Nation, I tell ya, the hits just keep on coming don’t they?

Not bad enough that we lose last week’s game.

Not bad enough that it was against the Cowboys.

Not even bad enough that it dropped us to 4-5.

On top of all that, we have to take another hit?

Really?

Cam Heyward is out for the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

Ouch.

I think I said this at the beginning of the season, but I’ll say it again. Pick a guy on offense you can’t lose and its Ben.

Pick a guy on defense, its Cam Heyward.

It is a amazing to me that he played the better part of that Cowboys game with this injury. It’s really hard to overstate how much this loss hurts. Again, I’ve said this before, but the idea of “Next Man Up” only works so far. At some point, the next man up simple isn’t going to be as good as the guy he’s replacing.

It does open up the door for guys to get more playing time, and maybe to show they deserve it.

Thank heavens it’s Cleveland this week.

Let’s get to it!

Who Steps Up?

There is a list of guys who need to answer this call: Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave, Daniel McCullers, L.T. Walton and Ricardo Mathews.

That is your defensive line group for the remainder of the year. They will need to perform above and beyond to make up for the loss of Cam Heyward.

Hargrave and Mathews are likely to get a lot more playing time, and Tuitt is likely to see a lot more double teams.

Can Stephon figure out how to beat those double teams and still make plays?

Can Daniel McCullers find his inner angry child and play with some nastiness?

Can they figure out how to maintain lane integrity and play with discipline?

Hargrave, even though he’s played sparingly, is still likely to hit a rookie wall sometime soon.

Can he bounce back from it?

This group is going to be under heavy scrutiny.

But it’s not just the line that needs to step up.

Making up for Cam is going to be something the entire defense as a whole needs to help with. Can James Harrison continue to be ageless and bring Deebo-like intensity to an outside pass rush that has been, well, non-existent for the most part?

Can Anthony Chickillo continue to improve and take advantage of the opportunity he’s been given?

Bud Dupree may return to the fold this week, and while it’s not fair to expect much from a guy who hasn’t even practiced in 8+ weeks, the Steelers need him to bring the Thunder.

And the secondary needs to continue to develop. Artie Burns, Sean Davis, Ross Cockrell, William Gay, Robert Golden, Mike Mitchell – all of them need to continue the improve on what has been an up and down season so far.

Let’s not forget Ryan Shazier, Lawrence Timmons and Vince Williams. Shazier can be a difference maker, and if we can get big bodies in there (like Big Dan) to eat up some blockers, it can free up Shazier to burst through the line and make some splash plays.

The Defense needs to step up as a unit. The question is, will they?

Todd Haley

Okay all you Haley-haters out there, get on board with me on this one: I am, to a certain degree, calling Todd Haley out. This is a bad team we are playing this week. This is a team our offense, even with the injuries to Sammie Coates and Markus Wheaton, should dominate. Ladarius Green will be a bit more adapted, and they need to make use of his special talents.

Stretch the field. Go deep early, and go deep often. Set this Browns defense on it’s heals and take the pressure off of our defense.

In other words – be aggressive!

We have had a tendency to be conservative on the road. Bell left (or right), Bell middle, short throw – punt.

Throw that out the window please.

Throw on first down. Hell, throw on second down.

Everyone is expecting you to feed Bell, and you can – later in the game.

Come out and go after them. Go for the freakin’ throat – play like the season depends on it, because frankly it does.

And one more word of advice.

Don’t get f’ing cute.

Please limit the “trickeration”. Just be aggressive and put this team down, and keep them there. If you can score 45, try and score 50. If you hit 50, go for 60.

I don’t care. Run up the damn score.

Make the Browns one dimensional on offense. It will help the outside rushers, it will help the inside rushers, it will help the defense as a whole.

And don’t let up – ever!

Ben

I think we need to watch Ben every game from here on out.

Why?

Because he has stepped up. He told the team to “follow” him.

Well, he did his job last week (400+ yards, 3 TDs) and it wasn’t good enough.

So how does he react to that? Does he come up with an even better game?

That’s what we need to see. Ben generally wins in Ohio, and he’s generally a beast in Cleveland.

This game should be a statement for Ben. Put a bad team in front of me, and I’m going to eviscerate them. Show off that arm, show off that accuracy, show off the weapons at his disposal.

You want the team to follow you – lead them. Continue what you did last week, and put this team on your back and carry it across the finish line.

I believe Ben can do that – and we might need him to.

AB vs. Joe Haden

This is always pointed out whenever the Steelers and Browns play. Joe Haden vs. Antonio Brown.

Blah, blah, blah.

C’mon – be honest.

AB has mostly had his way with Joe Haden. The “best on best” matchup usually isn’t so much a matchup as it is AB doing what he wants to do. I expect AB to have his best game of the season so far, and hopefully he will.

Still, I think we need to keep an eye on this because you know, it’s just possible that Hue Jackson has watched what other teams have been doing, and if they decide to triple-team AB, then it’s going to be up to Eli Rogers, Cobi Hamilton and maybe Sammie Coates (if his fingers allow) to pick up the slack.

Oh, and let’s not forget Ladarius Green. Get that Ferrari out of the garage!

Le’Veon Bell

Le’Veon Bell has had a decent season so far, but I think it’s fair to say that he hasn’t had a really “WOW” game to this point. Maybe K.C., where he had 144 yards rushing.

Since then, however, he hasn’t gotten that close to the century mark. 66, 53, 81, 32, and 57 yards. Take out the K.C. game and he is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry.

That’s a bit underwhelming.

Of course, defenses have been keyed up to stopping the Steelers running attack, and frankly, you can’t blame them. The recipe has been triple team AB, and stack the box against the run.

And it’s worked.

If the Browns try and follow that same recipe, then we can’t get bogged down with trying to get Le’Veon “back on track”. Throw the ball, do what we did against Dallas and hit him out of the backfield. Yes, get the ball in his hands, but if the run lanes are clogged, you can open them back up by spreading them out and making them fear the pass.

The truth is, you can “ring the Bell” without handing it off. Bell is crucial to the success of the offense, but it doesn’t have to be just as a runner.

Terrelle Pryor

The Browns basically have one play maker. He’s an ex-quarterback, and he’s burned us before when he still played that position for the Raiders. 92 yards is still the record for a rushing TD by a QB.

The bottom line is that Pryor is the Browns offense for the most part. He’s still learning as a receiver, but he has done a pretty good job of transitioning to the position. I saw an article earlier today that essentially said Pryor can make his case, or a statement, about deserving an extension by putting up a good game against the Steelers.

I can’t argue with that.

The Steelers can’t let it happen.

Conclusion

I know, I know. Bad team means we play bad. It’s really time to put that talking point to bed, and I hope the Steelers do it. The Browns, are, well, not good. They are bad. If we build up a nice lead in this game, we should be able to make them quit.

What we cannot do is let them linger. We cannot give them hopes that they can win, because that will keep them involved in the game. Take them out of it early by putting our foot on their figurative throat.

Score.

Score early, score often.

End the game before half-time.

Make them quit.

We should be able to do that, and we need to do that, not just because it will crush the Browns will to compete, but because we need to get that taste into our mouths, and get rid of the nasty, disgusting, bitter, awful taste of defeat.

This is the week that starts are second season. Let’s see how they rise to the occasion. As I mentioned in an article earlier in the week, the Steelers have the best “path to the post season” of any team in the AFC North. They just need to grab it, and that starts by crushing the Browns.

Until next time Nation!