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Browns must play fast, physical
Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
09.10.2008
Jamal Lewis has history with the Steelers like few others in the Browns' locker room do.

He's learned a little from that history, too, and there's at least one lesson he'll be sharing with his teammates over the next few days as they prepare to stop a nine-game losing streak in the series.

Those who don't come to smash will be doomed to repeat it.

"You have to bring your hard hat," Lewis said. "If anybody in this locker room can't get up for a game like this, you're not meant to play this game. This is what this game is all about. As a kid, this is what you dream about."

The Browns have taken their lumps in losing nine straight and 15 out of 16 to the Steelers. Some lumps have been delivered harder than others; sandwiched between a pair of Steeler blowouts in Cleveland was a 24-20 heartbreaker in November 2006.

The last meeting, last November in Pittsburgh, may have been the most devastating of all. The Browns led, 21-9, at halftime before the Steelers rallied to win, 31-28.

But Lewis and some other Browns have maintained that the Browns learned valuable lessons along the way, ones that could help them finally break the streak. If there really is a blueprint, the Browns will look to follow Lewis' lead - grab their hard hats - and be prepared for Sunday night.

Here are three keys to the Browns beating the Steelers...

Be Physical

"When we had success against these guys in Baltimore, it boiled down to being physical and executing and minimizing mistakes," Lewis said. "It's going to be a hard-nosed football game. We just have to be physical. The defense is going to have to come up, stop the runner and put pressure on the QB. We're going to have to run hard and make the plays we're supposed to make."

The Steelers' offense operates out of varying spread looks, forcing opposing defenses to play five or six defensive backs and then matching up their bigger players against smaller defenders. Though the offensive line is big and more than capable of winning straight-ahead battles, Parker's speed and Roethlisberger's mobility allow the Steelers to use bootlegs, misdirection and trick plays.

The Browns need to beat the Steelers to the spot, and get there with authority.

"In this league, period, you have to be physical," Mike Adams said. "Every week you have to bring that mentality. We can't let up.

"The Steelers are dangerous. They have Ben Roethlisberger, Fast Willie Parker, Hines Ward...those guys are good."

They're good at linebacker, too, with a cast of proven players who have survived (and initiated) quite a few high-speed collisions with Lewis.

"I play a physical game, they play a physical game," Lewis said. "That's what we have to bring as a Cleveland Browns team as a whole. We just have to bring a physical approach to this game and we'll be all right."

Nobody plays the 3-4 like the Steelers play the 3-4

The Steelers' defense will mix its looks, too. But its intent doesn't change.

Attack, attack, attack.

"You've got to get the ball out," Derek Anderson said. "You've got to make good decisions. They're bringing a lot of pressure. A lot of times we can block it. It's just seeing it, identifying it, making sure we're all on the same page. Communication will be big for us this week."

The Steelers' outside linebackers sacked Matt Schaub four times last week; James Harrison had three of them. But the rush doesn't just come off the edge, and though they're both 3-4 base defenses, the Steelers operate out of theirs much differently than the Cowboys did last week.

Defensive end Aaron Smith is a terror when healthy, consistently drawing double teams and opening things up for the linebackers. Nose tackle Casey Hampton is as tough a matchup as any Hank Fraley will have. Safety Troy Polamalu lines up all over the field and is just as likely to blitz up the middle as he is to tackle Braylon Edwards on the sideline.

"(The Steelers) are just a little bit different," Anderson said. "But that's what makes them good. They make you think, they make us communicate, but we can also do some things to make them communicate and hopefully pop some guys open."

Finish

In 2006, the Browns led by 10 with just over eight minutes left following a Joshua Cribbs kick return touchdown. The Steelers scored the final 14 points, getting the winner when Roethlisberger escaped a tackle and flipped the ball to Parker.

Last November, the Browns led 21-6 with 5:24 left in the first half. Even after the Steelers rallied to take a 24-21 lead, Cribbs answered with a 100-yard kick return for the ages.

"We didn't throw it and catch it," Anderson said. "We didn't execute in the second half. We had opportunities. I missed a few throws, we dropped a few balls, stupid little things. We convert a few third downs, eat a little clock, get our defense off the field, we probably end up winning it."

"We have to finish," Adams said. "We had them. It was what, 21-9, at halftime? At this level you can not let up. They brought that physical mentality to the second half and we didn't."

Roethlisberger running - both for positive gains and away from would-be sackers - has been a theme of both comebacks. That's just another reason the Browns are stressing not only being physical, but making sure they follow through.

"In both of those games that we had a chance to win, we couldn't make a first down and we couldn't get him on the ground," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "If we could have done either one of those things we probably would have won the game."


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