Pittsburgh @ Cleveland 1:00pm

Weren't we in this situation a year or two ago too when Boz got hurt and we had no kicker and couldn't go for field goals?

3 and out and a short 37 yard punt... wtf...

Ugly and gritty - but just WIN

Ugly win hope Boz is ok. But it's a must win W column game.

With Cincy losing right now, we could be 1/2 game out of 1st. Amazing.

i love how ben throws jump balls to the shortest receiver on the roster.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

i love how ben throws jump balls to the shortest receiver on the roster.

Right? Instead of the guy that is 6'4" and has yet to really ever be targeted in the end zone all year?

JETS JETS J-E-T-S JETS!

so Cleveland is worse then Pittsburgh now. wasn't Cleveland the sports media darlings this offseason? winning the NFC North with ease.

There are small incremental improvements with the line and its been good to see. I felt if they could go 4-4 the first 8 games they might have a shot at the playoffs. I am still not sold on it but the Oline is coming along better weekly so that is a bright spot. The D looked pretty stout when it needed to be and Ben didn't do anything stupid to lose the game. Had to have that win today if they wanted to stay relevant. It wasn't pretty but that was the most consistent I have seen the team play for 4 quarters in a long while.

if i were a browns fan i would be PISSED the way they just stopped running the ball. baker should be a game manger ONLY.

Steelers did a great job stuffing the run today - leading them to have to pass the ball.

Here's hoping they sign Mayfield to an expensive, long-term contract in the off-season.

Great Randino wrote:

Steelers did a great job stuffing the run today - leading them to have to pass the ball.

Here's hoping they sign Mayfield to an expensive, long-term contract in the off-season.

the browns abandoned running the ball early before the steelers had stopped it. the browns had the ball 3 times in the 2nd quarter. they ran the ball twice. once for no gain the other for 11yds. mayfield was sacked on 1st down in 2 of those drives.

im shocked that an NFL team doesn't have a designated backup kicker that can at least make a legit attempt at an under 30yd FG. i mean why not have your punter practice FG's ? i was a kicker my freshmen and jr year in high school. even now at 53 years old i'm pretty confident i could still make 7 out 10 from 30 yds.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

im shocked that an NFL team doesn't  have a designated backup kicker that can at least make a legit attempt at an under 30yd FG. i mean why not have your punter practice FG's ? i was a kicker my freshmen and jr year in high school. even now at 53 years old i'm pretty confident i could still make 7 out 10 from 30 yds.

I kicked and punted freshman thru senior years in high school. I've never understood why NFL kickers/punters can't do both. Especially a kicker, if they can make the kicks thye should be able to punt a ball. I just watched an old game from 1980 where Colquitt got hurt on a botched punt and Bradshaw finished punting the rest of game and did a nice job. It's hard to figure how a veteran QB was a better option then than Matt Bahr.

It wasn't a blowout or anything, but, man it was nice to smack Cleveland in the mouth in Cleveland. I've always despised them and their fans. I don't get why there wasn't a roughing the passer penalty with the way Boswell was hit. We likely would have had another TD then (and missed 2 pt conversion)

It's hard to believe with how this season has gone that we're a game out of first place and the team a lot of people had going to the SB is 4-4 and last in AFC North. We have a good shot our next 2 games to make 6-3 a reality.

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

im shocked that an NFL team doesn't  have a designated backup kicker that can at least make a legit attempt at an under 30yd FG. i mean why not have your punter practice FG's ? i was a kicker my freshmen and jr year in high school. even now at 53 years old i'm pretty confident i could still make 7 out 10 from 30 yds.

I kicked and punted freshman thru senior years in high school. I've never understood why NFL kickers/punters can't do both. Especially a kicker, if they can make the kicks thye should be able to punt a ball. I just watched an old game from 1980 where Colquitt got hurt on a botched punt and Bradshaw finished punting the rest of game and did a nice job. It's hard to figure how a veteran QB was a better option then than Matt Bahr.

punting and kicking are 2 different animals. i couldnt punt for shit , but i could put kickoffs in the endzone when i was in 10th grade. i was a strait on kicker, i couldnt get the hang of the soccer style.

I ended up watching most of the rest of the game despite the officials pissing me off to no end. I missed the ending because we had a get together with friends at 3:00 in the afternoon, but looked like a gritty win. Last thing I saw was that forced fumble, that was satisfying to watch after Mayfield got whopped and sent flying out-of-bounds and then tried showing off to everyone by getting up and acting tough... Got the crowd all pumped just so they could watch Landry fumble the ball. Satisfying.

Still got a lot of issues offensively, though they're showing some improvement in some areas, we're still not making a lot of explosive plays. Ben's barely even attempting deep balls at this point which worked fine against Cleveland because our style of offense currently matches up well against their aggressive defense. But I think we're going to struggle against better more disciplined defensive units.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

im shocked that an NFL team doesn't  have a designated backup kicker that can at least make a legit attempt at an under 30yd FG. i mean why not have your punter practice FG's ? i was a kicker my freshmen and jr year in high school. even now at 53 years old i'm pretty confident i could still make 7 out 10 from 30 yds.

I kicked and punted freshman thru senior years in high school. I've never understood why NFL kickers/punters can't do both. Especially a kicker, if they can make the kicks thye should be able to punt a ball. I just watched an old game from 1980 where Colquitt got hurt on a botched punt and Bradshaw finished punting the rest of game and did a nice job. It's hard to figure how a veteran QB was a better option then than Matt Bahr.

punting and kicking are 2 different animals. i couldnt punt for shit , but i could put kickoffs in the endzone when i was in 10th grade. i was a strait on kicker, i couldnt get the hang of the soccer style.

From doing both I get that. I'm not suggesting every kicker or punter should do both. But, if QBs like Danny White, Kordell, and any others I'm missing, are able to punt then there should be a kicker every now and then who could also.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

I ended up watching most of the rest of the game despite the officials pissing me off to no end. I missed the ending because we had a get together with friends at 3:00 in the afternoon, but looked like a gritty win. Last thing I saw was that forced fumble, that was satisfying to watch after Mayfield got whopped and sent flying out-of-bounds and then tried showing off to everyone by getting up and acting tough... Got the crowd all pumped just so they could watch Landry fumble the ball. Satisfying.

Still got a lot of issues offensively, though they're showing some improvement in some areas, we're still not making a lot of explosive plays. Ben's barely even attempting deep balls at this point which worked fine against Cleveland because our style of offense currently matches up well against their aggressive defense. But I think we're going to struggle against better more disciplined defensive units.

Yeah, it's one win one week. Lots of problems still there but it still was nice to beat Cleveland at home and drop them to 4-4 and last place at the halfway point.

The run by Ben on the 2pt conversion shocked me ultimately it was called back but just did not expect him to even try a run like that. With the failed fake FG, and the 2 missed extra points we left 5 points on the field we normally get. Usually that comes back to haunt a team but it worked out ok Sunday

LambertWardSteel wrote:

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

I ended up watching most of the rest of the game despite the officials pissing me off to no end. I missed the ending because we had a get together with friends at 3:00 in the afternoon, but looked like a gritty win. Last thing I saw was that forced fumble, that was satisfying to watch after Mayfield got whopped and sent flying out-of-bounds and then tried showing off to everyone by getting up and acting tough... Got the crowd all pumped just so they could watch Landry fumble the ball. Satisfying.

Still got a lot of issues offensively, though they're showing some improvement in some areas, we're still not making a lot of explosive plays. Ben's barely even attempting deep balls at this point which worked fine against Cleveland because our style of offense currently matches up well against their aggressive defense. But I think we're going to struggle against better more disciplined defensive units.

Yeah, it's one win one week. Lots of problems still there but it still was nice to beat Cleveland at home and drop them to 4-4 and last place at the halfway point.

The run by Ben on the 2pt conversion shocked me ultimately it was called back but just did not expect him to even try a run like that. With the failed fake FG, and the 2 missed extra points we left 5 points on the field we normally get. Usually that comes back to haunt a team but it worked out ok Sunday

Definitely nice to get the W, especially considering we were playing against Cleveland and the Officials. We're the 6th least penalized team in the NFL which is pretty amazing considering the youth and inexperience of our o-line. But it seemed like this game was a festival of flags, and the non-calls were just as bad if not worse than some of the atrocious penalties they did call. The d-lineman driving Ben into the turf pissed me off, they threw a flag and then picked it up. I don't understand the logic there. If that was Brady, Rogers, Mahomes, Jackson... they definitely wouldn't have picked up that flag. Then there was the hit on Bozwell, which was absolutely mind boggling to me how they didn't see that. It couldn't of been any more egregious, or obvious. At no point was Bozwell running the ball there, he was looking to throw and should've been considered a passer on the play and is therefore entitled to the same protections as any quarterback. Instead these NFL Officials who are supposed to be all about player safety just stand there with their blinders on completely oblivious and Bozwell gets forced out with a concussion.

Then there's those defensive holding calls on defensive lineman. They called on on us, and then later called on on Cleveland. I can't say that I even remember a time I've seen a d-lineman get called for that, at least not off the top of my head. I don't like those calls at all, for either team honestly.

Or the flag they picked up after TJ Watt was blatantly held, and then the Browns scored on the next play.

I don't understand how officials can be so shitty on the biggest stage of the game of football. They are supposed to be the best-of-the-best. Sure as hell seems like they're far from that.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

i love how ben throws jump balls to the shortest receiver on the roster.

I'd have to go back and watch a lot of these redzone plays to look more thoroughly at the coverages but without Juju on the field I'm guessing Claypool is probably getting most of the coverage, and let's be honest here, AB wasn't the biggest guy when he was here either and nobody had a problem with Ben throwing him a jump ball. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing Ben took the 1v1 matchup rather than throwing against double coverage.

Now what I'd argue here is that I'd like to see more of the TEs in these situations. We have two big physical TEs in Freiermuth and Gentry why not run some 2TE stuff and have a couple of other bigger bodies on the field along with Claypool?

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

if i were a browns fan i would be PISSED the way they just stopped running the ball. baker should be a game manger ONLY.

I'm sure they are unhappy they didn't run all over the Steelers. As for not running more, it must have been completely demoralizing to see Chub lose a yard on 4th & 1 on the first play of the 2nd quarter. Their run game was totally inconsistent, with a few chunk yards followed by more than a few next-to-nothing runs. Yes, they lost because they are one of the best run teams in the NFL and couldn't run against the Steelers.

What should really piss them off is the 6 or so dropped passes. That's why they lost. Catch 4 of those 6 passes and I think they have a real chance to win.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

im shocked that an NFL team doesn't  have a designated backup kicker that can at least make a legit attempt at an under 30yd FG. i mean why not have your punter practice FG's ? i was a kicker my freshmen and jr year in high school. even now at 53 years old i'm pretty confident i could still make 7 out 10 from 30 yds.

Derek Watt, time to earn your pay .... backup kicker!

LambertWardSteel wrote:

I kicked and punted freshman thru senior years in high school. I've never understood why NFL kickers/punters can't do both. Especially a kicker, if they can make the kicks thye should be able to punt a ball. I just watched an old game from 1980 where Colquitt got hurt on a botched punt and Bradshaw finished punting the rest of game and did a nice job. It's hard to figure how a veteran QB was a better option then than Matt Bahr.

I have to imagine at the NFL level, you don't want your punter practicing soccer kicking. It's a totally different kick. At the high school and lower levels, you might get away with it. But in the NFL, where the goal posts are closer, the defense is taller and faster, I can see why they have focused, individual positions. Most teams can grab someone who can punt the ball 30+ yards, but not someone who can consistently place kicker.

I would say it this way: If your kicker goes down and you need a PAT, which is a 33 yard kick, the percentages would say just go for 2. Anything beyond just a straight on chip shot, it's probably not worth the odds.[/quote]

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

i love how ben throws jump balls to the shortest receiver on the roster.

I'd have to go back and watch a lot of these redzone plays to look more thoroughly at the coverages but without Juju on the field I'm guessing Claypool is probably getting most of the coverage, and let's be honest here, AB wasn't the biggest guy when he was here either and nobody had a problem with Ben throwing him a jump ball. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing Ben took the 1v1 matchup rather than throwing against double coverage.

Now what I'd argue here is that I'd like to see more of the TEs in these situations. We have two big physical TEs in Freiermuth and Gentry why not run some 2TE stuff and have a couple of other bigger bodies on the field along with Claypool?

well it was man to man and the steelers sent 2 on a pattern. johnson and claypool. the play was clearly going to DJ. switch johnson and claypool on the play and claypool would have had a much better chance at a catch. that extra 5-6 inches claypool has over johnson might have been enough. personally i think pass interference should have been considered by the ref but it was clear the entire game the refs were looking the other way for the browns.