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Leave YOUR Writing on the Wall! Send your postgame critiques, analysis, ranting and raving about the last game as well as your predictions, smak, & insults about our upcoming opponent. Whether your message is a simple "Go Steelers" or detailed, in-depth analysis, tell us what you think and we'll post it below.
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Steelers at Browns (23-20)
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Fan Poll |  |
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Who deserves the game ball for the Browns game?
• Amos Zereoue
• Tommy Maddox
• The Defense
• Offensive Line
• Hines Ward
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Scoring Summary
First Quarter
CLE - TD, Dennis Northcutt, 87 Yd punt return (kick is good).
PIT - FG, Todd Peterson 43 Yd.
Second Quarter
CLE - TD, Steve Heiden, 1 Yd pass from Tim Couch (kick is good).
PIT - TD, Hines Ward, 20 Yd pass from Tommy Maddox (kick is good).
PIT - TD, Mark Bruener, 1 Yd pass from Tommy Maddox (kick is good).
Third Quarter
No Scoring.
Fourth Quarter
PIT - Todd Peterson 28 Yd.
PIT - Todd Peterson 42 Yd.
CLE - TD, Quincy Morgan, 31 Yd pass from Tim Couch (kick is no good).
Key Stats & Facts
• Time of possession: Pittsburgh 42:10, Cleveland 17:50. Wow. Nearly a 3-1 edge for the Steelers. Now THAT is Steelers football. However, give a little credit to Cleveland's defense for keeping the score close in spite of getting little help from their offense.
• Our special teams are awful! Cleveland never should've been in this game. They took full advantage of their only superiority, special teams. It's bad enough that we allowed a punt return for a TD. Todd Peterson's kicking is worse. Cowher's very warranted lack of confidence in Peterson resulted in a LOT of points left out on the field, people. The way our offense and defense dominated, this game should've been a laugher.
• First downs: Pittsburgh 25, Cleveland 9. Again, Pittsburgh's statistical dominance in this game was overwhelming.
• Total Yards: Pittsburgh 391, Cleveland 193. The more I digest the stats, the more upset I get with Todd Peterson. When you dominate EVERY phase of the game, you oughta win by more than 3 friggin' points.
• Todd Peterson: 3 of 4 on FG attempts. Deceptively good stats. To his credit, Peterson did get a couple of relatively long ones (43 & 42 yds). But he also missed from 41-yards and caused Cowher to go for it three times on 4th down in what should've been FG range. I don't recall one kickoff traveling inside the 10, either.
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Steelers Offensive Leaders | |
PASSING |
ATT |
CMP |
YDS |
TD |
INT | |
Maddox |
42 |
23 |
239 |
2 |
1 |
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RUSHING |
ATT |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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Zereoue |
29 |
111 |
0 |
27 |
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Maddox |
3 |
8 |
0 |
4 |
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RECEIVING |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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Ward |
9 |
79 |
1 |
21 |
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Burress |
4 |
69 |
0 |
31 |
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Zereoue |
5 |
62 |
0 |
25 |
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Browns Offensive Leaders | |
PASSING |
ATT |
CMP |
YDS |
TD |
INT | |
cOUCH |
24 |
15 |
181 |
2 |
2 |
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RUSHING |
ATT |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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White |
6 |
19 |
0 |
10 |
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Green |
4 |
10 |
0 |
4 |
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RECEIVING |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
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Morgan |
4 |
98 |
1 |
63 |
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Davis |
3 |
31 |
0 |
17 |
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Northcutt |
2 |
27 |
0 |
10 |
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Key Defensive Players | |
DEFENSE |
T-A |
SCK |
INT |
FF |
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Flowers |
4-1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Bailey |
3-0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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Alexander |
2-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
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Smith |
2-0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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Washington |
2-1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
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Key Defensive Players | |
DEFENSE |
T-A |
SCK |
INT |
FF |
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Roye |
9-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Brown |
7-3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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Bush |
6-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Jameson |
5-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Sanders |
4-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
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"Zero" Tolerance
Amos Zereoue gained a career-high 111 yards in a dominating win over Cleveland.
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Steelers Carve pumpkins
Score belies Steelers' dominance
Article by McMillen & Wife
It has become the mantra of Browns fans following a loss to the Steelers in recent years: "Well, you only beat us by 3 lousy points!" Okay, Punk'in-haids. True enough. But according to my calculations, that's exactly three times the required number of points necessary to achieve a Steeler win. Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dawg.
If ever there has been a 3-point blow-out, this was it.
Slim margin of victory aside, this was an old-fashioned dawggy butt-kicking. Time of possession was an obscene 42:10 to 17:50 in favor of the Steelers. The Steelers also had 200-yard edge in total offense and a 25-9 advantage in first downs. Cleveland's leading rusher amassed a pitiful 19 yards. Furthermore, the Brownies were victimized in THEIR house in spite of jumping out to an early 14-3 lead. Cleveland made three big plays -- the punt return for a TD, the 63-yard pass to Morgan, and the late TD pass to Morgan -- but did little else all day.
What's the perfect compliment to any Terrible Towel?
McMillen and Wife's very own handmade
Steel City Soap!
(pictured above)
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Kudos to Cleveland's defense.
I will offer slight kudos to Cleveland's defense for hanging in there in spite of ZERO help from their perpetual 3-and-out offense. The game teetered on the brink of becoming a laugher throughout the 2nd half. But in spite of the overwhelming statistical dominance of the Steelers, Cleveland's defense (aided significantly by our own mistakes and questionable play-calling) managed to do just enough to prevent Pittsburgh from blowing the game wide open.
Now, gimme those kudos back.
Having said all that, this is also the same defense that served as Amos Zereoue's personal chew toy. After a shaky first quarter, our offensive line kicked it into gear and seemed to be able to push their D-line just about anywhere they wanted to. Amos responded by piling up a career high 111-yards, not to mention his 5 catches for 62 yards. Ward and Burress also had good success until the Steelers got up 23-14 and decided to let the air out of the ball. Most fun of all, it was clear that the Browns had no idea what to do once Mularkey started hitting them with all of those trick plays. Figuratively speaking, one Steeler would tap Butch Davis on his left shoulder, and when would Davis turned to his left, another Steeler would punch him in the groin from the right. Too damn funny!
Deja-vu all over again... almost.
I must admit, my thoughts late in the 4th quarter drifted to our dominating 10-13 loss to Baltimore last season. Like Sunday's game in Cleveland, the 2001 Baltimore game was one that we OWNED statistically and would've won going away if not for 4 missed FGs by Kris Brown. Time of possession was similar. First down numbers and total yardage were similar. Tommy Maddox's goal-line interception just before the half (Maddox's 3rd such 2-minute-drill gaffe in as many weeks) reminded me of Kordell's goal-line fumble in that Baltimore game. Both games saw the Steelers leave a LOT of points on the field. Thankfully, the outcome was different this time around.
This win was remarkable for several reasons.
Obviously, this win was huge because it put the Steelers in solid command of the AFC North. And while no one from the team will dare say it out loud, I believe we will not be seriously challenged for the division crown from here on out. Yes, Cleveland has a cushy schedule just like us. But we're 4-0 in the division and won both head-to-head meetings with Cleveland. In the unlikely event of a tie, we'll win the tiebreakers. Frankly, I think we've even got a very real shot at homefield advantage, because the teams in the AFC West are going to begin to canibalize each other -- Denver wil win that division, because San Diego is heading into a simply brutal portion of their schedule. The winner of the AFC South will have a 9-7 record at best... half of my money is on the Titans, the other half on the Colts. In the east, Miami, New England & Buffalo are all still in it, but I expect Buffalo to fade, Miami to take their annual late-season nosedive and New England to win the division at 10-6. We'll see.
Questionable (?) questions answered about Maddox.
There were also some questions answered in this one. I've heard mutterings from various NFL pundits to the effect that, "Oh, sure, Tommy can win when the Steelers are up by 2 or 3 touchdowns... but can he perform from behind?" Now, considering Tommy's first appearance this season came when he engineered a come-from-behind overtime win in a seemingly hopeless situation in week 3 vs. Cleveland, I'm not sure where this doubt is coming from. But let the record show, Tommy Maddox CAN perform from behind. Twice. And on the road, to boot. The guy is UNFLAPPABLE... unless we're in scoring position with less than 2 minutes left in the half, that is. :-) Knock off those forced passes at the end of the half, Tommy.
Special teams still belong in the Special Olympics.
Poor special teams have been a hallmark of Bill Cowher's tenure. From the blocked punt in the '93 playoffs in K.C. to the blocked FG and TD punt return in the 2001 AFC Championship, special teams have done us more harm that good over the years. We keep firing special teams coaches, but little changes. I dunno about you, but that tells me something.
I don't mean to kick a man when he's down (especially when I could probably kick him further than his kickoffs travel), but Todd Peterson is absolutely horrific. Yeah, he made 3 FGs vs. the Browns, and he didn't miss a PAT like their kicker. But in an era where 42-yard FGs are almost considered chip-shots, Cowher shouldn't be forced to go for it on 4th & 3 from the 27. In my mind, we left 12 points on the field in Cleveland last Sunday because of Peterson's rubber leg. It's inexcusable.
I'll cut a little slack on Cleveland's punt return for a TD, because in my view, there were at least two (maybe three) blatantly illegal and crucial blocks made early on the return that weren't called. Cowher put the onus on the players for that one -- perhaps rightfully in an era where officials seem content on let more and more go on special teams -- but I if the rules were properly applied, that one would've come back.
Enough. First place feels good. Next up: a toughie against the surging Atlanta Falcons (5-3). Until then, bruthas & sistas!
Tim McMillen
Webmaster, McMillen & Wife
Mac & Wife is Hosted and Sponsored by Pittsburgh's Finest!
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Fan Smak & Analysis
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The following articles are listed in the order they were received (with the most recent entries at the BOTTOM). This isn't a "guestbook" format... I read and manually insert every message, so you may not see your submission show up immediately. Thanks a million for your comments, people!
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Author: Your name here!
Comment: Coming soon!
Leave YOUR Writing on the Wall! Send your postgame critiques, analysis, ranting and raving about the last game as well as your predictions, smak, & insults about our upcoming opponent. Whether your message is a simple "Go Steelers" or detailed, in-depth analysis, tell us what you think and we'll post it here.
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Author: Your name here!
Comment: Coming soon!
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