Dawg pounding

By Mike Batista
Steelahs.com anchorman
September 10, 2007

The Steelers are back! They opened their 75th anniversary season Sunday with a 34-7 rout of the Browns in Cleveland. Ben Roethlisberger looked like his old self, throwing for four touchdowns and no interceptions. Willie Parker didn’t disappoint, running for 109 yards on 27 carries, just over four yards a carry.

They made 'em whimper in the Dawg Pound.

Might as well start printing those playoff tickets, because if you look at where the Steelers were at this point last season ...

Wait a minute.

The Steelers won their opener last season, too. They beat the Dolphins 28-17. Bill Cowher kissed Joey Porter when the Steelers had the game in hand, and it looked like all would be A-OK in Steelerland.

Then look what happened.

Not to take away from what the Steelers accomplished Sunday. This was a legitimate, Grade A, kid-tested, mother-approved ass kicking. James Harrison did a lot of that kicking. He filled Joey Porter’s shoes admirably at right outside linebacker, leading the Steelers with seven tackles and adding a sack. But Harrison always does well in Cleveland, whether he’s tackling Browns players or drunken Browns fans.

Old tormenter Jamal Lewis was held to 35 yards on 11 carries by a run defense that was as stout as ever. Speaking of the defense, is it me or does defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau look younger? Maybe Mike Tomlin’s youth is rubbing off on his staff.

The Steelers also quieted some of their draft critics, with their two most puzzling picks coming up big. Some wondered why they would trade up to get a punter in the fourth round. Daniel Sepulveda provided an answer, for a week anyway. He pinned the Browns at their own 2-, 13-, 9- and 5-yard lines.

Even though they have perfectly good tight ends in Heath Miller and Jerame Tuman, the Steelers drafted Matt Spaeth in the third round in April. Well, I guess Sunday’s game proved you can never have too many tight ends. Spaeth caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger early in the third quarter to give the Steelers a 24-0 lead and pretty much put the game away. Big Ben didn’t forget about Miller, though. Miller caught four passes for 35 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown to make it 31-7 late in the third.

You have to feel better about this season’s opening win than last season’s. The Steelers trailed in the fourth quarter at home against a Dolphins team that didn’t turn out to be all that good. So this year’s 1-0 record is stronger than last year’s.

But this is about as easy as it gets on the Steelers’ schedule. Enjoy the cupcakes (or in this case Brownies) now.

Some Steelers pundits (I love the word “pundit.” I wish I could say it every day.) have said that the Steelers need to take advantage of their easy September schedule, because the opponents get tougher after that. I don’t know who would that September’s schedule will be easy. I heard some dumbass from New York said it, some weirdo whose last name is also the name of a former Cuban dictator.

Uh, anyway, I’m telling you now that the Steelers’ September schedule isn’t as easy as it looks. They host the Bills next week. I think the Bills are going to surprise some teams this season. The Broncos needed a last-second field goal to beat them Sunday, and the Bills probably have the best special teams in the NFL. Sepulveda aside, the Steelers have almost always been vulnerable on special teams. Allen Rossum was a total dud on returns Sunday, by the way.

In Week 3, the Steelers host the 49ers, who were already on the upswing before spending $40 million on upgrades in free agency. They’re my pick to overtake Seattle and win the NFC West. Then in Week 4, the Steelers travel to Arizona. You know damn well that Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm are going to want to show the Rooneys that they made the wrong choice by not hiring one of them as the Steelers’ head coach. Alan Faneca’s probably going to miss the Saturday walkthrough that week so he can look at houses in Arizona. The Cardinals might be the frontrunners for the services of the disgruntled lineman next season. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he changes jerseys in mid-game.

But regardless of Whisenhunt’s motivation to shove some cactus up the Steelers’ ass, the Cardinals are also an improved team that won’t be easy to beat.

The Steelers need to come out of September with at least a 3-1 record, and that’s not going to happen if their offensive line doesn’t improve. The Browns sacked Roethlisberger only once, but the line didn’t exactly protect him. He seemed to be clutching his ribs quite a bit during the game. Roethlisberger has a knack for appearing more hurt than he really is, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

The line’s a work in progress, and the Steelers aren’t always going to enjoy five turnovers from the opposition. I could be really negative and Oliver Stone-like here and say the Browns will commit a lot of turnovers this year so they can lose on purpose, fire Romeo Crennel and hire Bill Cowher next year.

But I think the Browns were actually trying to win yesterday. They had a great draft and wanted to take the first step toward rebuilding. And what better way to do that than to spoil Tomlin’s debut as Steelers coach? That made me a little nervous about this game (along with the fact that I work with two Browns fans, and bragging rights were at stake).

Overall, the Steelers were impressive in delaying construction on the Browns’ rebuilding project. Next week, it will get a little tougher.