The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Week Six

This is my recap of the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) vs. Cleveland Browns (1-5) game on October 17, 2010.

The Good:

1. The return of Big Ben. Wow, our offense sure does look different with a legitimate franchise quarterback under center. With Ben in there, the other team's defense has to respect the pass. His arm makes use of Wallace's speed. Heath Miller becomes a weapon again. Ben was a bit rusty at first, but it didn't take him long to knock it off. Three TD passes.....this is going to be a great rest of the season.

2. The balanced play calling by Bruce Arians. Last year Ben Roethlisberger set the Steelers' record for single season passing yards. But we missed the playoffs going 9-7 and finishing third in the AFC North. The Steelers promised a return of a strong run game this season and yesterday was the first true test. We all knew it was going to be a heavy dose of Mendenhall in games 1-4 because of Ben's suspension. But yesterday he ran the ball over 25 times, sticking with it. Maybe Arians has finally learned that run plays are good calls too.

3. Tenacious D. James Harrison is now "The Hitman". He took out Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaqiou with vicious hits. Colt McCoy was sacked five times and threw two interceptions (with one TD in garbage time). A running back hasn't gained even 50 yards against this defense yet this year. There were doubts after last season's late-game breakdowns. This year, the defense is showing that it's not too old, too slow, or too soft.

4. No sacks. Last year in Cleveland, Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times. The Browns upgraded their defense with Chris Gocong, Scott Fujita, Sheldon Brown, TJ Ward, and Joe Haden. But none of them could sack Roethlisberger. The line picked up blitzes and blocked their assignments. Also, Big Ben threw the ball away a few times, something he hasn't done much of the last few years....leading to many of his sacks.

The bad:

1. Big hits. James Harrison knocked out Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaqiou with vicious hits. Now depending on your loyalties and your view of how the game should be played, they were either hard, good hits or they were dirty and just plain wrong. Well, stuff happens. Guys get hurt. It's football, not curling. These players know the dangers of playing, if they don't want to take the chance of getting hurt, then they need to find a new job.

The ugly:

1. Prevent defense. Why the hell are we going to a prevent defense? I hate the prevent defense because all it does is prevent you from winning the game. The defense should stick to what has worked all game. When you fall back into a prevent defense you don't allow the 40+ yard plays, but you allow the 15-25 yard plays that allow the other team to get into scoring range. The goal should always be three-and out.