Cleveland Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 Second Half Schedule Comparison

October 26, 2008 By 12 Comments

browns logoAfter today’s 23-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cleveland Browns sit at 3-4 after week 8. Coming into the season, a lot was made about how difficult the Browns schedule is for 2008. Certainly, the claims were warranted. Each of the AFC North teams drew a tough slate this season, having to play the AFC South and NFC East, perhaps the toughest divisions in each conference.

At 3-4, the Browns currently sit two full games and a tie-breaker behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as a game and a tie-breaker behind the Baltimore Ravens. But is it possible that the Browns are actually in good position to make a run at the AFC North crown? Let’s compare the remaining schedules of the Browns and the Steelers. (Sorry Ravens, I know that you spanked the Browns at home earlier this year, but Joe Flacco is your quarterback and Cam Cameron is your offensive coordinator. I’m an IU fan and have been a Dolphins fan my whole life as well — Cam Cameron ruined both football teams. Screw him. Anyway, I refuse to believe that Baltimore will still be standing once December rolls around.)

The Cleveland Browns remaining schedule for 2008 (with opponents current records as of 10/26):

Nov. 2nd v Baltimore (4-3)
Nov. 6th v Denver (4-3)
Nov. 17th at Buffalo (5-2)
Nov. 23rd v Houston (3-4)
Nov. 30th v Indianapolis (3-3)
Dec. 7 at Tennessee (6-0)
Dec. 15 at Philadelphia (4-3)
Dec. 21 v Cincinnati (0-8)
Dec. 28 at Pittsburgh (5-2)

I am coming out right now and predicting consecutive victories for the Browns over Baltimore and Denver at home. Derek Anderson is playing much more mistake-free football than he was when the Browns played at Baltimore, and it was his poorly thrown interceptions that swung all of the momentum towards Baltimore in that game. And Denver has slowed down after their hot start, and two of their wins came courtesy of the cleveland browns referees more than their own actual play. This puts the Browns at 5-4.

The Monday nighter against Buffalo will be tough. The Bills are a solid team and play well at home. It’s a game the Browns could go in and steal, but probably not likely. Then Houston and Indianapolis come to Cleveland. Both teams have been wildly inconsistent this year, like the Browns, but possess the potential to beat the Browns if Cleveland is not on top of its game — Indy moreso than Houston because of Peyton Manning. If the Browns can split these home games, after a loss at Buffalo, the Browns will sit at 6-6.

Then come two very tough road games: at Tennessee and at Philadelphia. On paper, both look like losses, right? Well, on paper, the Giants, Redskins, and Jaguars games all looked like losses too. Yet, the Browns went 2-1 and very easily could have won the Redskins game as well. (Oh yeah, except that Kellen Winslow played in that game.) I don’t know which one of these games the Browns will take, but I bet they win one of them. If so, they will be 7-7 heading back home to play Cincinnati. I’m sure the Bengals will beat someone this year, but I don’t think it will be a road game. That makes the Browns 8-7 going into the final week at Pittsburgh, where a win gives them my preseason prediction of 9-7 and likely locks up a playoff spot regardless of if they win the AFC North division or not. There is much more parity in the AFC this year as opposed to last year, where even 10-6 did not qualify for the playoffs.

So, looking at the Browns schedule reasonably, they could easily be 8-7 heading into the Pittsburgh game. If they can steal a win at Buffalo, or sweep the Houston-Indy homestand, 9-6 is not outside the realm of possibility.

Before we move forward with a look at the potential meaning of the Pittsburgh game, let’s analyze the Steelers schedule and see where they might be standing on December 28th.

Nov 3rd at Washington (6-2)
Nov 9th v Indianapolis (3-3)
Nov. 16th v San Diego (3-5)
Nov. 20th v Cincinnati (0-7)
Nov. 30th at New England (5-2)
Dec. 7th v Dallas (5-3)
Dec. 14th at Baltimore (4-3)
Dec. 21st at Tennessee (6-0)
Dec. 28th v Cleveland (3-4)

Now that is a tough schedule. Just look at the road games: Washington, New England, Baltimore, and Tennessee. Each of those is a very losable game for the Steelers, especially if they cannot do a better job of protecting Ben Roethlisberger, and if they continue to get away from the running game like they did today against the Giants. The Steelers are a solid team though, so I say they pull out one of them. Obviously they will beat Cincinnati at home, so that would leave the Steelers at 7-5.

It is hard to pick against the Steelers winning home games, but they play three pretty dangerous teams in Pittsburgh with San Diego, Indianapolis, and Dallas all coming to town. The Chargers may even be the most dangerous, despite their current 3-5 record, as they are now facing must-win games nearly every week and ben roethlisberger pittsburgh steelersobviously have talent. Indianapolis is in the same boat. Dallas got a slight bit of breathing room with their win today, and they should be back on track with Tony Romo playing by the time they come into Pittsburgh, but they are in the NFC East and play for Jerry Jones so every week is must-win.

Would you really be shocked if the Steelers went 1-2 in these three games? Such a performance would put the Steelers at 8-7 heading into the December 28th game with the Browns. Now look, it is probably more than likely that the Steelers will go 2-2 in their slate of tough road games and that they’ll win two out of the three tough home games. That puts them at 9-6 or 10-5 heading into December 28th. But the point is that it is not a complete stretch to say that the Browns and Steelers could enter the last week of the season at 8-7, playing for the AFC North crown. And that is a far cry from where we were before the Giants game when the Browns were wallowing at 1-3 and wondering if there was any hope for 2008.

And besides, who knows — if the Browns decide to deactivate Kellen Winslow for the rest of the season, who is to say they aren’t 11-4 heading into the final week of the season? The Giants proved last year that removing a primadonna, me-first tight end who went to “The U.” can propel an otherwise talented team to a huge winning streak. No one has proven yet that they can beat the Browns without Kellen Winslow, and two of the NFL’s top teams have tried (Giants, Jags). The Cleveland Browns, buoyed by the momentum of their Jacksonville win, may just be ready to get on a roll and be the team we all thought we’d see before the season started. (Of course, Kellen Winslow or not, this has no chance of happening if Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards don’t start clicking on a game-in, game-out basis.)

Don’t get too comfortable at the top Pittsburgh. Between the Browns and Steelers, one team has the momentum right now, and the more favorable schedule — and it’s not Pittsburgh. Will a two game lead and a tie-breaker be enough for the Steelers to maintain their lead in the AFC North? The odds probably say so. But the odds also would have predicted the Browns playing worse without Kellen Winslow, not better. And this is the NFL, where odds seem to mean nothing in an “Any Given Sunday” kind of league.

The Browns may not be anywhere near the favorite for the AFC North after 8 weeks of football, but they certainly aren’t out of the race. And legitimate hope is not something that seemed possible just three weeks ago.

[tags]cleveland browns, pittsburgh steelers, afc north, nfl, football[/tags]

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About Jerod Morris

A proud graduate of Indiana University, Jerod Morris founded Midwest Sports Fans in August of 2008 and has been its Managing Editor every day since. Follow him on Twitter (@JerodMorris) for MSF updates, sports discussion, and a compelling daily assortment of funny and interesting links.
In addition to his work at MSF, Jerod hosts the fast-growing Indiana basketball postgame show The Assembly Call and provides regular music recommendations at IndieChristmas.com. He also helped develop the Synthesis Managed WordPress Hosting platform on which MSF and all of his other sites are run.

  • Steven Polansky

    The Ravens may or may not still be in the race in December but Cam Cameron is doing a really nice job with the Ravens offense. Success or not at Indiana and in Miami, he is one of the best offensive coordinator in the game, as he proved in San Diego. As for ruining Indiana football, he won twice as many Big Ten games in his final season as his predecessor did in his last two seasons combined. I suppose he’s responsible for IU’s 1-4 Big ten record this year too.

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    No one can ever say that Cam Cameron is not a good offensive coordinator. We all know that he is. But do not even try to defend Cam Cameron’s record at IU.

    You want to compare him to predecessor? Fine. How many bowl games did Cam Cameron go to? None. How many did Bill Mallory got to? Six. Bill Mallory is the only coach in IU history who has found semi-consistent success in Bloomington and Cam Cameron came in and pissed all over the tradition that Mallory had been building, including telling Mallory that he did not want him around the program. Are you serious? How arrogant do you have to be to say that when Bill Mallory was willing to swallow his pride and still support the program?

    Oh, and ask yourself why Cam Cameron won a few games in his last few seasons. The answer begins and ends with the presence of Antwaan Randle El. Guess who recruited Randle El. Bill Mallory’s staff. Guess who said he didn’t need a “5’10 quarterback” and wanted to take back the scholarship? Cam Cameron. Yeah…he’s a frieking genius.

    You might want to do some fact checking before you bring any Cam Cameron BS on this board. I am totally biased and totally informed — not a good combination for you.

    However, as I cool down a little bit, I do appreciate your visit and your willingness to contribute. It is just very hard for me to not get worked up talking about Cam Cameron because he absolutely ruined two of my beloved sports teams. He is a fine offensive coordinator, but anyone who lets him be in the charge of the whole show needs to have their head examined.

    Or just let them come and talk to me.

  • Steven Polansky

    FIrst of all, Antwaan Randle El said on multiple occasions that he would NOT have gone to IU if Mallory had still been the coach and, yes, I am well aware that Curtis Randle El played for Mallory.

    Also, your statement that Cameron told Mallory that he didn’t want him involved in the program is patently false. Mallory didn’t want to be involved in the program because he was bitter that he was fired. Cameron ultimately tried again and the two coaches even did a clinic together during Cameron’s third or fourth season. Mallory could have helped Cameron and chose not to do so.

    As for Cameron ruining the program, how does one “ruin” a program when he inherits a program that had a 1-15 Big Ten record during the two seasons prior to his arrival? Indiana football isn’t a continual coaching problem, it’s an instituational and athletic department problem. One IU starts taking football more seriously maybe they’ll have a little more success. With that said, a mid-level bowl game every two-to-three years is about all one can expect at Indiana.

    As for the Dolphins, nobody was winning with that team last year. When Cameron Worrell has to start because you are down to your fifth- and sixth-string safeties, and you lose your starting running back (who was leading the entire NFL in yards from scrimmage), and you lose your starting quarterback, and Zach Thomas, it’s nearly an impossible situation.

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    Stephen,

    I will grant you the points you made in your third paragraph. After a successful decade, IU football had fallen on pretty hard times when Cameron got there. And they do have a serious institutional problem in their athletic department that goes across all sports, as the current status of the basketball team proves.

    So we agree on those points.

    However, in Bill Mallory’s first year (1984), IU went 0-11. Two years later, in 1986, Indiana beat Ohio State in Columbus in a game that Woody Hayes called “the darkest day in Buckeye history.” They played in the All American Bowl that year. In 1987, IU beat both Ohio State and Michigan en route to an appearance in the Peach Bowl. Mallory’s IU teams would later make a return trip to the Peach Bowl, as well as trips to the Independence Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, and the Copper Bowl, all within his first ten years as coach. Bill Mallory was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1986.

    So while Cam Cameron may not have “ruined” IU football, he certainly didn’t do anything to advance the program. Once again, how many bowl games did he go to? If a mid-level bowl game every two to three years is all one can expect at IU (and I agree), then Bill Mallory clearly exceeded expectations during his tenure, and was then run out of town after a tough two-year stretch. Was it time for a change? That’s debatable, and depends on your personal view of the right way to build a football program at a mid-level BCS school. But I won’t begrudge anyone for thinking that 1-15 over two years warrants a change. But, you simply cannot compare Cam Cameron as a head coach to Bill Mallory. The results and the facts kill any argument you might put forth.

    With respect to Cam Cameron being welcoming of Bill Mallory — all I can say is that you are flat out wrong. I don’t know if you know Bill Mallory, or have any history with IU football, but I grew up very close to Indiana football in the 1980s and early 1990s. Bill Mallory is a man of class and integrity, and his teams at Indiana always exuded these characteristics, even during times when they struggled. There is not one IU fan I know, and I know plenty, many of them big boosters and former coaches and players, who have ever said one negative thing about Bill Mallory or, conversely, who are complimentary about Cam Cameron’s tenure. Cam Cameron absolutely wanted to distance himself from Bill Mallory when he got there and that is not a point on which I will cede any ground.

    As to ‘Twaan — let me get this straight. So Antwaan’s brother played for Bill Mallory, and Antwaan is leaning towards committing to IU while Mallory was the coach, but somehow Antwaan would not have played for Mallory if he was still there? You know what, maybe you’re right. Maybe Antwaan would not have wanted to play for Mallory — and Cameron’s system certainly did showcase Randle El’s talents. But my point was the Cam Cameron did not want Antwaan Randle El initially. And were it not for Antwaan’s ridiculous talents, Cam Cameron never would have lasted as long as he did.

    Anyway, this whole argument is kind of pointless. You are defending Cam Cameron by saying that IU football was down already and that no one could win with what the Dolphins had last year. The facts are these, and you can massage them any way you want to try to make Cam Cameron look good: Indiana never made a bowl game while he was the coach, despite the presence of one of the most prolific all-around offensive players in college football history; and he was one overtime win away from being the only coach to “lead” a team to an 0-16 season.

    Apparently, Cam Cameron’s fans and supporters suffer from the same problem he does: not taking responsibility and blaming everyone but himself for the failures of his teams.

  • KVB

    Cam Cameron is a douche Head Coach.
    Good offensive co-ordinator. That reverse to Troy Smith and throw back to Flacco going long was pretty awesome. I’m sure you all saw that play.

  • camfan

    JRod,

    I love a dedicated fan and admire your commitment to your team. You should focus your energy and passion on support of them rather than on tearing down a man you clearly know no truth about as evidenced by your statement that you know no former Indiana player or coach or fan who would be complimentary of Cam’s tenure there. You quote about Cam not taking responsibility and blaming everyone for his failures is downright funny! You might want to educate yourself before going on the attack next time. Anyone who knows Cam at all knows that you couldn’t be further from the truth on that point and that your many others are misguided and false as well.

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    camfan — I have said nothing that is not true. You very well may know people who are complimentary of Cam Cameron. I don’t doubt that you do. I am not trying to insinuate that he is some sort of awful, diabolical being who is without any positive characteristics; and if I’ve come off that way, it’s my mistake.

    But understand this, my background and my loyalty is to the Bill Mallory Hoosiers. So am I a little biased? Absolutely. Bill Mallory’s players were my babysitters when I was growing up, I was on the field during the games, and I was quite informed about the manner in which things went when Cam Cameron took over. You would be hard pressed to find another person who knows more about Indiana football in the 80s and 90s than me. And I am telling you, from my experience, from the people I know and I have talked to, that I have not heard anything positive about Cam Cameron’s tenure at IU.

    To further illustrate the difference between the two, I was a student at IU during the majority of Cam Cameron’s tenure as coach. I had many classes with football players and with basketball players. Attendance for football players? Spotty at best. Attendance for basketball players (when Bob Knight was still the coach at least) was spotless. The same was true under Bill Mallory, or players were punished immediately. “Dawn Patrol” it was called. Now who knows, maybe all of the football players who consistently skipped class under Cameron were punished, but they would have been running more than practicing. My roommate for two years in college was a walk-on kicker who played for one year under Cameron and one year under Gerry DiNardo. He said there was no accountability, no discipline, and very little leadership from the coaching staff under either coach.

    I don’t dispute that you may have heard differently, and don’t doubt that Cam Cameron has many positive qualities, like when he bought copies of Tony Dungy’s book for every coach at his coaching clinic, but do not say that I need to educate myself or that I am saying anything false, because I am not.

    I’ll admit that I’m probably a bit too hard on Cam Cameron for last season with the Dolphins. A lot of things went south that were out of his control. But Cam also did not exhibit much leadership to get things turned around. Why else would he have been jettisoned after one season? Look no further than the recent comments of Vonnie Holliday, comparing last year with Cam to this year:

    “What did we have to work with as players? I think you look at it, and it’s clear this year we have a direction. We have a plan in place. And that’s largely attributed to Coach Parcells and Coach Sparano.”

    On the flip side, to be fair, there are other informed people who do not blame Cam Cameron for last season’s Dolphins debacle. The truth is that he had one season and a lot of things went wrong. It’s somewhat unfair to judge him by that performance alone as an NFL head coach. But Wayne Huizenga obviously saw no reason to give Cam Cameron more time to turn it around, and made a change as quickly as he could. I’m not “making that up.” It’s what occurred. And it speaks volumes about his head coaching ability.

    Please, feel free to present arguments to the contrary. I am not closed minded about Cam Cameron, but the majority of my experience and knowledge about him as a head coach is not positive, so I have arrived at my opinion quite honestly and legitimately. If someone can disprove my original argument, that he is a terrible head coach and failed with both IU and the Dolphins (perhaps the “screw him” line was a bit harsh, admittedly — although it is what a lot of Bill Mallory’s close supporters feel like he did to Coach Mallory) then please, present your argument.

    Thank you for the participation camfan, it is always very much appreciated — but vague references to me presenting false statements will not cut it as a legitimate rebuttal.

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    I should clarify, lest I be accused of not being informed: it was actually Bill Parcells who fired Cam Cameron, not Wayne Huizenga. But the point of the statement remains consistent.

  • Steven Polansky

    I never tried to contend that Cam Cameron did a better job coaching Indiana than did Bill Mallory. Obviously, even with a 39-65-1 career Big Ten record, Mallory was more successful at IU than Cameron.

    My point was that people like to criticize Cameron for destroying the IU program and I don’t know how you can destroy a program that was 1-15 in the Big Ten the two years prior to your arrival, especially when Cameron went 4-4 in the Big Ten the year he was fired.

    I am also not being critical of Coach Mallory for not reaching out to Cam to support the program. I’m sure that Bill was very upset that he was fired. I also don’t blame Cam for wanting to put his own stamp on the program. It wasn’t as if he was taking over for Paterno. He took over for a very good football coach whose program had taken a dramatic downturn. Cameron retained Mark Deal from Mallory’s staff, and hired Anthony Thompson as well. The biggest negative that happened to Cameron’s program was when his top assistant, Pete Schmidt, died of cancer during Cam’s third season.

    No, Cam Cameron hasn’t been a successful head coach. He also hasn’t been the disaster that some people like to suggest. His last team at IU was very formidable, at a school where it is always difficult to win in football. Miami was a tremendous struggle but I don’t know how you judge a head coach on one season. He has been crucified for the Ted Ginn selection, the same guy that had 175 receiving yards yesterday.

    Bad head coach or not, he was an excellent hire for John Harbaugh. That offense will struggle at times for the remainder of the season but Cameron has put a nice plan in place. It’s night and day from Ravens offenses of the past.

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    He was a good hire for the Ravens, we can agree on that. Cam Cameron may not be capable of leading an entire football program, but he can design an offense, take advantage of talent, and put players in a position to maximize their abilities.

  • Much Needed Reality Check

    Some nice what-ifsy play there, JRod, but you’re forgetting the most important aspect: the CICC Factor (Cleveland is Choke City). Which of course dictates that, in the end, the Brownies will find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of… well you know. In the meantime, feel free to indulge yourselves in the fantasy until the Steelers wrap up yet another North title.

    DID YOU KNOW? In 1990 KISS recorded a follow-up to their hit “Detroit Rock City” with a tribute to the “Drive” and “Byner Fumbles!” Games, called “Cleveland Choke City.”

  • Much Needed Reality Check

    As predicted, the CICC Factor works every time. Never more evident than in last night’s Denver gag.

    Am I the Man here or what?