By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette file
CLEVELAND -- Your team is 1-4, already buried in the AFC North Division and looking at an eighth consecutive season without the playoffs. You were just beaten at home, 20-10, by the Atlanta Falcons in a game when it became more evident than ever that you don't have a quarterback or an offense of which to speak. But it could be worse. You have that next game to anticipate. It's more than just another game. It's against the hated Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field, a game in which quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will play for the first time this season. If that doesn't get you excited, knowing that a lot of eyeballs across America will be watching to see how Big Ben does, well ...
Trust me, the Cleveland Browns are excited.
"I expect him to come out and be Ben Roethlisberger," Browns outside linebacker Marcus Benard said Sunday. "You hear people say, 'He's a great quarterback. You can't get to him. You can't get him down.' But if you're a pass-rusher like I am, you raise your hand and say, 'I can.' My job is to get after those great quarterbacks. I welcome that challenge. This team welcomes that challenge."
It will be a confident Browns defense that comes to town, that 1-4 record be damned. The unit gave up just one touchdown to the Falcons, a 45-yard pass from quarterback Matt Ryan to Pro Bowl wide receiver Roddy White, who beat cornerback Sheldon Brown to the post midway through the third quarter. "We've been a solid defense from Day 1, but we've been beating ourselves with big plays and miscommunications," Benard said. White's catch was the fourth touchdown pass of at least 27 yards against the Browns this season.
That should make Roethlisberger smile.
Then again, maybe not.
When the Steelers and Browns previously played, the Browns' defense was virtually impenetrable. Despite being ranked last in the NFL and playing without five injured starters, it kept the Steelers from scoring a touchdown in a 13-6 win on a frigid December night next to Lake Erie. Roethlisberger was sacked eight times, twice by Benard. The Steelers converted just 3 of 14 third-down situations. It wasn't just their fifth consecutive loss, effectively ending their playoff hopes. It was one of the worst losses in franchise history. The Browns came in 1-11 and had lost 12 in a row in the rivalry by an average score of 28-12.
"I'm pretty sure Ben remembers that night," defensive back Mike Adams said, grinning.
The Browns are expecting Roethlisberger's best even if he missed the Steelers' first four games and the practices before each because of his NFL-mandated suspension. "I'm hoping he's rusty, but I expect he'll be sharp and come out gunning. He's a vet," Adams said. A more realistic hope for the Browns is that Roethlisberger will try to do too much too soon, that he tries to make up for his suspension all at once. "I know how much he must want to get back playing," linebacker Scott Fujita said. "He's battled back and done all the right things. I'm sure he wants to make sure his past indiscretions are not a distraction for their team."
Players on the Browns' defense won't say so publicly, but they know they are their team's best chance -- maybe only chance -- at Heinz Field. They can't have much faith in their offense. It stinks, to be kind. It was useless against the Falcons after hobbled quarterback Jake Delhomme (ankle) replaced starter Seneca Wallace (ankle) late in the second quarter. It seems unlikely that Wallace will play Sunday. You have to figure the Steelers' defense will love their chances against the more immobile Delhomme.
Then again, maybe not.
The Browns beat the Steelers in December despite a 6-for-19, 90-yard passing game from then-quarterback Brady Quinn. Their defense didn't need much help from the offense. Those eight sacks did the trick.
"We just had a bead on [Roethlisberger] and were able to get him down," Benard said.
It's no secret that will be the Browns' plan again Sunday.
"We'll be talking about it all week," Adams said. "We've got to get after Ben and get him down when we have the chance. He's such a big quarterback. He keeps [on] going. His wide receivers get deeper. We've got to be ready for that. We've got to be ready for everything with that guy."
Know this: The Browns will show up. They know what the pregame build-up will be, that it will center around Roethlisberger's much-anticipated return. They would love to spoil the popular story line that has Big Ben playing a spectacular game and giving notice to the NFL that he's back in a big way.
The mere thought is enough to make a 1-4 record seem a lot less painful.
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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Loss at Cleveland in '09 bitter
Monday, October 11, 2010
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
Mark Duncan/Associated Press
The Browns sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger eight times in last year's game in Cleveland.
The NFL provided the Steelers a break even as its commissioner suspended quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the first four games of the season.
The league at least tossed the Steelers a bone by allowing Roethlisberger two weeks to practice before playing his first game, and by making sure he had a soft landing by scheduling the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field for his comeback.
It does not get much easier than the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers have won 12 of the past 13 times they have played the Browns, 18 of the previous 20. Under normal circumstances, the Browns would be a dress rehearsal for Roethlisberger in preparation for the next three grueling games on the road at Miami, New Orleans and Cincinnati.
Except for one thing. That one loss to the Browns in their past 13 meetings occurred in their most recent one, Dec. 10, on a bitter, cold, windy night in Cleveland. The Browns, 1-11 at the time, upset the Steelers, 13-6, to provide the final blow to their playoff hopes that had hemorrhaged during a five-game losing streak.
Thanks to that game (and other losses to some of the worst teams in the league such as Oakland and Kansas City in that five-game skid), the Steelers missed the playoffs. And, thanks to that game, they will look at their contest against the Browns a whole lot differently Sunday at Heinz Field.
"That was the fifth straight game we lost. That was like really the bottom of the barrel there," linebacker James Harrison said. "That was a big letdown. We hit the bottom. We didn't think we could get any lower, but we could have. That was like the lowest of the lowest point. All we could do was go up from there."
Somehow, the Steelers rebounded to win their final three games to finish 9-7, only to lose a tiebreaker to Baltimore, which earned a wild-card playoff spot. The memory of losing in Cleveland to punctuate that five-game nosedive, however, remains strong for many.
"It was pretty bad," Hines Ward said. "Losing to Cleveland is always depressing, not only for this city but the players, too.
"The weather was crazy. It was probably the worst weather game I ever played in."
It was a game in which Steelers coach Mike Tomlin strongly had suggested he would make lineup changes after a four-game losing streak, although he made none. It also was the second game into Tomlin's threat for the Steelers to "unleash hell in December" only to lose their first two of the month, Oakland at home and then Cleveland.
Nothing was worse than that loss to the Browns, who entered with a seven-game losing streak and ranked last in the NFL on offense and defense.
It was so bad that Ward said right afterward, "To lose five straight coming off a Super Bowl from last year, it's embarrassing for me. It just hurts, it hurts a lot."
Those bitter memories, plus a rested, healthy football team playing in the mild October weather at home should provide all the incentive the Steelers might need to avoid another upset by the Browns.
"I think it was a big wake-up call," linebacker James Farrior said. "We all know we can't take any opponent lightly, but going through those games that we lost, it hit home and it really got the point across that no matter what team's out there, when you're out there to play on Sunday any team can beat you."
And did.
"We're used to winning those types of games," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "It was a close game, it was tough, we hadn't lost at Cleveland in [eight] years."
There were no team meetings called after that loss in Cleveland dropped the Steelers to 6-7. No player stood up to make a speech. The coach who saw his public promises fail to materialize stopped making them.
After losing to some of the dregs the NFL had to offer, the Steelers won their final three against some of the better teams in the league -- Green Bay, Baltimore and Miami.
Those three victories did not save their playoff chances in 2009, but they may have taken a step to saving them this season.
"I think it showed a lot of the character of this team, of this organization how we stood together and won the last three considering we were one game out of the playoffs," Ward said. "We win one of those five games, we're in the playoffs.
"I think that's fresh on lot of guys' minds, understanding we're supposed to win the games we're supposed to win. That gives us a chance to make the playoffs at the end of the year."
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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