Steelers vs. Browns (Week 1) GAMEDAY THREAD

Mike Tomlin on Todd Haley knowing their tendencies: "You can play that 'he knows that I know that he knows that I know' game. Hopefully, he plays it all week." @TheAthleticPGH

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 4, 2018

Doesn't "knowing tendencies" go both ways?

if the Browns have a 3rd and very short look out for the long pass to a WR down the sidelines.

This game frightens me. It has all the makings of a trap game:

[1] The Offense has not played together in the preseason much. They haven't even practiced together that much.
[2] Our TEs are injured.
[3] No L. Bell.
[4] A Defense that isn't all together yet.
[5] Away game that everyone thinks we should handily win.
[6] An improved Browns team that want nothing more to end their winless streak against us.

I see this as the perfect opportunity to end the cycle of not beating the teams we should. That is why I think if we don't win this game it is going to be a long year. I went back and watched several games from last year (Lions, Colts, Titans, and Packers) Even though we won our defense looked bad and our offense scored just enough to win. Mostly because of Boswell.

We absolutely have to do better this year if we hope to go to the SB. Otherwise the likes of N.E. and Jacksonville will embarrass us once again.

There is no excuse for letting teams with backup QBs compete because we play down to their level. We also can't let average QBs like Bortles have their way with us.
I'm not going to be able to watch this game but I hope when it's over I'm pissed because I couldn't see it,instead of saying I'm glad I couldn't.

jak341 wrote:

This game frightens me. It has all the makings of a trap game:

[1] The Offense has not played together in the preseason much. They haven't even practiced together that much.[2] Our TEs are injured.[3] No L. Bell.[4] A Defense that isn't all together yet.[5] Away game that everyone thinks we should handily win.[6] An improved Browns team that want nothing more to end their winless streak against us.

You forgot the electronically locked Bud Light refrigerators waiting to be unlocked with the Browns first victory.

stlrtruck wrote:

jak341 wrote:

This game frightens me. It has all the makings of a trap game:

[1] The Offense has not played together in the preseason much. They haven't even practiced together that much.[2] Our TEs are injured.[3] No L. Bell.[4] A Defense that isn't all together yet.[5] Away game that everyone thinks we should handily win.[6] An improved Browns team that want nothing more to end their winless streak against us.

You forgot the electronically locked Bud Light refrigerators waiting to be unlocked with the Browns first victory.

I'm gonna quote Jethro Bodine here: "Miss Jane I have no idea what yer talkin' bout"

If the Steelers are a super bowl caliber team they win convincingly. Browns maybe better than last year but they should not be near the Steelers level, unless our Steelers are not that good, but I think they are. The O should be able to put up a lot of points and I expect the D will be better than late last year.

27-14

Maybe our D backs can pick off a couple bubble screens.

My prediction is we start off with a slow half and low scoring. 10-7 Browns. 3rd quarter begins and this team finds it center. AB and Conner start going nuts and we score 3 straight unanswered. Browns kick a meaningless FG in the 4th and we win 28-10.

You heard it here first.

The Browns have improved this year, but everyone calm down. Hue Jackson is still their coach and he's 1-31 in the last two seasons...

Drizztbob wrote:

My prediction is we start off with a slow half and low scoring.  10-7 Browns.  3rd quarter begins and this team finds it center.  AB and Conner start going nuts and we score 3 straight unanswered.  Browns kick a meaningless FG in the 4th and we win 28-10.  

You heard it here first.  

The Browns have improved this year, but everyone calm down.  Hue Jackson is still their coach and he's 1-31 in the last two seasons...

lol    

I think the Steelers offense could run a lot of plays out of the 2 RB sets, Conner and FB Roosevelt Nix. Nix as the pass protecting FB Nix 5' 11" 245lbs like a TE in the backfield and Conners as the chipping type pass protector and getting out in a pass pattern.

what I did see of the preseason I liked the way the Steelers ran the ball with Nix in as the FB.

Probably going to be an ugly field goal kicking game. I'm glad we have Boswell.

These kind of games always make me nervous. I think this could be a huge game for Conner in that he wants to prove himself and that I believe the OL wants to prove something to Bell and everyone else who is responsible for the running game.

28-21 Steelers

LambertWardSteel wrote:

These kind of games always make me nervous. I think this could be a huge game for Conner in that he wants to prove himself and that I believe the OL wants to prove something to Bell and everyone else who is responsible for the running game.

28-21 Steelers

Man I hope you're right. I'm rootin' for Connor for sure.

#Steelers TE Vance McDonald did not practice again on Friday and has been ruled out for Week 1.

— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) September 7, 2018

Wallace108 wrote:

#Steelers TE Vance McDonald did not practice again on Friday and has been ruled out for Week 1.

— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) September 7, 2018

Is this guy made of glass?

I remember reading the 49'er forums when we got him. They complained about 2 big things: propensity to drop the ball on critical drives, and being injured all the time.

jak341 wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

#Steelers TE Vance McDonald did not practice again on Friday and has been ruled out for Week 1.

— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) September 7, 2018

Is this guy made of glass?

I remember reading the 49'er forums when we got him. They complained about 2 big things: propensity to drop the ball on critical drives, and being injured all the time.

It's too bad we can't get him on the field. Post Gazette is reporting Terrell Edmunds likely to start

jak341 wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

#Steelers TE Vance McDonald did not practice again on Friday and has been ruled out for Week 1.

— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) September 7, 2018

Is this guy made of glass?

I remember reading the 49'er forums when we got him. They complained about 2 big things: propensity to drop the ball on critical drives, and being injured all the time.

Sounds like an accurate description. Although he'd have to actually play for me to judge his catching ability.

I agree with Tunch.

https://www.steelers.com/video/tunch-s-keys-to-steelers-at-browns

Wallace108 wrote:

jak341 wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

#Steelers TE Vance McDonald did not practice again on Friday and has been ruled out for Week 1.

— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) September 7, 2018

Is this guy made of glass?

I remember reading the 49'er forums when we got him. They complained about 2 big things: propensity to drop the ball on critical drives, and being injured all the time.

Sounds like an accurate description. Although he'd have to actually play for me to judge his catching ability.

put McDonald on IR for the 1st half of the season.

Added GAMEDAY THREAD to the thread title, figured that made more sense than creating an entirely new gameday thread.

Gameday folks. Of course I am at work on what is normally my day off working a trade day so I could get one of the days off I needed to be in Pittsburgh next week. I'll try to post if I can, but not sure if I'll be able to or not. IF not, GO STEELERS, and I hope we get a W!

Steelers notebook: Todd Haley, Keith Butler match wits in Cleveland


For the past three years, Todd Haley’s offense went against Keith Butler’s defense every day on the practice field. When the two coordinators meet Sunday, it will happen for the first time in the regular season, and they will be on opposite sidelines.

Haley, the Steelers offensive coordinator for the past six seasons, will face his former team in his first game calling plays for the Cleveland Browns. That means matching wits against Butler, who is entering his fourth season as Steelers defensive coordinator.

“Todd knows what we do, and we know what he does so it’s going to be fun,” Butler said. “But we aren’t playing. Todd and I aren’t playing. The players are. It’s what we can teach them, what we can coach and stuff like that.”

https://triblive.com/pghtrib/localsports/14060300-94/steelers-notebook-todd-haley-keith-butler-match-wits-in-cleveland

thought the title was funny Haley matching wits with some one.

effyou515 wrote:

Steelers notebook: Todd Haley, Keith Butler match wits in Cleveland


For the past three years, Todd Haley’s offense went against Keith Butler’s defense every day on the practice field. When the two coordinators meet Sunday, it will happen for the first time in the regular season, and they will be on opposite sidelines.

Haley, the Steelers offensive coordinator for the past six seasons, will face his former team in his first game calling plays for the Cleveland Browns. That means matching wits against Butler, who is entering his fourth season as Steelers defensive coordinator.

“Todd knows what we do, and we know what he does so it’s going to be fun,” Butler said. “But we aren’t playing. Todd and I aren’t playing. The players are. It’s what we can teach them, what we can coach and stuff like that.”

https://triblive.com/pghtrib/localsports/14060300-94/steelers-notebook-todd-haley-keith-butler-match-wits-in-cleveland


thought the title was funny    Haley matching wits with some one.

Haley definitely is brash, and not very likeable, but the guy is a good offensive coordinator. He's better than a fair amount of the other offensive coordinators in the league. He has his drawbacks as we all know, mainly that he is seemingly a control freak, but his offenses have always put up good numbers. He's got a decent roster to work with in Cleveland as well. Tyrod Taylor isn't a pushover, and Baker Mayfield looks like he has the tools to be a competitor in this league as well. They have a good TE, and their WR corps isn't exactly horrible either. A healthy, focused, Josh Gordon is one of the best receivers in the league and shouldn't be taken lightly. Haley knows full well that we know his tendencies and I fully expect he's going to throw some different wrinkles at us that we haven't seen from him before. Butler will be doing the same thing for us defensively.

The Browns definitely shouldn't be taken lightly. Their offense is still kind of a question mark this early in the season, but their defense is legitimate.

Long-ago talk with Mike Tomlin fueled Steelers OC Randy Fichtner


Feeling dissatisfied with the lack of results and perhaps a bit detached as a new staff member at Memphis, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner placed a call to an old friend in Tampa during the fall of 2001.

Fichtner wanted the input of the man he had worked alongside a few years earlier at Arkansas State. Now, in his first NFL season as a defensive backs coach with the Buccaneeers, Mike Tomlin was happy to lend a helping hand.

“In our profession, you call a buddy when you’re getting your butt kicked,” Tomlin said. “That’s just part of it. That’s just friends. I don’t want to make more out of it than what it is. That’s not noteworthy.”

Perhaps not, but what started generating headlines at the Conference USA school was the way the Memphis offense began making incremental progress.

In Fichtner’s first season, the Tigers generated more yards and scored more points than the previous year.

https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14060667-74/phone-call-with-mike-tomlin-17-years-ago-still-resonates-with-steelers

Here's to a new season of Steelers offense and Haley will NOT be calling the plays.

Waiting to see Steelers / Fichtner's new offense what kind of play calls it's about.

And so it begins. The 2018-2019 campaign.