Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[osugrad21]

CPD

Clocking Big Ben: Browns know foiling Roethlisberger is key to ending Steelers' streak

by Tony Grossi Thursday September 11, 2008, 7:45 PM


Tracy Boulian/The Plain DealerBen Roethlisberger made the key play of the Steelers' 31-28 victory last year over the Browns when he escaped Willie McGinest and overpowered Daven Holly (right) to score a touchdown on a 30-yard run.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was limited at practice for a second day in a row on Thursday because of a sore shoulder incurred on a sack by Houston's Mario Williams in Sunday's rout of the Texans. It's proof that some teams actually do knock down the Steelers' quarterback, who looks more like a linebacker at 6-5 and 241 pounds.
In truth, Roethlisberger is the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL over the past two years. He was taken down 93 times in 30 games the past two seasons. The Browns were credited with seven in four meetings in 2006 and '07.
But the key plays in two of those four Pittsburgh wins were Roethlisberger slipping away from the Browns' clutches and making big-time plays.

In 2007, Roethlisberger slithered out of Willie McGinest's grasp for a 30-yard touchdown run and a 24-21 Pittsburgh lead. The Steelers won, 31-28.
"That was the backbreaker," linebacker Kamerion Wimbley said of that third-and-9 play.
In 2006, Roethlisberger shook off three interceptions and Wimbley at the end, shoveling a little pass to Willie Parker for the winning touchdown with 32 seconds left. Steelers won, 24-20.
"Yeah, I had him," Wimbley said. "He frustrates a lot of defenses because whenever he does scramble and is able to break away from those tackles it's usually accompanied by some sort of significant play."
Roethlisberger chuckled on a conference call over the mention of Wimbley seemingly forever chasing him, wheels spinning, dirt flying, and Roethlisberger escaping.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Steelers, Big Ben had good timing
Friday, September 12, 2008
By STEVE DOERSCHUK
[email protected]

BEREA It doesn't matter how good your airplane is if you're stuck in the Alps. It isn't taking off.

In turn, there's no guarantee Ben Roethlisberger would not have crashed had he launched his career in Cleveland.

Instead, he went to Pittsburgh, whose strong foundation was like a runway paved in gold.

The Browns were stuck in an expansion warp in 2004, the year Roethlisberger was available in the draft after passing for 84 touchdowns at Miami (Ohio). Butch Davis was in regime-saving mode, coming off a bad year and needing players who could help right away.

Insiders suspected Davis wanted to tap his Miami Hurricane connection and snare safety Sean Taylor or tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. with the No. 7 overall pick.

Davis made a pretense of courting Roethlisberger, flying to Oxford a few days before the draft.

The big day came. Taylor was snapped up by the Redskins at No. 5. Winslow was still on the board, but Detroit had the No. 6 pick. Lions President Matt Millen convinced Davis he would take Winslow if Cleveland didn't pay a second-round pick to trade up one spot.

Davis met the price. Later, he traded back into the second round to get more immediate help in safety Sean Jones.

Millen, content at the time with a young Joey Harrington, took wideout Roy Williams. The Falcons, with Michael Vick on board, drafted cornerback DeAngelo Williams. The Jaguars, thinking they were set with Byron Leftwich, picked wideout Reggie Williams. The Texans, who had David Carr, opted for cornerback Dunta Robinson.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns Notebook
Friday, September 12, 2008
BY STEVE DOERSCHUK
[email protected]

CRIBBS ITCHING TO PLAY

Indications are Joshua Cribbs (ankle) will face the Steelers after being sorely missed in the opener.

Cribbs is as eager as any Brown to beat Pittsburgh, partly because of an old rivalry with Ben Roethlisberger. Both of them were college freshmen when Cribbs quarterbacked Kent State to a win over Miami of Ohio, whose quarterback was Roethlisberger.

"Some guys never beat him," Cribbs said. "I've got that over him. I used to joke with Charlie (Frye) when he was here. You ever beat him? 'Oh ... OK.'"

Cribbs' outdueled Roethlisberger in 2001. Neither the Browns nor Cribbs have ever defeated Roethlisberger in the NFL.

"He is different now, definitely," Cribbs said. "Way more mature. He's really progressed. He's got a Super Bowl under his belt."

DONTE STALLED

Wide receiver Dont? Stallworth probably won't play Sunday after missing a second straight day of practice. His absence means the Browns must consider pushing the envelope with Cribbs. Stallworth was supposed to add juice to the offense as the No. 2 wideout, but he is all but certain to miss his second straight game. Cribbs began the offseason penciled in as the No. 4 or No. 5 wideout, but he seems the ideal No. 2 until Stallworth returns.

Joe Jurevicius' bid to be the No. 3 wideout is on hold until Game 6, when he can come off the PUP list. Jurevicius is still limping with his repaired right knee heavily taped. He said he doesn't want to be interviewed until the bye week because he doesn't want to be a distraction.
Cont...

 

[LitlBuck]

PD

Injury report: Linebacker Kamerion Wimbley was added to the Browns injury report as limited with a groin injury. Donte Stallworth (groin) missed a second practice in a row and Crennel said he would be doubtful for Sunday. In Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger was limited a second day in a row with a shoulder injury.

This is not good news regarding Wimbley. If he is limited on Sunday, that will be very bad news because I'm not really sure we even have another OLB who can rush the passer. The Squealers OL is not very good at pass protection and this could be a good chance for Wimbley to get a sack or two. Without him, I don't see much coming from the outside.

 

[afgolfer]

I am still concerned that we havent tried to add somone to the secondary. that seems to be our weakest area due to injuries. was nice to see some of the practice squad signingings, but we need to ad someone with experience who might be looking for work to the secondary. Are there any good ones in the CFL we can convince to come and try out?

 

[Brandon]

Sorry what my 'Boys did to you guys last Sunday but it had to be done. I like your team a lot, and I like your chances against the Steelers. Hopefully you guys can live up to the hype and beat them. The good thing is, the Steelers offensive line isn't even half as good as the Cowboys line, so I can all but guarantee you guys will be putting Big Ben on his rear more than once Sunday night.

Good luck!

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

FRUSTRATED ONCE AGAIN Browns manage just two field goals in another loss to Steelers
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Monday, Sep 15, 2008
CLEVELAND: While Kellen Winslow finished dressing, the Browns tight end was asked about the rest of the teams in the AFC North Division. But there was really only one he cared about.
The one he said the Browns are ''inches away from beating.''
With the wind gusting to 60 mph and intermittent rain swirling like snow, the conditions seemed unique. But the Browns' frustration against the Steelers remained constant, stretching to 10 consecutive losses as the Steelers escaped Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday night with a 10-6 victory.
Several Browns had called it a must-win, and General Manager Phil Savage had deemed the nationally televised game the biggest in his four-year tenure. But even with a more inspired effort on defense, the Browns could not stop the defending AFC North champion Steelers (2-0) from stretching their winning edge to 16 of
the past 17 against the Browns (0-2).
With 2007's prolific offense scoring just one touchdown in two games, the Browns must regroup for road trips to Baltimore and Cincinnati.
''It's a new year, we're a new team, we don't care about the streak,'' Winslow said. ''All we want to do is win the division. To win the division we know we've got to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. They're the bullies. They've got one on us, but we'll see them in the last game. We need to win these next two.''
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Browns spread blame around among selves Offense again can't get going in second game of season vs. Steelers
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Monday, Sep 15, 2008
CLEVELAND: Browns players wouldn't put the blame for their 10-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on anyone but themselves.
Defensive lineman Shaun Rogers took the blame for a Steelers touchdown on his broad shoulders.
The Steelers had the ball third-and-6 on the Browns' 45-yard line. Rogers got flagged for an offsides penalty. The Browns stopped Steelers running back Willie Parker for no gain, but the Steelers went for it on fourth-and-1. Parker raced outside for a 13-yard run and a first down. They eventually scored on a Ben Roethlisberger to Hines Ward pass of 11 yards.
''I just feel like I cost those guys the big play that we needed to put us over the top in the division. They brought me here to help out, but I feel like I just made a costly mistake,'' Rogers said. ''It was a 0-0 game. You take that touchdown back and what is it? A 6-3 game, the Browns win? I don't think that's taking it too hard.''
Kick returner Josh Cribbs, who enjoyed his best day as a pro against the Steelers in Pittsburgh last year with two kick returns for scores, felt that he didn't play his best, either. The Steelers bottled Cribbs up all game, never really allowing him to break free.
''I just felt like I let the team down a little bit. Everybody's looking for me to make that big run. Opening it up and changing the game because that's what I do, change the game,'' Cribbs said. ''The opportunities always didn't present themselves. In that aspect, I thought I let the team down.''
Offensive woes
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

An Ill wind blows no offense: Browns denied by Steelers again, 10-6

by Tony Grossi Sunday September 14, 2008, 11:39 PM


Tracy Boulian/The Plain DealerThe frustration of another loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn't hard to see as Browns receiver Braylon Edwards walked off the field Monday night.
The Browns did not lose two games at home last year or two in a row overall. Now they have done both in the first two weeks of a young season that's getting old real fast. They failed to seize the opportunity of their first of five national prime-time appearances, losing to the nemesis Pittsburgh Steelers, 10-6, to fall two games behind the division leader.
The Browns have lost 10 in a row to their arch rivals.
"They might be beating us, but it's just little things here and there you have to do right to play winning football," said quarterback Derek Anderson, whose interception at the 2 at the end of the first half cost the Browns at least three points.
"It does not matter if the game is close or a blowout," said Pittsburgh nose tackle Casey Hampton. "A win is a win."

This one was a hard-fought defensive contest in sometimes perilous weather conditions. The bottom line is the Browns had chances to break this skein, but squandered scoring opportunities with clock mismanagement, lack of discipline and penalties.
There was also another questionable decision by coach Romeo Crennel to kick a field goal

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Beat the Steelers? Here's a novel idea, how about the Browns keep from beating themselves?

by Bud Shaw Monday September 15, 2008, 12:33 AM


For this alleged rivalry to favor the Browns one of these years/decades/centuries (pick the most likely time frame) they might have to play smarter than the Steelers or at least more disciplined.
There's always a catch, I know, but they really should give it a try just once since the dwindling alternatives have dwindled to voodoo dolls of Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu.
Ten snafus in a row -- if you are still counting and aren't lying on a leather couch this morning blubbering to a shrink.
This night of prime-time football at the lakefront was among the most agonizing of the lot and not only because it carried the hope of identifying the Browns to a national audience as the new sheriff in the AFC North.
Sure it did. Say hello to Sheriff Fife.

"This was maybe one of the best games we played against Pittsburgh in a while," Romeo Crennel reasoned. "But we still shot ourselves in the foot."
Crennel fired the one bullet he carries in his pocket late in the game when he went for a field goal to make it 10-6 with 3:21 remaining at the Steelers' 20. His decision not to try to convert a fourth-and-7 there trailing 10-3 wasn't as confounding as last week's field goal that shaved a 28-7 deficit to 28-10 in the fourth quarter.
But the Browns needed a touchdown to at least send the game into overtime before Dawson's kick, and they still needed a touchdown to win after Dawson's kick. Roethlisberger was honest enough to say the decision was "surprising" while Derek Anderson claimed to be "with the boss every time."

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Terry Pluto's scribbles after Steelers top Browns

by Terry Pluto Monday September 15, 2008, 12:11 AM


Scribbles in my Browns notebook as they lost to Pittsburgh again...

Suppose someone told you before the game -- even with all the wind and rain -- that the Browns would hold Pittsburgh to 10 points. Shouldn't that be good enough to win? The defense gave the Browns a strong effort. Ten points should not be enough beat this team, especially at home. But it was because the combination of clock management mistakes, lack of a running game and major problems by QB Derek Anderson is a losing combination.
With eight seconds left in the first half on the ball on the Pittsburgh 11, Anderson knew he had to get the ball into the end zone. It had to be a quick-hit play so the Browns would have time to kick a field goal if the pass failed. The QB has to throw the ball into the end zone. He should throw it to Braylon Edwards or Kellen Winslow, his best receivers. Instead, Anderson tried to get the ball to Syndric Steptoe, and threw it short -- Troy Polamalu picking it off at the 3-yard line.

So Anderson threw it to the wrong guy (Steptoe), and to the wrong place (not in the end zone). Anderson has played enough in his 20th pro start to know better. He had another ill-advised throw in the third quarter when the Browns were on the Steelers' 13. It was third and 12; rather than throw in the end zone, he fired it into the turf to Jason Wright at the 5. Look, he's got to get the ball into the end zone in these situations.
I marvel at the hands of Winslow, who not only has glue for fingers, but tremendous concentration to catch balls when being hit. He said he was open on that final play of the first half. Not sure if he was, but it would have been better to throw the ball in his direction. Winslow had seven catches for 55 yards.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Browns Insider: Rogers takes blame for lone TD

by Mary Kay Cabot Sunday September 14, 2008, 11:43 PM


Tracy Boulian/The Plain DealerBraylon Edwards looks for the ball after having a pass from Derek Anderson broken up by Steelers linebacker Larry Foote (bottom).
Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers shouldered the blame for the 10-6 loss to the Steelers. He said his offsides penalty on third down that led to the Steelers' lone touchdown was the difference in the game. Rogers shot the gap and got great penetration, but was a split second fast off the ball. Ben Roethlisberger threw an incomplete pass to Nate Washington on third and 6.
"My costly penalty led to some points," he said. "If there was one I'd like to have back, it's that one. I just feel like I cost those guys a big game that we needed to put us on top in the division. They brought me to help out and I feel like I made a costly mistake -- but I'm big enough, I can handle that weight."

Rogers was asked if he was being too hard on himself. After all, he had five solo tackles, two for losses, a six-yard sack and three quarterback hurries.
"I don't think I'm being too hard on myself," he said. "Third and long you've got a chance to get off the field against a good team. We had been getting off the field against a good team. It would've been a 0-0 game. If you take that touchdown back it'd be a 3-6 game and the Browns win. So I don't think that's being too hard on myself."
Rogers said instead of costing the Browns the game, he wanted to "put the game on my shoulders. That's why they brought me here."

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns a prime-time flop
Cleveland 'settles' for another loss
Monday, September 15, 2008
By STEVE DOERSCHUK
[email protected]

CLEVELAND On an epic Sunday night wrought with wind, waterlogging and willpower, the Browns couldn't quite add that one last "W" they sorely needed.

Judging from the boos, many fans threw in one more "w," for what they saw as a weak decision. Head Coach Romeo Crennel settled for a field goal with 3:21 left, leaving them in a 10-6 deficit that became the final score.

"It's like that every time," Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. said in an exasperated tone. "It's going to be one or the other of the teams with the ball at the end, and tonight ...

"Big Ben (Roethlisberger) ... Big Ben. He just comes up with something every time.

"We're close. So close. Tonight ... inches."

Settling for that late field goal wasn't the same as taking a field goal late in 28-10 loss to Dallas, but it was a questionable decision by Crennel, who at the end of the first half lost points to a turnover arguably created by poor clock management.

"I'm never going to question my coach on anything like that," Joshua Cribbs said, but some of the Steelers were surprised.

Pittsburgh came away with its 10th straight win in what has been a haunted series for Cleveland. The howling wind and swirling rain under a black sky fittingly framed another chapter with a grim ending.

The Steelers improved to 2-0. The Browns fell to 0-2.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Sports Spotlight: Crennel blows it with late FG call
Monday, September 15, 2008
BY TODD PORTER
[email protected]

CLEVELAND

It wasn't by accident that Phil Savage called Sunday night's game against the Steelers the biggest since this regime has been in Cleveland. Savage, the team's general manager, isn't a hyperbolic type of guy.

It was a fact.

The Browns needed this game. This was a must-win game in the middle of September. It was big to pull even with Pittsburgh in the division and not chase wins the rest of the year.

After Cleveland lost to Pittsburgh, 10-6, all it means now is the Browns will be chasing points and wins the rest of the season. And they're going to come up short of winning the division, again.

So effectively what happened Sunday night, the Romeo Crennel watch is officially under way.

And it should be.

No one should expect to be a mathematician, but for crying out loud, bring a scoring chart and keep it in your back pocket. His love affair ? or defeatist attitude ? toward the meaningless field goal is puzzling.

Crennel, as you will recall, kicked a field goal against Dallas last week to nibble away at a 28-10 Cowboys lead late in the game. Kicking field goals late in the game when they don't tie it is like trying to eradicate a cockroach.

Here's the scenario against Pittsburgh: The Browns are driving the football. Yes, they're completing passes and looking like an NFL offense. It was just short of amazing.

Then it became amusing.

On fourth-and-7 from the Pittsburgh 20, Crennel opted for a Phil Dawson field goal with 3:21 left in the game. That made it 10-6.

Perhaps Crennel didn't get the memo on this being the biggest game of his head-coaching career here. Perhaps he didn't think it was. Perhaps he didn't care.

But in case Crennel or anyone else couldn't keep score, the Browns still needed a touchdown after that point.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns' defense does job, offense doesn't
Monday, September 15, 2008
By STEVE DOERSCHUK
[email protected]

CLEVELAND The Steelers aimed to set a tone as soon as the Madden Cruiser shifted into park.

With a fierce wind howling on the first snap of the game, safety Troy Polamalu, hair flying, fired in on a run blitz. The All-Pro blew through little wideout Syndric Steptoe and dropped Jamal Lewis in his tracks for a loss of 2.

But the Browns did some of their own tone-setting Sunday night. After years of lip service to "matching Pittsburgh's intensity," their defense actually did so through three quarters that bore no resemblance to the Dallas fiasco.

On Pittsburgh's first play, a quick pass, linebacker D'Qwell Jackson put a hard shot on Santonio Holmes ? and let the wideout know it after the play.

New Brown Corey Williams had a good old time on that first defensive series. Williams stayed in the backfield and posed for the Dawg Pound after bringing down Willie Parker, then dropped to one knee and did a body-builder pose after Ben Roethlisberger was swarmed under on a 9-yard sack.

PASSING GAME WOES

The passing game blew two nice chances on the Browns' second series. On first down, Derek Anderson short-hopped a sideline pass to an open Braylon Edwards. On third-and-8, Anderson fired a strike to Edwards in the right flat. Edwards, who dropped four passes against Dallas, dropped the first one he had a chance to catch against Pittsburgh.
Cont...