will add anything of importance, or if anyone sees anything of importance around the net or locally, by all means add it.
not suggesting a play one way or the other. just tryin to throw some numbers and thoughts out there:
==============================================
browns havent beaten the steelers since butch davis arrived. many around town wonder if davis understands the rivalry between the two teams. comparisons to john cooper are being made (cooper could never beat michigan)
==============================================
however its worth noting that the browns have played the steelers tough for the most part, but just cannot hold leads or close out games FIVE OF THE LAST SEVEN IN THIS SERIES HAVE BEEN DECIDED BY EXACTLY THREE POINTS.
==============================================
browns havent been able to run the ball against the steelers since the ernest byner/kevin mack era......seriously. browns ground game has been atrocious vs pitt since they returned in 1999. browns as a team have rushed for more than 74 yards ONCE in the 9 meetings since the browns came back.
==============================================
steelers, on the flip side have rushed for more than 126 yards 5 of the 7 meetings. it really doesnt matter who carries the ball for pittsburgh vs cleveland- they gain yards
==============================================
browns did expose pittsburghs awful secondary in the playoff game last year (holcomb 447 yards). clearly that game was an anamoly stat-wise, but it did show the way to beat pittsburgh is through the air. browns have the weapons on offense to move the ball (very deep at wide receiver) but the offensive line has to give couch time. and the browns need to establish some sort of running game to balance out their pass attack
==============================================
the series has seen only one real shootout- that being last years playoff game. a few others were 23-20 finals (twice) but for the most part, this has been a low-scoring series of late
==============================================
browns defense has been really hit or miss. explain this to me. they hold peyton manning and the colts to THREE FIELD GOALS. they hold jeff garcia and the niners to FOUR FIELD GOALS. yet the bengals and the ravens both move the ball effectively. so who knows which defense will show up. browns very fast on defense and super-athletic, but they miss a ton of tackles. lots of playmakers at linebacker and in the secondary, but cant stop the run. pittsburgh would be wise to go back to their old style and attack via the run
=============================================
couch will get the start again. holcomb likely will not even be available to play in emergency, but that might change. he might be the #2, but doubtful. couch has actually had pretty respectable numbers in his career vs pitt, including a couple wins early in his career. this link was interesting. not sure which qb the steelers would rather face:
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1065087131292702.xml
just my thoughts for now. peace
not suggesting a play one way or the other. just tryin to throw some numbers and thoughts out there:
==============================================
browns havent beaten the steelers since butch davis arrived. many around town wonder if davis understands the rivalry between the two teams. comparisons to john cooper are being made (cooper could never beat michigan)
==============================================
however its worth noting that the browns have played the steelers tough for the most part, but just cannot hold leads or close out games FIVE OF THE LAST SEVEN IN THIS SERIES HAVE BEEN DECIDED BY EXACTLY THREE POINTS.
==============================================
browns havent been able to run the ball against the steelers since the ernest byner/kevin mack era......seriously. browns ground game has been atrocious vs pitt since they returned in 1999. browns as a team have rushed for more than 74 yards ONCE in the 9 meetings since the browns came back.
==============================================
steelers, on the flip side have rushed for more than 126 yards 5 of the 7 meetings. it really doesnt matter who carries the ball for pittsburgh vs cleveland- they gain yards
==============================================
browns did expose pittsburghs awful secondary in the playoff game last year (holcomb 447 yards). clearly that game was an anamoly stat-wise, but it did show the way to beat pittsburgh is through the air. browns have the weapons on offense to move the ball (very deep at wide receiver) but the offensive line has to give couch time. and the browns need to establish some sort of running game to balance out their pass attack
==============================================
the series has seen only one real shootout- that being last years playoff game. a few others were 23-20 finals (twice) but for the most part, this has been a low-scoring series of late
==============================================
browns defense has been really hit or miss. explain this to me. they hold peyton manning and the colts to THREE FIELD GOALS. they hold jeff garcia and the niners to FOUR FIELD GOALS. yet the bengals and the ravens both move the ball effectively. so who knows which defense will show up. browns very fast on defense and super-athletic, but they miss a ton of tackles. lots of playmakers at linebacker and in the secondary, but cant stop the run. pittsburgh would be wise to go back to their old style and attack via the run
=============================================
couch will get the start again. holcomb likely will not even be available to play in emergency, but that might change. he might be the #2, but doubtful. couch has actually had pretty respectable numbers in his career vs pitt, including a couple wins early in his career. this link was interesting. not sure which qb the steelers would rather face:
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1065087131292702.xml
just my thoughts for now. peace
Last edited:
