12:51 p.m.: One word, in honor of the late Myron Cope, who warbled and rhapsodized and sang (to loosely call it that) about this Cleveland franchise about whom he fondly recalled stories about urinating off the top of old Municipal Stadium:
Pumpkinheads.
12:53 p.m.: Defensive introductions started with Travis Kirschke, starting for the out-for-the-year Aaron Smith. It ended, appropriately, with a spinning, hair-flying Troy Polamalu, much to the glee of the 2/3-full Mustard Bowl.
12:59 p.m.: Maybe it was all those honorary, Alumni captains -- the Steelers won the toss. Hines Ward went down the line, shaking every Alum's hand as if it were a wedding receiving line. James Farrior shook the hands toward the end of the line, where ex-teammates stood. Game on.
FIRST QUARTER
1:02 p.m.: Not a great first play from scrimmage. Rashard Mendenhall almost got the ball stripped, and Chris Kemeoatu came up limping. Second play, the 29-yard pass -- with plenty of time -- went to Mike Wallace, who nearly broke it for a touchdown. Ramon Foster in at left guard for Kemeoatu. . . 1:10 p.m.: After a Daniel Sepulveda punt that just didn't bounce with backspin, the Browns started in a rare Wildcat formation with Steelers-slayer Josh Cribbs taking the snap. He got 23 yards on his first two carries. Which prompts the question: Why not do it ALL the time. The guy played quarterback in college. And Derek Anderson threw just two completions last weekend in that eye-gouging, 6-3 victory over Buffalo last weekend, when his receivers didn't want to catch his passes. When things go bad for a club. . . 1:13 p.m.: For the record, Kemeoatu is back in, missing just three snaps. . . 1:18 p.m.: Roethlisberger has been knocked down three times in the pocket, all by Shaun Rogers. And why punt TO Cribbs? Just so Sepulveda could making a saving tackle downfield? Brownies have grand location at their own 48, and they certainly are winning the field-position struggle early. . . 1:23 p.m.: Willie Parker is in. Maybe Bruce Arians will finally stick to the ground game. Parker always runs for 100 against the Brownies. . . 1:26 p.m.: Just when Parker was running decently, Max Starks goes down. But he's walking off all right, though it appears to be a shoulder/elbow/arm injury. Doug Legursky just went in to play right guard, with Trai Essex moving over to his former tackle position on the left side, replacing Starks. . . 1:29 p.m.: That wasn't merely a fumble -- a botched snap that was kicked and recovered by Cleveland -- to award the Brownies the ball at the Steelers' 39-yard line, but it was a play where Legursky got hurt, limping off the field. This game might be a battle of attrition, as Mike Tomlin likes to say, for the offensive line alone. . . 1:31 p.m.: Eric Mangini is as smart as me -- he finally realized what these eyes say on the first series: The Cleveland Wildcat is working, particularly against an Aaron Smith-less defense. Don't. Stop. Using. It. . . . Cribbs' running and passing ability scared local coaches on Heinz Field before. . ..1:35 p.m.: OK, so Cribbs isn't used to NFL defenses, certainly not the best safety in the game. But it is time to worry: Troy Polamalu, after picking off that pass, landed on his previously injured left knee and limped off slowly Medical personnel keeps stopping by and checking on him, but he is sitting on the bench with the rest of the guys. We'll soon see. . . Starks, by the way, returned to the o-line. End of quarter, Ott-Ott.
SECOND QUARTER.
1:42 p.m.: The Brownies are rushing two -- count 'em, 2 -- and the Steelers get called for holding, in the form of Willie Colon. This, remember, is the worst rushing defense in the NFL, graciously permitting 170 yards per game. And the home side is determined to throw. . . 1:45 p.m.: Well, THAT worked. Santonio Holmes running 27 yards of that 41-yard pass from Roethlisberger, courtesy of a Mendenhall hold on pass blocking. And, first-and-goal at the 8, Roethlisberger has so much time he doesn't know whether to wind his watch (credit: Mike Lange), and finally finds Heath Miller in the left corner in front of Cleveland linebacker David Bowens. Ben was 5 for 5 for 90 yards on that drive. Steelers ahead, 7-0. . .1:49 p.m.: Breathe. Polamalu is back in. . . 1:53 p.m.: Brett Keisel committed the third of four drops thus far of Derek Anderson passes. The Browns are driving against some second teamers: Chris Hoke in the middle, Nick Eason at end. And Anderson has plenty of time to throw, but is that a good thing or a bad thing? . . . 2:05 p.m.: Who was the wiseacre that said the Steelers should run the ball? For one thing, something was bad wrong with that touchdown pass -- it was meant for Holmes, and Hines Ward cut in front and took it to the house, Steelers 14-0. Note that Roethlisberger is 10 for 14 for 211 yards -- with seven touchdowns in the past three games. He has thrown for gains of 52, 41 and a hat trick in the high 20s. . . 2:08 p.m.: If you cannot keep it from Cribbs' hands in the Wildcat formation, why ever kick it to him? A 98-yard kickoff return by a guy who had a couple of them on this same Heinz Field in 2007. Hulloh?. . . 2:21 p.m.: There's a snapshot you won't see for a long time -- outside of all the studio shows. The Brownies were celebrating a fourth-down stop and running off the field, when the officials yanked the chains to their fullest; meanwhile, the Steelers were motioning first down, and they were right. . . 2:27 p.m.: The standard for a touchdown catch in the NFL must include carrying the ball to the sideline, into the locker room and then home to your mantel. Ward rolled completely over, and it was out of bounds where he dropped the ball. Upon further review, ref Walt Anderson reported that the receiver "did not maintain control through the complete process." So the Steelers settled for a Jeff Reed field goal and a 17-7 lead. Ruh-roh, here comes a kick off. . . After a pooch kick, the Brownies take a knee (?) and head to the locker room down, 17-7, at halftime.
THIRD QUARTER
2:47 p.m.: First of all, Cribbs should never see another Steelers kick in his lifetime, but at least they're pooching them now (although the guy could have lateraled it back to Cribbs). Secondly, the Steelers had no choice but to challenge that play for a Cleveland first down -- it was a completed pass, no way that just happened for these Brownies.(Statistical oddity of the first half: Anderson had a 39.6 passer rating on 2 for 9 (and Cribbs went 0 for 2, remember); Roethlisberger's was almost 100 points higher, and it would've been higher had not Ward "dropped" the TD pass). Oh, and the first-down pass was upheld. . . 2:52 p.m.: Two completions in a row! These Brownies are on a roll. Seriously, they have confidence. Not a good sign. . . 2:54 p.m.: An actual Brownies touchdown, just their fourth in six games. Polamalu was beaten on the throw. Cleveland pulls within 17-14. Two questions arise: Will the Steelers ever blow out an opponent by more than one score? And will they win this game? You let a bad team hang around. . . oh, wait, they constantly do that, huh? . . . 3:07 p.m.: In case anyone hasn't noticed, the Steelers have completed six passes of 20 yards or more thus far. Roethlisberger stands 7 yards shy of 300 passing with a quarter and a half still to play. They have compiled a gaudy 366 yards already, on pace for nearly a 500-yard day. And still they lead only by 24-14. They need the defense to make a stand, join the party, place a game on ice. Not a bad defensive stand there, but they should be smothering the second-worst offense in the NFL (if you still consider Oakland an NFL team). .. . . 3:19 p.m.: It's Turnover Time on the North Shore. Roethlisberger to the Browns, Anderson back to the Steelers -- on, and this is a sign to worry, the first sack of a Cleveland quarterback in 19 pass attempts to that point -- and now Parker (he's cold, remember) back to the Browns. What's the old polka? "I don't want her, you can have her, she's too phat for me?" Or somethin'. . . 3:25 p.m.: Back to 3:19. Anderson back to the Steelers (on yet another sack and turnover; at least the Steelers' defense has reaquainted itself with that staple diet). Mendenhall back to the Browns. That's five turnovers on a dozen plays, four in the past eight. Better production than Dunkin' Donuts.. . Thank goodness we can close the book on that quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
3:35 p.m.: After a defensive stand, the ball is back in the hands of the offense. . . so long as they don't drop it or otherwise place it into the Brownies' breadbasket. A grinding, old-school Steelers drive is in order here. And they're trying to do it, surprisingly, with Mendenhall. Oops, scratch that: They just threw their eighth completion of the day of 20 yards or more. . . 3:44 p.m.: The o-line and the passing game fell on their facemask there, and Jeff Reed kicked a 39-yarder to extend the Steelers' lead to 27-14. . . 3:52 p.m.: Cleveland was 5 for 11 on third downs. Five for 11 (while the Steelers were 2 for 8). Then Anderson just threw into coverage, with Ryan Clark outdueling Polamalu for an interception. Yes, indeedy, the club that continued to rank dead last in the NFL in interceptions has equaled its entire season, five-game output in one day: with two. Party on. . . 4 p.m.: Roethlisberger has surpassed 400 yards for only the second time in his career, with a high of 433 in a 2006 loss to Denver. He is at 417 at the two-minute warning, though the Steelers seem grounded at this point. (But, with Air Arians, you never know. . . .) Interesting to note: Three of his top four career yardage games previously came in losses. . . 4:07 p.m.: It's ovah. Steelers 27, Brownies 14. The Minnesota Favre-Petersons were coming back on the Ravens last we heard -- and then they come into Heinz Field for the last, true potent offense the Steelers will face all season. Should be innerestin'.
Posted
Oct 18 2009, 12:53 PM
by
Chuck Finder