It was so sad, it was almost comical. There's such a fine line between
laughing and crying, most fans probably didn't know what to do first Saturday at
CBS.
What the Pittsburgh Steelers did to the inadequately prepared Browns was
several stages beyond embarrassing. It was a thorough and complete dismantling
of a football team . . . play by play, series by series, touchdown by touchdown.
It was the playground bullies against the playground wimps. And the 41-0
final was in no way indicative how much the Steelers controlled the game as the
Browns played in shamefully expansionesque fashion.
You can throw in large doses of another visceral emotion, anger, after the
Steelers proved once and for all the Browns don't belong on the same field with
them.
The only positive that came out of this one is that no one was maimed.
It was as though the Steelers sat in on the Browns' meetings all week. They
knew every pass pattern that was going to be run; they knew the offensive line's
blocking schemes; they absolutely blew apart the vanilla Cleveland defense; and
they played with a swagger that foretold the outcome, which was achieved with
ridiculous ease. It looked as though Joey Porter was in their huddle.
When Romeo Crennel said the Browns were outcoached, he wasn't kidding. He
neglected to add one word - badly.
So when the hell is Crennel going to learn that playing Pittsburgh,
especially in front of the home folks, means his team had better be ready. You
know the relentless Bill Cowher is always going to have his men geared up.
The quintessence of Cowher showed up in the third quarter when, with a 27-0
lead, he unsuccessfully challenged a ruling on the field that a Ben Roethlisberger pass was incomplete. He's up 27 points, his team is manhandling
the Browns and he shows no mercy. He is always fighting. Nothing wrong with
that.
As it turns out, Cowher had nothing to worry about. The Browns played with no
pride against his Steelers. One could stretch a point and maintain they played
scared; mailed it in. And that's sad for a franchise that has such a rich
tradition of winning.
The Steelers played hard until the end when Larry Foote put an exclamation on
the shutout when he planted Aaron Shea at the Pittsburgh three-yard line on the
final play of the game.
Don't know about you, but I'm getting sick and tired of watching the Browns
play the Baltimores and Cincinnatis and Pittsburghs and take a pass. Not show
up. That is unacceptable and has got to stop.
It has happened far too often. Chris Palmer didn't get it. Butch Davis didn't
get it. And now, it appears as though Crennel doesn't get it. He's gone for the
collar in five games so far against the AFC North.
When the Browns play the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals, particularly at home,
they had better come ready to play snot-dirty football for 60 minutes. On both
sides of the ball. Anything less should not be accepted. It's incumbent on
whoever coaches the Browns to realize the importance of these games.
Crennel was feeling so full of pride after last week's sloppy victory in
Oakland that he gave his men the next day off. He celebrated as if his team had
actually accomplished something. Winning a fifth game of the season in week 15
is an accomplishment?
Crennel totally ignored the blemishes that popped up in that game. Rewarded
his men with a day off. You can get away with that against Oakland. Not the
Steelers.
And I don't want to hear that the Steelers have more talent. Of course they
do, but that should not be used as an excuse for absorbing such a pounding.
There should be no exoneration for what took place Saturday.
I have seen Browns teams of the past - pre 1999 - with less talent rise up
and pull off an upset against a superior opponent. Anything wrong with playing
beyond your capabilities? Overachieving, anyone?
The Steelers whomped on the Browns in every phase of the game Saturday. The
first time these teams met earlier in the season, the Steelers beat the Browns
up. This time, they beat them up and down.
Everyone wearing Browns and Orange was culpable. The so-called improved
offensive line had no clue where the Steelers' defense was coming from. The zone
blitz came from every conceivable angle. Eight sacks, numerous hurries, several
knockdowns and five caused fumbles. Not bad for a day's work.
Charlie Frye was tossed around like a rag doll. Some of it was his fault for
hanging on to the ball too long and too loosely. Other times, the offensive line
looked helpless with what the Steelers were doing. Pass protection was poor at
best.
And when Frye did have time to throw, he was mostly off target because he
threw before he wanted to. Something called a pass rush, a phase of the game
that seems foreign to the Browns.
Was the loss Frye's fault? Not entirely. He had plenty of help. This was a
classic team loss. But Frye sure did see the future in a nasty sort of way
against the Steelers.
On defense, the Browns' sieve-like performance was reminiscent of the 1999
season. And that is an indictment. Too often, we saw linebackers being dragged
downfield. Too often, we saw defensive linemen being blown up.
The secondary, which has played fairly well until now, was exposed by
Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Cedrick Wilson.
The second half of the season for a rebuilding team like the Browns should
provide improvement. If there has been any, will someone kindly point out what
it is?
Instead of improving, they are regressing. It's getting worse. There are no
blocks on which to build unless you consider that Braylon Edwards and Kellen
Winslow Jr. will be back next season.
Kind of makes one wonder how did this team beat Chicago and Miami and play
Indianapolis tough? Beats me. Blind squirrel syndrome?
Overall, one inescapable fact emerged. The Browns have a long way, a very
long way, to go before even coming close to approaching respectability.
Crennel should never throw away the tape of this game while he's still
coaching the Browns. He should keep it and play it on occasion for his team as a
constant reminder of how bad it was when the Browns were down.
He should play it as a constant reminder of what it takes to become a solid
football team, of what it will feel like when they exact revenge on the Steelers
one day.
But first, he damn well better understand how extremely important it is to
not just beat the Steelers, but beat them up.
One more game, mercifully, to go. And if the Browns play against Baltimore
Sunday the way they played in the Oakland victory, the result will be no
different than the Pittsburgh game.
It won't be pretty. It'll be sad, but this time not very comical.