomlin described it. "I thought it was beneficial to him and us if I give him a little time to cool off and give him the day. I excused him at that time.

"I'm sure he'll be back in the building and ready to play football tomorrow.

"Needless to say, this is a very emotional thing for James. He's a very disciplined and regimented guy. He's passionate about the game of football. It bothers him that he may be perceived as a dirty player. He doesn't desire to be. Simply wants to play the game and play it well."

While Harrison suffered the consequences of his hit, he is not the only defender wondering how to tackle after the NFL lowered the boom on three defensive players for what it ruled illegal hits Sunday. New England's Brandon Meriweather and Atlanta's Dunta Robinson each were fined $50,000 for their hits, all to the head area.

Many Steelers declined to talk about Harrison's fine or render an opinion on his hits -- including union player rep Charlie Batch -- because Tomlin told them not to. It did not stop them from raising the issue of how to play their game on defense.

"We all have the same concerns about what's legal and what's not legal," said linebacker James Farrior, the defensive captain. "I don't think it's defined right now, so it's a question mark for us. We don't want to get into trouble every time we hit somebody, so it's definitely a concern."

LaMarr Woodley, Harrison's counterpart on the left side, said they're all confused.

"It's just hard to kind of figure out how you're going to hit a guy. When you're out there playing football, sometimes people who have the ball try to avoid the contact; they're going low and you aim at their chest and sometimes you happen to have a helmet-to-helmet collision on that."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell notified teams in a memo and accompanying video Wednesday that more significant discipline, including suspensions, will be imposed on players who strike an opponent in the head or neck area in violation of the rules.

AP FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2010 file photo, James Harrison hits Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi during the second quarter of a an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. Harrison was fined $75,000 on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010, for his hit against Massaquoi.

Another helmet-to-helmet collision occurred in the second half Sunday at Heinz Field when Cleveland running back Peyton Hillis lowered his head into the face of Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. The hit knocked Polamalu from the game, although he said Wednesday there is nothing wrong with him and he has not been on their injury list.

Did Polamalu see anything wrong with that hit?

"No, because I don't think the defense should be illegal. It should go both ways. I just think that no matter what it's not right."

Farrior bemoaned the one-sided fine system the NFL seems to have.

"I want to see defensive players protected. We're always getting fined as defensive players with hits on offensive guys. What's protecting us?"

Several Steelers said that knees will be more at risk for ballcarriers because defenders will avoid going high on them.

"Guys are going to fear getting a big fine," said Woodley, "and they're going to start going for guys' knees, and that's going to be a serious problem once guys start getting their knees blown out and mess up the way they walk the rest of their lives."

Even quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said that while he prefers to not be injured, he'd take a concussion over a knee injury.

Safety Ryan Clark, the target of criticism at times in the past for hits that turned out to be legal, said one thing came through perfectly clear from the NFL this week:

"We can't go around hitting guys in the head. They made that point. We understand that. Obviously, they wanted to make it a big issue."

Objective met.

"You just got to play by the rules," Clark said. "That's all I can say. You got to do what they say. The commissioner has made his decision, and this is how the game is going to be officiated, this is how the game is going to be ruled. You just go about and try to win football games the best way you can."

Early in the day, James Harrison went on Sirius XM radio and said he may retire rather than play within the rules as determined by league officials. He was not penalized for the hit Sunday.

"How can I continue to play this game the way that I've been taught to play this game since I was 10 years old?" Harrison said. "And now you're telling me that everything that they've taught me from that time on, for the last 20-plus years, is not the way you're supposed to play the game anymore. If that's the case, I can't play by those rules. You're handicapping me."

Bill Parise, Harrison's agent, confirmed that the linebacker was contemplating retirement.

"He's in the process of contemplating is it possible to play football under these new rules ... 'if I go to work and tackle somebody and get a fine.' "

Parise said there is "no fighting, no arguing," just discussions. He said Harrison has been talking with his coaches, the Steelers, his mother and the agent. His teammates and coach were not confused about one thing. They believe Harrison will return to work today.

"He just needed some time to get his thoughts together," Farrior said. "He'll be back."


Lawrence Timmons intercepts a pass above Cleveland Browns Peyton Hills in the fourth quarter of their NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 17, 2010.(Reuters)

Quick hits

Linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who leads the Steelers with 67 tackles (26 more than Farrior at No. 2), was named AFC defensive player of the week. He had 14 tackles, two sacks and an interception against the Browns. ... Harrison and Woodley were each given half a sack on a pass play by Joshua Cribbs that previously had been ruled a run. That was also the play in which Harrison knocked out Cribbs with a hit to the helmet. Harrison now leads the team with five sacks. Woodley has 3.5. ... Running back Rashard Mendenhall (bruised shoulder) went through a full practice. Offensive guard Trai Essex (ankle) was limited.


For more on the Steelers, read the blog, Ed Bouchette On the Steelers at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.

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Running against Steelers a losing proposition

Thursday, October 21, 2010
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1


Whether or not James Harrison officially enters a comfortable retirement filled with cardigan sweaters and hot herbal tea before this weekend, the Miami Dolphins are going to try to run the ball against the Steelers come Sunday, so the question hasn't really changed.

Why?

I mean, why bother?

"Offenses are always going to try to use two phases," said Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who has managed 30 more tackles than Harrison this season without drawing any official scrutiny. "They don't want to just pass, so they're always going to try to run."

The illusion of balance, one would conclude, is preferable to the embrace of black-and-gold reality.

No running back has managed more than 42 yards against the Steelers this season, not even Tennessee's Chris Johnson. Though acknowledged in some parts as the single most-potent offensive force in the game today, Johnson managed 34 yards on 16 visibly frustrating attempts Sept. 19 in Nashville.

Michael Turner of Atlanta got 42 yards in the opener, Willie McGahee of Baltimore found 39, and Cleveland's Peyton Hillis, who'd scored in five consecutive games before Sunday, got only 41. No one else managed more than 30.

"At some point in a lot of our games," said nose tackle Chris Hoke, "teams decide, 'We can't keep doing this and win the game.' "

But this is only Thursday, so the art of self-delusion remains robust at the minimum.

So, this time it'll be Miami's Ronnie Brown, not that it would matter if it were Jimmy Brown. Ronnie will be joined by the veteran Ricky Williams, who in two career starts against the Steelers has averaged 2.6 yards, less by a few inches than the typical rushing attempt against Dick LeBeau's defense this season.

One suggested story line is that since Brown is a true running back operating the wildcat formation, as opposed to a converted quarterback or wideout, this will somehow flummox the defense that has allowed only one 100-yard rushing performance in the past 39 games, only nine in the past eight years. I won't be biting on that one.

"Last year, Cleveland had some success with [Joshua] Cribbs doing that against us," said defensive end Nick Eason, who's likely to start this week in lieu of hamstrung Brett Keisel. "Anytime that you put on film that a particular play is successful against you, teams are going to try that. With Miami having two great running backs on the field at the same time, that can be an issue. You've got to play great technique, because you don't really know what they're going to do."

I have a feeling that I do know what Miami will do in the running game. It will fail, just like everyone has so far. It's only a matter of when Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning will say "to hell with it" and go toward more viable options, such as two of the top five third-down receivers in the NFL, Davone Bess and Brandon Marshall.

It's no accident that running against the Steelers is the least-popular play-call in the NFL in 2010. The 117 rushing attempts by opponents are the fewest against any team in the league, and that figure includes some panicked quarterbacks gaining run-for-your-life yardage on designed pass plays. The reason for so few attempts remains obvious, as yards per attempt are a league low 2.7, but don't be surprised to see the Dolphins make another 20 or so attempts on the ill-founded notion that Brown averages 5.5 yards out of the wildcat.

Let's see what he averages when he runs it at Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley, and probably what figures to be an extremely hacked off Harrison.

"We'll just be out there doin' our job," said Timmons. "That's always been out mindset. We've got to stop the run."

Nearly a third of the way through the season, no Steelers team in memory has been so accomplished in this area as these guys. They're permitting only 63.8 rush yards per game, which, while partly a function of other teams abandoning the very notion of running against them, is superior to that of any Steelers Super Bowl team. The best of those, the '08 team, allowed 80.3 rush yards per game.

Contingent to some extent on No. 92's retirement plans, you might be looking at the best Steelers run defense ever, or certainly at a team with a chance at such a designation.

"I would think so," said Hoke. "It's not really a time to reflect on that right now, but we have the potential to be as good at it as any team we've had."

Maybe James should just pay the fine.

Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

Give NFL top brass an A for fines, F for no flags

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

So the NFL is going to start suspending the people responsible for its most "egregious" head-to-head collisions.

Good.

Start with the officials.

Charles LeClaire/US Presswire

James Harrison's hit against Mohamed Massaquoi in last Sunday's game.

It's one thing for players not to know the rules, but players aren't paid to know what constitutes encroachment or how many seconds to put back on the game clock in defiance of the whole space-time continuum. Officials, as I understood it from the ancient texts, in addition to being paid expressly for those purposes, owe their professional existence to not only knowing the rules, but to enforcing them correctly.

But that's strictly theory.

Perhaps owing to the unrelenting cadence of high-speed collisions, perhaps in deference to marketing forces that position the game as some celebration of violent acts you'd get arrested for in any other place, the modern NFL official enforces league rules selectively, ignoring some, insisting that others receive 100 percent compliance.

So please, keep those end-zone celebrations tasteful. Catering is frowned upon, certainly.

The most ignored rule in the league's ever-fluid digest of not-terribly-well-written rules is the one about the helmet. I'd even say it's ignored "egregiously," a word the NFL brass rarely delivers unto the fan base until somebody's really, really upset. I'm talking about the rule that prohibits "using any part of the player's helmet or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily."

If there are 130 plays in an NFL game, I'm going to say that something like that happens on at least a third of them. In the Steelers-Cleveland game Sunday, eight penalties were called, none for that particular violation.

Where is the flag for a defender running into an opponent head first? Where is the flag for the defender who launches himself at another player's head, intentionally compromising the safety of both's brains?

You might see a penalty flag occasionally for this, but they are nowhere near as common as the violation, and thus, nowhere near as common as concussions are in this game. The NFL, most conspicuously, but to similar extents the colleges and high schools as well, have created a football field where just about any kind of collision is not only permitted but encouraged.

Sunday was an especially brutal day for purposeful head trauma, coming as it did one day after a Rutgers University player was paralyzed below the neck making a tackle against Army. So the announcement Tuesday that suspensions are forthcoming for players who have no respect for the cognitive future of others or for themselves was most welcome.

It's not an overreaction in any sense, and, after decade of underreacting to the game's snowballing dangers, or not reacting at all, it's doubtful the NFL would even be, as Mike Tomlin might put it, overreaction capable.

There are plenty of overreactions out there, but they're nowhere near the implementation stage by any football administrators. One is the proposed elimination of helmets. Since rugby players routinely tackle each other without commonly disastrous head-banging, this theory goes, your footballers would be better off without them. Wrong, I'm afraid. Rugby is played by not-very-big people running not-very-fast, and players generally have enough to time to protect their heads. Football players explode at each other in bursts of adrenaline, the traffic often not allowing for even minimally protective reactions.

James Harrison's hit on Joshua Cribbs Sunday could not likely have been helped, because Cribbs changed direction directly into Harrison's path. But that's not the same as saying it shouldn't have been flagged. When a defensive player hits someone head first, flags should fly. It's the only thing that is going to change the way people are tackling. Harrison's hit on Mohamed Massaquoi, the one for which he'll pay $75,000, met every conceivable interpretation of unnecessary roughness and violated the newly legislated protections for defenseless receivers.

The fine itself, James apparently believes, is the media's fault.

Another overreaction would be to widen the field. The theory here is that the increased space will give players more operating room and thus more time to avert debilitating collisions. I think this would have the opposite impact. More space might make the game more exciting, particularly the running game, but given more room to run, the speeds attained by attacking defenders might only increase, and thus the danger.

What's truly astounding in all of this is the level of danger to which players will subject each other. New England defensive back Brandon Meriweather's helmet-to-helmet launch toward Baltimore tight end Todd Heap borders on the unconscionable.

Had Meriweather saved that one for this Sunday, I presume he'd have been suspended.

And still, that might still be too presumptuous, as I'm not at all sure he'd even be flagged.

Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10293/1096543-66.stm#ixzz12tVxLRHM

Johnson playing well, but Fleury still No. 1 for Penguins

Tuesday, October 19, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

Showed up at the Consol Energy Center Monday night prepared to take Penguins coach Dan Bylsma to task for his shabby treatment of franchise goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Then, Brent Johnson went out and played another really strong game.

So much for the best-laid plans.

Brent Johnson makes a first-period save against the Ottawa Senators during an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010.(AP)

Johnson is making Bylsma look a lot smarter than he deserves. I hate it that Bylsma buried Fleury on the bench for the third consecutive game over four nights Monday night and the fourth time in five games. But how can you gripe too much after the way Johnson has played?

I mean, really?

It's easy to overlook Johnson's performance in a game when the Penguins scored a flurry -- sorry, I couldn't help myself -- of goals against the Ottawa Senators in a 5-2 victory. But he was more than solid, turning away 32 of 34 shots. His best play came when he stopped Mike Fisher on a short-handed breakaway midway through the third period, poke-checking the puck off Fisher's stick when a goal would have pulled the Senators back in the game. It was a wonderful effort.

Johnson, who mostly has been a little-used NHL backup since he started 38 games for the St. Louis Blues in the 2002-03 season, is 4-0 as the Penguins' starter this season. But that's not the best part. He has allowed one, two, one and two goals. That's terrific.

"I feel sharp right now," Johnson said. Asked when the most recent time was that he started three games in a row, he said, "It's been a while. I can't really tell you."

Bylsma praised Johnson for having some of the best numbers in the NHL. "Right now, you've got a guy who's winning hockey games for us and making big saves."

I'm thinking Bylsma will give Johnson another start when the Penguins play Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn., although he wouldn't confirm that, saying with a smirk, "I'm enjoying the victory. I'm not even close to going there right now."

It's hard to argue with staying with the hot goaltender.

"You can't take Johnny out right now," said Fleury, of all people. "He's playing great and the team is winning."

Still, I can't help but think that Bylsma is doing Fleury wrong. Even if Fleury gets the start against Nashville, it will be eight days between games for him. He deserves better than that. He hasn't been nearly as bad as his 0-3 record and .853 save percentage say he is. The only really awful goal he allowed came Oct. 9 when he was beaten by Montreal's Scott Gomez for the game-winner late in the Canadiens' 3-2 victory.

It bothers me that Bylsma called Fleury out publicly after Fleury fished out four pucks from his net in his most recent start, a 4-3 loss Wednesday night to the Toronto Maple Leafs. None of the goals was blatantly bad, but Bylsma appeared irritated that they came on just 14 shots, only about eight of which he thought were scoring chances. "There's a time when [Fleury] has got to come up with the save," he said.

It's one thing to criticize a player like that, even a franchise goaltender, who still is 25, has led the team to one Stanley Cup championship and another Stanley Cup final and is in the third year of a seven-year, $35 million contract. But it's another thing not to give that player a chance to get back in the lineup to make things right.

I repeat: Fleury deserves better.

The Penguins are going to need him to be at the top of his game to be at the top of theirs.

Not that Fleury will complain. He is too much of a team man for that. All he would say Monday night, after walking across the Penguins' locker room to congratulate Johnson, was, "I think I've had enough time to get over the rough start. I'd like to get back in there. Anybody would feel that way."

It helps that Fleury and Johnson are the best of friends. This could be an uncomfortable situation if there were friction between them. It also could be rough if Johnson started lobbying for the starting job. That doesn't appear likely to happen.

"He is the face of goaltending here," Johnson said of Fleury. "Everybody knows that. It's his job.

"I'm grateful to get the chance to play a few games and get a few Ws for the team, but everybody in this dressing room knows it's Flower's team. He's the goalie who will be there down the stretch for us."

The stretch?

Now, you know Bylsma wasn't ready to go there.

"Marc-Andre Fleury, as you mentioned, is our franchise goaltender and our No. 1 guy," he said. "He'll get to [be] that again."

The sooner the better, I say.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

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NFL looking into Harrison's hit on Massaquoi

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The NFL is looking into this James Harrison hit on Cleveland wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, delivered during the second quarter of Sunday's game.

Christopher Horner Tribune-Review

The agent for James Harrison said the Steelers outside linebacker should not be fined or disciplined for a recent hit that the NFL is reviewing.

The NFL is looking into the Harrison blow that knocked Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi out of Sunday's game with a concussion, league spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday.

"It was not a flagged play, and I think it was well within the confines of the game," said Bill Parise, who represents Harrison. "I don't know how you could possibly (fine Harrison). That, to me, would be a ghastly reach."

Massaquoi's and Harrison's helmets collided on a second-quarter play that resulted in an incomplete pass. Massaquoi bobbled a short throw from quarterback Colt McCoy and appeared to duck before Harrison hit him.

Earlier in the quarter, Harrison knocked Josh Cribbs out of the game by hitting him in the helmet at the end of a 1-yard run. Cribbs was falling to the ground on the play when Harrison hit him in the ear hole of his helmet.

The NFL is not reviewing that play.

Cribbs, who had to be revived after the Harrison hit, also suffered a concussion.

After the Steelers' 28-10 win, Harrison said, "I don't want to see anybody injured, but I'm not opposed to hurting anybody."

Neither hit by Harrison drew a penalty, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said they were "legal hits, not fineable hits."

Such hits have come under increased scrutiny by the NFL following a weekend in which Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson also sustained a concussion after getting walloped by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson.

The NFL may start suspending players for helmet-to-helmet hits it deems excessively violent.

"There's strong testimonial for looking readily at evaluating discipline, especially in the areas of egregious and elevated dangerous hits," NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson told the Associated Press. "Going forward, there are certain hits that occurred that will be more susceptible to suspension."

Browns tight end Ben Watson told the AP that the Harrison hits on Massaquoi and Cribbs fall into that category.

"I hope the NFL does the max," Watson said of the league possibly disciplining Harrison for the hit on Massaquoi. "Whatever the max is, I hope they give it to him."

Harrison was fined $5,000 earlier this season for slamming Vince Young to the turf while sacking the Tennessee Titans quarterback with defensive ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel.

Harrison said Sunday it would be a "travesty" if the NFL fined him for his hits on Cribbs, his former college teammate, and Massaquoi.

Parise said Harrison did not launch his body at Massaquoi — New England Patriots safety Brandon Merriweather was penalized for doing that to Baltimore Ravens tight end Todd Heap last Sunday — or lead with his helmet on the play.

"Last time I checked, the defensive players separating offensive players from the football was an objective," Parise said. "I think (Harrison) has the right to do that within the framework of the rules and reasonability. But if you want to legislate that, I would suggest we put flags on the players and play flag football. And I don't mean that as a frivolous statement."

Parise said he is all for protecting players for their own good as well as that of the NFL.

"I want the game to be as safe as can be," Parise said, "but on the other hand, it's still football."

Suspension won't tame Harrison

By John Harris, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, October 19, 2010


I agree with Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons. This is crazy.

"That was something I've never seen before up close and personal," Timmons said about teammate James Harrison knocking Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs unconscious and nearly doing the same thing to another receiver, Mohamed Massaquoi, during a seven-minute span in the second quarter of Sunday's 28-10 Steelers' victory.

"That was crazy."

I'm behind Harrison 100 percent. I don't believe he should be suspended for delivering helmet-to-helmet blows that are against the rules but weren't called during the game.

Oh, there was a flag thrown following Harrison's hit on Massaquoi — against the Browns! Center Alex Mack was assessed a 5-yard delay of game penalty for kicking the football after the play.

FILE - This Oct. 17, 2010, file photo shows Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison lining up against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter of a an NFL football game, in Pittsburgh. Harrison states his objective matter-of-factly: He's out to hurt any opposing player who roams into his vicinity. (AP)

Why weren't Harrison's hits penalized?

"Legal hits, not fineable hits," said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who endorses the way Harrison knocked Cribbs and Massaquoi to the ground. "He played good football."

Played good football. Think about those three words.

Harrison was playing football the way he was taught a long time ago, the way the Steelers want him to play. In Tomlin's opinion, Harrison did nothing wrong. Just doing his job.

Multiply that thought process by 32 teams and coaching staffs with 53 players on each roster. Tomlin isn't the only coach who thinks that way, and Harrison isn't the only player who carries that mindset onto the field. Tomlin and Harrison are the rule, not the exception.

NFL vice president of football operations Ray Anderson said Monday that the league will begin cracking down on helmet-to-helmet hits, perhaps immediately. That means suspensions and/or fines for Harrison and Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson, whose jarring collision with Philadelphia wide receiver DeSean Jackson knocked the latter out of Sunday's game with a concussion.

Don't get me started about former NFL safety Rodney Harrison, an analyst for NBC who said during Sunday night's Colts-Redskins broadcast that suspending players is the only way to get their attention.

Harrison — no relation to James — should know. He was fined more than $200,000 during his career and suspended one game in 2002 for a helmet-to-helmet hit.

Of course, James Harrison didn't help his cause when he said his goal is to hurt opposing players (as opposed to injuring them). Politically correct he is not.

Suspending Harrison for a game won't stop him from playing the only way he knows — staying aggressive and tackling hard within the limits of the rules without breaking them.

Here's where the NFL gets itself in trouble. According to the rule book, Harrison's head-to-helmet tackle on Cribbs broke no rules because Cribbs was a ball-carrier.

That tackle knocked Cribbs senseless, yet was legal. Harrison's tackle on Massaquoi didn't knock Massaquoi out, but is considered more serious because the receiver was in a "defenseless" position.

How about the tackles resulting in concussions for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler? No penalties were given in either instance.

Were those plays not punishable because the concussions occurred when the back of the quarterbacks' head hit the ground? Are those concussions considered less severe than the ones occurring during the most recent slate of games? Can we even begin to compare the severity of concussions?

The NFL is based on legalized violence, but commissioner Roger Goodell wants to put a dress on a pig. The NFL can't have it both ways, but that's precisely what Goodell is attempting to do.

On the Steelers: NFL to rule on Harrison's hits

Tuesday, October 19, 2010
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Cleveland wide receiver Joshua Cribbs lies still after taking hit from Steelers linebacker James Harrison in the first half of Sunday's game at Heinz Field.

With all due respect to Mike Tomlin, the final verdict on whether one of James Harrison's hits was legal or not Sunday will be rendered by the NFL this week.

Neither of Harrison's hits that knocked the Cleveland Browns' Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi from the game drew a penalty, at least not on Sunday. The league already has determined that the Cribbs hit was legal but is reviewing Harrison's high hit on Massaquoi.

"The first hit [on Cribbs, who was a runner] was legal," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail to the Post-Gazette. "The second will be reviewed."

The two were among a handful of vicious hits to the head around the NFL Sunday that have drawn the attention of the league office and ultimately could draw punishment including a fine and/or suspension.

Ray Anderson, the league's vice president of football operations whose office doles out such punishment, reacted swiftly to the head hits on Monday.

"We are going to take a very proactive look at our enforcement," Anderson said in an interview transcribed by the league and made available to the media. "It may be that this office in particular needs to take the responsibility of just making sure that the penalty -- the discipline and the enforcement of the rules currently on the books -- is very proactively enforced. We may do that much sooner than later."

Anderson said suspensions are possible.

"You have to consider [suspensions] in flagrant-foul cases and egregious cases. Suspensions are not off the table, even for first-time offenders."

The first of Harrison's hits was deemed legal, even though his helmet hit Cribbs' helmet on a running play. It seemed unavoidable, two players flying through the air with no apparent intent by Harrison to lower his helmet into Cribbs' helmet. The rules allow for such an inadvertent hit.

The second hit by Harrison is the one that has come into question. Harrison hit Massaquoi high, not necessarily helmet to helmet, but it does not need to be a collision of helmets to be ruled illegal.

In the past -- such as Ryan Clark's big hit on receiver Wes Welker a few years ago in New England -- the hit would have been legal. But the new rule, changed at the NFL meetings in March, now says that a defender must give the receiver time to protect himself after catching the ball before he is hit high. Did Harrison do that?

Tomlin was quick to note Sunday that they were "legal hits, not fineable hits. He played good football."

Unfortunately for Harrison and the Steelers, Tomlin is not the final judge on such things. The NFL will let him know their ruling, usually no later than Wednesday.

For his part, Harrison said he will not change the way he plays based on worries about whether he will be punished for it.

"You start worrying about things, you're not going to do things you were able to do before," Harrison said. "You start worrying about 'well, if I hit this guy like this, hit this guy like that,' you just have to go in and if it happens you hit somebody wrong or you tackle somebody wrong, so be it. But you can't let it control your game. They have enough rules on tackling quarterbacks that you have to worry about, you don't need to be worrying about tackling a receiver or a running back."

After his hit knocked Cribbs out, Harrison said he received support from Browns fullback Lawrence Vickers.

"Vickers, he was like, 'Hey, man, that's football, that happens.' The flag wasn't on it. I was just happy it wasn't what they'd call an illegal hit."

Not yet, anyway.

Rough road ahead

The Steelers are delighted to have the whole Ben Roethlisberger ordeal behind them, from sin to punishment to redemption to comeback. What he and they have ahead of them is daunting, but at least only in a football sense.

For the first time in 16 years, the Steelers will play three consecutive games on the road in the regular season. They previously did it in 1994. They famously did it in the playoffs in 2005, but those weren't scheduled. They also played three consecutive weekends on the road in 1991. This will be only the third time in 29 seasons they've been scheduled for it (they played three consecutive away in '92 but with an off weekend tossed into the middle).

These aren't just any three games either. They play at Miami (3-2), at reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans (4-2) and at reigning AFC North champion Cincinnati (2-3). They get no break when they return home to play New England, like the Steelers 4-1 and among only three NFL teams that has one loss.

"I don't know that I've ever had it before, three games on the road, against tough teams," said Aaron Smith, playing in his 12th season. "I mean, we have to go out there and win as many as possible, come back and see where we're at."

Four other NFL teams play three in a row on the road, all into December: Cleveland, Denver, Atlanta and St. Louis.

"They're making it tough for us," linebacker James Farrior said. "It's definitely going to be a big challenge for us. To win games on the road is important for a championship team. You definitely have to do that. It's going to be a tough road but I think we're ready for it."

Mendenhall on record pace

Rashard Mendenhall is on pace to become among the top three workhorse running backs for one season in Steelers history.

Mendenhall has 116 carries or 23.2 per game. That pace through 16 games would give him 371 carries. Only Barry Foster with 390 in 1992, and Jerome Bettis with 375 in '97 had more.

The Steelers have dressed only three backs for each game, although they also list tight end David Johnson as their starting fullback.

Mendenhall also has eight receptions, putting him on pace for 397 touches this season. Only Barry Foster had more with 399.

Isaac Redman has 21 carries and three receptions (107 total yards) while Mewelde Moore has five runs and five receptions (for a total of 12 yards).

The coaches apparently are not worried about such a workload for Mendenhall because he was still in the game Sunday running the ball with just 1:36 left and the Steelers holding a 21-10 lead, just as he was still in the game late in their 38-13 romp at Tampa Bay.

One concession they have made is taking him out on third downs and inserting Redman or Moore, even though they consider Mendenhall to be their best at that, too.

"We have some pretty good guys in Mewelde and Red," Mendenhall said. "With all the work on first and second down, it helps to get a blow out there sometimes."

For more on the Steelers, read the blog, Ed Bouchette on the Steelers at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com.

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Roethlisberger, Steelers give glimpse of what could be

By Gregg Doyel
CBSSports.com National Columnist
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/
Oct. 17, 2010

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: Ben Roethlisberger thows a fourth quarter pass while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh won the game 28-10. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH -- That was everything we've been waiting to see, wasn't it? The Pittsburgh Steelers demolished Cleveland 28-10 on Sunday to improve to 4-1 and provide us with the great team this 2010 NFL season has lacked. And boorish Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was a changed man -- humble, nice, downright likeable for a change.

Do I believe any of it?

No. Of course not. Not yet, anyway.

It's too soon to believe that the Steelers, with Roethlisberger throwing for 257 yards and three touchdowns in his 2010 debut, are the elite team we've been waiting to see emerge somewhere in the NFL. That was an elite performance by Pittsburgh, yes, but Cleveland fell to 1-5 with quarterback Colt McCoy making his NFL debut on Sunday. So let's hold off on the hyperbole for the Steelers.

Likewise, it's too soon to believe Roethlisberger is a new man after his four-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy. In the eyes of the law he's not a criminal -- he has never even been charged with a crime -- but in the eyes of America he's a jerk, or worse. He has been too immature for too long to be anointed a changed man after one game, so let's hold off on the hosannas for him.

But still ...

The Steelers could be a truly great team -- and this isn't a one-day thing, either. Without Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh won three of its first four games with a good running attack and a great defense. Two teams the Steelers defeated, Atlanta and Tampa Bay, entered Sunday with just one loss. They were 7-0 against everyone else, and 0-2 against the Steelers. And that was the Steelers without Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls.

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: Ben Roethlisberger walks to the huddle for the first time after his suspention while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Now Roethlisberger's back -- and the Steelers can still run the ball (Rashard Mendenhall ran 27 times for 84 tough yards against Cleveland), and the Steelers can still play defense. James Harrison unleashed two brutal hits Sunday -- he knocked situational quarterback Josh Cribbs and receiver Mohamed Massaquoi out of the game with head injuries -- that might draw punishment from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and definitely sent a message to the rest of the league.

"People are going to think twice about coming across the field on us," Steelers linebacker James Farrior said. "Wide receivers are going to see that."

Add Roethlisberger to Pittsburgh's defense and rushing attack, and this could be it. This could be greatness -- a rung above the really-goodness of New England, Baltimore, Atlanta and the New York Jets.

"Hey, you never know, but I like what I saw today," said Steelers receiver Antwaan Randle El. "You saw how we played without Ben -- we were good -- but now he's on the field throwing it. Let's see what happens."

While we're watching, let's keep an eye on Roethlisberger, too. Is he different? Time will tell, and all we have is one game to go on. But it was an impressive game, and I don't mean his 112.7 passer rating. I mean his demeanor on the sideline, on the field, after the game.

Known for being aloof, Roethlisberger celebrated all four touchdowns with teammates long after the cameras were focused elsewhere, walking the length of the Steelers sideline to touch a knee or a shoulder of every player he could find. He went up to the punter. He went up to guys in street clothes. Roethlisberger, who used to approach nobody, was approaching everybody.

"You can tell he's humbled to be where he's at," said Steelers tackle Max Starks. "He's happy to be back. He appreciates it."

After the game, hundreds of Steelers fans gathered near the tunnel leading from the field to the Pittsburgh locker room. Roethlisberger was the last player off the field -- by several minutes, thanks to TV interviews -- but the crowd stayed. I watched, and not one of them left. They waited for Roethlisberger, and just like before and during the game, there wasn't a boo to be heard. Before he disappeared into the tunnel, Roethlisberger threw a towel into the crowd. It wasn't Mean Joe Greene sharing a Coke and a smile with a cute little ball boy, but it was a neat moment nonetheless.

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: Ben Roethlisberger reacts after throwing a fourth quarter touchdown pass while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh won the game 28-10. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

About a half-hour later, Roethlisberger talked about the crowd reaction.

"Amazing," he said. "That was part of the emotion I was feeling. It put tears in my eyes, to hear them cheer like that."

Roethlisberger's press conference was played in the press box, and that last sentence literally drew skeptical laughter from a woman sitting near me.

"Put tears in my eyes," she said, mocking Roethlisberger, laughing at him.

Hey, that's fair. Skepticism? Roethlisberger has earned our skepticism. But for one day, he was a different guy. And this comes from someone -- me -- who has loathed Roethlisberger for years. When the Steelers won their season opener Sept. 12 against Atlanta, I used my story from Heinz Field to celebrate the fact that Pittsburgh won without Roethlisberger. Probably not my finest moment, but what're you going to do? I don't like the guy. Haven't liked him for years, even before he was accused of sexually assaulting two different women.

But I liked him Sunday. He didn't sneer at questions from the media like he often does. He smiled. He was harder on himself -- "Horrible throw," he said of his lone interception -- and more complimentary of teammates than in the past. This is what he said of Mendenhall:

"Watching him from a distance, watching him up close, he is emerging as a top-five back in this league," Roethlisberger said, "with the potential to be one of the elite, top two or three."

When Cribbs was knocked out cold by Harrison, Roethlisberger was the only Steeler to stand close enough to watch the Browns player get treatment on the field. He left the sideline to be there, talking to a few Browns while they waited and watched.

Don't ask me where the arrogant, aloof Roethlisberger went, or if he'll be back. Can't tell you. But as far as first steps go, this was a good one.

And as far as NFL teams go, this could be a great one.

For more from Gregg Doyel, check him out on Twitter: @greggdoyelcbs

Big Ben makes offense click

Monday, October 18, 2010
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: Ben Roethlisberger waits under center during the game against the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

You can't simply Googlemap the intersection of performance and expectation, so, by any reasonable standard, the quarterback found his destination pretty easily on this sun-glistened Sunday.

Threw for nearly 300 yards.

Found the end zone.

Didn't rattle despite a fairly high rate of turbulence.

In sum, not bad at all for a guy playing his first meaningful football since January.

Yeah, Colt McCoy was impressive all right, but, on the day Ben Roethlisberger finally made it all the way back from that rainy night in Georgia (poetic license perhaps trumping meteorological accuracy), McCoy's first professional start was little more than a bold footnote to No. 7s return to the apparent good graces of Steelers Nation.

There were but a very few boos when Roethlisberger was introduced to a packed Heinz Field Sunday afternoon, and those nearly were drowned by a thunderous ovation from an audience that seems to sense that another long, successful Steelers autumn has gotten its legs.

And, more importantly, its golden arm.

"It was amazing," Roethlisberger said of his reception a couple of minutes after he'd finished taking apart the Cleveland Browns. "It was part of the emotions I was having. I had tears I my eyes."

Planned demonstrations and random protests by some portion of the fan base that still resents Ben's misadventures in misogyny did not amount to much, which would invite the conclusion that Roethlisberger's full-bore image rehab is all but complete, the outstanding balance easily negotiable by the consistency of civil public comportment.

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: Ben Roethlisberger celebrates a second quarter touchdown pass with Mike Wallace and Rashard Mendenhall while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Most of the North Side gathering yesterday was far more concerned that Ben overthrew Mewelde Moore on the Steelers' first possession, overthrew a wide open Mike Wallace in the fourth quarter, and missed on a couple of throws he usually doesn't, at least not when he does something other than fret for the past six months.

"I was putting just a little extra on it," Ben said of an expected initial anxiety. "The ball was coming out what we call hot, coming out [too] high and [too] strong. We left some plays out there, but that was a good Browns defense that we played."

Maybe so, but it was also a Browns defense with two rookies in its nickel package, one of whom Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey had just finished conversing with during a Steelers timeout -- fellow University of Florida rookie Joe Haden.

"We were real close teammates," Pouncey said. "Then, after he intercepted, I went up to him and said, 'Man, you can't be runnin' that long!' "

Haden took Ben's Mewelde-intended misfire 62 yards the other way, accounting for what was technically Roethlisberger's longest completion of the day. But the impact on Mike Tomlin's offense shouldn't be measured by the arithmetic dimensions of Ben's afternoon (he completed 16 of 27 passes for 257 yards, three touchdowns and one interception). The Steelers, who had converted just 10 of their previous 35 third-down opportunities in Roethlisberger's four-week absence, were 7 for 14 Sunday. A team that had been averaging only 13 first downs per week yesterday earned 22. More ominously for Pittsburgh's opponents, the offense, after a balky first half, began to look dangerous again.

This game changed from the aesthetic equivalent of two drunks rolling on a barroom floor into an aerial ballet late in the third quarter. Pinned inside the 10 repeatedly and nursing an uncomfortable, 7-3 lead, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians gambled on first-and-10 from the Steelers' 4. Cleveland had called a corner blitz, and Eric Wright flashed threateningly past Roethlisberger to his right a second before Browns linebacker Scott Fujita crashed into the quarterback.

Mike Wallace pulled it in 50 yards downfield.

"That was a little risky right there," said Ben (ya think?). "It was one of those plays where we just wanted to take a shot. I just chucked it, and [Fujita] got my arm when I let go of it, but, fortunately, the ball was gone when he hit me."

Roethlisberger found Heath Miller on a crossing route for 36 yards on the next play, then nailed Hines Ward cutting incorrectly toward the post three plays later for the touchdown that triggered a rout.

"The coaches told me after that Hines ran the wrong route, but we were on the same page," Roethlisberger said.

Ward dragged veteran corner Sheldon Brown into the end zone with the play that seemed to drag all Roethlisberger's dormant capabilities back into the sunlight. He found Rashard Mendenhall for 8 yards at the sideline on a subsequent third-and- 7, making possible Mendenhall's 3-yard touchdown run, and hit Miller in stride two possessions later for the 14-yard score that made it 28-10.

"Him being back is going to open things up for everybody," said Wallace, whose three catches covered 90 yards. "I didn't think he was going to be flawless. Then we'd have nothing to work on."

Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1283.

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Harrison out to hurt, not injure opponents

Monday, October 18, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

You're damn right Steelers linebacker James Harrison tried to hurt Cleveland's Joshua Cribbs Sunday.

Mohamed Massaquoi, too.

Just as he'll try to hurt quarterback Chad Henne and running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams when the Steelers play the Dolphins in Miami Sunday.

"I don't want to see anyone injured," Harrison said, "but I'm not opposed to hurting anyone."

Say what?

"There's a difference," Harrison said. "When you're injured, you can't play. But when you're hurt, you can shake it off and come back. I try to hurt people."

I decided right then that made perfect sense.

I mean, really, would you argue with Harrison?

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: James Harrison encourages the fans to make noise while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh won the game 28-10. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

On a day when he knocked out the two Browns and generally was "a beast" -- teammate Hines Ward's words -- in the Steelers' 28-10 win?

"You get hit by James, you feel it. It's over," Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. "There's no bouncing back up after he hits you. He's not playing around out there. It's no joke to him."

It's hard to say Cribbs felt anything on the play he was injured ... excuse me, hurt. He appeared to be knocked out cold. It happened early in the second quarter when Cribbs lined up at quarterback in the Browns' wildcat formation. He rolled to his right, looked to pass, then decided to run. Just as he started to cut back across the field, he was drilled by Harrison, who caught him helmet-to-helmet in a violent collision. No penalty was called because Cribbs was a fair target as a ball carrier.

Many of the Cleveland players huddled around Cribbs and prayed as he received attention from the Browns' medical staff. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also was there, a concerned observer.

"You hate to see anyone down like that, but then you realize he just went to sleep for a little bit and he came out of it and he's going to be OK," Harrison said.

Apparently, no one sent Harrison the memo from the NFL office expressing more concern than ever about concussions and the long-term effects they might have on players, including brain disease and dementia.

"That's football," Harrison said, shrugging.

Another realization hit Harrison when Cribbs walked slowly to the Browns' sideline, then to their locker room, done for the afternoon.

"That ends the wildcat, It's out the window," Harrison said.

The Browns had hoped to use Cribbs -- their best offensive player -- often in that role to take pressure off rookie quarterback Colt McCoy, who was making his first NFL start. Cribbs had hurt the Steelers in that formation when the Browns beat the Steelers, 13-6, in December. He ran eight times for 87 yards.

Of course, the Browns also hoped McCoy would be able to throw to Massaquoi, their best wide receiver. That, too, went out the window late in the second quarter when Harrison put a shoulder-to-helmet hit on Massaquoi to force an incompletion on a pass over the middle. Like Cribbs, Massaquoi was done for the day.

"Legal hits, not fineable hits," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

Said Harrison of the Massaquoi play, "I was in the right place at the right time. It was zone coverage, and he ran through my zone ...

"That was a good, clean, legal hit. I put my head across the bow. To be honest, I laid off him a little bit. I could have put a lot more into him."

Harrison's hits didn't just sabotage the Browns' best strategical planning. They juiced the Steelers.

"They geek up everybody," Harrison said.

Quieted the Browns, too.

"[Running back] Peyton Hillis had just made a big run [on a 23-yard screen pass] before the hit on Cribbs," Clark said. "Their sideline was dogging [Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor] for trying to tackle him high. Then, James comes right back and puts that hit on Cribbs. You shut up real fast when you see something like that. It was like James said, 'See, we hit, too.' "

One more thing ...

"People are going to focus on the hit on Cribbs, but James came a long way from the backside to make that play," Clark said. "That's the way we play. Run to the ball and be physical. James is the leader of that. He's just extremely strong and extremely explosive."

The hits were just two parts of Harrison's big day. He finished with 10 solo tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, three quarterback hurries, one pass defense and the forced fumble by Cribbs.

"It felt like I was getting a little more action today," Harrison said, "but it didn't feel like it was my best game."

Maybe this performance wasn't as good as Harrison's legendary game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2007 when he had eight solo tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. But it still was pretty special.

"James is always ready to deliver for his teammates," Tomlin said. "That's why they have so much respect for him."

How is that Ward described Harrison again?

A beast, indeed.


Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan. rcook@post-gazette.com

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Rookie QB is real McCoy as leader

By Marla Ridenour
Akron Beacon Journal sports writer
http://www.ohio.com/
POSTED: 10:28 p.m. EDT, Oct 17, 2010

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 17: Colt McCoy #12 of the Cleveland Browns waits under center during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH: Colt McCoy left the locker room in round-toe cowboy boots, not the plastic one that has become the preferred footwear of fellow Browns quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace.

Considering he'd just wrestled some steers otherwise known as the Pittsburgh Steelers and an angry bull in linebacker James Harrison, the fact that McCoy emerged upright from his NFL debut was stunning in itself.

But just as surprising was that McCoy walked out of Heinz Field with his poise and confidence intact after a 28-10 loss. So much so that left guard Eric Steinbach lauded the rookie for having the ''it'' factor and seemed ready to follow him for the rest of the season, if not the rest of his career.

''You can tell he's a natural-born leader,'' Steinbach said. ''It's good to have him in the huddle. A lot of rookies can't come in right away. They might want to be a leader, but he's got that 'it.' If he's our guy from here on out and we can build off what we started. . .we'll be all right.''

McCoy's numbers — 23-of-33 for 281 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions and an 80.5 rating — were inflated by the Browns' final possession. McCoy completed 4-of-5 for 58 yards in a drive that ended at the Steeler 29 as time expired.

He admitted he should have had three interceptions, the other on a hitch to Brian Robiskie that was broken up by linebacker LaMarr Woodley. McCoy said that ball was probably a completion for the University of Texas, but not against the Steelers, who are ''really fast and really good.''

Just as telling was how McCoy handled his first interception, off tight end Ben Watson's hands and into those of safety Ryan Clark with 11:12 left in the first quarter. With offensive coordinator Brian Daboll ready to attack, McCoy threw into tight coverage and paid for it.

But he said he came back to the huddle, told his offensive line it had given him great protection and moved on.

''I [said] 'It's over. We got one, it's just like a punt, let's get the ball back and keep working,' '' McCoy said. ''For the most part, it's just shaking that off. It's not easy to do, even now. We did and kept moving.''

Even though he absorbed five sacks and was hit four more times, McCoy seemed to grow stronger as the game went on. He stood in the pocket in the face of the ever-blitzing Steelers and even drew praise from their architect, hall of fame defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. He wasn't afraid to throw over the middle. He scrambled out of trouble. His targets went all-out for him, especially after receivers Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi were knocked out of the game with head injuries at the hands (and helmet) of Harrison.

The son of a high school football coach, McCoy even worked with center Alex Mack to change the Browns' snap counts on every play and proudly pointed out that twice they got the Steelers to jump offsides. The Browns may not have had another rookie quarterback since 1999 with such clarity in his debut.

Browns fans have been smitten before. Brady Quinn's first start in a losing effort against the Denver Broncos in 2008 also drew good reviews. But there was no escaping the comparison to rookie Charlie Frye's game against the Steelers in 2005, a 41-0 drubbing. A third-round pick from the University of Akron, Frye was sacked eight times and fumbled four, losing one.

There was no doubt that McCoy's poise set him above those who preceded him.

''At no point during the week did I think this was too big for him and at no point during the game did I feel that way, either,'' coach Eric Mangini said.

And Mangini wasn't the only one. Running back Peyton Hillis knows McCoy's background at Texas, where he set the NCAA record for victories with 45, and at Tuscola, Texas, High School, where McCoy went 34-2.

''He's been leading all these teams his whole life to titles, so he knows how to manage a team,'' Hillis said. ''Once a winner, always a winner, I always say. I really look forward to him to bring that here with us.''

Even Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was complimentary.

''I'm sure they're excited about him. They should be,'' Tomlin said. ''He showed some innate things that are quarterback things.''

He showed some more in Saturday night's team meeting.

''When he talked to the team, he stands up and looks everybody in the eye,'' tight end Evan Moore said. ''Most guys sit down. That's the kind of leader he is.''

Asked what he said, McCoy responded like a true Texan.

''I told them the hay was in the barn,'' he said. ''Just meant we worked really hard all week and we were prepared and we had a good game plan.''

And did he have to translate like he did for the media?

''Some of the city folk, I had to,'' he said.

Mangini wasn't ready to commit to McCoy for next week's road game against the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

''We'll see what our quarterback situation is next week before I can even say that,'' Mangini said.

But with the Browns 1-5 and the Saints, New England Patriots and New York next up, the latter two after an Oct. 31 bye, handing the reins to McCoy — until Delhomme and Wallace are healthy or even for the rest of the season — makes sense. What's to be gained by playing 35-year-old Delhomme or 30-year-old Wallace, especially when McCoy seemed more than ready for the Steelers' defense, perhaps the truest test of all?

President Mike Holmgren and General Manager Tom Heckert need to find out whether they have a quarterback of the future before they draft another one. And perhaps the hay is already in the barn.


Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://marla.ohio.com/. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MarlaRidenour.

Pittsburgh Steelers LB James Harrison says fines for his hits on Josh Cribbs, Mohamed Massaquoi would be a 'travesty'

By Mary Kay Cabot and Dennis Manoloff
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/
Published Sunday, October 17, 2010, 8:36 PM

Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer

Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi is sent reeling from this second-quarter hit by Steelers linebacker James Harrison Sunday afternoon. Massaquoi did not return to the game for a play that some Browns considered illegal.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- James Harrison knocked Browns receivers Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi out of Sunday's 28-10 Steelers victory with crushing blows to the head about seven minutes apart in the second quarter. Afterward, Harrison showed no remorse and his teammates praised the hits.

"I thought Cribbs was asleep," said Harrison, the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. "A hit like that geeks you up -- it geeks everybody up -- especially when you find out that the guy is not really hurt -- he's just sleeping. He's knocked out, but he's going to be OK. The other guy, I didn't hit that hard, to be honest with you. When you get a guy on the ground, it's a perfect tackle."

Both Cribbs and Massaquoi were diagnosed with head injuries and will undergo further tests on Monday to determine if they suffered concussions. Harrison wasn't flagged for the hits, but could get fined this week.

"[Harrison] plays hard like that every week," said Steelers linebacker James Farrior. "Today was especially good because he took out their top dog, really. He took out the biggest weapon they had. He didn't do it intentionally, but with the intensity he plays with, it's liable to happen sooner or later."

Cribbs was running out of the wildcat when Harrison drilled him helmet-to-helmet. Cribbs fell face-first to the ground as the ball popped loose. Guard Floyd Womack recovered the ball, but Cribbs didn't recover his senses, at least not for a few minutes. He remained face down and motionless for a while before the medical staff turned him over.

"[Harrison's] a beast," said Steelers receiver Hines Ward. "You see a guy like that -- knocking guys out like that -- he's a man on a mission. Hopefully nothing seriously was wrong with those guys. But he set the tempo for everybody else. He's our emotional leader."

John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer

"I thought Cribbs was asleep," said Harrison of his hit on Josh Cribbs. "A hit like that geeks you up -- it geeks everybody up -- especially when you find out that the guy is not really hurt -- he's just sleeping. He's knocked out, but he's going to be OK."

Cribbs eventually walked off the field with assistance, and tried talking the doctors into letting him go back in. A few minutes later, he walked into the locker room, helmet in hand, and was done for the day.

"I know Josh," said Harrison, a fellow former Golden Flash. "We're cool. But when it's us vs. them, all friendships are off until the game is over."

Harrison said Cribbs was about to cut back when he nailed him. "I was pursuing to the ball and got a good hit on him," he said.

Helmet-to-helmet is a good hit?

"It doesn't matter what it is -- he's running the ball, so that's a legal hit."

His primary thought about knocking Cribbs out of the game?

"That ends the wildcat," said Harrison. "It's out the window. That's his thing.

"I don't want to injure anybody. But I'm not opposed to hurting anybody," he said. "There's a big difference between being hurt and being injured. You get hurt, you shake it off and come back the next series or the next game."

On the Massaquoi hit, Harrison launched and smashed his forearms into Massaquoi's head after he dropped a short pass to the left. Massaquoi slumped to the ground, holding his hands up to his helmet. He experienced memory loss and neck pain, a source told The Plain Dealer.

"If I get fined for that, it's going to be a travesty," Harrison said. "There's no way I could be fined for that. It was a good, clean, legit hit. He came across, I put my head across the bow. I could have put a lot more into that hit than I did."

He said it wasn't helmet-to-helmet, despite the opinion of some Browns -- such as Peyton Hillis -- that it was.

"I thought it was helmet-to-helmet contact for sure and I thought he should've gotten a penalty," said Hillis. "We ended up getting a penalty ourselves. I was pretty upset about it, but the refs make the call."

"No. 47, [Lawrence] Vickers, said, 'Hey, man, that's football. That happens,'" Harrison said. "And the flag wasn't even on us [Alex Mack was penalized for kicking the ball after the play]."

In week two, Harrison was fined $5,000 for slamming Tennessee's Vince Young to the turf -- despite not being penalized. For comparison's sake, Browns rookie safety T.J. Ward was fined $15,000 for hitting Bengals receiver Jordan Shipley in the head with his helmet. Rules state that a player can't launch and hit a defenseless player in the head or neck area with the head, shoulder or forearms.

"They were legal hits, not fineable hits," said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. "He played good football. James is always ready to deliver for his teammates. That's why they have so much respect for him."

Said defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau: "They were hard plays, both guys were running hard. We're thrilled that both players walked off the field, that's the good thing. I'm sure [the league will] look at it."

Staff writer Tony Grossi contributed to this report.

Cleveland Browns are hard-working but just not talented enough to win

By Terry Pluto, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/
October 17, 2010


PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- I have a feeling that the Browns' 28-10 loss at Pittsburgh Sunday is the kind of game the fans will be watching the next few weeks.

The Browns will play hard. They won't back down physically, and they'll keep it reasonably close. But in the end, the lack of impact players will doom them to defeat.

John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer

The Browns' Matt Roth (left) and Shaun Rogers (bottom) occasionally put pressure on Ben Roethlisberger, but the Steelers QB kept making enough plays -- and had the talented playmakers on his offense -- to help the Steelers easily dispatch the Browns, 28-10, Sunday at Heinz Field.

What was the difference in this game?

The Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger back from a four-game suspension, and he engineered a five-play, 96-yard drive in the third quarter putting Pittsburgh in charge, 14-3.

He was knocked down but still delivered a 50-yard pass to Mike Wallace. Roethlisberger never saw the completion, as he was on his back in the end zone. Two Browns blitzers were a shade of a second too late.

Then the Browns didn't blitz, and Roethlisberger threw a 36-yarder to Heath Miller.

When the Browns blitzed, they were too late. When they rushed three men and tried to cover with eight defenders, Roethlisberger stood in the pocket long enough to bake a cake -- and picked them apart.

The defense actually had a decent day, but they couldn't force a turnover that became a touchdown. In two games last season, the Browns sacked Roethlisberger 11 times.

Not once on this day.

No big plays for the Browns. Not on offense. Not on defense. Not on special teams.

The Browns are primarily a bunch of role players who care deeply and certainly have not tuned off their coaches or given up the season.

But there is not enough talent, period.

The Browns don't have a receiver such as Hines Ward who can wrestle the ball away from Eric Wright (who should be embarrassed on this play) and then turn it into an eight-yard touchdown. They don't have a runner such as Rashard Mendenhall, who is punishing and quick -- and will be around to torment the Browns for years.

Fans don't want to hear that the Browns are better than a year ago. That their 1-5 record is somewhat the result of a brutal schedule. Heading into Sunday's action, the combined records of their opposition was 15-7.

There were some good signs.

Colt McCoy made his first pro start -- in Pittsburgh of all places -- showing poise and grit as he was 23-of-33 passing for 281 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked five times, and suffered nine more quarterback hits. On more than a few plays, he ran away from the rush -- sometimes, a bit early -- but usually out of necessity.

Most of his best throws were in the fourth quarter, when the Steelers played some prevent defense, leaving receivers open for short passes. But McCoy was fairly accurate, and is a mobile quarterback. It was the best that can be expected, and it will be interesting to see if McCoy can improve as he's expected to play next week in New Orleans.

The Browns lost two receivers in the second quarter to helmet-to-helmet hits by Steelers' linebacker James Harrison. What must Harrison do to draw a penalty flag? Will the NFL have the guts to hit him with a major fine, and perhaps a suspension?

He wiped out Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi, both leaving the game with head injuries. There was no official word and both players left the field under their own power, but who knows if they will be able to play next week? Concussions often result from these kind of violent plays.

But in the end, the Browns are 1-5. They couldn't really run the ball -- Peyton Hillis had 41 yards on 12 carries, the team 70 yards in 22 tries. They couldn't connect on a deep passing play. They couldn't do anything to make the Steelers or their fans believe that an upset was coming.


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Ben's best PR — win big

By Joe Starkey, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Sunday, October 17, 2010

If you think time has done a miraculous job of healing Ben Roethlisberger's broken image, wait 'til you see what winning does. One victory, maybe two, and the man will have gone from pariah to messiah in six months.

That is not an endorsement of Roethlisberger. It's just the truth, so far as it relates to the greater part of Steeler Nation.

Surely, you remember what it was like around here six months ago, in the wake of the second sexual assault allegation within a year against Roethlisberger (never charged) and a subsequent NFL-imposed suspension.

You probably remember that polls showed fans heavily in favor of trading Roethlisberger, whose likeness had been removed from a Pittsburgh Zoo display and replaced by Mario Lemieux's.

You might recall that Roethlisberger's brand-name beef jerky had been pulled from the shelves and that talk-show lines lit up with irate callers. One woman even called a show wanting to organize a bonfire of No. 7 jerseys (I believe that would be a Ben fire).

Big Ben's Q-rating was lower than JaMarcus Russell's passer rating.

By 1 p.m. today, you'd never know it.

Though he hasn't let on, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin undoubtedly will have the offense — not the defense — introduced to milk the moment, and some 60,000 humans will rise as one to cheer their prodigal quarterback.

You might not like that. You might consider it odd, offensive or downright sick. Which is your right, of course. Reportedly, a small group of protesters will make their voices heard outside the game. Others will refuse to cheer. Some might boo. Some might even try to bring in signs deriding Roethlisberger, though Heinz Field security is on the lookout for those.

This is America, so everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, just as Roethlisberger was entitled to due process in the wake of the incident in Milledgeville, Ga.

Opinions vary. The truth does not. And the truth is this: Most fans do what comes natural, meaning they quickly forgive their heroes. Check the case histories of Ray Lewis in Baltimore and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles.

The recipe for redemption is quite simple: Behave well and win big.

Roethlisberger's agent, Ryan Tollner, put it succinctly and accurately when we spoke Thursday.

"Ben's actions need to speak more than anything," Tollner said.

So far, in the six months since NFL commissioner Roger Goodell slapped him with a suspension, Roethlisberger has done everything right. He has sought respected mentors such as Merril Hoge and Bill Cowher and appeased every autograph seeker and inquisitive reporter in sight. He has kissed babies, posed for more happy photos than Donald Duck and gone out of his way to be as different from the jerky Ben as he could possibly be.

The man has either begun to change or has convinced people that he has begun to change. When it comes to public perception, what's the difference?

California-based quarterback trainer George Whitfield Jr. worked with Roethlisberger during the four-game suspension and came away raving about his patience with fans. Whitfield said people would interrupt drills to engage Roethlisberger.

"A normal athlete, or a normal person in the work place working on a project or something, might not like being interrupted and might say: 'Hey, let me finish, and I'll talk to you in a bit,' " Whitfield said. "Ben would stop every time. He'd take the marker and sign the autograph or pose for the photo. He'd chat people up. His arm would cool down, but he'd start right back and get back into training. Never a complaint."

Cowher, who interviewed Roethlisberger this past week for a piece that will air on the CBS pregame show, recently told me he is convinced that Roethlisberger's desire to change is real.

"I believe that, yes," Cowher said. "Where he's at right now, he's been very much grounded. I think he's still got a long, productive career in the city of Pittsburgh. I think people, through the course of time, will see where his heart really is."

But let's be honest: They are much more interested in where his arm is and where his passes land. And I can tell you, from watching practice Friday, that Roethlisberger's arm is fine and that his passes were crisp and accurate.

Should be an interesting day. I'm guessing that by the end of it, six months ago will seem like six years ago ... and nobody will be burning No. 7 jerseys in the parking lots.

The Ben fire's just about out.


Photo credit: Reuters

Ward has most to gain from Big Ben's return

Sunday, October 17, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1

Few NFL players, if any, are tougher than Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.

None is more insecure.

It's an amazing dichotomy, isn't it?

Ward's toughness is out of this world. You know that. You see it every Sunday when he takes the most punishing of hits and gives out his share as one of the best blocking receivers the NFL has known, always with that same, lovin'-life smile on his face. It's among the many reasons he's lasted 13 seasons in the league. It's a big reason he will be enshrined one day in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where he will join the Steelers' great receivers before him -- Lynn Swann and John Stallworth -- for eternity.

But Ward's unfathomable insecurity also has been critical to his success. To say it drives him every day would not be a stretch. Even now, after amassing 907 catches for 11,112 yards and 79 touchdowns, he's always looking over his shoulder, searching for the young receiver who will take his place. He walks through the Steelers' South Side compound, still smiling, sure, but half expecting to be summoned to coach Mike Tomlin's office for that "Thanks-for-everything-you've-done-for-us ... " man-to-man talk that's inevitable for every player.

Whatever works, right?

This is especially relevant today as the Steelers get ready to play the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field because Ward is in a bad statistical place, the worst since early in his career. He had a total of just six catches for 57 yards and a touchdown in the past three games, including a measly two catches for 14 yards in the brutal loss two weeks ago to the Baltimore Ravens, the team he most enjoys tormenting. The easy explanation is that franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn't play in the first four games this season because of his NFL-mandated suspension. But that doesn't make Ward feel better. Only the Steelers' 3-1 record does. He loves that and says those are the only numbers that really matter. But he's also a proud man. He wants to contribute more than two catches a game. He wants to keep on keeping on. He wants to be great game after game after game.

"I've gone to coach Tomlin and talked to him about it," Ward said last week. "It's hard to do an honest self-evaluation sometimes. I think I'm still getting open and getting separation from defensive backs, but my stats aren't showing it. Why? I asked [Tomlin], 'Do you see something in my game? Have I lost a step? Can I still get it done?' "

You can bet Tomlin thought long and hard about his answer. There are days when coaching involves more than X's and O's. This was one of them. Some players need a kick in the seat of the pants. Others need stroked.

"He told me to just continue doing what I'm doing," Ward said. "He said he knows I still have a lot left and he's going to squeeze every bit of it out of me. That was nice to hear. I know he's not looking to replace me."

Smart man, Tomlin.

Good coach, too.

Don't be surprised if Ward has a big day today. Once again, the easy explanation is Roethlisberger, who will play for the first time this season. "I can't wait to be a part of it," Ward said. "He's definitely going to make a difference for us. I think he's going to be great. I know he wants to show everybody he's back. 'Hungry Ben,' I call him. That's good for all of us. At the end of the day, to get where we want to go, we have to have him."

Ward said Roethlisberger has worked hard to make amends in the locker room. "He's changed. He's out there talking to everybody. As the quarterback, you're the leader of the team. You can't be cliquish. It can't be just you and the offensive linemen. It has to be you and everybody."

And the next step for Roethlisberger?

"I know he's very conscious of trying to get back in good with the fans," Ward said.

The best way for Roethlisberger to do that is by playing winning football. Ward and I agreed that he will be great today virtually from his first pass. "I can't wait to see it," Ward said. "He's a winner."

Ward said running back Rashard Mendenhall will benefit most from Roethlisberger's return because the threat of a big-time passing game will loosen opposing defenses. "Rashard has been running like crazy. We're not going to get away from that. It's like a light has come on for him. He realizes now how good he is."

I say Ward will benefit most. He had six catches total in the past three games? I'll bet he has six today, if not more.

A big game would nudge Ward closer to Torry Holt (920 catches), who is No. 11 on the NFL's all-time receiving list. I know this because Ward carries the list with him every day and showed it to me. It's on the front cover of his playbook. He will make it to ninth place this season if he gets 45 catches in the final 12 games. Certainly, that's a reachable number with Roethlisberger. The thought fuels him.

Whatever works, remember?

"I'd like to get to 1,000 for my career," Ward said. "That's important to me. To get to 1,000 with one organization, this organization ... That would mean the world to me."

The climb continues today. Ward might have doubts that he will get there. I don't.

Not with Roethlisberger along to do some of the heavy lifting.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

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