Are the Browns Too Drained to Beat Pittsburgh?

I’d like to see a lot of hurry-up shotgun from McCoy. With a lot of screens and draws to keep the blitz honest.
We can’t pound the ball with Hillis against this D and win, so we’re going to have to win the game through the air, which will still be tough. I’d like to see McCoy throw it 30 or more times, if for no other reason than to see how he handles it.
On D, I’d take a lot of chances, blitz a lot, and try to get as many hits on Roethlisberger as possible. We have nothing to lose, might as well play like it

Colt needs to be that accurate passer tomorrow, not the one we saw last week who was gift wrapping INTs to the Ravens.

We need to create some running lanes for Hillis.

We need to stop the run.

We need to get some pressure on Roethlisberger.

And I’d like to see a lot of shot gun hurry up with McCoy.

give Schaefering a break. I have been very impressed with him. I do agree with everything else though. This is not the same team that we had before in the season. I just think that our old defense just does not have the endurance to continue, and our offense is tied too, especially hillis. We need to shop for younger players in the off-season. I do think that we are on the cusp of breaking out. Give us 1 more year of MHH and I think we could become a real contender. look at Tampa, if we can get young players we could become a good team.

Is TP officially playing? I’ve been waiting for news.

Rather glum post, especially leading in to one of the most significant Browns-Steelers games in years.

We are still rather thin in talent and injuries still have a big influence on performance. Hillis should have sat one game and Cribbs is at 50%. Fujita’s injury affects the Browns much like Polamalu’s on the Steelers.

I’d like to see more no-huddle, not necessarily out of the shotgun though.

Would this be a good point to ask if anyone knows anyway of getting in touch with the Toronto brownsbackers? Despite GolanBatracs comment in the last game thread I reckon there must be onelurking somewhere in these parts!

Don’t worry Chris, Polamolu will not be playing.

You can´t cry over spilled milk, but you sure can cry about the cats lapping it up!
What gameplan should we employ? I say we employ a preseason approach in giving some of the untested players on our roster a chance. Steve Octavien of Nebraska and Eric Alexander of LSU at outside linebacker come to mind. These may be casual pick-ups, but good linebackers from Nebraska or LSU are never a casual matter. I know we´ve had a lug to thug scenario regarding making our mammoth linebackers look good, but eventually you´ll have to smell the coffee. Linebacker is our number one draft need, next to tailback, I realize you are already targeting the offensive linemen for the early rounds, because their impact takes longer to gauge. The cheapskates come off now, regarding Browns linebackers.
I also endorse sitting our committees McCoy and Hillis, what more could they do for us, under these conditions?

I am thinking a total domination by the Steelers may end the Mangini Era. I PERSONALLY dont want that to happen. I think most if not everyone wants Daboll gone. I guess by January 10th Mangini’s future will be known. I would like him to stay and Ryan to stay. Next year his contract ends and I think he should be given the final year. The Browns really were never blown out of any game (even though they lost to the Steelers 28-10 that game was alot closer than the score). The Browns did blow out New Orleans and New England. Even the best teams in the league got their butts handed to them and were out of games in the 3rd quarter sometime during this season. The Browns were very competitive and in all games till the 4th quarter. Also this is an assumption, but I would think if McCoy played as well as he has and started every game, this game against the Steelers might be for an 8-8 record. SO things are better. Do you think it is already a done deal either way (meaning Mangini is gone already or he is going to be back)?

It’s kinda hard to be optimistic when the opposing team dominates in just about every category. Maybe our best be is to give our LBs some tequila and just tell them to go in there and tear things up – and always shift extra pass pro over to the right side.

Is Polamalu dressed for this game?

St. Clair is going to get burned if we he doesn’t step up the coverage. Since it seems like we’re short on offensive manpower, we need some creativity. Some Hodges/MoMass passes.

Took a look at what BTSC had to say for the game. Just a bunch of Cleveland bashing.

Regarding all of the Polamalu comments, he still seems like a gametime decision based on what I’ve seen.

1. Finish sacks. When we get the chance, we need to punish the QB.
2. I agree about the idea of the hurry-up offense.
3. I want to see Haden get a TD.

Offensively, I’d like to see us mix in some hurry-up, as many have said. I don’t know if we can hold up all game pass protecting against pittsburgh, but it might be easier if we go no-huddle because they won’t be able to dial up all of their blitzes and play at the level of complexity they want. If we can bring it out maybe to start the game and then once or twice at unexpected times it could help us out.

Colt must get rid of the ball on time and he must protect the ball.

Defensively, Rob Ryan did a great job last year with what I thought was less talent, I think we can do it again. Do something to get Shaun Rogers fired up, if he and 3 others can get pressure without sending the house we have a much better chance. Bring out the UFO package and every blitz Rob knows on 3rd downs. Make them throw at Joe.

Offensively, I’d like to see us break tendencies; the coaching staff might not be around next year, they have to pull out all the stops. Unveil more of the Flash/Cyclone packages. Give the ball to Cribbs on the I/S zone/end around play. Throw on first down.

The outside zone play seemed to work well for us last year, we used the steelers’ aggressiveness against them and ran to the gaps that they weren’t disciplined enough to fill. I’d like to see some O/S zone plays and bootlegs off of them to take advantage of Colt’s mobility. Mike Bell seems most effective as a “one cut” zone runner, so we could spell Peyton effectively as an added bonus if we base a chunk of the gameplan around the OS zone.

This game could come down to who is more physical in the trenches, which is exactly how this game should be played.

I hope to see the old Josh Cribbs at some point today, be it on a return or as a receiver. After looking a little better last week, I’d really like to see him pull something that makes me slap down my glass and say, “Now there’s my man!”

Who knows, maybe the Steelers will take his performance the few games too much to heart and underestimate him….

Just reported that many within the Browns Organization believe Mangini is gone after this game, sometime this week. So here we go again.