Five Burning Questions: Steelers -- Browns, Past and Present Edition

1. I loved it, the reason I fell in love with the Steelers was the history and hard nosed attitude they had. Glad to see it rear it’s head on both sides of the ball.

2. I think it was a show of respect to AJ Green, or a sign of disrespect to Benson? I think LeBeau uses Troy where he sees the biggest threat for the opposing offence to make a big play.

3. Hood has been stellar this season. Has anybody noticed any sort of drop off in our D? Would Woodley have been tearing up RTs if Hood wasn’t doing such a good job by his side?

4. Of course we get lucky with non-calls, every single sports team in the world gets lucky from time to time, just as every team also gets unlucky. I would say that the number of “suspicious” calls seem to be against the Steelers though, especially regarding H2H hits.

5. I think the best way to sum this up would be:
Do I hate the Browns? Yes. Do I respect the Browns? Hell no.
Do I hate the Ravens? Yes. Do I respect the Ravens? Too much for most people’s taste.

1. Yes – dink and dunk death-by-paper-cut passing attacks can be very successful (and we have been successful with it this year), but physically dominating an opposing defense and running it right through them for a score is always more heartwarming.

2. It could’ve been trying to protect him from some of the rigors that are close to the line of scrimmage. He played a lot of deeper coverage in last year’s playoffs when they were trying to protect him and his injured ankle.

3. Pretty decent? I can’t say I’ve been keying in on him and watching him closely, so I can’t competently try to answer this one.

4. Yes – Curtis Brown should’ve been flagged for a block in the back that would’ve negated Brown’s punt return TD.

5. I think the rivalry moved when the old Browns became the Ravens. These new Browns have tried to retake the mantle and lore of the old Browns, but they’re just not the same franchise. They need to build a new history, rather than just trying to cling to the bygone days, and start by reviving their play on the field for Pittsburgh/Cleveland to become a proper rivalry again.

The uncalled block in the back was at least arguable. The calls in the game were tough but fair. It just seems bad if you add them up and figure the Steelers came out 11 points and 45 yards ahead on the dodgy calls. Assuming all calls are perfect, I’d still rather see the Steelers win a clean game that made it less triumphant for me.

1.- As long as they’re scoring TDs and not FGs, I don’t care how they do it
2.- Probably to protect against AJ Green
3.- Not, sure, haven’t focused on him that much, but I thought he had a great game this past sunday
4.- Officials are humans, that stuff happens, the Steelers have benefited from questionable calls before, but they’ve also been victimized by them. I think really good teams have to be ready to deal with those sudden unlucky calls and overcome them, It’s when lesser teams let them become an excuse for quitting and losing that they become that big of a controversy
5.- I think the new Browns sucking since they came back to the league has been anti-climatic to the rivalry, the Ravens give us so much more trouble, they are a fiercier rivalry in my opinion

1. Might be a pass happy league and the Steelers might be shifting into a pass happy team but smashmouth football will always give me an adrenaline" rush"
2. I feel it was more in the planning of keeping everything underneath and not giving up a big play to Green over trying to keep Troy safe and healthy…
3 .Not at an Aaron Smith level but Hood is making me feel pretty good about how the d-line will look in the future with the youth movement.
4. Goes both ways…there have been alot of instances when we were on the crap end of a call. I feel that most opposing fans find it hard to accept how competitive a team we produce year after year and they try to look for excuses of why we are winning. IMO
5. Cooled way down…has not been a rivalry since the team became the Ratbrids. I consider playing the Jaguars, Titans or Patriots more of a rivalry than the Browns.

1. I guess they realized that most of our TDs in the redzone last year on the ground or quick passes to backs or tightends. The goal line is the only place Rush hard actually rushes hard 100% of the time….. ok 95%.

2. With Troy back there, they are telling you beware if you throw deep. With any QB, especially a rookie, any wrench you can throw into his mental process can be just enough hestation to force an error/ turnover. Besides, they needed him back there because he’s the best on the team at playing the ball.

3. Ziggy is doing well. His strength is improving and he’s actually improving his technique as this year goes on.

4. Though we get screwed more than we are helped, I have to agree with the block in the back noncall. I’ve seen that called many times. At the same time, they didn’t call the hit on A. Brown. I’ve seen that called on us all year. I wonder if this crew were Steeler football apologists. They didn’t flag hits we complain about them calling and maybe let a marginal call go to kinda wink at the calls we’ve been getting all year. Thansz that make you go hmmm.

5. It’s cooled a lot, I miss the rivalry. I have a hard time with the Ravens “rivalry” because it just doesn’t feel right. I don’t like the Ravens because I just don’t like them. I don’t like the Browns because they are like a brother. It really hurt my feelings when the Browns left. I was hoping we would continue the knock down drag outs we had grown to love when they came back. It has not been that way. My Browns friends don’t even talk trash anymore. Even when they beat us they are lethargic . knowhatImean?

The Pi call for the 45 yard gainer seemed like bogus call. He blocked Wallace out, a good play(without having seen it more than twice) but the hit on Brown was hitting a defenseless receiver. Holding penalties are too hard to judge, since they happen on every play, practically. I agree as well that the face mask was also bogus. Ward had the defenders face in a fist as well. Generally most games have calls and non calls on both teams, so it’s a wash. Particular plays have a short term effect but in my football watching history, I’ve mostly not complained either way. If I see a holding or PI call that was bogus, it usually makes it self right later in the game, not having an effect on the out come. It was clear the Steeler’s were dominating, regardless of the penalties, and would have just scored fewer points, but still won the game had some of those calls gone for the Bengals or against the Steelers.

This year is different, imo. I’m not playing homer here (see above). In a few games the officiating was way out of wack, and it almost felt like somebody was pulling some strings playing puppet master. I’ve seen in happen in other games as well – affecting the standings. It was blatantly obvious, and I can’t attribute it to either stupidity or ignorance. It prompted me to look into the owners (in regard to “success” and “physicality”), and how it would be conceivable that a few calls, or non calls (most notably the Ravens second game) changed the direction of the division. I don’t necessarily think it was a conspiracy, but people with common goals make common decisions.

If the Steeler’s get some obvious calls in that game, I suspect the out come would have been different and the Steeler’s would be sitting at 10-2 leading the division, and the AFC.

1. loved it, but loved the passing TDs just as much

2. Agree with Arn on this one, he was back there to give Dalton pause before just launching jump balls

3. Ziggy is solid and will only get better.

4. As stated by others, bad calls happen every game, I was waiting for the flag for block in the back and I was yelling for the flag when Ward was hit late out of bounds (not sure why they called facemask). There are plenty of games where the flags fly against the Steelers in the same manner. Waaaaaaaaa, booohooooo.

5. I await the return of the rivalry, but it moved away, grew wings and turned purple. I hope Cleveland turns it around, I was really annoyed when they left.

1) Absolutely loved it, but also loved seeing the short passes to Wallace, allowing him to use his speed to gain YAC – and btw, show some great ability to make guys miss – this could become this pony’s “second trick” if utilized more.

2) Could’ve been a move to protect Troy, but probably more a move to take away AJ Green deep threat in case of broken coverage by Ike or others.

3) I’ve been impressed with Hood (aside from Pee Wee dance). While, like Smith, he goes largely unnoticed by media, our redzone defense, and overall success stopping the run, shows he is growing very quickly into the position. Only time will tell if his career approaches Smith’s, but Ziggy is off to a good start.

4) Most obvious one in recent memory is the touchdown call in Miami last year, where Ben lost ball crossing goal line, but refs couldn’t figure out who had the ball, and gave us TD. The Steelers have benefited from wrong or non-calls, all teams do. Where the scales tip against the Steelers is when we get flagged for aggressive plays which, upon review, were either non-fouls, or so ticky-tacky, that for other teams, would have been ignored.

5) The Steelers/Browns rivalry is like the current Cowboys/Redskins – it really isn’t a rivalry, because, aside from occasional victory by the Snyders, the Cowboys are rarely impacted by the game, in terms of divisional dominance. We serve as the Browns’ “bitter rival” far more than they do the Steelers. With the Bengals coming on, and the Ratbirds still being the Ratbirds, I don’t mind having a “non-rival” in a division already overcrowded with competitors for the crown.

1. My immediate thought is that any success in the redzone is awesome to see, if that success comes from sticking the ball in the gut of Mendy or Redman then it’s even better.

2. I think it’s two fold: First I think it likely had something to do with Troy getting a concussion last week. Secondly, it says alot about their gameplan and what they thought of the Bengals offense. The real threat was the passing game or more specifically, the big play. Basically Cedric Benson could get his, b/c he wasn’t going to beat them.

3. I haven’t noticed him a ton, either good or bad. For 3-4 DE’s, that’s pretty good considering I normally only notice when they’re getting driven off the ball. I thought he’d be a little better as a pass rusher by now but all in all, he looks pretty solid.

4. Calls go both ways, but I do tend to believe that physical teams get “bad” calls if you want to call them that. Aggressive and physical play is great for a team but it’s also very easy to cross the line and get a penalty. I’d still rather be that team that plays on the edge than a finesse team anyday.

5. Is it even still a fued? If I had to list our rivals, I’m not sure the Browns are in the top 10. The old “Browns rivalry” also moved to Baltimore.

1. It’s always good to keep opposing teams from banking on one approach. I’d like to see the Steelers put up 400 yards on the ground tomorrow.

2. Limiting contact is all. Seeing the poor lines that Clark took on some of the run plays when he was at the line shows that it wasn’t because they felt Troy was more suited to playing deep.

3. Ziggy’s been in on a lot of plays and seems to be a factor in the rest. Perfectly satisfied with his development.

4. Sure, the Steelers caught a break. Of course, their luck hasn’t come close to the fluky, lucky, generous calls that the Ravens have received all year long.

5. I honestly feel bad for the Browns. I hate the Ravens, I hate the Bengals and I want to cream the Browns, but I don’t hate them anymore. Seems mean. Perhaps if they build a real football team and start to be a player in the AFC this would change, but right now I’ve got bigger and better teams to disdain.

1. I think it’s all a matter of running plays that are appropriate based on the team you’re playing and the game situation. If you try to force things (which BA and Ben often do), it’s gonna bite you in the butt almost every time. Last Sunday, we called wise plays in the RZ, but that’s no guarantee it’ll continue this week.

2. My take is that the Bengals’ primary mode of attack is via passes to Green and Gresham. Stop those two guys and you kill the Bengals. Plus, Dalton is a very mobile QB, so Troy’s prospects are better for blitzing a guy like Flacco. Typical LeBeau wisdom I’d say.

3. I think Ziggy Hood is coming into his own as a great NFL defensive lineman. He’s been very solid this season and, with his high motor, he reminds me of the young Joe Greene. There wasn’t a QB in the league who could outrun Mean Joe during his first few years. Hood seems to be that relentless type of player as well.

4. It’s funny but, when the Steelers are playing good football, we seem to get the breaks. But when we’re struggling, it seems that a lot of calls go against us.

5. This is mainly a fan feud that goes all the way back to the notorious Turnpike Bowls of the 1950s and ‘60s, when the Steelers seldom beat the Browns. I’m astounded by the level of hatred that Browns fans still harbor for the Black and Gold. I don’t think the Browns players even understand what their fans are so pissed about. But some of the worst, anti-Steeler agitprop out there today comes directly from the mistake on the lake.

1. Absolutely. I love the passing game, but seeing the team be able to pound it in near the goal line just opens up so many possibilities and makes the offense that much harder to stop.

2. Well, there wasn’t the same kind of passing threat in KC as there was with Cincinnati. And AJ Green is a handful. Maybe they felt they needed extra help with him.

3. I’m certainly no expert, but it appeared that Ziggy had already surpassed Aaron Smith at the end of last season.

4. Just last year in the Miami game, when Ben fumbled into the end zone, but the official said he couldn’t conclusively determine whether or not a Dolphin player had recovered the football.

5. Yes, I don’t have the same feelings for the Browns that I once did. Although, living in Pittsburgh, and so close to Cleveland, I still run into a lot of Browns fans, and they’re still pretty passionate about their team. The rivalry could really take off again if the Browns ever get it together.

1. You know it. I grew up watching The Bus run over people. So I always love to see tough running in between the tackles as well as over defenders.

2. Probably a combination of the coaches trying to prevent the big play from Dalton to Green and the faith they have in the front line to control the trenches without him. And maybe a little bit of preventative measures for Troy and trying to keep him healthy.

3. I think that he has been solid and I can’t wait to see him grow even more as a player. He is going to be nasty.

4. I cant remember what game but the touchdown Ben “scored” when he was scrambling to the endzone.

5. Yeah I mean it isn’t the same team so the level of hatred does not even compare to the ravens.

they just changed their uniforms to purple and moved to Baltimore to confuse the issue. Still, that team has remained our key rival in the division although the fans in Cleveland can’t join in anymore. Of course, that won’t make Thursday night any better of a game…

As for the current Cleveland team… I’d love to say it was a rivalry lately, but that’s like saying the bug has a rivalry with the windshield. Eventually it will come back with the young talent they’ve been getting with high picks, but they aren’t there yet.