Browns: What are the Chances...?

Last year aside, the Steelers have historically experienced a lot of success at Cleveland—and today’s game should be no different. Browns rookie QB Colt McCoy demonstrated great poise and put up solid numbers in the game at Pittsburgh (in his first NFL start, no less), but the Steelers defense might fare better this time, as there’s now enough game tape on McCoy to create a game plan designed to exploit his weaknesses. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Steelers failed to cover the five-point spread, but I estimate that Pittsburgh has a 70 percent chance of winning, thereby earning a #2 seed in the AFC.

What are the Chances…? is 9-5 this season and 57-25 all-time.

Cowher says no to Browns

Browns owner Randy Lerner met with former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher on Saturday night. Cowher told him he was not interested in coaching the Browns in 2009. See Pro Football Weekly for details.

Cowher to coach Browns, if the price is right?

Today's "Scout's Eye" in Pro Football Weekly asserts that there's a good chance that Bill Cowher would take the now vacant head coaching job in Cleveland, assuming the Browns are willing to make him the highest-paid coach in the NFL.

Browns: What are the Chances...?

This week's game is easy to pick. We're giving the Steelers a 95 percent chance of winning this game, the most confident we've ever been in terms of predicting a victory. It seems inconceivable that the Browns could beat the Steelers at Heinz Field with their fourth-string quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski, starting the game. Enough said.

Vote for the Steelers to beat the Browns

With the regular season coming to a close this is the last week for the full-on Click for Cans contest. (The eight-team playoff begins on January 2, 2009). This week the Steelers (15-1) take on the Cleveland Browns (5-11). Click here to vote for the Steelers over the Browns.

Odds of Cowher becoming Cleveland's next head coach? "50/50"

According to the "The Way We Hear It" column in today's edition of Pro Football Weekly, the odds of Bill Cowher becoming Cleveland's next head coach are "50/50" and "money will be no object," according to one team insider. The column notes that the team's second choice is Marty Schottenheimer, who led Cleveland to two AFC Championship Game appearances back in the 1980s.

Click here to read the column.

Browns: What are the Chances...?

Back in early 2004, as the NFL draft approached, the Browns made a fateful decision to acquire Trent Dilfer, signing the veteran QB to a four-year contract. The move essentially precluded Cleveland from selecting Ben Roethlisberger, who was still available with the sixth pick in that year's draft. (Instead, the Browns chose a tight end, Kellen Winslow Jr., a good player but not a franchise-changing performer.) Cleveland has been paying for that mistake ever since, as Roethlisberger has posted a 40-16 regular season record over four-plus seasons and is 7-0 against the Browns (including 4-0 at Cleveland Browns Stadium).

Tomorrow the Browns will try to contain Roethlisberger once more, and unless Cleveland generates a fierce pash rush, its shaky defensive backfield figures to be exposed by Big Ben. But the key to the game for the Steelers will be to keep both Braylon Edwards (WR) and Joshua Cribbs (KR) from making big plays. Without "splash" plays from those two players it seems unlikely that the Browns will be able to keep pace with Pittsburgh's balanced attack.

The Steelyard predicts a win for the Steelers, giving Pittsburgh a 65 percent chance of winning this game. "What are the Chances...?" is 1-0 this season and 27-7 all-time.

An old friend takes orbit

Legendary Steelers broadcaster Myron Copeland always thought the Steelers were out of this world. Now the same can be said of him.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today the there's a little piece of sky with Copeland's name on it. Actually its a minor planet — distant asteroid 1993 MC — that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter.

Officially named 7835 Myroncope in honor of Cope, Dr. Eric Mamajek of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. wanted to memorialize the man whose has meant so much to so many Steelers fans.

Too small to be seen by the naked eye, 7835 Myroncope is small and distant — only 3 miles wide and as close as 88 million miles from Earth, although its elliptical orbit can take it as far away as 387 million miles.

Dr. Mamajek said that while there's no chance of Myroncope colliding with Earth, "a direct impact at Cleveland Browns Stadium can perhaps not be ruled out."

I can almost hear Myron cackling.

PFW Says Browns Most Likely To Go From Worst To First

Believe it or not, in the new edition of Pro Football Weekly, publisher Hub Arkush tabs the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Bucs as the two teams most likely to go from worst to first in their respective divisions. I can see Tampa Bay winning a division title (and Arizona too), but the unless Brady Quinn plays like Ben Roethlisberger did as a rookie, I can't envision anything but a third- or fourth-place finish for the Browns.

Even more galling, Arkush writes "Mike Tomlin is going to have to find out Pittsburgh isn’t preschool before he’s ready to win." Click here to read the article.

Pittsburgh Sweeps Cleveland, Again

Doing their best imitation of the 2002 Steelers, last night the Pittsburgh Passion women's football team clobbered the Cleveland Fusion, 49-15, completing a three-game season sweep (two regular season games and a playoff game) of their arch-rivals. Steelers fans will recall that five years ago the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 16-13 (OT) in Pittsburgh, 23-20 in Cleveland, and then pulled out a thrilling 36-33 victory in the AFC Wild Card game, with Tommy Maddox throwing for 367 yards.

On July 21 the Passion will play in the league championship game versus either the Columbus Comets or Oklahoma City Lightning.