It was made official that Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme were inactive for the game today. That makes newly acquired Brett Ratliff the backup for starter Colt McCoy. I expect that means the Browns will take an offensive approach similar to what the Steelers did last year against the Baltimore Ravens when Ben Roethlisberger was out with a concussion. However, the Browns have a less healthy RB in Peyton Hillis, who has an injured quad but is still active.
Speaking of Ben Roethlisberger, the big awaited debut is today. It was announced that they will be announcing the offense, not the defense, before the game today. I expect to hear mostly cheers, but definitely some 'boos' mixed in there. Will the boos get to him? Will he look rusty? We will get a good look at where Ben is during today's game. My expectations are something like 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lofty, maybe, but not out of the realm of possibility.
I am very intrigued to see what kind of offense Bruce Arians comes out with. Ben said he expects the offense to be very balanced, but we all have our reservations with our OC. With his golden child back behind center, I am a little bit nervous him falling back to pass, pass, pass. We shall see.
Steelers inactives: CB Crezdon Butler, CB Keenan Lewis, WR Antonio Brown, RB Jonathan Dwyer, T Tony Hills, RG Trai Essex, OLB Thaddeus Gibson, QB Charlie Batch.