Steelers-Browns Review

Well, again, it was the Browns. I can't get too excited about the fact that the offense scored 28 points because I have to consider the defense.

The good news is that the 28 points that the Steelers scored against Cleveland were earned. It wasn't like the Tampa game, where Charlie Batch had two touchdowns on balls that should have been intercepted and Brett Keisel returned an interception for a touchdown that took approximately six minutes to consummate, so one can only assume that the offensive players went to the sideline and got a head start on their hydration routine instead of chasing the play. It's possible that the Steelers poured a little salt on the wounds by going for the touchdown on their last drive. But, hey, I will take the points and the correct prediction.

Still, Roethlisberger looked pretty rusty and it wasn't until the second half that he started to shake some of that rust off. Mike Wallace had this to say after the game: "I really didn't want [Roethlisberger] to be flawless coming back. Then, we wouldn't really have anything to work on ... I think it's going to make for a better team because, come Wednesday, we go back to practice and we're going to work even harder."

Well, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Schaffer and Mr. Rooney, I will have to respectfully disagree. If Roethlisberger came out and didn't show any rust and was freakin' perfect, then you'd still have something to work on. You'd have to work on maintaining a level of perfection, which is harder than just working on getting better, which is kind of a nebulous goal.

Here's the thing: I need to approach the rest of the season with guarded optimism. I think that the defense looks great. Outstanding. Perhaps even at 2008 levels. I think that the offense is consistently improving -- not just the addition of Roethlisberger, but the offensive line has vastly improved, the receivers haven't missed a beat without Santonio Holmes, and I'm almost sold on Mendenhall if he'd stop spinning so much -- and that they'll continue to improve. That means that, with Vulva and Jeff Reed, this could be a complete team. Sure, Antonio Brown is still dead to me, but he's good enough.

If you look around the league, everyone else has issues. There's no complete team out there. The Cowboys are in disarray, the Colts don't seem to want to run the ball and they've had issues in their division, the Patriots have injuries piling up and no one in their right mind trusts the defense, the Packers don't have a running game or a clutch defense, the Vikings have Brett Favre, the Eagles still don't know who their quarterback is, the hated Ravens suddenly look vulnerable on defense, the Chargers are a mess, and no one knows what to make of the Jets or their quarterback. If the Steelers can fix their offense and hold it together on defense, then they can make a serious run.

That's if they hold it together on defense. They had an early bye week this year and a lot of the guys are really, really old. If they can hold it together, I think they can go a long way, because I think the offense will get together -- and in a hurry.

Before I sign off, I want to weigh in on the Harrison Fine.

When I first heard that he got fined, was excused from practice, and was thinking about retirement, I thought that he had a torn labrum and just needed to stop complaining. When I eventually read the coverage on the fine, I realized that the fine was levied on his hit on Massaquoi, not his hit on Cribbs.

The Cribbs hit was dirty. I was surprised that there wasn't a penalty. By the letter of the NFL Law, you're not supposed to lead with your helmet. Harrison was leading with his helmet all the way on that hit. Best case scenario, he knocks out Cribbs. Worst case scenario, he drives his helmet into Cribbs' back. If Harrison had gotten fined for that hit, I would have accepted it.

The hit on Massaquoi was not dirty. Harrison complained that he can no longer play football because hits like the one he laid on Massaquoi were what he's been taught to do since he was ten years old. Well, obviously. For the same reason, receivers like Massaquoi have been taught to protect themselves since they were ten. Coaches will tell them, "If you catch a short pass over of the middle or in the flat be careful. That's where the linebackers are. They're big, they're strong, they're scary, and they will murder you if they think the refs will allow it."

For that reason, Massaquoi should have been ready. He should have expected a hit. For all the announcers praise Hines Ward for being a tough guy and a warrior, have you ever seen him take a hit where you would have considered him to be defenseless? Of course not. He listened to his coaches. Hines always defends himself -- or moves out of the way of an on-rushing defender that is leading with his helmet -- if he thinks there is going to be serious contact.

The helmet-to-helmet rules were set up to enforce player safety. What the players don't realize is that they're trying to defend the hitter as much as they're trying to defend the hittee. Harrison could've knocked himself out with that hit, but he's fortunate he did it. He was able to brace himself.

What the NFL needs to do is start enforcing leading with the helmet against players who attack running backs and quarterbacks that aren't high-profile. What they need to do is penalize and fine players that lead with their helmet in a deliberate attempt to harm another player -- which Harrison did against Cribbs, but not Massaquoi. They need to protect all players, not just short-armed receivers in the deep seam.

Any player that leaves himself defenseless obviously doesn't understand the game of football. But, any player that uses his helmet as a weapon and deliberately tries to hurt another player with it does not understand the game and has no regard for his own safety. That is what the NFL needs to crack down on.