Steelers, Browns play regular season finale
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Steelers 31, Browns 0
Dec. 28, 2008, at Heinz Field
The best comparison to the current Steelers’ playoff scenario is the 2008 season, except the Steelers only had a chance to lose the second seed, not gain the first. So they saddled up their starters, with the exceptions of James Harrison and Ryan Clark, who were replaced by Lawrence Timmons and Tyrone Carter. It was Carter with two interceptions of Browns quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who finished with a passer rating of 1.0. After Willie Parker ripped off a 34-yard touchdown run in the middle of the second quarter for a 7-0 lead, Byron Leftwich took over at QB as the lead lengthened and the number of subs increased. Parker carried 23 times for 116 yards and the defense held the Browns to 126 yards. The No. 1-seeded Tennessee Titans lost in their first playoff game, the Steelers got their two games at home, and went on to win the Super Bowl.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“I was wondering how much DeShone Kizer improved from Week 1, and after watching tape I’m not sure he has. There are a couple things about him that I like. He’s tough, he’s physical, he’s strong and will run over you. There’s no back-up in him. When he’s got a pre-snap read on where he’s going, he’s good. But if he’s holding onto the ball he’s very impatient. He gets impatient with his receivers and with his offensive line and he’s looking to scramble and run. The other thing, he’s looking to get the ball into the hands of Josh Gordon. With that, he’s not afraid to throw it into coverage. One of the things I wrote in my notes as I was watching the film of them running so many all-verts routes, I put down ‘wing and a prayer.’ It’s not like when Ben (Roethlisberger) throws a deep route and he’s trying to get it into a specified receiver’s hands. With Kizer, he just launches it, saying ‘please someone on our team come down with the ball.'” — Steelers radio analyst Tunch Ilkin.
TOP QUESTION
Can the Steelers force the Browns to quit?
It’s easy to take an 0-15 team for granted, but the Steelers have been focused this week in practice. They realize they can still get that No. 1 seed, but they’re sitting key players and the Browns will be playing to stave of the infamy of becoming the second team to finish 0-16. The Steelers will need to jump on them early and not take their foot off the accelerator. The Browns are used to losing and if they get behind, they’re likely to fold up shop as they no doubt will have their cars packed, engines running and thoughts of vacations in their heads. The Steelers need to take away hope with a quick start in 18-degree weather. Then they can get all of their backups in the game.
THREE QUESTIONS
With RB STEVAN RIDLEY
Q: You spent four years with the Patriots. What can you tell me about the exchange of info between coach and new player?
SR: “Over there, you never know what goes on behind those doors. That’s all I will say with that one. But everybody’s trying to win. Everybody’s trying to get any advantage they can. That’s that.”
Q: How much could such information help?
SR: “You still have to go out there and execute on Sundays. You can have all the information that you want but at the end of the day it’s about execution. Like I said, you study, you prepare, you have your game plan and you have to have information to be prepared. Once you glean that information, once you prepare with it, it’s up to Sundays to go out there and put it on the field. That’s really the main thing. You can make it as hard or as easy as you want to. Different coaches, different philosophies.”
Q: You looked good in practice and ran well in the last game. How much did fresh legs have to do with that?
SR: “It’s really finding your rhythm. I believe in that. Yeah, I’m fresh. I’m a lot fresher than 90 percent of these guys who’ve played 15 weeks in a row. But fresh isn’t always the best. It’s good, because your body hasn’t had the beating, but when guys have been in here and they have their rhythm and they have their timing, they’ve been running, that’s when you realize you’ve got some catching up to do. Being fresh isn’t the answer. I’ve got work to do, and that’s how I’m approaching it.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What to look for from the Steelers at 1 o’clock today at Heinz Field:
ON OFFENSE
It hasn’t been announced officially but expect the Steelers to start Landry Jones at quarterback and Ridley at running back. Jones started and won last year’s meaningless finale against the Browns, but believe coordinator Todd Haley when he said “Landry’s done nothing but get better. We see it every day.” Jones certainly has looked more comfortable and confident under center at practice than at any time in his five-year career. The Browns will try to pressure him. Last Sunday they had five sacks from six different defenders as they bring safeties, slot corners, middle linebackers and, of course, No. 1 pick of the draft OLB Myles Garrett, who leads with six sacks. Their other first-round rookie, Jabrill Peppers, is playing much better near the line than he had been as a deep free safety.
ON DEFENSE
Former Browns and current Steelers cornerback Joe Haden called Browns WR Josh Gordon a bigger version of Martavis Bryant. Gordon is similar to Bryant in that he, too, is returning off a drug suspension, but Gordon’s cost him 44 games dating back to the end of the 2014 season. He’s played four games since his return and has 14 catches for 220 yards (15.7 avg.) and one touchdown. He lines up opposite speedster Corey Coleman to form a dangerous duo. Running backs Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson are also a dangerous duo for the Browns. Crowell is the more powerful inside runner and Johnson can get outside and is also the team’s leading pass-catcher (68 receptions). If the Browns had a better offensive line those two would have more than their combined 1,160 rushing yards (4.3 avg.).
PREDICTION
The one player I wouldn’t rest is Haden, who returned on Christmas Day to play mano y mano against the great DeAndre Hopkins and held him to 65 yards, 29 yards below his average. Haden missed 5.75 games with a fractured fibula and in those games the Steelers gave up 11 of their 18 touchdown passes this season. Every statistical coverage category has improved dramatically with him and he’s a needed piece for the playoffs. But I feel he needs to play another game, against the talented Gordon, to regain optimum sharpness. I’ll assume he’s playing at least a half. … Steelers, 24-17.
BY THE NUMBERS
4: Points needed by kicker Chris Boswell to break the Steelers’ record for most points in a season. Norm Johnson scored 141 in 1995.
58: Passer rating by Kizer is last in the NFL and would be the worst since JaMarcus Russell compiled 50.0 for the Oakland Raiders in 2009.
75: Passer rating allowed by the Steelers with Haden in the lineup.
89: Passer rating allowed by the Steelers without Haden in the lineup.
160: Average receiving yards by Gordon in his two previous games against the Steelers.
DOWNLOADS
n Ilkin on whether to sit starters: “I’m not a big sit guy. If there was no bye week, I’d say sit them all. But there is a bye week and I would start all of my guys, including Ben. Everybody thinks I’m nuts but my experience in the NFL influences the way I would coach. I just believe that you’re better off playing everybody, and, yeah, if something were to happen you’d kick yourself. That’s a fact. But I still think I would start them and I would want them focusing this week like it was a game they needed to win. I might keep my eye on the scoreboard to see what’s going on in New England. You can improve your position. Now, I’m not holding out hope that the Jets are going to beat New England, but, crazier things have happened.”
n The team record for sacks is 55 (1994, 2001) and the Steelers have 50, a big leap from the 38 they recorded last season. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler believes it’s due to better coverage and disguising, but Haden believes it’s the age-old rush-and-cover symmetry. “They do such a good job of getting to the quarterback so quickly, I mean three to four seconds, so if we just cover the initial route, make the quarterback pump it once, and then the second time I feel like he’s going down. All we’ve got to do is stay tight to our coverage, make the quarterback look, look, pump, and I feel that rush is going to definitely get there. So just in the back end, knowing that they’re not going to make us cover for six or second seconds, you’ve got to cover for three, three-and-a-half seconds, and if you can do that, take away the first option, they’re going to probably get the sack.”
n David DeCastro, winner of the Chief Award, on what team Rookie of the Year JuJu Smith-Schuster has meant to the club: “That kid’s awesome. He’s just fun to be around. I never thought I’d be doing touchdown celebrations, like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it like that.’ Maybe it’s just getting older and having fun and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, so it’s a breath of fresh air when you get a guy coming in who’s so young and has so much energy. He’s just a fearless kid who enjoys it. You watch him play and he just loves it. You could see it from the start. It’s pretty impressive. He’ll be here for awhile hopefully.”
n The first player to draw a mob of media upon the return to the open locker room on “James Harrison Wednesday” was Alejandro Villanueva, who was asked about blocking Harrison in the AFC Championship Game. Maurkice Pouncey scolded the media for looking past Cleveland, but Villanueva handled the question perfectly. “If I have to go against James Harrison, that’s a good problem to have,” he said. “That means we’re playing in the AFC championship.”
n The Steelers are allowing opposing rushers 6.0 yards per carry since Ryan Shazier was injured four games ago and replaced by Sean Spence, who won the job over converted OLB Arthur Moats and a still-injured Tyler Matakevich. But Spence, who hadn’t made a defensive tackle since last New Year’s Day, has been struggling. “He was at first,” corrected Butler. “But he’s getting better. He’s getting a lot better physically. At first, he struggled physically and that’s going to happen to you when you come back and you’ve been out that long. You don’t all of sudden walk off of the street and play NFL football games. He’s had to get used to it and he’ll get better and better each week.”
PARTING SHOT
“Trust me and believe, people are stupid if they think we’re going to take this game lightly. We see those dudes on film. You think they’re out there playing around? Did you watch that Baltimore game? It was a dog fight. A dog fight! They’re not giving up. They want to win a game. This is going to be their Super Bowl, trust me. Trust and believe me, that was one of the main points. And if they don’t, you’ll see some other crazy (expletive) after the game. ” — Maurkice Pouncey.