Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Well the Steelers beat the Browns (again).  No big surprise there.  Now it’s time for this week’s haiku contest.

Each week (okay, maybe not EACH week) we hold a haiku contest.  The contest rules are simple.  You must summarize the Steelers-Browns game in a haiku.  A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that contains only 3 lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the third line has 5 syllables.  Typically, haiku do not rhyme.

Please note, the emphasis is on syllables, not words. Remember 5/7/5.

Last week I did not hold a haiku contest.   However, with the Steelers’ impressive win over the Browns, there are lots of storylines to capture in a haiku.  Troy Polamalu’s return, Big Ben’s big game, 2 hundred yard receivers, fumbles galore, losses by AFC North opponents, and the Steelers tie for 1st place in the AFC North are just a few of the thoughts that I expect to be reflected in this week’s entries.

Ouch! My knee!

Here is my haiku for this week. 

The return of Troy
400 yards for Big Ben
1st place here we come

Okay readers, your turn.  Lets see who can come up with the best haiku about the Steelers-Browns game.  Are you ready for some haiku?!!

(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the doohickies at the bottom of the right column of this page. Thanks.)

Subscribe in a reader

It’s game day.  The Steelers will face the Cleveland Browns today at 1:00 PM at Heinz Field.

Perhaps it is just my imagination, but there seems to be very little buzz about today’s game.  I guess that is an indication of how far the Browns as an organization, and the Steelers-Browns rivalry, have fallen.

I once wrote an article about Steelers vs. Browns day that talked about what a big occasion it is whenever the Steelers play the Browns.  However, those days seem like a distant memory.

These days, the game comes with little excitement, little anticipation, little buzz.

There is obviously great anticipation over the return of Troy Polamalu.  The Steelers defense just hasn’t been the same without Troy.  Unfortunately, the team will be playing its first game without defensive end Aaron Smith who will miss the rest of the season with a rotator cuff injury.

Perhaps the most interesting storyline of today’s game will be drama in the Steelers’ own backfield.  Willie Parker is returning from a turf toe injury.  While he was out, Rashard Mendenhall turned in two very respectable performances.  It will be interesting to see how the team integrates the two into the lineup.  Will Parker start?  Will Mendenhall get the majority of the carries?  That storyline is far more interesting than any pertaining to the Browns.

Let’s take a look around the web to see if any other Steelers sites are excited about today’s game.  Here are some articles that I thought you might enjoy:

“Know thy enemy: Cleve Brownies” – Nice Pick, Cowher

“Going for the Brownie Dozen” – D.C. Steeler Nation

“Beat the Browns” - Steelergurl

“Who I like; Mendenhall will start” – NFL From the Sidelines

“Cleveland vs Steelers: The weekly matchup” – Pittsburgh Steelers Fanatic

Nice reads, but like I said, there is very little excitement out there over this game. 

Browns QB Derek Anderson completed two passes for 23 yards and 1 interception.  No, you didn’t read that wrong.  He only completed 2 passes.  The Browns are obviously not an offensive juggernaut.  So regardless of how we might try to manufacture excitement over this game, it will probably end up being a blowout.

My prediction:  Steelers 31- Browns 6.

(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the doohickies at the bottom of the right column of this page.  Thanks.)

Subscribe in a reader

Dear Cleveland Browns,

We are writing to you to express our concerns and frustration.

There was a time when Steelers-Browns week was circled on everyone’s calendar.  Beating the Browns meant more than any other victory (except the Super Bowl, of course).  It was kind of like Michigan beating Ohio State, or USC beating UCLA.  There were bragging rights involved.

But now, that is no longer the case.  The Steelers have beaten the Browns so many consecutive times that everyone here in Pittsburgh has lost count.  How many times has it been?  11?  15?  30?  50?  I can’t even remember how many times we’ve beaten you, but I know it is too many.

Once upon a time, Steelers versus Browns was an epic battle on the scale of the Sharks versus the Jets.  Nowadays, it is more analogous to sharks versus seals.  And the Browns are the seals.  They are little more than snacks for the hungry Steelers.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.  We really WANT you to beat us.  No, I’m not joking.  It’s true.

In the overall history of the series between the Steelers and the Browns, the Steelers lead 59-55.  That’s pretty close.  You have beaten us almost as many times as we have beaten you.  That is what made the series great.  Each time we played, the game was important.  We knew that any time we stepped onto the field with the Browns, we could leave the game with a loss.

Even in the 70′s when we were the most dominant team of the decade, the Browns were an opponent that we could never take lightly.  Fans in Pittsburgh may have hated the Browns, but we always had to respect them.

That is why we are concerned about the current state of the Browns.  You are not upholding your end of the deal.  We want you to be better.  We really do.

Sure, it was fun beating you the first 5 times in a row.  But after 11 straight wins, it’s getting rather monotonous.

We want you to beat us.  And while you’re at it, beat the Ravens and the Bengals a few times.  You see, if you were able to do that, it would be good for everyone.

The Cincinnati Bengals seem to have shed their losing ways, and currently sit atop the AFC North.  The Steelers and Ravens are always competitive.  It is only the Browns that are holding the AFC North back.  If the Browns were better, the AFC North would undoubtedly be the most competitive division in the NFL.  I’m sick of hearing NFL analysts brag about how tough the NFC East is.  I want the AFC North to be king.  And you are preventing that from happening.

The sad part is that you have the best fans in the NFL outside of Western Pennsylvania.  You have no idea how much I hate verbalizing that, but it’s true.  The fans in Cleveland are tremendous.  They deserve better than what you are giving them.

That is why we make this collective plea.  Please beat us.  We want you to beat us.  No, we NEED you to beat us.  Just don’t do it this week.  We still have ground that we need to make up on the Cincinnati Bengals.

Sincerely,
Pittsburgh

(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the doohickies at the bottom of the right column of this page.  Thanks.)

Subscribe in a reader

As if playing without Troy Polamalu weren’t enough, the Steelers were dealt an even harder blow.  Defensive end Aaron Smith has been lost for the season.

Smith suffered a shoulder injury in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.  Yesterday, Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin announced that Smith’s injury  “might be significant”.  After being evaluated, it was discovered that the injury was a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.  Smith has been placed on injured reserve and will be lost for the remainder of the season.

Smith is a quiet, unassuming player who seldom draws attention to himself.  Yet he may be the best player in the league at his position.  Smith is second on the team in sacks with 2.  He also leads the team in quarterback pressures.  But his real strength is in stopping the run.  Smith is virtually unmovable on the left side of the Steelers’ line.

Steelers DE Aaron Smith

While he doesn’t receive the attention that Troy Polamalu does, Smith’s loss may be more significant than playing without Polamalu.  For starters, when Polamalu went out, we knew that he would be coming back in “3 to 6 weeks”.  However, Smith has been placed on the injured reserve and won’t be returning this season.

The last time Smith was injured, the defense saw a precipitous drop in their effectiveness.  In  2007, Smith tore his bicep and was lost for the last 3 games of the season.  Prior to the injury, the Steelers’ defense was #2 against the run.  After Smith was lost, the defense allowed opponents to rush for over 157 yards per game.

The team will try to replace Smith with a combination of 1st round draft pick “Ziggy” Hood, Travis Kirschke, and Nick Eason.

To bolster their depleted defensive line, the Steelers have signed Ra’Shon “Sonny” Harris from the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad.

Ironically, the Steelers tried to sign Harris earlier this year when the Panthers cut him.  However, Harris chose not to sign with the Steelers, and he re-signed with the Panthers because he felt he had a much better chance of making the 53-man roster with the Panthers.  How quickly things change.

(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the doohickies at the bottom of the right column of this page.  Thanks.)

Subscribe in a reader

October 10, 2009
By Donald Starver

I know that I should be happy that the Steelers defeated the Detroit Lions  28-20 today, yet I feel strangely unfulfilled. 

Many fans have already written to remind me that a win is a win, and that I should be satisfied.  But I’m not satisfied.  Perhaps I’m ungrateful.  Perhaps I’m too demanding.  But I’m not satisfied at all.

I am happy that the Steelers are finally above .500.  I really am.  But I’m not happy with how they did it.  After all, these were the world champion Pittsburgh Steelers facing one of the worst teams in the NFL.  The Lions went 0-16 last season.  So could you blame me for desiring a blowout?  Reigning champs should beat reigning chumps…..Soundly.

So why did the Lions score first?   And why did the Lions run for more yards than the Steelers?  Why did the Lions also pass for more yards than the Steelers?  Why did the Lions have more first downs than the Steelers?  Why did the Lions have a greater time of possession than the Steelers?  And why did the Lions outscore the Steelers in the 4th quarter?

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.  I really don’t.  But these are questions that have to be asked.

To be fair, there were some bright spots in the Steelers’ win.  James Harrison accumulated 3 sacks and a forced fumble.  William Gay and LaMarr Woodley each racked up 1.5 sacks.  Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 77 yards on 15 carries.  Heath Miller scored another touchdown.  Hines Ward and Mike Wallace also caught TD passes.  And of course Big Ben passed for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns.

But even with all of those positives, there were still things that left me baffled.  For example, why did the Steelers seem to stop going to Rashard Mendenhall in the 2nd half?  Mendenhall started off on fire and rushed for 65 yards in the 1st half.  But offensive coordinator Bruce Arians seemed to forget about him as Mendenhall only got 6 carries and 12 yards in the entire 2nd half.  Note to Bruce Arians:  When a running back is averaging over 5 yards per carry, GIVE HIM THE BALL!!!!!! 

RB Rashard Mendenhall

Also, why did the Steelers throw the ball to Limas Sweed on their very first offensive series?  As might be expected, Sweed dropped an easy pass.  Fortunately, the Steelers learned from their mistake and didn’t throw to Sweed again for the rest of the game.  Frankly, I was under the impression that Mike Tomlin had Sweed chained up in the basement of the Steelers’ practice facility.  Who let him out?

Perhaps most disappointing was the Steelers’ defense.  The ” D” made Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper look like Peyton Manning.  Culpepper shreaded our defense.  He also rushed for 44 yards.  Culpepper, who was only playing due to an injury to starter Matthew Stafford, did all of that without star wide receiver Calvin Johnson who left early in the game with an injury.

So perhaps you now understand why this game left me feeling a little unfulfilled.  Sure, it’s a win.  But I’m not happy about it.  Nope, I’m not happy at all.

(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the doohickies at the bottom of the right column of this page.  Thanks.)

Subscribe in a reader