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Well it’s about time! In honor of this win, I’m changing up format a bit and literally only focusing on the good, bad and ugly. I’ll make this quick.
The Good: The pass rush, the offensive line, Ben, Brown and Bell. Stephon Tuitt. Deebo claiming the franchise sack record. Lawrence Timmons. The big three did what we fans expect them to do and made plays. Chewing up yards and clock, especially in the first half. The Steelers’ pass rush against Cleveland reminded me of days gone by. Days when this was the norm and not an anomaly. Maybe this sparks a rebirth of the Pittsburgh pass rush. Kudos to Coach Butler for putting the guys in position to make plays. Lawrence Timmons was a straight beast, as was Stephon Tuitt, and everyone contributed. Artie Burns is still growing and just starting to show fans why the Steelers drafted him in the first round.
The Bad: Penalties, and red zone efficiency. The Steelers left a lot of points on the board yesterday and we’re starting to see the impact left by the absence of Health Miller and Martavis Bryant. My problem with penalties this week is not with the Steelers’ players, but the officials. They called some head-scratchers and missed some obvious penalties.
Bad honorable mention: Changing the offensive game plan in the second half. It seemed to me that the Steelers decided not to stick with the running game despite Le’veon Bell gaining 99 yards on the ground in the first half.
The Ugly: Anyone not named Pryor or Crowell in a Cleveland uniform yesterday. Man, they are bad. How this team had success running the ball earlier this season is beyond me. The offensive line for the Browns is just plain awful. David Carr and the 2002 Houston Texans’ offensive line think that’s a bad unit. No wonder they have a revolving door at quarterback. Do the quarterbacks in Cleveland have their own medical staff?
Now back to reality. As an old boss of mine once said, it’s time to move on to the next play. It’s a short week and the Steelers are headed to Indianapolis for a Thursday night Thanksgiving game. No time to dwell on the success of the past. Time for them to focus on the next opponent.
#herewego