Bad: Staley was listed as questionable.
--Good: Staley's ailment was merely an infected
toe-nail. For a player who once played a portion of a
season with a double hernia, having a toe-nail removed
is about as troublesome as a mosquito bite to an
elephant. The only thing "questionable" was the fact
that the toe-nail issue was even considered an issue.
Good: After a long return by Ricardo Colclough, Staley
ran 25 yards for a touchdown.
--Bad: On the Steelers next possession, Roethlisberger
threw a pass to the normally sure-handed Randle El,
who allowed it to slip through his fingers. The ball
was tipped into the arms of the Browns defensive back,
who returned the interception for a touchdown.
Bad: Troy Polamalu was called for a personal foul for
hitting a sliding Jeff Garcia. I may be biased, but
it looked as though Garcia slid into Polamalu's feet,
and Troy fell on top of Garcia. (Note: remember this
play, because Chris Hope will.)
--Good: On the NEXT play, Jeff Garcia ran again.
This time, as Garcia slid to a stop, Troy made sure
that the referees saw that he had no intent of drawing
another personal foul penalty: Troy turned completely
away from Garcia and raised his arms above his head.
Good: Ross showed some life on the right side of the
line, and did not take any flack from a Brown defender
who pushed him.
--Bad: Ross threw a punch at the Browns defender,
which negated a beautiful reception by Randle El for a
first down. The Steelers were forced to punt.
Good: Roethlisberger showed once again that he is a
dynamic player. While being rushed, Ben tried to
throw a screen pass. The defender raised his arms and
was in perfect position to defend the pass, but Ben
simply tossed the ball underhand to Verron Haynes, who
had 15 yards of open field in front of him.
--Bad: Haynes slipped on the grass and fell down for
a negative play.
Good: Troy Polamalu was able to cover Cleveland's
best wide receiver. When a safety (i.e. Polamalu) can
cover a team's best wide receiver, that is something
special.
--Bad: Uh, um...Troy's hair.
Good: Staley left the game with 117 yards.
--Bad: Staley left the game. I won't say the word
injury...but I am thinking it.
Good: On third and ten, Ben ran the ball for what
appears to be the first down at the Cleveland 35 yard
line.
--Bad: Ben slid a foot too soon.
Bad: On Cleveland's second play after the change of
possession, Chad Scott got burned on a fifty-yard pass
play.
--Good: Ricardo Colclough looks as though he might
soon be ready to replace Chad Scott.
Good: Garcia tried to run out of bounds, and Chris
Hope helped him...by rocketing his shoulder pads
through the scrambling quarterback. Sure, Hope could
have been sportsman-like and allowed Garcia to simply
step out of bounds, but Garcia's foot was technically
still in bounds. And since the referees were calling
the game "by the books" (as displayed in the
aforementioned personal foul call against Polamalu),
then Hope made a "by the books" play.
--Bad: Three plays later, Hope was called for
striking the face-mask of a Cleveland player....on
third down...after a Cleveland incomplete pass.
Good: The Steelers dominated the game. They
out-gained the Browns 401 yards to 296, with 109 of
Cleveland's passing yards coming against Pittsburgh's
prevent defense. In other words, the 34-23 score was
not even that close. In fact, aside from the
interception return for a touchdown and the André
Davis fifty-yard reception (to set up a another short
touchdown), the Browns could only muster enough
offense to score three field goals.
--Bad: The Steelers allowed Cleveland to hang
around...instead of putting them away after Pittsburgh
jumped out to a twenty-one point lead.
Good: The Steelers won a game against an old rival.
--Bad: I have to wait an entire week to watch another
installment of highlight-caliber plays made by
Polamalu, Hope, and Roethlisberger.