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(Thu) Browns at Steelers(-4.5)

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Steelers may be without four regulars against Browns

By The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 5, 2006


The Pittsburgh Steelers may be without injured wide receiver Hines Ward, safety Troy Polamalu and two other starters for Thursday night's AFC North game against Cleveland.
Ward and Polamalu sat out the Steelers' 20-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday, when wide receiver Cedrick Wilson (ankle) and safety Ryan Clark (groin) also were hurt. Ward and Polamalu each injured a knee the week before against Baltimore.

With a short week of preparation and recovery time before the Cleveland game, coach Bill Cowher wasn't optimistic Monday the injured players will be ready by Thursday.

"I'm not sure they'll be able to make it on a short week," Cowher said.

Ward, who had arthroscopic knee surgery Nov. 27 to remove bone fragments from his left knee, had missed only one other game in his nine-season NFL career to injury before Sunday. He didn't play against Jacksonville last season.

Polamalu had a sprained knee, and the team has not said when it expects the All-Pro safety to return.

If Ward and Wilson don't play, the Steelers plan to start second-year receiver Nate Washington, a non-drafted player, and rookie Santonio Holmes at wide receiver. If Polamalu and Clark can't play, Tyrone Carter and rookie Anthony Smith would start at safety.

Washington led the Steelers (5-7) with three catches for 78 yards against Tampa Bay, including a 36-yard reception that led to a touchdown. Holmes, a first-round draft pick from Ohio State, had one catch for 18 yards.

"They're going to get better the more they play," Cowher said. "I don't like the circumstances, but they're going to be playing a lot more now."

Injuries or not, Cowher isn't very excited -- and for good reason -- about playing two games in five days, something the Steelers haven't done since 1998.

Then, they beat the Jaguars 30-15 on Sunday, Nov. 22 to get to 7-4 and put themselves in prime playoff position in the AFC Central. But they lost at Detroit 19-16 in overtime five days later on Thanksgiving -- the Jerome Bettis disputed coin flip game -- and didn't win again all season. At 7-9, it was their first losing record under Cowher.

To TV viewers, it appeared Bettis said "tails" during the overtime coin flip, only to have referee Phil Luckett rule he said "heads." As a result, the Lions won the flip, got the ball and kicked a field goal without the Steelers touching the ball in overtime.

Along the sideline, Bettis explained to Cowher he began to say "heads" before switching to "tails," as enhanced audio of the CBS-TV video tape confirmed. Luckett followed the directive given to referees at the time by going with a player's first response, though the NFL never acknowledged he made the proper call.

However, the league immediately changed the coin flip procedure by having the visiting team captain make the "heads-tails" call before the coin is flipped. That method has been used since.

No wonder Cowher isn't excited about another Thursday game, even one against the losing-record Browns (4-8).

"I'm not a big fan of it at this time of the year,' Cowher said. "It's part of the entertainment business we're in. It will be nice over the weekend (to get extra days off), but it's a lot of work between now and Thursday."

Asked if NFL coaches were consulted before the league drew up the late-season Thursday schedule for its own NFL Network, Cowher said:

"Consulted? No, we don't get consulted about schedules. We don't get consulted about rules. We don't get consulted about a lot of things. We get more consoled than we get consulted."

Because of the short week, the Steelers practiced Monday -- something they would never do otherwise on the day after a game. The workout was pushed back to late afternoon so veteran players could attend the Monday morning funeral of former Steelers star Jerome Bettis' father, Johnnie, in Detroit.
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_482665.html
 
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ABJ

Will Steelers get even after 56 years?

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't had a chance like this since they first played the Cleveland Browns 56 years ago.
Finally, the Steelers can get even with the Browns. Even if their relatively insignificant Thursday night game in early December lacks the importance that normally befits a Rust Belt rivalry that has been meaningful and colorful since its inception in 1950.
The Steelers have won five Super Bowls to the Browns' none. They've sent a roster full of players to the Pro Football Hall of Fame - located near Cleveland, coincidentally - over the last quarter century. They've dominated the Browns of late, winning 19 of the last 22 games.
But, since 1950, the Steelers (5-7) have never had a chance until now to catch the Browns (4-8) in the all-time series.
The Browns lead 55-54, mostly on the strength of winning the first eight games and 12 of the first 13. The Steelers, winners of the last six, have taken control by beating the Browns 20 times in 25 games since coach Bill Cowher took over in 1992.
"This is a different Cleveland Browns team than we played last year," Cowher said minutes after the Steelers' come-from-behind 24-20 victory in Cleveland last month.
Cowher was referring to the Browns team the Steelers beat 41-0 last December. But these also aren't the Browns that Pittsburgh played on Nov. 19, either, and that could be to the Steelers' advantage.
With only three off days between games, Browns quarterback Charlie Frye (wrist) may not be ready after injuring a wrist during a 31-28 overtime victory over Kansas City. Backup Derek Anderson led the comeback by throwing two touchdown passes in his first meaningful NFL playing time since being drafted from Oregon State in 2005.
However, Anderson has had scant time to prepare for the complicated Steelers blitzing schemes that so frustrated Tampa Bay rookie Bruce Gradkowski on Sunday. Gradkowski threw three interceptions, two of which led to Pittsburgh's only touchdowns in a 20-3 decision.
There's also this factor: The Browns haven't won successive games since Oct. 5-12, 2003, a span of 54 games.
"We know if we play well defensively, we're going to be tough to beat," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said.
The Browns may try to take the pressure off Anderson by getting running back Reuben Droughns going on Heinz Field's grass-thin and soon-to-be-frozen track, where gametime temperatures are expected to be in the low 20s. That could mean many carries for Droughns, who had 70 yards and a TD run against Kansas City.
However, the Steelers traditionally thrive at this time of year - since 2001, they are 21-5 in regular-season games played on Dec. 1 or later. And it was this week a year ago when they began the eight-game winning streak that carried them to their first Super Bowl title in 26 years.
While these Steelers must win three of their final four merely to avoid a losing season, Cowher wants his players adopting the same mind-set they had at this time a year ago. Then, Jerome Bettis ran through Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher on a snowy 5-yard TD run that carried the Steelers to a 21-9 victory, halting a three-game losing streak and beginning their drive to the playoffs.
"There's a lot of negativity out there because there are high expectations and we have not met those expectations," Cowher said. "The only thing we can do right now is control what we control."
Cowher also doesn't want them complaining about being without four injured starters, including the team's two most reliable players, wide receiver Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu. Both have injured knees and will sit out for a second straight game.
The pregame chatter between the two AFC North neighbors has been quieter than usual, possibly because of the short week of preparation.
Steelers linebacker Joey Porter and Browns tight end Kellen Winslow had an extended pregame shouting match in Cleveland, but each was complimentary of the other this week.
"It's not about him and me, it's about our team against the Browns," Porter said.
"I love Joey Porter," Winslow said. "I like going versus guys like that. He's a great player and that makes the game fun."
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Buckeye86 said:
I hope that NFL Network Thursday game shit tanks real fast, just a way to try to make more money and I hope nobody watches/orders the games so they decide it's not a good idea.
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:cheers: I see what iambrutus is saying but its not helping us that are away from home now (i'm originally from Cleveland).....That is so stupid to have it on the NFL network since there are no college games....what I forgot $$$$$$$$$$$$$.......I hope the NFL Network tanks real bad too!!!!
 
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