Why the Browns will win vs. Steelers

Aaron Smith is also out for the season, so that will help out, however, I think that will let Ziggy Hood start in place who is pretty talented.

If we play like we did against Buffalo, we have no chance at winning.

It's probably a blessing in disguise for the Steelers if Willie doesn't play because I think Rashard will go for 120 against us, easily. He's a very good runner, he just struggles with the plays.

Heiden with the first team sounds great. He actually knows how to catch. However, we'll have to establish an identity with the pass in order to run at all. The Steelers have a top run D, and are still fantastic defensively even though Troy has missed 4 games.

I think Troy will play because the Steelers won't want to risk losing to another inferior division rival.

Cribbs should score a TD. He's always great against the Steelers, and the Steelers special teams struggle immensely.

I'd love to see us finally beat Pittsburgh, but I won't be surprised if they hang 30 on us and keep us to 10 points.

If Troy plays, they will take away the deep ball (like they always do with DA playing), and make him complete short passes underneath, which is scary, especially if we don't get a run game going.        

I cant wait for this game, but i hope Troy misses another week. Where did you hear that Heiden was practicing with the 1st team? That excites me, so i hope its true. If so thats another thumbs up for Mangini. 

Without predicting the score this is what I'm predicting.

Wimbley will have 1 maybe even 2 sacks
Cribbs will get a special teams TD
Robiskie will have 5 rec's 

This is a big game for us

I don't have the highest expectations as some people. I still think we are one of the worst overall teams in the league, and even with Pitt losing two games, I don't think that they are as bad as they are looking.

Defensively without Troy, they are still one of the tops in the league, and Big Ben has 3 or 4 300+ yard passing games. Mendenhall has filled in VERY nicely for FWP, and if FWP plays that's just a two headed monster.

Wallace is scary,too.Our safeties better not let him get behind them.
 
If we can create a couple of turnovers,we can be in it.
 
If we can run the ball,enough to keep the defense honest.
 
If Cribbs can do his thing.
 
If DA can lead his recievers,and make the passes more catchable.
 
If they can hold onto the ball,and maybe a little"YAC".
 
If Daboll has a good ,non-vanilla plan.
 
If Rob Ryan calls a good game.
 
If we catch a lucky break or two,and not the other way around.
 
That's alot of ifs,but they need some ifs themselves.
 
Now,the line that brings me luck,on occasion.
 
"It wouldn't be the biggest upset,ever."
 
Go Browns!!!

Polamalu will play on sunday. Im hoping this is a blessing in disguise of some sort, as in he wasnt ready to comeback yet or something but I doubt it.

I heard he could have played against the Lions,if it were a playoff game.He just wanted another weeks rest,to be ready for the divisional game.Hopefully he'll overplay,and we'll counter play him.He can be burned on quick slants,too.Not that I'd mind if he had a Browns uniform on.....
 
  Here's a sweet fact;The Browns have won 4 of the last 6 games vs. pukes in October.
 
  If the Bengals can beat these guys,we can.Plain and simple.They're not even in the top ten teams in the NFL.
 
  But we're gonna have to bring our A game,and get the lucky breaks that they usually get.I could right a book on all the BS that they seem to get away with.
 
 I just watched the Steelers --Browns "03" playoff game.Watch how many extra ticks go off the clock in the last couple of minutes.The Browns should have had at least five more seconds,but our reciever got out of bounds just as time expired...Sure,if Northcutt would have just held onto the ball the drive before,it was game over,but I still feel they were screwed.
  How about the time the Browns blocked the field goal,in OT,so they getted to try again?They said since the ball was blocked near the line of scrimmage,and since they recovered,and it was only third down,they were allowed to try agqain.I got news.Once that ball crossed the line,it was ours.
Replays showed it,but the refs weren't even looking at them.They just lined up,and kicked again,like some half-arse keystone cops.The Browns should have pulled their team from the field.But in our dignity,we went down in defeat.I say BS!!!

 I hope we win on a very bad call,so they can seethe for awhile.Then we humiliate them in CLE later.

 Go Browns!!!

Total BS call no. 462,in the Stealers vs. Browns rivalry;Browns defense stops BB just short of a first down,in the Browns red zone.The officials walk the chains out,and low and behold,it's a very good spot.I'm thinking,what a crock!Then to my joy,the official holding the stick drops it to the ground,and it's short!There's space between the ball and the pole.The camera swings to Rob Ryan,who appears perplexed,and then very unhappy.The announcers are giving the ball to the Browns.....But the Steelers offense is staying on the field.The announcer says he's NEVER seen anything like that in his entire life!How can they show us it's short,yet give the first down?Why didn't Mangini throw a red flag?It was inside of 2 minutes,and they didn't care to review.F the Browns.F their fans.(That's what the refs are thinking)If I'm Mangini,I take my entire team onto the field,and have a sit-in,until the officials sort it out,RIGHT.And by right,I mean Browns ball.I don't want to hear "camera angle",that's just hogwash.The same backwoods,toothless,lickered up,doodley squat,persnickety,roadkill crap we've been seeing for years.Them refs are either crookeder than a dawgs' hind leg,or dumber then a monkey humping a football!If they was birds,they'd fly upside-down!They think claustrophobic is a fear of Santa Claus!I could really go off here,being as they just took the Browns big rivalry,and threw it out the window again.Tainted victory,Steeler fans! That don't count in my book.Here's to the Steelers getting punked right out of the playoffs this year.
    I'm not even gonna get into the stinking picks that their recievers are constantly getting away with.Why we didn't do it right back,I guess because we don't PRACTICE it!Time to get "wildthing over to the practice field,to show the dbs how to "fall". 

 Go Browns!!!

Unfortunately, taking into account the perspective of the shot provided by the hash mark...

the refs did make the correct call...

c'est la vie

   No they didn't.The guy at the rear,holding that stick,never moved.The stick is clearly past the ball,on the top shot.Go ahead,use your redline,from the stick.Then,when the ref took the chain to the ground,and beside the ball,he should of had the back stick holder move,accordingly.He didn't,and the added yardage(inchage) gave them the first down.
   Not to mention the spot.That spot was horrible.Ben never put the ball higher this chest,and was knocked back.They should have at least taken a look at it,but they already had their minds made up.You can't BS a BSer.

Where'd you get those pics?usrefsarealwaysright.com?Or blackanyellanevercheat.com?

Go Browns!!!

I'm not sure I follow your complaint of the logic.  Those are screenshots from video of the game.  The first picture provides a reference for the yardlines.  That same perspective is applied to the second picture, but with the camera angle, and the fact that the chains are in front of the ball, it appears to be short.  I was extremely peeved when I saw it live, trust me, but it's an issue of parallax.  

And for the record, I mocked up those pics myself.

My complaint is that,according to the Red Zone,a show with Donovan,Deiken,and Tony Grossi,the officials clearly blew the call.They have a better view of what's going on,being they're not forced to view only the camera.Tony said last night,with both the others in agreeance,that the guy over the ball said short,and the guy who gave the signal accidentally faced the wrong way.(much like Carl Eller,with his wrong-way TD,that he'll never live down).In order to save face,as the Steelers had all just seen the guffaw,and were huddling their offense,the officials went along with it,and gave the Steelers the ball......
  Believe me,I've been watching the Browns play the Steelers a long time.If no reward has ever taken place,from the Steelers Hierarchy to the officials,may I be struck dead before I type another word.

Still here!!!What's that show ya!!!

May lightning strike me dead,if the official didn't know he was "accidentally" blowing that call.

Once again,I'm still here.I think the official who spotted the ball was the same guy who pointed in the wrong direction,as he was supposed to give him a better spot,than the already gratuitous one he gave.Once he saw it was short,he had to act fast.

Here,I'll put my detective hat on for a minute......

Ok,you say that the hashmark is on an angle.....have you EVER in your life seen an official,while checking for a first down,put the ball on angle?
  According to those pics,if that hashmark is straight,then the ball is at an angle.The nose should be higher up,to square the ball.
One more obvious point.The red line on your bottom pic isn't at the stick,it's at the chain link.

The point is,everyone who has been watching football for awhile,knows what it looks like,from the T.V. point of view,when the ball is short.I've seen it so many times,I can't count.And that was what I saw.The gap between the stick and the ball.The official blew it.Along with the others,for letting that travesty occur.Was it on purpose? If it wasn't,may I be hit by a.......

Go Browns!!!

p.s. Dieken reminded me of an old one.In "79",the Steelers return guy(can't remember name) fumbled the ball,deep in PITT territory,after falling to the ground,and it was recovered by the Browns.Should have been Browns ball,game over,but the officials ruled he was touched by a Brown.Replays showed he clearly tripped over his own player,never touching any Browns players.But the refs weren't having any of that.First down Pittsburgh.They won 33-30,but we went on a 3 game win streak,including beating OAK,before the famous "red-right 88" that should have been a field goal attempt,but that's just my opinion.

Yaknowwhat? I'll bet I could write a book on the bad calls the Browns have been beaten by,when playing the Steelers.At least a good chapter.

P.S.S. Could you please attach that red line to the Broncos"so called" field goal that won it for them in the "86" season?Make sure it's wide left,because that's what it looked like.Ever since,I've been hoping for a top bar,making the field goal a rectangular box.No more refs trying to look up the pole.How ridiculous.

I'm very unlikely to convince you, so I'm not going to get full into it, but two things...

1.  The ball isn't on an angle, and the shot isn't perpendicular to the ball either.  You can technically see more of the right/back nose of the ball, than the left/front of the ball, emphasizing my point.  

2. The red line is placed where it is in the 2nd pic because it lines up with the bottom of the stick, where the ball would have to be to achieve a first down.  It's another optical illusion that it lines up with the last chain link, because the chain is off the ground, and because of the angle of the line.

You don't have to believe me, and they certainly should have explained the call/ booth reviewed it, but it is what it is.

It's not a question of whether I believe you or not.

It's a question of whether or not the referees made an incorrect call.

You can try to justify it,which in this case you are being very admirable,as you surely would have liked the call to go the other way,but after listening to the Browns Red Zone,and hearing what they had to say,knowing that these guys are pretty intelligent,and they saw the mannerism in which the referee made the first down call,followed by a brief confusion among the refs,and then the authentication of the first down,by the second ref,as if to confirm,and get behind the first refs blunder,made it obvious,they blew it.Tony Grossi called it horrendous.Donovan said the Browns will undoubtedly get an apology from the League Office on Wednesday.That's today.I hope to confirm that ,and will try to get it,here.
       Refs stick up for each other.It's a thin line they're walking,trying to get the calls right,and when they screw up,you better have enough evidence to overturn it,and a red flag available,or you lose.
  I'm all for lasering the firstdown markers,as those pileups are impossible to manually get exact.With a siren,so the refs can't get the op to screw that up.I lost most of BB in the pile-up,but his legs stay in view until he's stopped.or that's what i saw.And it appeared his chest was a good foot or so short,by measuring his height,leaned forward.No way did he extend the ball.So,I think the play should have went to the booth,and a more accurate spot could have been made.But they didn't.Kind makes you wonder,huh?
    The refs have taken alot of heat,getting alot of calls wrong,and keeping refs around way past their age of ability to be as accurate as needed,to put it nicely.So they've added the word"confirm" to their vocabulary,and will confirm that the refs were right as much as possible.They're not perfect,but they're getting a large percentage correct. And I can see/feel the relief they have when they find they have made the right call.So they are uncertain.They would much rather confirm,than admit to error.Which they need to blank out.I'm not saying all refs,but I'd say the majority,if this were muliple choice.

  Where are my Karlis's kick pics?We shoulda been in the Super Bowl.

Go Browns!!!

I agree it absolutely should have been booth reviewed, I mean, that's the whole point in having, right?  

It just seems to me, by what I can deduce from the tv shot, is that the perspective of the camera played a role in the ball looking to be short of the marker..

   I get the parallex view thing.Makes sense.Why they have been showing us a different view,since I've been watching,is what bugs me.

   Now to the nitty-gritty.Please hear me out.

  Your picture is very supportive of my "conspiracy theory".

  I hope someone still has the game recorded,so they can corroborate this point with me.

    Please go to the first and ten of the series.Where is the ball spotted?By my calculation,parallex view included,it's the 23 and 1/2.So they need to get to the 13 and1/2 for the first down.
    Also,you can see the chains at the top of the screen.The center holds the ball right on the blue line,half-way between the 23 and 24..The yellow line is now clearly at the 13 and 1/2.We can "confirm" that on the screen.I know those lines aren't official,but they're ten yards apart,and they are pretty darn accurate(blue to yellow).

    Now,use that parallex magic,with your top pic,and where is the ball?8 inches past the 14?
   If one yd.=36in.,then 1/2 =18in.,then the ball is ten inches short!

     Yet somehow,that's a first down.Makes me want to puke.Think the officials aren't just doing what they want?Somehow,that back stick was moved back.The chain looks to be very straight,by the top pic.
    My hunch is they help when they can,but can't be too obvious.Mostly.

   Thank goodness Ward didn't get away with the TD that ensued.They easily could have given it to him,as I thought he had control when he hit the out of bounds for the catch.Maybe the refs are just "stooges".Wright and McDonald both blew very makeable pics around that.
    But none of that should have taken place.DA should have had his first bomb TD of the season to Robo,thus squaring the game at 14s.I hope Robo is working on getting his feet down inbounds.He stalled a drive by simply not getting one foot down.DA does get jipped by his recievers,way too much.Stuckey stalled the one earlier.I'm gonna delete this garbage.I see other recievers make those catches commonly.

Go Browns!!!