GAMBLOG Picks Of The Week
September 12, 2008Mission Accomplished…For Now
September 12, 2008In our weekly installment, we examine what it’s going to take for the Browns to avoid a 10th straight defeat at the hands of their arch-nemeses, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
So, what will it take? A miracle? Without further ado, The Browns Will Win If…
RockKing: …the offense wakes up. DA cannot go 2 whole quarters without completing a pass again. You can’t forget that K2 is on this team and not throw his way for 3 quarters. Braylon can’t drop 4 passes again. The O-Line needs to get their mojo back and get back to being the dominating unit they were last season. There’s no reason for the regression we have seen out of them. The Browns can’t abandon the running game. They can’t kick meaningless FGs that help them in no way. Look, the Browns defense is going to be horrible all season long. We have to accept this. Therefore, the only way the Browns will win games this year is by neutralizing the other team’s offense by keeping them off the field and keeping the pressure on them to have to score every possession. If the Browns can be a top 5 offense this year, the Browns can win some games, including this game against the Steelers. If the offense continues to struggle and look like it did against Dallas, this will be a LONG season and Pittsburgh will easily get their 10th consecutive win over the Browns on Sunday Night.
DP: …the Steelers’ offensive playmakers are trapped under something when the game kicks off. Even with the same Browns’ defensive unit from the Cowboys game out there, I would be worried about what the Steelers could do to them. And now without Sean Jones, unless huge strides have been made this week by the Browns defense in stopping runs up the middle (and also in covering key receiving threats), I just can’t see how they can stop the Steelers’ running attack. And then: who’s going to be covering Santonio Holmes deep? Who’s going to cover Heath Miller? Judging by the team’s treatment of Witten last week, the first guess would be no one at all. The bottom line for me is that the Browns’ offense is going to have to be ready to play a game like they did against Cincinnati last season in week 2. The problem is that the Steelers’ defense is much, much better than the Bengals’ defense is/was.
Scott: …the Browns avoid the “big play” on defense. While we want our offense on the field as much as possible, and big plays would definitely give us a tilt in terms of “time of possession,” they will also suck the collective wind out of Cleveland Browns Stadium. Getting and keeping the crowd in this one will be vital. A quick lead for the Steelers is easy to overcome when you have 70,000 behind your back. Yes, we’re banged up on defense, and sure, we could not stop the run to save our lives last week. However, if the defense stays on their toes, keeps Willie Parker in front of them, and does not allow Santonio Holmes to torch them on any deep routes, I think the strengths on the offensive side of the ball will keep it close – or ultimately pull us ahead. For good.
Mike …a lot of things break their way come Sunday night. For the Browns to pull off the upset off at home this week (+6), defensively they have to slow down Willie Parker and the Pittsburgh ground game. Also, they will have to put some sort of pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. Do I think this will happen? Let’s put it this way…don’t bench your Steelers if you have any on your fantasy teams. Realistically, the Browns will have to get their offense back in high gear and make this game a shootout. The line will have to protect Derek Anderson and open holes for Jamal Lewis. It also wouldn’t hurt if Braylon Edwards rebounds this week with a big game…I think he will. Ultimately, the Browns chances will come down to Derek Anderson. If he ends up with another bad game, well…we know what we’ll be hearing about all week.
Craig: …the Browns contain Roethlisberger’s scrambling, screen plays, and Willie Parker. The weather is going to be bad all weekend and it could be raining throughout the game. This will put the accent on special teams, running the ball, and screen passes. In the bad weather, the Browns are going to have to be especially careful on defense to make sure they contain the running game and the screen passes. If they can keep Willie Parker from breaking big plays on screen passes with Hines Ward blocking downfield, the Browns might be able to keep Jamal Lewis and company on the field. The key to the Browns’ offense this week will be Jamal Lewis helping wear down the Pittsburgh D.
What does everyone else think?
16 Comments
While I will admit football strategy isn’t my strong point, it seems like the LBs were terrrible against Dallas. There was a HUGE cushion 12-15 yards down the field almost every play last week. Clearly this put the DBs at a huge disadvantage. There was also no pressure on Romo. Other stuff, too…
“Look, the Browns defense is going to be horrible all season long. We have to accept this.”
Why? Why do we have to accept this? We were told great strides had been made this of season. We traded the entire top half of the draft and a valuable DB to improve this defense. Why should anyone accept that they suck – again?
I don’t think he meant it in that context, TOTim. I think he means it from the stand-point of: the Browns aren’t bringing in any more players on defense, so the defense is going to suck and we’re going to have to just get used to it for this year.
Your point is not lost, though.
We have to accept it because there’s no fixing it now. It is what it is. When you lose Holly, Baxter, Pool, and Jones, it leaves your secondary AWFULLY thin. I’m not sure why any of us should have ever actually thought that Wright and McDonald could get the job done by themselves. I think we were all just holding our breath and hoping, but deep down, we all knew this wasn’t going to work.
I don’t think we have a chance on Sunday and it depresses me. My ex wife is a big Steelers honk and she drives me crazy anyway, (hence the ex part), she will be even more obnixious if this is the blowout I am afraid it will be.
Update from Barry at the OBR… Wimbley pulled his groin today…
How about cover Heath Miller. I bet this dude is left open loads of time just like Witten was. STOP I repeat STOP Big Ben on the 3rd Downs. He will run and get the first down like he always does against the Browns. In all honesty though the Browns have no chance at winning this thing. I’ve lost all hope after one game, it was that bad. Good thing I have Willie Parker on my fantasy team, he’s good for 150 yards and a TD at least!
Food for thought:
Although the Browns will not be adding any more players on defense, it IS possible for the current squad to improve during the season if they really work at it.
I know, crazy of me to think that NFL players can adjust and actually get better during the season, but it SEEMS reasonable to me at least.
I’m not ready to walk away from this team for the year yet, but this game will play a big part in that decision if they lose. It’s already been said in a past post, but this game is a season definer. The Browns could win all the of the rest of their games….a loss here would taint the rest of the season.
Bambino-
You’re not wrong, no. And something that would help would be an offense that forces other teams to have to abandon the parts of their game plans that don’t work, making our defense have to focus on less. We didn’t see that offense against Dallas. Here’s hoping we see it against Pittsburgh on Sunday.
I still can’t figure out why there was no pass rush last week. Shaun Rogers pulled double teams all day long. Still Wimbley and company didn’t get any pressure on the QB. The DB’s actually did a decent job for most of the game holding coverage during the first reads. The problems come after those first 3 seconds after the snap, when the DB’s can’t hold coverage into the receivers’ second moves. It is a clear advantage for the offense if the receivers get into their second attempts to get open if the other team doesn’t put the QB on his back.
I don’t think it is out of the question that the Browns could put some pressure on Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh takes a lot of sacks. What the Browns need to do is straddle that line between pressure and over-pursuit. Over-pursuit will lead to 30 yard scrambles from Ben, and easy big play screen passes.
Also, I agree with Bambino. There is no reason that the Browns should start to get better on defense with the personnel they added on the D-line. And don’t start talking to me about Leigh Bodden. The only reason we are mentioning his name is because the other guys got hurt. Bodden was injury prone and a step slower with all the ankle troubles.
should = shouldn’t… I think the Browns could and should get better on D.
The Browns will win if Derek Anderson can not disappear in the second half AGAIN!
Too much of a trend. If we lose I want to see Quinn after the bye week.
The Browns will win if. . Romeo can get this squad fired up. But unfortunately that’s beyond his skill set as a coach. How dumb is this organization that focuses on improving the d-line, by adding two starters on the line and dropping the 2 starting db’s. Sure the run is better, but the defense still stinks.
Browns stink. If they come out flat my head might explode. How can you not get a team up for the Browns vs Steelers, nationally televised game, division rivals. . . . Romeo has shown he can’t motivate his players, and he hasn’t shown that he is great with the x’s and o’s. Why is he still here?
Did anyone else catch the game time forecast? It’s supposed to be raining with 35mph winds!!!
To me, this seems like the best possible situation for the browns. Both teams will have to rely on their running games and I’m willing to bet Rogers and Williams will stand up for this team and actually play defense. I love our chances with Jamal and this O-line.
Go Browns!!!