By Lynn Saternow
Herald Sports Editor
TWELVE STRAIGHT and counting. It’s shameful that the Steelers have beaten the Browns a dozen straight times. What happened to the so-called “parity” in the NFL.
It’s a sad commentary that there are two things certain when every fall arrives: The leaves will change colors and the Steelers will beat the Browns.
One of those is beautiful, the other not so beautiful. (Unless you’re a Steelers fan of course.)
It has gotten so bad that Steelers fans don’t even gloat over the victories. That is really sad. They feel sorry for Browns fans. That’s more painful than the gloating. Then again, Browns fans feel sorry for Browns fans.
In last Sunday’s win, the Steelers weren’t really very impressive. They made a lot of mistakes. Of course maybe they were playing down to the level of the Browns.
Cleveland made Ben Roethlisberger look like Peyton Manning, allowing No. 7 to complete passes that even I could have completed. How can wide receivers possibly be so open with nobody covering them?
I’ll tell you how. Your defensive backs are out at 2 o’clock in the morning getting in auto accidents. That’s what happened to Eric Wright and he might not play this week.
Meanwhile, the Browns receivers are still dropping passes that even I could catch. Do these guys really get paid?
The hiring of Eric Mangini as head coach appears to be just another big mistake by the management of the Browns. How can he possibly think that Derek Anderson is better at quarterback than Brady Quinn who has never been really given a chance to play and improve.
Peyton Manning wasn’t great early on. Terry Bradshaw had trouble making the lineup. And look at the struggles of rookie Jets QB Mark Sanchez, who went from the toast of New York to burnt toast. You need to give quarterbacks time to develop.
Even “Rolling Stone” magazine slammed Mangini. How about that tune?
Cleveland fans are among the most loyal in the league, but their patience is wearing thin. It won’t get any better this week when they are thrashed by Green Bay, 30-9.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh will get a true test this week when they host Minnesota and Brett Favre.
However, it’s the running game that will decide this one. The Vikings have Adrian Peterson while Pittsburgh has no run game. Look for the Vikings to come out on top, 20-17.
Last week my picks were as pathetic as the Browns, going 4-10 for a season mark of 47-43. Following are the rest of this week’s predictions (betting line in parentheses just for fun):
New England (-14) over Tennessee
Dallas (-3) over Atlanta
Miami (plus 7) over New Orleans
NY Giants (-7) over Arizona
Chicago (plus 21/2) over Cincy
Kansas City (plus 4) over San Diego
Indy (-131/2) over St. Louis
Houston (-3) over San Fran
Oakland (plus 7) over NY Jets
Carolina (no line) over Buffalo
Philly (-7) over Washington
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