Big Ben, Parker, Steelers defense too much for Struggling Browns
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by Behbigben15
The Steelers dominated the Browns QB's all day today, and beat the Cleveland Browns 34-7 in today's opening game to get off to a nice 1-0 start. It's always a good feeling to start off a new season with a win, and always a bad feeling to start off the season with a loss. The Steelers DL, and LB's got through the struggling, young Cleveland O-Line and sacked the Browns two QB's (Charlie Frye, and Derek Anderson) 6 times today. Even their secondary got to the QB twice. Their defense also forced 5 turnovers, 2 INT's (1 Frye, and 1 Anderson), along with 3 fumbles lost (Anderson, B. Edwards, J. Lewis). LB James Harrison was all over the field, recording 7 tackles (all solo), and playmaking SS Troy Polamalu was, surprisingly, not even a factor (just 1 tackle).
Pittsburgh's passing game was great. Ben Roethlisberger set a career-high in TD's, with 4 today, each caught by a different player. He threw a TD to both of his top WR's (Hines Ward, and Santonio Holmes), along with his two TE's, Heath Miller, and rookie Matt Spaeth. RB Willie Parker, who is the featured player in this offense, ran for 109 yards on 27 carries (4.0 AVG), but did not record a TD. The O-Line did well, giving up just 1 sack, although Big Ben had to avoid a few others.
Pittsburgh started off looking good in the game, scoring all of their 17 first-half points in the first quarter. Then came out in the second half and scored on on their first three drives of the second half. The Browns made way too many mistakes in this game, they had 6 penalties added on to their 5 TO's. And they just could not get Jamal Lewis and their running game going (46 rushing yards). They recorded 221 total yards compared to PITT's 365. Cleveland was 6-14 on third downs, and only completed 17 of their 38 passing attempts. No way can a team win after looking like the Browns did today, unless you're the 2006 Chicago Bears, who got enough production from their defense to win, no matter how bad Grossman and the offense did.
Don't expect this to be a fluke for the Steelers, or don't think that he only did this good because he was playing the Browns. Look for Ben to continue to do mediodre like he did today (12 for 23, 161 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT), but that doesn't mean they will lose. Big Ben has struggled many times before, yet his supporting cast still performed well for him. The big story for him today was his 0 INT's, which is a very good sign, he hooked up for his possible new favorite target, Santonio Holmes, for a couple of big gains. I expect that to continue, especially since the Steelers may have one of the easiest next few games in the NFL.
The Browns offense, on the other hand, really struggled. They struggled so much, that Romeo Crennel decided to bench starting QB, Charlie Frye, half way through the second QTR. He was sacked 5 times, and only completed 40 percent pf his passes. He didn't even lead the Browns offense on a scoring drive. When Derek Anderson went in, the Browns did a little better, but they still only scored one TD. He was only sacked 1 time, and threw one INT. The blame shouldn't go on the QB's, instead, the blame for all of the sacks should be put on the O-Line, which is very young. The turnovers were mainly because of the pressure put on the QB's, I don't expect the Browns offense to improve any more this year. They probably should have put in Brady Quinn in the fourth quarter so he could gain some experience, since the Browns were already losing by alot. This was all expected of the Browns today, especially up against the Steeler defense. The struggles of the Browns deffinitely did not surprise me at all.
1 2 3 4 Total
PIT 17 0 14 3- 34
CLE 0 0 7 0- 7
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Game Stats
PASSING
- Ben Roethlisberger- 12 for 23, 161 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
- Charlie Frye- 4 for 10, 34 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
- Derek Anderson- 13 for 28, 184 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
RUSHING
- Willie Parker- 27 ATT, 109 yards, 0 TD
- Najeh Davenport- 8 ATT, 43 yards, 0 TD
- Jamal Lewis- 11 ATT, 35 yards, 0 TD
RECEIVING
- Hines Ward- 3 Rec, 51 yards, 1 TD
- Santonio Holmes- 2 Rec, 55 yards, 1 TD
- Kellen Winslow- 4 Rec, 83 yards, 0 TD
- Braylon Edwards- 3 Rec, 49 yards, 0 TD
- Lawrence Vickers- 2 Rec, 7 yards, 1 TD
DEFENSE
- James Harrison- 7 Tackles (all solo)
- D'Qwell Jackson- 7 Tackles (5 solo)
KICKING
- Jeff Reed- 2 for 2, long: 31, XP: 4 for 4
- Phil Dawson- 0 for 0, long: - -, XP: 1 for 1
