Week One - Steelers 34, Browns 7

Mike Tomlin did something that no other Steelers coach has done - he won his first game in Cleveland. Of course, those other coaches presumably played against real Cleveland teams rather than the pseudo-professional squad that took the field on Sunday. Here's a question for you - if you're a Browns fan, is it worse to follow this team than it was to deal with Art Modell taking your franchise to Baltimore and then watching the Ravens win a Super Bowl? The incompetence was evident throughout the game, but the lowlight for Cleveland was clearly the muffed punt snap by punter Paul Ernster, who was signed Saturday because starter Dave Zastudil decided to tell coach Romeo Crennel over the weekend that he felt like he might hurt the team if he played with an injury. Maybe Crennel should have flipped a coin to decide who his punter should have been. Wouldn't be a new strategy for him. Anyways, back to the travails of Ernster, who couldn't field a perfect snap and then finally retrieved the ball and kicked one off the side of his foot while on the run. If that wasn't bad enough, the Browns were whistled for FOUR penalties on the play. Just a few plays later, Ben Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward for a beautiful TD pass and the rout was on. Anyways, here's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of this week's game.

The Good
The defense played great for Dick LeBeau on his 70th birthday. The pressure on the quarterback looked much better than last year, especially from the linebackers. Ike Taylor had a sack and an interception in his first step toward recovering his 2005 form. Roethlisberger was efficient, and threw four TDs and no picks. Even though his percentage wasn't great, you can chalk up a lot of that to dropped passes. And the Steelers even threw to the tight ends, with Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth catching touchdowns!

The Bad
The aforementioned dropped passes would have come back to haunt the Steelers against probably 30 other NFL teams. Luckily this was Cleveland. The offensive line wasn't exactly dominant, especially in the first half before the Browns basically gave up. Allen Rossum looked like he was intent on proving Tomlin right for trading for him a week ago, but in his haste to field and return every punt that went his way, he left me with a feeling that a similar attitude this week could lead to one of those fumbled punts that troubled the Steelers throughout 2006 and have already made Andy Reid want to try some of his sons' drugs in 2007. And the wasted field position in the first half makes me nervous for the future. And Cedric Wilson wasn't very involved in the offense, so I'm sure we'll hear from "Plaxico Without the Height" pretty soon.

The Ugly
The Browns. Plain and simple. Its hard to tell how good this Steelers team is because Cleveland played one of the worst games I've ever seen an "NFL" team play. The Steelers should have been up 35-0 at the half, but despite the wasted opportunities, the game was still never in doubt.

Up next: Buffalo (0-1)

Catching Up on the News

Before we get to the latest from Steeler Nation, we'd like to extend our apologies for the lack of updates in June. No excuses, though. July marks the start of training camp, so we're going to ramp up our coverage of the Black and Gold as they make the trek to Latrobe. Soon, we'll be releasing a weekly schedule of updates and what you can expect from IWIWAR once the 2007 regular season begins.

LeCharles Bentley wants to make a comeback from his patella injury turned staph infection, and he even thinks he'll be back for the season opener against the Steelers. LeCharles, have you met Casey Hampton? Maybe you should consider waiting until week two.

Scroll down on this link until the arrests for Copley Township. Not only did the Pittsburgh guy get arrested for fighting a Cleveland fan (in Ohio, too!) at a bar, but his lady friend got arrested for pulling another female out of the car and fighting her. Can't wait for that season opener!

Its good to see that (Face Me) Ike Taylor didn't charge Anthony Madison any rent for staying in his apartment. And its also great to see Ike mocking someone for dropping passes, giving his penchant for struggling to make easy interceptions the past two years.

Catching Up on the News

A quick recap of the last few days in Steeler Nation:

Kevan Barlow officially signed his contract. Or should I call him KEY-van. (Post-Gazette)

The Steelers released linebacker Richard Seigler yesterday. Apparently he played in the final two games last season. However, I don't think his on-field actions had anything to do with his release. Maybe this was the reason? (Post-Gazette)

Obsessed with Ike Taylor like David is? Then buy his 1986 Monte Carlo! (Mondesi's House)

Rocky Bleier's high school is naming its football field after him.

The Steelers are fighting Don Barden's Majestic Star casino plans for the North Side. While I don't think they'll get anywhere with their arguments, it is a bit worrisome to see that Barden's casinos lost $4.6 million in the first quarter of 2007. That's the biggest loss for a casino company since Danny Ocean robbed Terry Benedict.

Even Canadian mobsters who shoot men in the testicles are Steeler fans. Actually, if this guy wanted to hide out, he should've just come to the Steel City. A 40-something Italian guy wearing a Steelers sweatshirt? He could've hidden out for years!

Draft Day Blues

Every year I get so excited for the draft. I read everything I can get my hands on, stalk Mel Kiper, obsess over team needs and make guesses about every pick. During and after the draft I am the most optimistic Steelers’ fan in the world. In my mind Omar Jacobs was just like Vince Young except he played at a smaller school and Fred Gibson was the answer to Plaxico leaving. The draft is such a day of optimism (assuming you aren’t a Browns fan, look at from 1999 on, just brutal) as well as the only real football news between the Super Bowl and the opening of mini-camps. I usually look at the Friday before the draft like Christmas Eve. Just get it over with and get to the next day so I can open my presents!

But this year has been different. I have had trouble getting too excited about it. I still read every mock draft that I can get my hands on and scrutinize every player Todd McShay says the Steelers might take, but I haven’t been nearly as obsessive about it. Maybe I’m too busy at work, but I think it has more to do with the weakness of the draft this year. At the Steelers' pick there is nobody I am really excited about. Last year we were predicted to draft a receiver from my favorite college team which was exciting and when we actually moved up to draft Santonio I was thrilled. It is so much fun to follow a player from his freshman year through the college years and into the league. Well, at least until he starts dropping punts and fumbling the ball every time… No, no. I’m staying positive.

I seriously doubt Pittsburgh is going to be calling Teddy Ginn or any other Buckeye on the first day. It looks like its cornerback, an O/D lineman or a hybrid player who can play outside linebacker until we make the switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3 where the player will be an end. I trust Kevin Colbert and staff greatly. I imagine Tomlin will step aside his first year and trust his more experienced front office. I am confident that the Steelers will produce a solid draft and I hope we will get value out of the middle rounds. It's just that when you look back to 1997 and every year except maybe Kendall Simmons year I was so excited about our first round pick:

2006 Santonio Holmes WR Ohio State
2005 Heath Miller TE Virginia
2004 Ben Roethlisberger QB Miami (OH)
2003 Troy Polomalu S USC
2002 Kendall Simmons OL Auburn
2001 Casey Hampton DT Texas
2000 Plaxico Burress WR Michigan St.
1999 Troy Edwards WR LA Tech
1998 Alan Faneca G LSU
1997 Chad Scott DB Maryland

Some worked and some didn’t but I thought they all were going to be superstars. I really don’t feel that way this year but I hope I’m wrong.

In the end I hope with the number 15 pick in the 2007 Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select Darrelle Revis from Pittsburgh, just for Mario. It is fun to get watch a player develop from college and the Steelers can use the cornerback help. If you can grab one of the two best cornerbacks in the draft at a position of need you have to do it, right?

Sorry Ike (possibly my favorite web site ever)!