Steelers fall to Browns, 13-6
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SPORTS / STEELERS
Steelers fall to Browns, 13-6
Losing streak hits five games
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is hit by Browns safety
Mike Adams in the fourth quarter of last night's game at Cleveland
Browns Stadium.
CLEVELAND -- On a bitterly cold, windy night, as angry swells from Lake Erie next door lapped over seawalls, the Steelers
season sailed into darkness.
The Cleveland Browns, who have the dubious daily double of last-place rankings on offense and defense in the NFL, became
the latest of the league's dregs to dine at the Steelers' table.
The final score was 13-6, the fifth consecutive loss for the defending Super Bowl champions, including ones to the lowly
Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. It dropped their record to 6-7 and their faint playoff hopes likely have expired.
"To lose five straight coming off a Super Bowl from last year, it's embarrassing for me,'' said receiver Hines Ward, who shook
off a hamstring injury to play last night. "It just hurts, it hurts a lot. There's nothing fun about losing games, especially five in a
row. We're better than that, we should play better than that."
The Browns -- No. 32 on offense and defense -- ended their own seven-game losing streak and improved their record to 2-11.
The Steelers have the longest current losing streak in the NFL.
It is a plummet with no end in sight and an inexplicable fall from 6-2 and a first-place tie in the AFC North Division for the
erstwhile champs. The "undesirable pattern of behavior" -- Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's words Monday -- continued.
The loss, and losing, apparently struck a chord with at least one of them. Linebacker James Harrison, last season's NFL
defensive MVP, threw his helmet to the turf and could be seen screaming at teammates at the end of the game.
"I thought they fought," Tomlin said. "I thought they stuck together, but it wasn't enough to win the football game. ... Fighting
and sticking together are not winning football games for us."
The Steelers must win two of their final three games to avoid their first losing season since 2003 and the first in Tomlin's
coaching tenure. It also ended their 12-game winning streak against the Browns and in doing so the Browns sacked quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger eight times.
Nothing worked. These Browns also were playing without five injured starters on defense and their starting running back.
Thus, the second Super Bowl hangover in four seasons lingers.
"Were finding new and different ways to not rise up," Tomlin said. "This one tonight happened in all three phases."
This is what the Browns have looked like for much of this season, only they switched uniforms last night. The Steelers looked
like the Browns and the Browns looked like the old Steelers.
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Steelers fall to Browns, 13-6
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In fact, Cleveland beat the Steelers at what used to be their game. The Browns gouged them for 171 yards rushing, a 4.6-yard
average per carry in a game in which quarterback Brady Quinn completed only 6 of 19 for 90 yards.
Joshua Cribbs, working often out of the wildcat offense, ran eight times for 87 yards and Chris Jennings added 73 yards,
including a 10-yard touchdown run that was the first scored by a Cleveland running back this season.
The Steelers wanted to run and, for the most part, could not. Rashard Mendenhall had 53 of their 75 yards. Roethlisberger was
18-of-32 passing for 201 yards.
Despite the cold and wind, there was not a turnover in the game.
Phil Dawson kicked a 29-yard field goal to start things off for Cleveland in the first quarter, giving the Steelers special teams a
hand in another score. Cribbs returned a punt 55 yards to the Steelers 8 to set up Dawson's first score of the game.
Dawson kicked another 29-yarder with 7:20 left before the half to give the Browns a 6-0 lead.
Another big pass play led to that second score. Quinn threw behind Mohamed Massaquoi, who was loosely covered by Ike
Taylor.
The Browns extended their shocking lead to 13-0 when Jennings ran around right end, beating LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior
and, finally, William Gay, who tried to knock him out of bounds but could not do so until Jennings hit the pylon for the score with
41 seconds left in the first half.
Cribbs ran 37 yards, taking the snap from center in the wildcat offense, to help set up that score.
The Browns gouged the Steelers for two plays of 37 yards, the other a pass to Massaquoi that led to their second field goal, plus a
24-yard pass completion by Quinn.
The Steelers finally scored on Jeff Reed's 27-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Santonio Holmes caught a 24-yard
pass on that drive for the Steelers.
The Steelers did not look sharp much of the game. They put the supposed sure-handed Mewelde Moore on kickoff returns and he
dropped two of them, including the opening kickoff of the second half that had the Steelers start their series from the 12.
It took until late in the third quarter before the Steelers strung together another scoring drive. It started with Holmes' first punt
return of the season, a fair catch. It ended with another Reed field goal, from 42 yards with eight seconds left in the third quarter.
On that series, Roethlisberger was sacked for the seventh time.
The Steelers creeped into Browns territory again in the fourth quarter, with a first down at the 36. But a holding penalty against
center Justin Hartwig and a dropped pass by Rashard Mendenhall, wide open over the middle, scuttled that drive.
They got another chance with 6:16 left in the game, starting a drive at their 21, trailing by seven. They reached Cleveland
territory, picking and plucking away in short chunks.
Ward caught a third-and-6 pass from midfield for a first down at the Browns' 43. But on the next play, Cleveland sacked
Roethlisberger for an eighth time, a loss of 9, to the Steelers' 48.
A 13-yard pass to Heath Miller set up a fourth-and-6 at Cleveland's 39. Roethlisberger's pass, intended for Holmes, was knocked
down, and the Steelers' playoff hopes were knocked out. Yet they still must play three more times.
"When you lose five straight," Farrior said, "you grasp for anything to try to get control of the situation."
For more on the Steelers, read Ed Bouchette on the Steelers at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Ed Bouchette can be reached at [email protected].
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a
members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on December 11, 2009 at 12:27 am
12/11/2009 9:20 AM
Cook: Steelers play like losers
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09345/1020210-87.stm
Ron Cook
Cook: Steelers play like losers
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is consoled by wide receivers
coach Randy Fichtner in the final seconds of the Steelers' loss at
Cleveland Browns Stadium last night.
View all related images
CLEVELAND -- It's one thing to lose a football game. It happens to half of the teams in the NFL every week. When the
Steelers lost in Baltimore in overtime Nov. 29 without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, safety Troy Polamalu and defensive end
Aaron Smith, it was understandable. In some ways, their performance even was admirable.
But it's something much worse to be a professional and play as if you don't care. That was the Steelers last night. Coach Mike
Tomlin was right a few days earlier when he said he would find out plenty about the character of his players. They revealed
themselves completely in an almost unbelievable 13-6 defeat at the frozen hands of the Cleveland Browns.
They are losers.
There is no other word to describe a team that was supposed to be fighting for its playoff life and the right to defend its Super
Bowl title, yet was thoroughly outplayed by the 1-11 Browns, an opponent that -- quoting safety Ryan Clark now -- "even a bad
Pittsburgh Steelers team should be able to beat every time."
There is no other word to describe a team that has lost five games in a row, including three to the worst that the NFL has to
offer -- the Browns, the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs.
There is no other word to describe a team that, by all indications, has quit on the Rooneys, Tomlin, their fans and -- most
egregiously -- themselves.
Losers.
Tomlin talked afterward about how much he admired his guys' "fight" on this frigid night on the shore of Lake Erie. I must have
been watching a different game. Wide receiver Hines Ward used words that I thought were much more appropriate.
"Frustrating. Disappointing. Embarrassing."
Especially embarrassing.
"We're better than this," Ward said, shaking his head.
Sorry, no.
They aren't better.
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Cook: Steelers play like losers
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It seems unfathomable that a team that went into Denver Nov. 9 and bucked the Broncos, 28-10, to go to 6-2 can be so bad
barely a month later. But the Steelers are just that -- dreadfully bad -- in every sense of the word and in every phase of the game.
Their offense couldn't score a touchdown against the NFL's worst defense. It was 3 of 14 on third-down conversions.
Roethlisberger was sacked a staggering eight times.
"This was probably the worst we played up front all year," tackle Willie Colon said. "I know it was probably my worst game. I feel
like I let the line down."
The Steelers' defense couldn't force a turnover against the NFL's worst offense. The Browns ran for 171 yards, including 87 by
Joshua Cribbs out of the wildcat formation. The way the Steelers played it, you would have thought they had never seen it before.
"Mind-boggling," defensive back Deshea Townsend described it.
The Steelers' special teams gave up another ridiculous return, this one a 55-yard punt return to set up a field goal by Cribbs, a
noted Steelers slayer. But, hey, at least Cribbs didn't run a kickoff back. Not that the Steelers kicked off much.
The way it looked, the Steelers played as if they couldn't wait to start their Caribbean vacations. The good news for them is they
don't have much longer to wait. There will be no playoffs for them this season. Three more games -- almost certainly three more
losses -- and their agony will be over.
As will ours.
This Steelers slide has been as hard to watch as it is to understand. "Like a bad dream," nose tackle Casey Hampton said. I didn't
think it could get worse than the loss to the Chiefs. But it did. I didn't think it could get worse than the loss to the Raiders. But it
did.
Well, at least that trend is over.
It can't get worse than losing to the Browns.
There just isn't another team in the NFL that is that bad.
This loss was a shame because there was still so much to play for despite those previous four losses. A win in the final four games
and the Steelers probably would have made the playoffs. All they had to do to get the first one was beat the Browns.
So much for that.
"It's a wrap," Hampton said with an appropriate tone of finality. "This [bleep] is a wrap."
It almost seemed right that Roethlisberger's fourth-and-6 pass for wide receiver Santonio Holmes with 1:48 to go fell incomplete.
The only thing that would have been more appropriate would have been if he had been sacked one more time to end the Steelers'
dying gasp.
Somehow, Big Ben kept getting up.
The Steelers didn't.
They were down for the count.
Ron Cook can be reached at [email protected]. More articles by this author
First published on December 11, 2009 at 12:30 am
12/11/2009 9:21 AM
Gerry Dulac's Two-Minute Drill
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SPORTS / STEELERS
Gerry Dulac's Two-Minute Drill
Game 13 vs. Cleveland Browns
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
David Richard/Associated Press
Steelers wide receiver Santonio
Holmes catches a pass in front
of Browns cornerback Eric
Wright in the third quarter of last
night's game at Cleveland
Browns Stadium.
Game ball goes to: Santonio Holmes
On a night when few players made even fewer plays, Holmes caught six passes for 93 yards and surpassed 1,000 yards
receiving for the first time in his four-year NFL career. Holmes' biggest catch was a 24-yarder on second down with 15 seconds
remaining in the first half, a play that set up the only points in the first half -- a 27-yard field goal by Jeff Reed. He even got a
chance to return a couple of punts for the first time this season, evidence that Mike Tomlin was trying anything to generate
some offense.
The countdown - A quick look at the top performances from yesterday's game:
1. JEROME HARRISON'S 10-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN: The play was significant mainly because it was the only
touchdown in the game. But the score was monumental for the Browns because it marked the first time this season one of their
running backs had a rushing touchdown. Harrison's run around the right side came at the end of a seven-play drive in which the
Browns converted two third-down opportunities on an eight-play, 74-yard drive that gave them a 13-0 lead.
2. ANOTHER CRIBBS RETURN: The Pro Bowl return specialist, who has three of his eight kick returns for touchdowns
against the Steelers, had a 55-yard punt return in the first quarter to set up a field goal that gave the Browns a 3-0 lead.
3. A TAYLOR-MADE CONVERSION: The Steelers did not allow a 40-yard pass play for the first time in five games, but a
37-yard catch-and-run on third-and-13 by rookie Mohamed Massaquoi on CB Ike Taylor set up a field goal.
4. SACKED AGAIN: Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times in the first half, eight overall, but maybe the biggest came on
second-and-5 at the Browns' 23 late in the third quarter, forcing the Steelers to settle for a field goal and a 13-6 deficit.
5. BAD TY-MING: Trailing 6-0, the Steelers recovered a muffed punt by Cribbs near midfield, only to have the play negated
when Tyrone Carter held Browns LB Arnold Harrison as his former teammate was attempting to block the punt.
Inside the numbers: 8
The number of times Roethlisberger was sacked by the Browns, who had 24 in their past 12 games. That's the most sacks the
Steelers have allowed since nine to the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
What was he thinking?
So much for Mike Tomlin's threat to make changes, both in scheme and personnel. The only player change was rotating rookie
CB Joe Burnett for a couple of series with William Gay and Ike Taylor, but he never did it again after the first quarter. And he
12/11/2009 9:22 AM
Gerry Dulac's Two-Minute Drill
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deactivated rookie CB Keenan Lewis, who had some work with the first-team defense in practice. And there was certainly no
change in the offensive attack because the Steelers used only 19 running plays against the league's worst defense.
Overheard
"I would have never imagined we would be in this situation. After the way we started off, then bounced back and got our feet on
the ground. I don't know if we can get out of the hole we made."
-- James Farrior on the five-game losing streak
X's and O's
With the wind whipping through Cleveland Browns Stadium and 45 mph gusts creating a feel-like temperature of minus-12, the
Steelers did the unthinkable by rushing only 22 times against a Browns defense that ranked 29th in the league against the run.
Conversely, the Browns rushed for 171 yards, tying their season high, by rushing 37 times. On one series in the fourth quarter,
they ran on eight consecutive plays, including on third-and-11 when Joshua Cribbs got 14 yards out of the wildcat formation.
Up next
vs. GREEN BAY PACKERS, 4:15 P.M. DEC. 20: The Packers have won four in a row. They have lost their past three games
in Pittsburgh but will be making their first regular-season appearance in Heinz Field.
Gerry Dulac can be reached at [email protected].
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a
members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on December 11, 2009 at 1:52 am
12/11/2009 9:22 AM
Collier: Sacking of Roethlisberger the latest misdeed
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SPORTS / STEELERS
Collier: Sacking of Roethlisberger the latest misdeed
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
Ben Roethlisberger is sacked by the Browns linebacker Marcus
Benard last night at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
CLEVELAND -- So which is the largest number, as of this morning: The number of alleged Tiger Woods mistresses, the
number of Pitt fans who really want to go to the Fender Bender Bowl, or the number of people on the bitter shores of Lake Erie
last night who can claim they sacked Ben Roethlisberger?
Unbeaten against the Browns in his career (10-0) and coming off a 417-yard passing performance against them in his most
recent appointment, Roethlisberger went down faster and more often than an inflatable Christmas reindeer in the high winds of
the front yard.
The defense of a Super Bowl championship went with him.
"It was like every time I go out for a pass, when I looked back, he'd be getting hit," said wideout Mike Wallace, who caught only
two of Big Ben's ineffective 18 completions, none of which covered more than 24 yards. "I'd just be coming out of my break
and he'd be going down."
It wasn't a terribly favorable sign for Mike Tomlin's team when the Browns had more sacks on the Steelers' first three
possessions (three) than the offensive line had allowed in the previous two games. And by the time three quarters of this
frostbitten chunk of prime time were finished, Cleveland had seven sacks, the most it had strung together in a game in seven
years.
The Steelers' chronic inability to keep Roethlisberger upright emerged as the latest strategic atrocity in a series of stunning
failures that extinguished the final flickers of pointless playoff fantasies.
The Steelers didn't have to drop an interception, give up 200 passing yards in the final eight minutes, get out of the way of a
kickoff return for a touchdown (although Joshua Cribbs turned in the obligatory long return -- 55 yards with a punt), or any of
the things that had been strung together to cause them to lose six times by a total of 21 points.
But how many sacks did Cleveland have in that big sack of sacks last night.
Eight?
And did I mention that this was a Browns defense ranked 32nd in a 32-team league, a Browns defense missing two starting
defensive linemen, two starting linebackers and a starting safety? Of course, when you're the Browns, maybe that's the good
news.
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In any event, Marcus Benard got two sacks, Corey Williams got two, Brian Schaefering had a sack and a half, David Bowens had
one, Hank Poteat had one for the Pitt Panthers' sake and Kaluka Maiava had half a sack.
Now there's a parade of household names among your fans of defensive football.
In the grim Steelers locker room, no one was offering any particulars on what made this Browns defense so suddenly
indecipherable, it being a diminished version of the one the Steelers outgained, 449-197, Oct. 18 at Heinz Field.
Instead, explanations more resembled the testimony of people who weren't quite awake, who still haven't snapped out of a
nightmare that now stretches to five consecutive losses.
"It hurts right along with the rest of them," said left tackle Max Starks. "But this is little more bitter of a feeling, coming against a
division rival."
A division rival the Steelers had beaten 12 consecutive times, eight consecutive times at this venue, 18 of the past 19 times, and
pretty much as a matter of policy for the past 20 years.
Tomlin will survive all this and doubtless head to his fourth Steelers training camp next July with a whole lot of work today. As
for anyone else on his coaching staff or on most of his roster, I wouldn't e-mail any room preferences to the Saint Vincent housing
office just yet.
Midway through December, Tomlin's third team looks awfully close to helpless in a lot of areas, but the offense that trotted onto
the Browns' frozen lawn last night with 6:16 remaining and 79 yards to go to tie the score looked like they had a better chance of
landing on Pluto.
Roethlisberger found Heath Miller for a first down at the 32, and Rashard Mendenhall got him another at the 46 at the
four-minute mark, but eight seconds after Hines Ward converted a third-and-6 to the Cleveland 43, Benard arrived with sack No.
8, effectively ending the Steelers' final threat.
Roethlisberger hadn't been sacked eight times since September 2008 in Philadelphia, and had been sacked more often only once in
his career, which was at Baltimore in '06 during another Super Bowl hangover.
This one might feel worse. At least Bill Cowher had the coaching decency to start off 2-6, removing any mystery.
Gene Collier can be reached at [email protected].
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a
members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on December 11, 2009 at 1:42 am
12/11/2009 9:23 AM
Steelers Notebook: No shake-up in secondary at the start
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SPORTS / STEELERS
Steelers Notebook: No shake-up in secondary at the start
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana
Browns tight end Evan Moore fights off tackle attempts by Steelers
linebackers James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons last night at
Cleveland Browns Stadium.
CLEVELAND -- There was no change to the Steelers starting lineup last night, despite coach Mike Tomlin's threats Monday to
do so.
That included Hines Ward, who had a hamstring pull and was listed as questionable, and cornerback William Gay, who left
Sunday's game against Oakland with a concussion.
Tomlin talked about his two young cornerbacks possibly playing or playing more during his news conference Monday. Not only
did Joe Burnett not replace Gay as the starting left cornerback but cornerback Keenan Lewis did not even dress for the game.
Burnett did alternate with Gay and Ike Taylor. Burnett entered the game for the second series to replace Gay on the left side
and played on the right side for Taylor on the third series.
On the third series, Gay and Taylor were back in and Burnett out. There was no telling after that. Deshea Townsend even
replaced Taylor at one point at left cornerback.
The only other personnel adjustment Tomlin made, really, was to move Charlie Batch up to No. 3 quarterback.
Here are the inactives from last night:
Steelers -- Batch, Lewis, FB Carey Davis, S Troy Polamalu, G Kraig Urbik, OT Tony Hills, DE Sunny Harris, DE Nick
Eason.
Browns -- No. 3 QB Brett Ratliff, DB Coye Francies, DB Gerard Lawson, LB David Veikune, OL Rex Hadnot, TE Greg
Estandia, WR Jake Allen, DL Kenyon Coleman.
Short-sleeve weather?
The temperature at kickoff was 15 degrees (minus 6 wind chill), the coldest kickoff for a Steelers regular-season game in 20
years. They kicked off in 5 degrees Dec. 17, 1989, against New England at Three Rivers Stadium. The Steelers won, 28-10.
They have played in a colder game since then, the AFC championship, also against New England, Jan. 23, 2005, at Heinz Field.
It was 11 degrees at kickoff and the Steelers lost, 41-27.
Despite the frigid conditions, many players wore short sleeves. The only two offensive starters who wore long sleeves under
their jerseys were quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Santonio Holmes.
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Holmes' milestone
Holmes topped 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career when he caught a 24-yard pass from Roethlisberger late in the
first half that led to a Jeff Reed field goal.
For more on the Steelers, read Ed Bouchette on the Steelers at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Ed Bouchette can be reached at [email protected].
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a
members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on December 11, 2009 at 12:24 am
12/11/2009 9:23 AM
Steelers Report Card: Game 13 vs. Browns
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SPORTS / STEELERS
Steelers Report Card: Game 13 vs. Browns
GERRY DULAC grades the Steelers' effort in their 13-6 loss to the Browns yesterday:
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Quarterback
It was a miserable start for Ben Roethlisberger, who completed only four of seven passes for 27 yards and was
sacked five times before the final series of the first half. All told, he was sacked a season-high eight times. One of
the few bright spots came when he managed to get a field goal at the end of the first half by completing three of
five passes for 43 yards. He was 18 of 32 for 201 yards.
Running Backs
The Steelers made no attempt to control the ball on the ground against the Browns, who allow an average of 152
yards rushing per game. Rashard Mendenhall carried just eight times for 28 yards in the first half, only 12 carries
for 40 yards after three quarters and finished with 53 yards. He also had a 17-yard catch-and-run, but he
dropped a wide-open pass on third down.
Wide Receiver
Santonio Holmes surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season on a 24-yard catch that helped set up a late field
goal in the first half, but it was drops in the red zone by Hines Ward and Heath Miller that prevented a possible
touchdown. Holmes finished with six catches for 93 yards. Miller had five catches for 59 yards, but he had two
drops. Ward had four catches playing with a bad hamstring.
Offensive Line
Could it get any worse? The Browns had eight sacks, their most in seven years, after getting just 24 in their first
12 games. They had five in the first half, including three on third down in the first quarter when the line failed to
make protection changes. And the Steelers had only 44 yards rushing in the first half against the league's
29th-ranked rush defense.
Defensive Line
The Steelers gave up 171 yards rushing, the most this season, and had problems again with Joshua Cribbs in the
wildcat formation. The Browns rushed for 104 in the first half, including a 37-yarder by Cribbs out of the
wildcat. On top of that, Jerome Harrison's 10-yard touchdown run to the corner was the first rushing touchdown
by a Browns running back this season.
Linebackers
James Farrior missed a big tackle on a 37-yard run by Cribbs, then five plays later took a bad angle and was beat
to the corner on Harrison's 10-yard touchdown run. And where was James Harrison, who was blocked out of the
play on several big plays? LaMarr Woodley atoned for a facemask penalty with his seventh sack in five games
and a batted pass on the same series.
Defensive Backs
For a change, the defense kept the big passing plays to a minimum. The longest was a 37-yarder to rookie
Mohamed Massaquoi, and the victim was Ike Taylor, who rotated only one series with Joe Burnett. The catchand-run on third-and-13 set up the Browns' second field goal. Brady Quinn had 81 yards passing in the first half,
but finished 6 of 19 for 90 yards.
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Special Teams
Cribbs had a 55-yard punt return in the first quarter -- longest against the Steelers this season -- that led to a field
goal. Tyrone Carter's holding penalty negated a fumble recovery at midfield on a Daniel Sepulveda punt. Mewelde
Moore was used as the kick returner because Mike Tomlin wanted a sure-handed receiver in the wind, but he
fumbled two attempts that cost the offense field position.
Coaching
Tomlin's threat to make changes amounted to playing CB Burnett for a couple of series,
which just produced another undesirable pattern of behavior. He didn't even use Burnett after
Taylor got beat for another long pass. To run just 12 times in the first half and only 15 times
in three quarters against one of the league's worst rush defenses -- and with 45 mph wind gusts -- was
inexcusable.
PDF
• Steelers' Grade Point
Average
Gerry Dulac can be reached at [email protected].
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a
members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on December 11, 2009 at 12:27 am
12/11/2009 9:24 AM
Steelers lose to the Browns, 13-6
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NEWS / BREAKING NEWS
Steelers lose to the Browns, 13-6
Thursday, December 10, 2009
BY Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
Ben Roethlisberger is sacked by the Browns' Marcus Benard tonight
in Cleveland.
CLEVELAND -- On a bitterly cold, windy night, as angry swells from Lake Erie next door lapped over seawalls, the Steelers
season sailed into darkness.
The Cleveland Browns, who have the dubious daily double of last place rankings on both offense and defense in the NFL,
became the latest of the league's dregs to dine at the Steelers' table.
The final score was 13-6, the fifth straight loss for the Super Bowl champs, including ones to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs and
Oakland Raiders. It dropped their record to 6-7 and their faint playoff hopes may have finally expired.
The Browns -- No. 32 on offense, No. 32 on defense -- ended their own seven-game losing streak and improved their record to
2-11. The Steelers now have the longest current losing streak in the NFL.
It is a plummet with no end in sight and an inexplicable fall from 6-2 and a first-place tie in the AFC North Division for the
erstwhile champs. The "undesirable pattern of behavior" -- coach Mike Tomlin's words on Monday -- continues.
The Steelers now must win two of their final three games to avoid their first losing season since 2003, the first in Mike Tomlin's
coaching tenure. It also ended a 12-game winning streak against the Browns and in doing so the Browns sacked quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger, eight times.
These Browns also were playing without five injured starters and their starting running back.
Thus, the second Super Bowl hangover in four seasons lingers.
This is what the Cleveland Browns have looked like for much of this season, only they switched uniforms last night. The
Steelers looked like the Browns and the Browns looked like the old Steelers.
Ed Bouchette can be reached at [email protected].
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content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to
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First published on December 10, 2009 at 9:01 pm
12/11/2009 9:25 AM
NFL Notebook: Safety frustrated by Jets staff
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09345/1020202-66.stm
SPORTS / STEELERS
NFL Notebook: Safety frustrated by Jets staff
Friday, December 11, 2009
From wire dispatches
Star safety Kerry Rhodes is frustrated by the uncertainty of his role with the New York Jets.
Rhodes was demoted by coach Rex Ryan two games ago for poor play, but believes he will be on the field for the first
defensive snap Sunday at Tampa Bay. After that, though, is a mystery to him.
"Who knows at the end of the game?" an irritated Rhodes said yesterday. "I don't know. I may go up there in the press box with
you all and watch it. We'll see how that goes."
He has played in the past two games and has two interceptions, but was irked by being pulled from the base defensive package
after starting every game since being drafted in the fourth round in 2005.
"Anybody would want to know what the situation is, but I guess I don't have that luxury," Rhodes said. "Nobody has that luxury
because he's not telling you, either. I'm going to try to do everything I can to help."
Ryan demoted Rhodes in favor of Eric Smith before the team's game Nov. 29 against Carolina. The player Ryan compared to
Baltimore's Ed Reed in the offseason hadn't made any impact plays, so Rhodes' role was reduced and he received what he
thought was unfair criticism.
"But if the coaches think that way and everybody else feels that way, it must be just," he said. "So, I just have to take it that way
and keep going."
Rhodes thinks he will start again after doing a few things Ryan demanded of him -- including sitting down with defensive backs
coach Dennis Thurman.
"He told me I'd be in there the first snap, so if that's starting, it's starting," Rhodes said.
But Ryan has refused to say whether Rhodes has regained his starting job and was bothered by questions about the situation.
"Go ahead and name him the starter, if you want," Ryan said. "I don't care. We should be more concerned with the team than
the individual. The guy who runs out there, he's starting. If Kerry feels better about it, I'll start him. If he'll feel better about it, go
ahead, run out there, you're starting."
Ryan apologized, but didn't clear anything up.
Adding to the confusion, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said Rhodes isn't necessarily starting in the base defense, but is up
in most packages.
"I think that depends on Tampa and what they come out with the first play of the game," Pettine said. "I'd say that chances are
pretty high that he'll be out there the first play."
Rhodes and Smith were rotating in practice yesterday, and Rhodes said he got angry at Thurman at one point.
Titans
Quarterback Vince Young has aggravated his right knee and coach Jeff Fisher calls it a "setback. Fisher said Young originally
hurt his knee in a loss at Indianapolis Sunday and had been trying to push through practice. Young had to leave practice early,
limping off the field with ice wrapped over his knee.
Falcons
Quarterback Matt Ryan sat out another practice because of a toe injury, making it increasingly unlikely he will be able to play
Sunday against the unbeaten Saints. While Ryan took part in a walkthrough, which was closed to the media, he wasn't even at
the indoor practice facility for the main 2 1/2-hour workout. Chris Redman ran the first-team offense.
12/11/2009 9:26 AM
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Ravens
A woman filed a $70 million lawsuit against linebacker Terrell Suggs, claiming he is father of her two children and assaulted her
multiple times. Suggs said that he has nothing to hide, but he was not able to discuss the case yet. Candace Williams, 26, is
seeking $50 million in punitive damages and $20 million in compensatory damages from the three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher. She
filed a separate complaint seeking custody of the children. She also is seeking a restraining order. She said Suggs knocked her
down and poured bleach on her and their son.
Patriots
Quarterback Tom Brady missed practice for the second day in a row. New England listed Brady with right finger, right shoulder
and rib problems although none seemed serious. Before practice yesterday, Brady walked through the locker room, holding a plate
of food and smiling. His wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, gave birth Tuesday to their son. Brady said he hasn't had much
sleep.
Cowboys
Tight end Martellus Bennett missed another practice because of concussion-related symptoms. Bennett did not report any
problems in a loss against the Giants, but he's since complained of headaches, fogginess and that "his eyes were hurting."
Raiders
Oakland's home game Sunday against the Redskins will be blacked out locally because the team did not sell out the game in time.
This is the sixth consecutive home game that Oakland has been unable to avoid a blackout.
Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a
members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
First published on December 11, 2009 at 12:00 am
12/11/2009 9:26 AM
Steelers playoff hopes dim after another loss - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/print_6572...
Steelers playoff hopes dim after another loss
By Scott Brown
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, December 11, 2009
CLEVELAND — As it turned out, the Steelers didn't hit bottom last Sunday
when they twice blew fouth-quarter leads to the Oakland Raiders.
The Steelers reached a new low by losing for the first time in Cleveland since
2000 and to a team that had just one victory prior to last night.
As a result of a 13-6 loss to the Browns on Thursday night, the Steelers have
virtually assured that they won't get a chance to defend their Super Bowl title.
The Steelers, who were 6-2 in early November, are now 6-7. They need to win
their last three games and then, get lot of help to make the playoffs as a
wild-card team.
"Playoffs are pretty much over with. Right now, we are just playing with pride,"
said Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who fought back tears after the game.
"There is going to be a lot of gut checks for a lot of these guys."
Given how they have played since a resounding 28-10 win at Denver on Nov.
9, there isn't any indication that the Steelers will win a game the rest of the
season much less three in a row to close out 2009.
The Steelers were overmatched by a team they had beaten 12 consecutive
times prior to yesterday.
The Browns (2-11) outgained the Steelers, 255-212, and they sacked
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger eight times.
When the Steelers needed a stop last night in the fourth quarter, they couldn't
get one — such as when Joshua Cribbs ran for 14 yards on a third-and-11
play from the Steelers' 24-yard line with just over eight minutes left in the
game.
"I think our fans are going to have a Merry Christmas," said Cribbs, who
rushed for a game-high 87 yards on just eight carries. "There are a lot of
Steelers fans around the city, so I hope people go to work and kick those
Steeler fans."
The Steelers felt like kicking themselves after Roethlisberger led a late drive
that ultimately stalled inside the Browns' 40-yard line.
"Frustrating. Disappointing. Embarrasing," Ward said after the game.
"I'm tired of this (expletive), man," an emotional Casey Hampton said.
The temperature was 15 degrees before kickoff, making it the coldest regularseason game the Steelers have played in since a Dec. 17, 1989 contest
against the visiting Patriots.
Whipping winds dropped the wind-chill factor to minus-six degrees prior to
kickoff.
The teeth-chattering and the fact that the home team is playing for pride at this
point of the season probably accounted for plenty of seats at Cleveland
Browns Stadium going unoccupied.
The Steelers proved to be the only thing colder than the weather in the first
half.
They managed just 75 yards of total offense against a unit that entered the
game last in the NFL in total defense. The Steelers would have been shut out
in the first half had Roethlisberger not led them on a drive that resulted in a
Jeff Reed field goal on the final play of the second quarter.
The Steelers' didn't exactly shine in the other two phases of the game.
They allowed Cribbs to return a punt 55 yards in the first quarter. That set up
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the first score of the game, a 29-yard field goal by Phil Dawson.
Poor coverage by Ike Taylor early in the second quarter resulted in a 37-yard
reception by Mohamed Massaquoi. That led to another Dawson field goal.
The Browns took control of the game later in the quarter after the Steelers
appeared to get their first break of the game.
Hank Poteat lost a fumble on a punt at the Browns' 44-yard line, but a holding
penalty on Tyrone Carter negated the play.
The Browns made the most of their reprieve, as they drove 74 yards in eight
plays and Chris Jennings' 10-yard run resulted in the first touchdown of the
game. A 37-yard run by Cribbs, one in which he broke several tackles, proved
to be the big play on a drive that resulted in the first touchdown by a Browns
running back this season.
Reed field goals at the end of the first half and middle of the third quarter
pulled the Steelers to within seven points.
The Steelers, however, could get no closer.
"We've found new and different ways to not rise up in critical situations,"
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
Scott Brown can be reached at [email protected] or 412-481-5432.
Images and text copyright © 2009 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Reproduction or reuse prohibited without written consent from Trib Total Media
12/11/2009 9:27 AM
Harris: Tomlin backed down from promise - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/print_6572...
Harris: Tomlin backed down from promise
By John Harris
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, December 11, 2009
CLEVELAND — Win or lose, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin should have attended
Thursday night's news conference with his mouth taped shut.
After seemingly giving up on the season following Sunday's loss to Oakland
when he flippantly cast aside his team's fading playoff chances, Tomlin
promised lineup changes entering last night's game against the Cleveland
Browns.
At halftime, the Steelers trailed 13-3. There were no changes in the starting
lineup. It looked like the same team that fell apart in the fourth quarter four
days earlier as Cleveland dominated both sides of the ball.
Final score: Cleveland 13, Steelers 6.
What movie will Tomlin decide to quote from this time for inspiration? "Alvin
and the Chipmunks?"
Maybe he'll promise to start five new offensive linemen based on what
transpired against Cleveland.
But, seriously, the biggest change was sure-handed Mewelde Moore replacing
Stefan Logan as the kickoff returner. Moore quickly made an impact when he
fumbled on two returns.
Tomlin had no answers before or after the game. It's too late now for the
Steelers to save their season.
No coach should ever publicly give up on his team when there's still a
mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs, no matter how slight. It was
Tomlin's responsibility to keep his players going, even when the well appeared
dry.
What kind of message did that send to his veterans who won two Super Bowls
in the last five years?
"As a veteran, I always feel like it's better in these type of situations to go with
the veteran guy that's been there before," defensive co-captain James Farrior
said of Tomlin's broken promise to make changes on defense.
To say that Tomlin jumped the gun in writing off the season is stating the case
mildly.
What if former coach Bill Cowher had taken that approach when the Steelers
were 7-5 and struggling late during the 2005 season? No way the Steelers
would have won Super Bowl XL, much less qualified for the postseason.
The Steelers lacked the fire last night that has enabled them to dominate the
Browns well before Tomlin took over.
Afterward, an emotional and red-eyed Hines Ward said he wants to see what
players are going to approach the final three games like they want to be with
the Steelers.
Does that mean Ward believes some of his teammates quit?
"I don't know. I'm never going to judge somebody," Ward said. "Time will tell.
We have three games left. It's gut-check time. I hope nobody quit, because
that's not the type of characters we have on our team."
Clearly, Tomlin's pre-game strategy backfield. The Steelers played last night's
first half as if they took Tomlin's words literally.
As the game progressed, the Browns took control of the line of scrimmage,
running the ball right at the Steelers and harassing quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger as if they knew the snap count.
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When the Steelers had the ball, they tried to finesse the Browns with passes. It
was quite a role reversal from recent Steelers-Browns games, when the
Steelers offense did whatever it pleased.
Faced with third and short on back-to-back possessions to open the game,
Roethlisberger, who lined up in the shotgun, was sacked both times.
Tomlin's rise in the coaching ranks is a fascinating one.
He received his first coaching position right out of college in 1995 as an
assistant under current West Virginia coach Bill Stewart at Virginia Military
Institute.
In 2007, he became coach of the Steelers.
Tomlin has been the golden child, so to speak, enjoying fabulous peaks and
precious few valleys so far.
There's a first time for everything. Let the second-guessing begin.
John Harris can be reached at [email protected] or 412-481-5432.
Images and text copyright © 2009 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Reproduction or reuse prohibited without written consent from Trib Total Media
12/11/2009 9:28 AM
Tomlin shakeup doesn't emerge in Cleveland - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/print_6572...
Tomlin shakeup doesn't emerge in Cleveland
By Scott Brown
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, December 11, 2009
CLEVELAND — The shakeup that coach Mike Tomlin said might be coming
after the Steelers lost their fourth consecutive game didn't happen Thursday
night in Cleveland. No changes were made to the starting lineup and two
regulars — wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring) and cornerback William Gay
(head) — played despite sustaining injuries last Sunday.
Perhaps the biggest surprise among the Steelers inactives last night was
cornerback Keenan Lewis. Tomlin said earlier this week that the Steelers
wanted to take a long look at Lewis and fellow rookie Joe Burnett.
While Gay started, Burnett came in on the second series at the cornerback
spot opposite Ike Taylor. That was the only series he played in place of Gay in
the first half.
In a minor change, Mewelde Moore and Stefan Logan each returned punts
and kickoffs last night. Lewis may have been caught in a numbers crunch.
» With Ward's hamstring a concern, the Steelers dressed five wide receivers
for the first time this season. Tyler Grisham, who was signed from the practice
squad last Wednesday served as the Steelers' No. 4 wide receiver, ahead of
Limas Sweed.
» In addition to Lewis, strong safety Troy Polamalu (knee), defensive end Nick
Eason, fullback Carey Davis, guard Kraig Urbik, offensive tackle Tony Hills,
defensive end Sunny Harris and quarterback Charlie Batch were inactive.
» Santonio Holmes went over the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season last
night. It is the first time at any level that Holmes has eclipsed the 1,000-yard
receiving mark ... Ward has caught at least one pass in 175 consecutive
regular-season games, which is a team record ... Ray Ventrone, a Chartiers
Valley High graduate, left the game in the first half with a hand injury. The
Scott native is one of the Browns' top special teams' players.
Scott Brown can be reached at [email protected] or 412-481-5432.
Images and text copyright © 2009 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Reproduction or reuse prohibited without written consent from Trib Total Media
12/11/2009 9:28 AM
TimesOnline.com: Bires: Team's troubles are at the top
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http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1424/2009/de...
Friday December 11, 2009
Bires: Team's troubles are at the top
Beaver County Times
AP photo by Mark Duncan
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin argues with field judge Jim Howey in the fourth quarter of Thursday's game in Cleveland. Pittsburgh lost their fifth straight, losing
to the rival Browns 13-6.
CLEVELAND — The Steelers obviously have a lot of problems, and one of them is Mike Tomlin.
He may be the main problem right now.
He has lost control of his team.
For a coach, it doesn’t get any worse than that.
Three weeks ago after the Steelers lost in Kansas City, Tomlin personally accepted blame.
I didn’t agree with him at the time. I even told him that at his weekly press conference. My point was that players have to be accountable. I still believe that.
But I also believe that Tomlin and his two coordinators — Bruce Arians on offense and Dick LeBeau — are not performing up to their lofty standards. Part of
the Steelers’ problems is that other teams have figured the Steelers out.
Yes, the players continue to self-destruct and under-achieve. But they’re not getting enough from their coaches, starting with Tomlin.
“We got beat in all three phases,” Tomlin said after the loss. “Schematically and performance–wise. When that happens, we all share the blame.”
When the Steelers (6-7) lost Thursday night to a 1-11 Cleveland Browns outfit, they accomplished a rare and dubious trifecta.
They have now lost to a one-win team (the Browns), a two-win team (the Chiefs) and a three-win team (the Raiders).
Losing to the Chiefs was uncalled for.
Losing to the Raiders was shocking.
Losing to the Browns, 13-6, may have been the Steelers’ worst loss since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.
These Browns have been in utter chaos all season under first-year coach Eric Mangini. They’ve had quarterback issues. They’ve been crippled with injuries.
They traded their best wide receiver (Braylon Edwards) early in the season. They have a roster full of guys most pro football fans have never heard of.
Yet, they beat the Steelers.
The Steelers were dominated in most phases of the game.
How about those stats at halftime when the Browns led 13-3?
The Browns had a 179-75 edge in total yards.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times.
The Steelers were 0-of-6 on third-down conversions.
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The Steelers did play better in the second half. Still, they couldn’t even score a touchdown.
The men in those Steelers uniforms deserve blame. But so does the coach.
I guess this is what happens when you “unleash hell in December” as Tomlin promised two weeks ago after a loss in Baltimore.
Well, hell freezes over and the one-win Browns beat the Steelers.
This was once a 6-2 Pittsburgh team that looked super at times.
Now the Steelers have lost five straight. They are all but dead. Their Super Bowl defense will likely be a repeat of 2006 when they missed the playoffs.
What has happened to the Steelers is a total meltdown by players and coaches.
And if Tomlin wanted blame three weeks ago, he certainly deserves it now.
12/11/2009 9:32 AM
TimesOnline.com: Super Bowl chumps
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Friday December 11, 2009
Super Bowl chumps
By: The Associated Press
Beaver County Times
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked for a loss by Cleveland Browns defensive end Marcus Benard (58) in the second quarter of
an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
CLEVELAND (AP) — There’s nothing Super about the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore.
The defending NFL champions lost their fifth straight and had their playoff hopes sacked by the lowly Cleveland Browns, who ended a 12-game losing streak
against their bitter rival by beating the Steelers 13-6 on Thursday night in subzero wind chills.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times and lost for the first time in 11 career games against the Browns (2-11), who extended Pittsburgh’s longest losing
streak in six years and defeated the Steelers (6-7) at home for the first time since 2000.
The Steelers are going to need help to make the postseason, a stunning freefall for a team that hit the season’s halfway point at 6-2.
12/11/2009 9:33 AM
Steelers sacked by Browns
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Steelers sacked by Browns
12/11/2009 3:30 AM
CLEVELAND - It was fitting that the referee for Thursday night's game at Cleveland Browns Stadium was the aptly named Ron Winter.
With game time temperatures hovering in the teens and a wind-chill factor of below zero, the conditions weren't fit for man or beast.
And the Steelers will have a long winter to think about what could have been with this season.
Cleveland sacked quarterback Ben Roethlisberger eight times and rushed for 171 yards, beating the Steelers 13-6 Thursday night.
Not only did the victory end Pittsburgh's 12-game winning streak against the Browns, it probably ended any hopes of the defending Super Bowl champions of
earning a spot in this year's AFC playoffs.
Pittsburgh, now 6-7, has lost five consecutive games and would likely miss the playoffs even if it won the final three games.
The Browns (2-11) continually stopped the Steelers throughout the second half, the final time with 1:43 remaining when Roethlisberger's fourth-down-and-six
pass intended for Santonio Holmes was knocked to the ground.
Cleveland did all of its scoring in the first half.
Cleveland used a 55-yard punt return by Josh Cribbs to set up its first score, a 29-yard Phil Dawson field goal with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter.
Roethlisberger was sacked for a 10-yard loss on third-and-three from the Pittsburgh 13 and Cribbs mishandled Daniel Sepulveda's 55-yard punt, picking it up
at the Cleveland 37.
He quickly split the Pittsburgh defense and got to the Steelers eight before being tackled by Sepulveda.
Cleveland extended the lead to 6-0 after pinning the Steelers deep in their own territory early in the second quarter.
The Steelers went three-and-out after taking over at their own seven and Sepulveda's 36-yard punt gave Cleveland the ball back at the Pittsburgh 48.
On third-and-13 from the Cleveland 49, Browns quarterback Brady Quinn threw a short pass to rookie receiver Mohamed Massaquoi and he turned it into a
37-yard gain. That set up another 29-yard Dawson field goal that gave Cleveland a 6-0 lead.
Pittsburgh's offense continued to sputter and the Steelers again punted following another Roethlisberger sack.
Cleveland took over at its own 26 and Cribbs - running from a wildcat formation - broke off a 37-yard run on third down to the Pittsburgh 30.
Rookie Chris Jennings took over from there, carrying the ball on five of the next six plays to score his first career touchdown on a 10-yard run with 41
seconds remaining in the first half.
Down 13-0, the Steelers finally responded, as Roethlisberger, working out of the no-huddle offense, drove them from the Pittsburgh 33 to the Cleveland nine
with seven seconds remaining in the first half.
But Roethlisberger threw incomplete to tight end Heath Miller at the two on first down and Jeff Reed booted a 27-yard field goal on the final play of the first
half.
The Steelers cut the lead to 13-6 with a pair of Jeff Reed field goals in the third quarter.
Odds and end zones
Holmes had six catches for 93 yards to go over 1,000 yards for the season. It is his first 1,000-yard season. ... Holmes also returned punts in the fourth quarter,
the first time he's been used in that capacity this season. ... Wide receiver Hines Ward and cornerback William Gay, who were both questionable to play,
started for the Steelers. Gay did share some time in the base offense with rookie cornerback Joe Burnett. ... The Browns had not beaten the Steelers in
Cleveland since 2000.
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
12/11/2009 9:35 AM
http://207.103.135.12/news_detail/article/1636/2009/december/11/could-...
Could it get any worse for Pittsburgh?
By: HERALD STANDARD STAFF Herald Standard
CLEVELAND (AP) - There's nothing Super about the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore.
The defending NFL champions lost their fifth straight and had their playoff hopes sacked by the lowly Cleveland Browns, who ended a 12-game losing streak against their bitter rival by beating the Steelers 13-6
on Thursday night in subzero wind chills.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times and lost for the first time in 11 career games against the Browns (2-11), who extended Pittsburgh's longest losing streak in six years and defeated the Steelers (6-7) at
home for the first time since 2000.
The Steelers are going to need help to make the postseason, a stunning freefall for a team that hit the season's halfway point at 6-2.
December 11, 2009
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December 11, 2009
N.F.L. ROUNDUP
Losing 5th Straight, Steelers May Be Down for the Count
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their fifth straight game Thursday and had their playoff hopes damaged by the Browns, who ended a 12-game
losing streak against their bitter rival by beating the Steelers, 13-6, in Cleveland’s subzero wind chills.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times and lost for the first time in 11 games against the Browns, who extended Pittsburgh’s longest losing
streak in six years and defeated the Steelers at home for the first time since 2000.
“A long time coming,” Browns quarterback Brady Quinn said.
Unexpected losses to Kansas City, Oakland and Cleveland — three of the N.F.L.’s worst teams with a combined record of 9-28 — have pushed
Pittsburgh to the brink.
Chris Jennings, who began the season on Cleveland’s practice squad, scored on a 10-yard run, and Phil Dawson kicked two 29-yard field goals
for the Browns, who snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Roethlisberger tried to rally the Steelers, but his fourth-down pass to Santonio Holmes with less than two minutes left was knocked down by
linebacker David Bowens.
When Holmes was tackled on a punt return and the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard clock, Cleveland fans, who were nearly
outnumbered by Terrible Towel-waving Pittsburgh fans, danced in the aisles. Several Browns players jumped into the Dawg Pound section to
celebrate.
Josh Cribbs rushed for 87 yards out of the Wildcat formation, had 104 return yards and caught a pass for 9 yards. He picked up an important
first down on a 14-yard run in the fourth quarter when the Browns were trying to run out the clock.
Quinn completed just one pass in the second half and finished 6 of 19 for 90 yards.
Roethlisberger went 18 of 32 for 201 yards. He had trouble throwing in the swirling winds, and the Steelers were not able to establish their
running game against the Browns’ defense, which came in ranked 32nd over all.
ADALIUS THOMAS UPSET New England Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas wasted no time defending himself after Coach Bill Belichick
sent him home for being late to a team meeting. Thomas said after returning Thursday that he was “dumbfounded” and “can’t figure out what
Bill thinks or knows.”
Three other players were also sent away for arriving late Wednesday: wide receiver Randy Moss and linebackers Gary Guyton and Derrick
Burgess.
Thomas said he called ahead on a snowy Wednesday morning, as players are instructed to do when they are going to be late. But when he
showed up about nine minutes late for an 8 o’clock team meeting, he said Belichick told him to leave. “You’re told to call and you call, you get
sent home,” Thomas said, adding, “That’s not an excuse, but I could have been in the ditch.”
WOMAN SUES RAVENS’ SUGGS A woman filed a $70 million lawsuit against Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, claiming he is the
father of her two children and assaulted her multiple times.
Candace Williams, 26, is seeking $50 million in punitive damages and $20 million in compensatory damages from Suggs, a three-time Pro
Bowler. She filed a separate complaint seeking custody of the children. Both were filed Monday in Baltimore Circuit Court. Williams is also
seeking a restraining order against Suggs.
Suggs said he had nothing to hide, but declined to discuss the case. “I can’t talk about all that right now,” he said at practice. “When I can
address it, I will. I really have nothing to hide.”
INJURY SETBACK FOR YOUNG Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young aggravated his right knee injury and left practice early in what
Coach Jeff Fisher called a setback.
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After stepping back and throwing a pass, Young went to the sideline, where a trainer and a doctor checked out his knee. With his knee
wrapped in ice, Young walked gingerly out of the indoor practice field. Fisher said he expected Young, who originally hurt his knee last
weekend in the loss at Indianapolis, to play Sunday against St. Louis.
RUSSELL STUNG BY BENCHING Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell said he was embarrassed at being benched and vowed to
regain his starting role.
Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, spoke for the first time since losing his starting job last month to Bruce Gradkowski. He called
his demotion a “road bump” and said he believed he was still the quarterback of the future in Oakland.
Also Thursday, Coach Tom Cable said left guard Robert Gallery would miss the rest of the season because of a lower back injury sustained in
the Raiders’ victory Sunday at Pittsburgh.
AROUND THE LEAGUE The Jets placed Larry Izzo, a linebacker and special teams standout, on injured reserve because of a herniated disk in
his neck. ... Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan sat out another practice because of a toe injury, making it increasingly unlikely he will play
Sunday against New Orleans. ... Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin has been held out of practice this week because of migraine
headaches, Coach Brad Childress said.
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12/11/2009 9:37 AM
Football Broadcasts Reflect More Serious Tone on Concussions - NYTim...
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December 11, 2009
Football Analysts Cast a New Eye on Injuries
By ALAN SCHWARZ
A little less crack! accompanies the televised collisions between National Football League behemoths these days. Players are tackling as hard
as ever. But broadcasters are toning down the glorification of the sport’s inherent violence.
“I would say in our place, since this story has taken on a greater and greater prominence, we’ve taken action to take out the sound effects on
promos and highlights of punishing hits,” said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports.
NBC, a broadcast partner of the N.F.L., is hardly alone in its shift toward greater sensitivity over brain trauma among football players. This fall,
from the airwaves of sports talk radio to the broadcast booths at games to doctors’ offices, the language of brain injuries has taken an abrupt
turn from silly to serious.
Game announcers have replaced words like “warrior” and “toughness” with “injury” and “dementia.” Among Fox pregame analysts, the former
New York Giants star Michael Strahan described ex-teammates in their 40s taking Alzheimer’s medication, after which the Hall of Fame
quarterback Terry Bradshaw denounced the N.F.L. for dawdling on the issue. Recent brain injuries to some of the most high-profile players in
college and professional football — along with a House Judiciary Committee hearing that compelled the N.F.L. to adopt sweeping new safety
policies in the middle of its season — have forced announcers to explain why players are suddenly sitting out with concussions their
predecessors played through.
“This season has really opened my eyes — everything that’s happening, whether it’s Congress or what’s being reported in the newspapers,” said
Cris Collinsworth, the NBC analyst, who has devoted several minutes each game to somber discussion of brain injuries. “The correlation of
playing with a concussion and being tough is a culture we have to change within the game and in our society.”
Dr. Gerry Gioia, the chief of pediatric neuropsychology at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, said he had noticed a drastic
turn in the words teenagers were using to discuss their concussions.
For the first time, he said, they were regularly using phrases that were once gridiron blasphemy, like, “It’s not just an ankle,” “Ten or 15 years
from now” and “Maybe I shouldn’t go back.”
“It’s almost a new age of discussion now,” Gioia said. “Kids are parroting what they see on TV, during the football games and on ESPN. They’re
hearing intelligent talk about how serious concussions are.”
The change isn’t universal. The Fox pregame host Curt Menefee still casually refers to concussions as “dings.” During the House hearing on
Oct. 28, Representative Ted Poe, Republican of Texas, rued “the end of football as we know it.” On Seattle news station KOMO, Eric Johnson
narrated a segment in which he celebrated the “bone-crushing action” of “heat-seeking football machines,” who had their worlds rocked but
soldiered on: “Now that’s a football player!” he exclaimed.
They were 9 years old.
Yet many announcers are more like Daryl Johnston, a former Dallas Cowboys fullback who for Fox called Philadelphia Eagles games in which
running back Brian Westbrook sat out because of post-concussion syndrome and wide receiver DeSean Jackson was knocked out of the game
with a brain injury. Johnston said he has made sure not to use the words “ding” or “he got his bell rung,” but to approach the injury more
soberly: “There should be no bravado — with the players, or with us,” Johnston said.
When there is — the most glaring example coming when the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hines Ward brazenly criticized his teammate Ben
Roethlisberger for sitting out a big game because of a concussion — talk-radio phone lines have buzzed as never before, said Mike Greenberg,
co-host of ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” show. He said that all the concussion news this season has catalyzed several spirited
offshoot debates, like the conflicts of interest among team-employed doctors and the pressures on players to hide their concussions.
“As this is more often discussed, parents are going to listen and say, ‘Why don’t we have this level of safety for my son?’ ” Greenberg said.
“Everyone is talking about this, so why aren’t we doing all these things for our kids?”
Prompted by Congress, the N.F.L. planned to run its first public service announcement regarding concussions during Thursday night’s
12/11/2009 9:38 AM
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Steelers-Browns game. The thrust of the message, which was approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a voice-over for
players of all ages: “Don’t hide it — report it.”
Collinsworth said that he expects the N.F.L. to limit its comments on the short- and long-term effects of concussions — particularly now that
the league is instituting safety policies that for years, and through this October, it insisted were unnecessary.
“When you have an open-ended liability issue that the N.F.L. has now, and there’s so much money at stake, it’s hard to get to the heart of the
discussion and to what’s right to do,” Collinsworth said.
Of course, some young players still court catastrophe by playing through their concussions in the name of toughness; last week, one day after
the N.F.L. decided that no player showing any significant sign of concussion could return to a game, several players at Tustin High School in
California admitted they still wouldn’t tell a trainer if they got hurt.
But professionals have begun to ease the stigma of concussions with more informed statements to the news media. The Arizona Cardinals’
Kurt Warner explained with nuance how it was harder to sit out with a concussion than to play, but he had to anyway. At Eagles practice on
Wednesday, Westbrook said of remaining injured, “I’m more concerned about how things will happen for me in the future, how having
concussions now will affect me 20, 30 years from now.”
More subliminal messages will be harder to change. A coach who praises a player who returns from a concussion by calling him “tough” will
be, perhaps inadvertently, calling those who remained injured less tough. When Eagles Coach Andy Reid said after Westbrook’s concussion
that “I’m counting on he’ll be there” for the next game, however unintentionally he made it harder for the player to let him down.
As the language of concussions adapts to the new era, the messages will come from everywhere. Including the public.
“I’ve seen the light,” said Johnson, who received e-mail messages criticizing his glorification of hits by 9-year-olds. “I’d read some stuff before I
did that spot, but you get a little carried away with the wow factor, and forget the life factor. That’s football, you know?”
Richard Sandomir contributed reporting.
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12/11/2009 9:38 AM
Browns shock Steelers as '08 champs lose fifth game in a row - USATO...
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Browns shock Steelers as '08 champs lose fifth game
in a row
By Scott Zucker, USA TODAY
CLEVELAND — The defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers saw their playoff hopes
all but blown away in Ohio on Thursday night by the strong winds and a surprisingly stout
Cleveland Browns defense.
The Browns (2-11) ended a seven-game losing streak and handed the Steelers (6-7) their fifth
consecutive loss 13-6, in effect ending Pittsburgh's postseason hopes.
THE HUDDLE: Hines Ward says Steelers' playoff shot 'pretty much over with'
"It's seems like every time we're fighting out of a hole, more dirt comes our way," said Steelers
guard Max Starks.
BOX SCORE: Browns 13, Steelers 6
The last time a team at least 10 games under .500 beat a defending Super Bowl champion came on Nov. 16, 1997,
when the 0-10 Indianapolis Colts upset the Green Bay Packers 41-38.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for more than 400 yards and two touchdowns in Pittsburghs 27-14 vs.
Cleveland on Oct. 18. But on Thursday he completed 18 of 32 for 201 yards as he struggled against high winds, frigid
temperatures and a swarming defense that sacked him eight times, five in the first half.
"The thing that I am pleased about is that we got him down," Cleveland linebacker David Bowens said. "A lot of times
you see Ben take the first hit, get out of the pocket and make some big plays; we contained him."
Steelers cornerback DeShea Townsend refused to use the weather conditions as an excuse.
"Maybe if we were from Miami or something, but we're only an hour and a half away," he said. "When it's 21 here, it's 22 in Pittsburgh."
Cleveland mostly kept the ball on the ground, using speedy Josh Cribbs out of the Wildcat formation and getting a solid performance from rookie Chris Jennings.
"They overplayed it and I cut back, so the next time, they were scared of overplaying," Cribbs said of the Wildcat.
The only scoring in the first quarter came when the Browns settled for a 29-yard field goal by Phil Dawson after failing to capitalize when Cribbs' 55-yard punt return gave them first-and-goal on
the 8.
Dawson kicked his second 29-yarder with 7:20 to go in the half after a 37-yard pass from Brady Quinn to Mohamed Massaquoi set up Cleveland for a first-and-10 on the 14.
The Browns then made it 13-0 with 41 seconds remaining in the first half on Jennings' 10-yard touchdown run, the first of his career.
Jeff Reed accounted for the Steelers' first-half scoring with a 27-yard field goal to end the half. He added a 42-yarder in the third quarter.
The Steelers came into the game with the AFC's third-ranked offense, but were never able to move the ball. Receiver Hines Ward played despite being limited in practice this week by a
hamstring injury. Ward burned Cleveland for eight catches for 159 yards in their October meeting, but was held to four catches for 21 yards Thursday.
"We couldn't move the chains on third down," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "We fell short in all three areas (offense, defense and special teams)."
Pittsburgh entered the game having taken 12 in a row and 18 of the last 19 from Cleveland. The Steelers had not lost to the Browns since 2003.
"We all know how important the games against Pittsburgh are," said Browns coach Eric Magini. "We've haven't been able to beat them in quite some time."
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12/11/2009 9:39 AM
ESPN.com - Steelers hit low point
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ESPN.com: AFC North
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Steelers hit low point
By James Walker
ESPN.com
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Hines Ward called Thursday night's 13-6 loss to the Browns "embarrassing."
CLEVELAND -- Pittsburgh Steelers captain Hines Ward pulled no punches Thursday night.
"It's embarrassing for me," Ward said after Pittsburgh's 13-6 loss to the lowly Cleveland Browns (2-11).
In a season when so many unexpected things happened to the Steelers, their playoff hopes, in all likelihood, ended in a place you’d least expect: Cleveland
Browns Stadium.
Pittsburgh (6-7) needed a win over a team it traditionally dominates, but once again came out flat against an inferior opponent. The Browns took a 10-point
lead into the second half and held on with a surprisingly stout defense to break a 12-game losing streak against their hated rival.
The game extends Pittsburgh's losing streak to a season-high five games. But its misery is something you cannot quantify.
The mood in Pittsburgh's locker room was very somber Thursday night. Players were generally confused about how a veteran team that was once 6-2 became
such a downtrodden and struggling group just a month later.
"We’ve found different ways to not rise up in critical moments, and we’re losing football games because of it," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said bluntly. "This
one tonight, it really happened in all three phases."
It was difficult to decipher which team was fighting for a playoff berth and which was arguably the worst team in the NFL Thursday night.
For the third time in four games, Pittsburgh failed to establish its dominance early against a lesser opponent. The Browns dictated the pace of the game with
an aggressive defense and outstanding play on offense and special teams from Joshua Cribbs (200 total yards).
Cribbs had a 55-yard punt return to set up Cleveland’s first field goal in the first quarter, and his 37-yard run set up the only touchdown of the game -- a
10-yard run by Chris Jennings before halftime. That was all Cleveland needed as it held Pittsburgh to just 216 total yards on offense and sacked quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger a season-high eight times.
It was Cleveland's most impressive performance of the season, and in the process the Browns broke a seven-game losing streak.
"This is a lot more fun coming in here like this," Browns coach Eric Mangini said. "I’m just so happy for the guys."
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is expected to miss the postseason for the first time since 2006, which was the last time the team failed at defending a Super Bowl title.
The Steelers entered the season claiming they learned from their experience three years ago, but the results have been eerily similar. Both years the Steelers
suffered losing streaks and struggled to deal with injuries and adversity.
"Everybody is gunning for you," Pittsburgh linebacker James Farrior explained. "Each year, each team is different. And you can't say just because you had
the same guys last year, it's going to be the same results. Each team has a different personality."
The Steelers' personality this year has been losing close games -- and often to bad teams. They've lost to four opponents with losing records this season,
including three in the past month in Cleveland, the Kansas City Chiefs (3-9) and Oakland Raiders (4-8).
When Tomlin was asked Thursday if losing to the rival Browns for his first time as head coach was the lowest point of the season for Pittsburgh, he responded
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"That’s a safe assessment."
At this point, the best-case scenario for the Steelers is to win their final three games and hope for a lot of help. The Steelers have three tough upcoming
opponents in the Green Bay Packers (8-4), Baltimore Ravens (6-6) and Miami Dolphins (6-6) to end the regular season.
"With three games left, you want to see who really wants to go out here and play for their pride, for this organization and for our city, and who doesn’t want
to be around here," Ward said. "I know I’m going to continue to fight my tail off even though we’re not in the playoffs.
"But it hurts. It hurts a lot."
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12/11/2009 9:41 AM
ESPN.com - Morning take: Steelers out of division race
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Morning take: Steelers out of division race
By James Walker
ESPN.com
Here are the most interesting stories Friday in the AFC North:
The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-7) were eliminated from the division race after a 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns (2-11).
Morning take: A year after sweeping the AFC North, Pittsburgh is currently 1-4 in the division. It’s been that kind of year.
Meanwhile, the Browns had eight sacks Thursday against Pittsburgh.
Morning take: It was the highest sack total for Cleveland since 2002. Some were good defense and some were poor offense on Pittsburgh’s part.
Linebacker Ray Lewis tells Baltimore Ravens fans not to give up hope.
Morning take: Baltimore is still in the playoff race at 6-6 with two winnable games coming up against the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. Before you
know it, the Ravens could be 8-6 with two weeks remaining.
It turns out Cincinnati Bengals rookie tight end Chase Coffman has bone spurs in his foot.
Morning take: Coffman was making some strides in training camp and then hit a wall. The Bengals will have to wait until next year to continue
his development.
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12/11/2009 9:41 AM