Stillers vs. Browns Pregame Look (Game #5, vs. Clev)
The 3-1, first-place Stillers host the 2-2 Clev Brownies in
their annual rivalry that ranks among the most bitterest, and easily among the
best, rivalries in all of pro football.�
The Brownosers beat the Deadskins last week, and are coming in with some
momentum after a very weak start.� The
Stillers are flying high, with consecutive victories for the first time since
the tail end of the 2002 season.�
* When the Browns have the ball, they'll
be led their new QB pickup, Jeff Garcia.�
The former 49er is off to a rather subpar start, having thrown 4 INTs
and completing only 56% of his passes.� However,
he was quietly efficient last Sunday vs. Wash, a game in which he threw no
picks and completed 67% of his passes.� If
Garcia struggles or is battered, Clev can call the bullpen and turn to Kelly
Holcomb, who has torched the Stillers a couple of times in the past.�
The running game appears to have been turned over to 2nd-year
RB Lee Suggs, who finally got some PT after missing the first 3 games with a
neck stinger.� Suggs was impressive in
the Wash. win, rushing for 82 yards on 22 carries in his first action of the
season. These aren't numbers of Jim Brown fame, but frankly, Suggs is more
dangerous and a more capable slasher than is William Green, who always seemed a
bit too wooden in my evaluations of him.�
I don't know if Butch Davis -- never known for his intelligence -- will
start Suggs this Sunday, but Stiller fans should hope that Green gets the
starting nod.� James Jackson is a nice
change of pace back who can get outside, as well as chip in on the passing
game, although his receiving numbers thus far in '04 have been paltry.�
�
The Browns receiving corps is as good as they come in the
NFL.� Peter Warrick's injury last week downgraded
the Cinci passing game to essentially a 2-man affair, but the Stillers won't
have such a luxury this week.� Quincy
Morgan, Andre' Davis, and Denny Northcutt give the Browns a top-flight trio of
fast, dangerous receivers.� Davis burned
the Skins last week for 93 yards on only 3 grabs, and is averaging a gaudy 21.6
YPC.� Morgan averages "only"
17 YPC, which ain't shabby.� Andre King
serves as the #4 WR, and while the small King is nothing to brag about, he's
actually far more experienced and productive than whoever serves as the #4 WR
for the Stillers.
With the season-ending injury to Kell Winslow, Aaron Shea gets
to do the TE chores, with assistance from former Charger Steve Heiden.�� Shea is more of a brawny blocker, while
Heiden is more of an H-back type of TE.�
Shea shouldn't be forgotten about, because he is a capable outlet
receiver.�
The Clev O-line, a perennial problem under Butch Davis, has
withstood a rash of injuries and is gelling together with some return to
health.� LG Paul Zukauskas was hobbled
with a strained knee ligament, but has soldiered on.� Ryan Tucker had quad and knee problems, but is now back in the
saddle at RT.� Jeff Faine -- still the
only O-linemen the Browns have ever spent a first-day draft pick on since they
rejoined the NFL -- serves capably at center.�
Kelvin Garmon was a nice offseason pickup from the Chargers.� With Tucker back in the lineup, this is a
decent -- not great, but decent -- offensive line.� Ironically, Stiller 6th round draftee Bo Lacy serves as a backup
O-lineman, a very shrewd pickup by the Browns.�
Defensively, the Stillers will again be without starting ILB
Kendrell Bell, who has finally been sent to a groin doctor.� The guy missed the past 7 weeks with this
problem, and Rooney and Co. finally got the bright idea to send this injured player
to a specialist, rather than the family doctor down at the local outpatient clinic.� Casey Hampton was very ineffective last week
versus Cinci.� He was on the wrong end
of some push by the Bungals, and he was continually influenced out of the way
when he chose a side against the opposing center.�
The key matchup will be the Stillers secondary
against the Clev trio of WRs.� This is
the same key matchup I selected last week, but Warrick's injury (did not dress)
prevented this matchup from happening.� Clev
OC Terry Robiskie would like to pound the ball, and seeing the success Rudi
Johnson had versus Pgh. last week, he might think he'll be able to run Suggs
all day long.� But Rudi's fine effort
served as a wake-up call and a good pop-quiz for this defense to learn from,
and I don't think Suggs will have the same success as Rudi.� And, fact is, this is the best receiving trio
the Stillers have faced to date. �It's
not overly difficult to lock horns with just 2 good receivers and a mediocre
TE, which is what Cinci presented as a challenge.� It's far tougher, though, when there are three very capable,
starting-caliber receivers to cover, and this will be a stern test for the
Stiller's mostly-young secondary.� RAC
is a big concern here as well, because all 3 of the Clev trio are very capable at
toting the pigskin after the catch, and frankly, the no-armed tackling
technique of Pola and Hope leaves a bit to be desired.
* When the Stillers have the ball, rookie Ben
Roth has the reigns, leading the team to two consecutive wins and looking very
much like a starting QB in the process.�
Roth hasn't committed many foolish blunders, such as the weekly dropped-football-while-untouched-back-in-the-pocket
the way Maddox was doing before his injury.�
Duce Staley keeps continuing to impress, despite the 2 lost fumbles in
last week's game.� Staley is getting a
better feel for his blocking, and his reads and cuts are really
impressive.� Plex Burress was a bit more
active in the passing game, and fact is, even if a couple of deep bombs to him
were incomplete, they serve to back off the defense and open up more acreage
for Hines Ward and Randle El.�
The Browns D-line has been overhauled since last
season.� Injury has played a vital role,
putting Courtney Brown out for the season (and perhaps his career) with yet
another injury (torn foot ligaments very early in the season), as well as hobbling
DT Gerard Warren (pulled chest muscle) and limiting his role.� Michael Myers and former-Stiller Orpheus
Roye start at DT, with ever-tough Kennard Lang at one DE.� The Browns brought in Ekuban Ebenezer from
Dallas as a solid FA move, although I'd figured E.E. was too light in the ass
to help shore up the woeful Clev run defense.�
To their credit, the Clev run defense has been pretty solid, shutting
down Jamal Lewis and Clinton Portis.�
The LB crew is led by MLB Andra Davis, who is flanked by
Warrick Holdman and Chaun Thompson, whom I felt was a bit of a reach in the 2nd
round of last year's draft.� This isn't anywhere
close to the NFL's best LB corps, but led by the very sturdy play of Davis, this
gang has given the Browns some solid run support.�
The secondary starts Anthony Henry at one corner and Daylon
McCutcheon at the other, with Daylon having overcome a broken middle
finger.� Robert Griffith and Earl Little
give the Browns a very solid, hard-hitting tandem at safety.� Of local Pittsburgh flavor is backup CB
Leigh Boden, who shares the honorable distinction alongside Still Mill and
Steel Trap as a Duquesne University alum.�
As impressive as their defense has been in stopping the run, this experienced
Cleveland secondary has been scalded at times and ranks a lowly 26th in the
league in pass defense.
The key matchup will be Staley and the ground game
against a rejuvenated Clev run defense.�
Ben Roth has had the luxury of some nice run support in wins over Miami
and Cinci, which happen to sport some of the softer run defenses in the
conference.� It makes a rookie QB's job
that much easier when his ground game is clicking.� Staley and Roth, by the way, have yet to face the Browns as a
Steeler, and they'll get a quick taste of just how intense this rivalry
is.� This is a matchup I think the
Stillers can win, but not in dominant fashion.�
Look for a lot of grind-it out work by the Stiller offense, as well as
the short, high-percentage passes to Ward, El, and Haynes, with a bomb to Plex sprinkled
in from time to time.� I still haven't
seen a defense throw the kitchen sink at Roethlisberger; perhaps Clev DC Dave
Campo will do so from time to time, as his overall pass rush from the base
defense has been rather meager.�
* Special Teams: �Derrick Frost handles the punting chores and has done them quite
well thus far, with veteran Phil Dawson serving ably as the PK.� Dee Brown and Richard Alston handle the bulk
of the KORs, while the dangerous Northcutt handles the PRs.� Randle El has surprisingly been more
effective on KORs than PRs; this is surprising in that, in his first couple
seasons, he was more dangerous in the PR work than the KORs.� The Stillers ST coverage has been surprisingly
adequate; they've limited all 4 opponents to rather pedestrian returns.� �
Intangibles:�
* Prosperity/overconfidence:� Under Billy Cowher's supreme leadership over
the years, the Stillers have handled prosperity the way a crack whore handles a
wad of cash.� It's easy to feel pompous
at 3-1 and atop the division, but the 3 wins were over such pitiful opponents
as Oak, Miami, and Cincy, and none of the wins were overly convincing.� The thing you always have to fear with Billy
Cowher is his team showing up with all the intensity of a grade school librarian,
and also playing down to a weak opponent
* Rivalry:� Anything
goes when you have a bitter rivalry like this one.� Take the records and stats and toss them out the window.� Anything can and will happen.� Let's not forget -- this Clev team came to
Heinz Field in week 5 last season, and administered a full can o' whipass on
the Stillers, 33-13.� Billy Cowhard's
vaunted defense made Tim Slouch look like Danny Freakin' Marino, as Couch �casually sat in the pocket and picked apart
the defense with all the ease of a skeleton drill.�
* Davis' Job: Butch Davis is, quite obviously,
hanging on to his job by the tips of his fingers.� Sure, he can point to the rash of injuries that have hampered
this year's edition, but this is a team that has been mired in mediocrity under
his tenure.� Frankly, had his team lost
last week's game, they may have sulked all the way to Pittsburgh and, with a
loss to the Stillers putting them at 1-4, the players would have basically
mailed it in the rest of the season under a lame-duck coach.� Now, the Browns at least have a heartbeat,
and a win on Sunday could push the Browns on a surge in the fight for playoff
berth.� Davis, knowing all of this, will
certainly attempt to push and inspire his troops against Billy Cowher, who
basically has a lifetime contract and has no more worries than the man
responsible for overseeing product quality at the Jack Daniel's
distillery.�
* Synopsis: It simply doesn't get any fiercer
or better than Pittsburgh-Cleveland.� This
is what NFL football is all about.� If
you're a Stiller fan and ya can't get fired up for a game against the hated
PumpkinHeads, then you really ought to check yourself into a hospital and ask
the doctor to find your pulse.� The
season is only a quarter gone, with both teams vying for divisional supremacy,
so this should be a very intense, hard-fought game.� I worry about the intangibles, as noted above, but it's hard to
pick against the Stillers, at home and riding a 2-game win streak.� Stillers 22, Clev 19.���
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