Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cleveland Browns

[NorthCoast]

It's Browns week and who woulda thunk it by the posters on this board.

My take:

QB
Hoyer is the designated starter but Pettine is suggesting Manzel will be making appearances in certain situations and packages. Hoyer has been inconsistent this preseason although the last preseason game against Chicago he was able to put together a nice drive.
You get the sense that Roethlisberger & Haley of have been holding back on this offense. Or more accurately, forcing the ball to players in order to get them some game experience. Expect that the no-huddle will come early in this one in order to set the pace for the game.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

WR
With Gordon out, there is little else for the Browns to bank on. M Austin will make a few plays but it would be surprising for him to be the key to any Browns victory. Hawkins hasn't been anything special in preseason. Media is still harping on Browns management for passing on S Watkins knowing Gordon would likely be out for the season.
B Roethlisberger to A Brown can be a lethal combo but expect the Browns defense to shut that one down at all costs. That leaves a collection of other talented but inconsistent or inexperienced WRs to pick up the slack. Can't see where this group will be a key to a victory.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

RB
B Tate has talent and speed so the Steelers defensive line had better maintain gap responsibility or they may be gouged for some big runs.
The combination of Bell and Blount will be potent and could be the key to a Pittsburgh victory until the passing game finds its footing. Still it will be tough sledding early with Clevelands defensive line of Rubin, Bryant, and Taylor.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

Offensive Line:
Tough one here, as the Steelers offensive line has not shown to be much more than average during the preseason. The Browns right side, especially RT has been a big question mark.

Advantage: Tie

Defensive Line:
Cleveland's defensive line slightly bested the Steelers last season in rushing yards per game. Pittsburgh's line has not had a lot of time playing together and the NT position may not be settled until mid-season or later.

Advantage: Cleveland

Secondary:
J Haden and B Skrine are arguably better than I Taylor and C Allen. Fortunately, the Steelers CBs shouldn't be tested too much against the weak WRs from Cleveland. Whitner can still bring the wood but Gipson is young and can be exploited.
Polamalu has shown flashes of a young Troy during this preseason. He should make an impact early in the season and especially against a QB like Hoyer.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

Special Teams:
B Cundiff is consistent if unspectacular with accuracy bouncing around between 50 and 80 percent. S Lanning is someone the Browns like, average net just under 38 yds/punt last season. Cleveland coverage units have been poor this preseason allowing an average of over 25 yards per kick return and 10 yds/punt return. This could be what the doctor ordered for Pittsburgh and could create the field position advantage the Steelers may need to turn the game. If Archer can break one free it could set the tone for the entire season for Pittsburgh's special teams.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

[papillon]

It's Browns week and who woulda thunk it by the posters on this board.

My take:

QB
Hoyer is the designated starter but Pettine is suggesting Manzel will be making appearances in certain situations and packages. Hoyer has been inconsistent this preseason although the last preseason game against Chicago he was able to put together a nice drive.
You get the sense that Roethlisberger & Haley of have been holding back on this offense. Or more accurately, forcing the ball to players in order to get them some game experience. Expect that the no-huddle will come early in this one in order to set the pace for the game.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

WR
With Gordon out, there is little else for the Browns to bank on. M Austin will make a few plays but it would be surprising for him to be the key to any Browns victory. Hawkins hasn't been anything special in preseason. Media is still harping on Browns management for passing on S Watkins knowing Gordon would likely be out for the season.
B Roethlisberger to A Brown can be a lethal combo but expect the Browns defense to shut that one down at all costs. That leaves a collection of other talented but inconsistent or inexperienced WRs to pick up the slack. Can't see where this group will be a key to a victory.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

RB
B Tate has talent and speed so the Steelers defensive line had better maintain gap responsibility or they may be gouged for some big runs.
The combination of Bell and Blount will be potent and could be the key to a Pittsburgh victory until the passing game finds its footing. Still it will be tough sledding early with Clevelands defensive line of Rubin, Bryant, and Taylor.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

Offensive Line:
Tough one here, as the Steelers offensive line has not shown to be much more than average during the preseason. The Browns right side, especially RT has been a big question mark.

Advantage: Tie

Defensive Line:
Cleveland's defensive line slightly bested the Steelers last season in rushing yards per game. Pittsburgh's line has not had a lot of time playing together and the NT position may not be settled until mid-season or later.

Advantage: Cleveland

Secondary:
J Haden and B Skrine are arguably better than I Taylor and C Allen. Fortunately, the Steelers CBs shouldn't be tested too much against the weak WRs from Cleveland. Whitner can still bring the wood but Gipson is young and can be exploited.
Polamalu has shown flashes of a young Troy during this preseason. He should make an impact early in the season and especially against a QB like Hoyer.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

Special Teams:
B Cundiff is consistent if unspectacular with accuracy bouncing around between 50 and 80 percent. S Lanning is someone the Browns like, average net just under 38 yds/punt last season. Cleveland coverage units have been poor this preseason allowing an average of over 25 yards per kick return and 10 yds/punt return. This could be what the doctor ordered for Pittsburgh and could create the field position advantage the Steelers may need to turn the game. If Archer can break one free it could set the tone for the entire season for Pittsburgh's special teams.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

I have to disagree with the secondary and Special Teams advantages. The Steelers haven't proven in many years that special teams are even part of the game. They have routinely been torched by opposing teams. The Steelers secondary has no one even remotely close to Joe Haden in talen and in particular at cornerback. Troy once was the best SS in the league, but his best days are behind him.

I have to give the final two categories to the Browns, at best the secondary could be considered a draw, IMO.

Pappy

[NorthCoast]

I have to disagree with the secondary and Special Teams advantages. The Steelers haven't proven in many years that special teams are even part of the game. They have routinely been torched by opposing teams. The Steelers secondary has no one even remotely close to Joe Haden in talen and in particular at cornerback. Troy once was the best SS in the league, but his best days are behind him.

I have to give the final two categories to the Browns, at best the secondary could be considered a draw, IMO.

Pappy

I know it's tough to extrapolate to the regular season, but Steelers special teams have held opponents to less than 6 yds/punt return this preseason. They have been less successful on kickoff returns no doubt. But the differential between the Browns and Steelers gives the edge to Steelers on coverage. Brown have been effective on return yards compared to the Steelers so yea, you could argue this is a push on special teams.

Haden is good, but the last two times Cleveland has played the Steelers A Brown caught 15 passes for over 170 yds, so not exactly shutdown. Haden is a risk taker and that style of play is something Brown can take advantage of.

[ikestops85]

I just hope we improve on last years tendency to let QBs gash us for big runs. That's what I'm worried about most when the put Manziel in the game.

[hawaiiansteel]

THE RETURN OF B HOYER

Sep 03, 2014
Jim Wexell
Publisher SteelCityInsider.net



With the Steelers for a cup of coffee in 2012, Brian Hoyer returns as the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.

PITTSBURGH -- Massive roster turnover is one a sign of a new coach, or two, and since the Cleveland Browns last beat the Pittsburgh Steelers the Browns have replaced 68 percent of their 53-man roster.

And that game was played just over 21 months ago.

But, hey, the Steelers -- with the same coach from that fumble-fest in Cleveland -- have replaced 60 percent of their roster.

There was one player the Steelers had active that day, who didn't play, but will start Sunday for the Browns at quarterback when the teams open their 2014 season at Heinz Field.

Brian Hoyer was with the Steelers for 18 days in 2012. He was signed as insurance following injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich, and was active for both games during his stint as Charlie Batch's backup. But he didn't play.

Does anyone here remember Hoyer?

"No," said Steve McLendon.

"Briefly," said Kelvin Beachum.

"Yes," said Greg Warren.

What does Warren remember?

"Not much."

What was his number?

"Six?" asked Will Johnson.

"I think he had eight," said Sean Spence.

"B Hoyer, when he was here, was number six," said Maurkice Pouncey. "Wait. Eight or six. No, wait, he took Byron Leftwich's number four."

Actually, Hoyer was number three.

Does anyone remember where he lockered?

"I have no idea," said Ben Roethlisberger. "Somewhere over there."

Sitting "over there" was Jason Worilds.

"I don't remember the dude," said Worilds.

But Hoyer was remembered for his on-the-field work. Warren remembered "hearing rumbles about how good he was going to be." And Roethlisberger said Hoyer was "a good kid" whom he "enjoyed having in that room."

Pouncey, the hale-fellow-well-met of the Steelers' locker room said, "I liked that B Hoyer, man. He was an awesome dude. Really good dude. He was one of those quarterbacks who just gets in there and brings it, like Bruce (Gradkowski) does. When Bruce gets in there he's like an exciting player. He has a lot of energy and I think Brian Hoyer did an excellent job of that when he came here, especially when he came here behind a Hall of Fame quarterback. That's hard to come in there and step in the huddle and take over the guys, but he did a great job."

"He was the scout team quarterback," said safety Robert Golden. "He was real sharp. I know a lot of guys thought highly of him, especially R.C. (Ryan Clark). He always talked about him, how good of a quarterback he was."

The Steelers wanted to keep Hoyer, but with their quarterbacks healthy Hoyer got caught in a numbers game and was waived. He was claimed by the Arizona Cardinals, played well in the final two games (65.8 passer rating), but was released in May.
That same week, Hoyer signed a two-year contract with the Cleveland Browns. He replaced injured Brandon Weeden in Week 3 and became the first quarterback in history to lead the Browns to three wins in his first three starts. Not even the great Otto Graham could make that claim.

Hoyer had a passer rating of 82.6 but tore an ACL in his third start and was done for the season.

The Browns got rid of Weeden and Jason Campbell this past offseason, and drafted Johnny Manziel in the first round. Hoyer easily won the competition against Manziel and returns to Pittsburgh as the Browns' starter.

"As much as a kid growing up in Cleveland could dislike the Steelers, I think I will always have a soft place in my heart for them," said Hoyer. "They gave me a job when nobody else would. Had they not had to release me and bring up a cornerback from the practice squad, who knows how things would have shaken out?"

Hoyer recalled walking out of the South Side facility the day he was released and running into defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

"He said, 'It was great to have you here. If I can ever help you with anything, you let me know,'" Hoyer said. "So, I don’t know if that offer is still on the table now that I am the Browns quarterback."

[URL]http://pit.scout.com/story/1441654-the-return-of-b-hoyer?s=68#/story/1441654-the-return-of-b-hoyer?s=68[/URL]

[sick beats]

That was a funny read HI. Good stuff.

[hawaiiansteel]

That was a funny read HI. Good stuff.

thanks, I can't wait for Sunday to get here!

[WindyCitySteel]

IJ Haden and B Skrine are arguably better than I Taylor and C Allen. Fortunately, the Steelers CBs shouldn't be tested too much against the weak WRs from Cleveland. Whitner can still bring the wood but Gipson is young and can be exploited.
Polamalu has shown flashes of a young Troy during this preseason. He should make an impact early in the season and especially against a QB like Hoyer.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

Homer alert! Are you kidding? The Steelers probably are a bottom 5 CB team, and Mike Mitchell looked lost in the preseason. The 2ndary will have to be bailed out by a pass rush that hasn't been seen lately, either.

At *least* for this category you seemed to consider who the position was matching up with, instead of comparing Ben vs. Hoyer, for example. Speaking of which, Hoyer will undoubtedly be helped by throwing to wide open receivers as our CBs play 10-yard cushions, while Ben will have to face tight man coverage from superior players.

[WindyCitySteel]

This will be a tight, low scoring affair for a half. The Browns have the better defense, the Steelers have more offensive firepower. Defense has the advantage usually early on, but I don't see the Browns being able to muster much of an attack. They'll be worn down and give out late in the game.

Steelers 20 Browns 3

[WindyCitySteel]

I know it's tough to extrapolate to the regular season, but Steelers special teams have held opponents to less than 6 yds/punt return this preseason. They have been less successful on kickoff returns no doubt. But the differential between the Browns and Steelers gives the edge to Steelers on coverage. Brown have been effective on return yards compared to the Steelers so yea, you could argue this is a push on special teams.

Haden is good, but the last two times Cleveland has played the Steelers A Brown caught 15 passes for over 170 yds, so not exactly shutdown. Haden is a risk taker and that style of play is something Brown can take advantage of.

You seem to conveniently change the criteria per category to give the Steelers the advantage. The Steelers have been terrible on teams for years, and I expect that to continue.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I agree with some of the responses on here that the Browns have the advantage in the secondary. Joe Haden is by far better than anyone we have in our secondary right now, and they have two rookie backup CB's (Justin Gilbert and Pierre Desir) that are more promising than any of our young DB's right now. However, the O.P. did not address the linebackers, and I'd give us the advantage there. I'd lean toward Cleveland when looking at the OL, and if I were to add a TE spot, I'd probably give that the push (Jordan Cameron is the more dynamic weapon, but Heath Miller is more well-rounded, so I'd say it evens out).

[RuthlessBurgher]

THE RETURN OF B HOYER

Back then, I was surprised that we did not just put Leftwich on I.R. and finish out the season with Ben, Batch, and Hoyer. If we did that, maybe we still sign Gradkowski in the offseason when we parted ways with Byron and Charlie, but with Hoyer also on the roster, perhaps they don't feel the need to pull the trigger on Landry Jones in round 4 (Ben, Bruce, and Brian would be a solid enough trio that we wouldn't need to spend a mid-round pick on a QB). That would mean that we wouldn't need to trade our 2014 3rd round pick to Cleveland for a 2013 4th round pick to take Shamarko Thomas (we could just take the Sharknado with our original 4th round pick that we used to draft Landry). Now, if we still had our original 3rd round pick in this draft, we could have used it to take Louis Nix III to team up with his former Golden Domer teammate Stephon Tuitt (Cleveland traded the 3rd round pick they got from us to Houston, and the Texans used that pick to draft Nix). So, using some odd Butterfly Effect logic, the decision to waive Brian Hoyer once upon a time cost us Louis Nix. And if you understand this post, I feel sorry for you.

[phillyesq]

Back then, I was surprised that we did not just put Leftwich on I.R. and finish out the season with Ben, Batch, and Hoyer. If we did that, maybe we still sign Gradkowski in the offseason when we parted ways with Byron and Charlie, but with Hoyer also on the roster, perhaps they don't feel the need to pull the trigger on Landry Jones in round 4 (Ben, Bruce, and Brian would be a solid enough trio that we wouldn't need to spend a mid-round pick on a QB). That would mean that we wouldn't need to trade our 2014 3rd round pick to Cleveland for a 2013 4th round pick to take Shamarko Thomas (we could just take the Sharknado with our original 4th round pick that we used to draft Landry). Now, if we still had our original 3rd round pick in this draft, we could have used it to take Louis Nix III to team up with his former Golden Domer teammate Stephon Tuitt (Cleveland traded the 3rd round pick they got from us to Houston, and the Texans used that pick to draft Nix). So, using some odd Butterfly Effect logic, the decision to waive Brian Hoyer once upon a time cost us Louis Nix. And if you understand this post, I feel sorry for you.

Makes perfect sense, and when you look at it that may, it stings a bit more.

Going a bit further, if not Nix, Phillip Gaines was the next pick. Donte Moncrief was also in there. Any of those three would look awfully nice in black and gold.

[Shawn]

Manziel in special packages is going to a problem for us...he will be doing what he knows. Our secondary is subaverage. Troy has looked old and slow...can't cover his own runny nose let alone a WR. Yes, he can still hit and get the occasional smart INT...but I won't be surprised if he gets benched by midseason.

This is going to be a tough game. The Steelers must get in Hoyer's head...early and often. The D needs to set the tone...that they are still the Steelers...the big brother and they are there to whoop some ^&&. Despite the rule changes this is still a tough man sport. The Steelers can't win this game with finesse.

[Shawn]

Back then, I was surprised that we did not just put Leftwich on I.R. and finish out the season with Ben, Batch, and Hoyer. If we did that, maybe we still sign Gradkowski in the offseason when we parted ways with Byron and Charlie, but with Hoyer also on the roster, perhaps they don't feel the need to pull the trigger on Landry Jones in round 4 (Ben, Bruce, and Brian would be a solid enough trio that we wouldn't need to spend a mid-round pick on a QB). That would mean that we wouldn't need to trade our 2014 3rd round pick to Cleveland for a 2013 4th round pick to take Shamarko Thomas (we could just take the Sharknado with our original 4th round pick that we used to draft Landry). Now, if we still had our original 3rd round pick in this draft, we could have used it to take Louis Nix III to team up with his former Golden Domer teammate Stephon Tuitt (Cleveland traded the 3rd round pick they got from us to Houston, and the Texans used that pick to draft Nix). So, using some odd Butterfly Effect logic, the decision to waive Brian Hoyer once upon a time cost us Louis Nix. And if you understand this post, I feel sorry for you.

I'm not sure if I would want to...or be afraid to attend the circus that is your mind. No normal human being thinks of something like that.