Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days o' auld lang syne.

Lyrics aside, I still don’t like the Cleveland Browns.  And I’m sure the Browns haven’t forgotten the beating handed to them by the Pittsburgh Steelers way back in week six.  Well, except for Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi, who probably don’t remember much from that game thanks to James Harrison.  I’m sure Silverback will be more than happy to renew acquaintances if either should be dumb enough to venture in to his part of the field.

You’ll have to forgive me if this Know Thy Enemy is shorter than usual as I’m still a bit exhausted from New Year’s.  No, I wasn’t drinking like a college girl in Milledgeville.  I was late, got stuck in traffic, then had to run up nine flights of stairs just to make sure I got to the party in time to be with my girl when the clock struck midnight.  That damn “Dice” song is still stuck in my head.

There’s not much to say anyway.  After we destroyed the Brownies, figuratively and literally, they went on to defeat the Saints and Patriots in back-to-back weeks.  Yes, Cleveland beat two of the four teams we’ve lost to this year.  And they narrowly missed beating the Jets the week after all that.  But they’ve lost their last three in a row, two of which (Bills and Bengals) were very winnable games, so they may be up-and-coming but they’re not quite there yet.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. BROWNS OFFENSE

The Browns seem to have found a keeper at quarterback with rookie Colt McCoy.  He was the man behind center for those big wins and despite pretty unimpressive season numbers (5 TDs/6 INTs 1,400 yards in a half season’s worth of work), he’s shown enough to earn the starting job next season.  With a few more weapons at his disposal, he should prove to be a more than adequate signal caller.

Peyton Hillis has been the breakout star for the Browns this season.  The Browns’ recent struggles can be traced to his missing time due to injury.  To get an idea how huge Hillis is to Cleveland’s offense, not only is he the team’s leading rusher (10th overall in the NFL) but he’s the team’s second leading receiver.  P-Hill hasn’t practiced this week due to his sore ribs but with this being the team’s final game of the year, it is expected he’ll be out there on Sunday.

The Steelers defense will greet him with a rush defense seeking to set one of the best marks in NFL history.  They’re currently allowing a meager 64 rush yards per game.  The next best D is allowing 90.  If the Steelers can keep that mark under 65 for the season, they’ll be only the third team in the last thirty-five years to accomplish that goal.

Troy Polamalu practiced on Friday and is listed as questionable.  The Steelers are saying he’s “50-50″ but Troy sounds more optimistic than that.  Reading between the lines, it sounds like he’s pushing to play while they’re reluctant to risk him getting hurt on the eve of the playoffs.  I would play him since a first round bye is absolutely crucial to making any kind of run but the second we open up any kind of lead, he should go right back to the bench.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. BROWNS DEFENSE

The Browns rank a notch above the Steelers in pass defense while they’re near the bottom against the run.  They also have the fourth fewest total sacks in the NFL.  Despite all this, they’re allowing only a smidge under 20 points a game which is better than the Chargers, Jets, Eagles, Patriots, or Giants.  So while they give up plays, they’ve clearly mastered the philosophy of “bend but do not break.”

Ben Roethlisberger has quietly put together a very nice season.  In addition to throwing for 3,000 yards, his 15/5 TD-INT ratio is a career best.  If not for the four missed games due to the unfair unwarranted unjustified suspension, he would’ve hit the 20 TDs/4,000 yards mark for a second consecutive season.  When you factor in the patchwork line, crippling injuries, and the officials out to get him, one might argue this has been the finest season of his career.

Rashard Mendenhall and Mike Wallace have done their part by contributing 1,000 yard seasons to the Steelers cause.  Hines Ward is sitting at 710 so barring some sort of crazy shootout, he’s not going to add another 1,000 yard season to his Hall of Fame credentials.  I’ll have more to say about Hines after the season is over in February but for now I’ll simply leave it at this.  While he’s clearly not the centerpiece of the passing game nor is he even the team’s second best option anymore (Heath Miller deserves that honor), I believe his heart and experience are not only key in big games but contribute to our young receivers coming along so quickly.

Josh Cribbs has not returned a punt or kick for a touchdown this season.  If the Steelers don’t allow any cheap points, I think they’ll be more than able to take care of business on Sunday.  To put this game’s importance in perspective, if the Steelers lose, they can fall from the second seed all the way to the sixth.  However, as I’ve said throughout the season, this team clearly learned from last year’s mistakes and never takes anything for granted.  Good news for the Steelers, not so good for the Browns.

After last year’s Bengals anomaly, sanity has been restored to the AFC North.  The Pittsburgh Steelers face their first rematch of the season Sunday night with division supremacy hanging in the balance.  Across the field will be our bitter rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.

Since I already wrote a comprehensive Know Thy Enemy post earlier this season, I figured we’d change things up the second time around.  Conoon Kim over The Purple Chaos agreed to answer some questions about his beloved Ratbirds.  Just like last week, my questions in bold, his answers in italics.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. RAVENS OFFENSE

When last we left Pitt reject Joe Flacco, he had thrown more picks (5) than touchdowns (4).  Since then, our pal Joey has gotten his act together enough to bring his ratio up to a fairly impressive 18/8.  Of course, Flacco always seems struggle against the Steelers and, until Bryan McFadden decided to let TJ Housyourdaddy sprint right past him, did so once again earlier this year.

So, Conoon, how would you assess the progress of your third year QB?

Flacco certainly didn’t meet the expectations that I had for him at the beginning of the season, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t progressed well. From a stand point of seeing how Flacco was a no-name quarterback from Delaware less than 3 years ago, I think he’s progressed tremendously well. The greatest thing is that he’s still young, so there is many years for him to continue improving. Yes, he has struggled against the Steelers, but I think it’s a little hump he will eventually get over.

Flacco will have a full complement of weapons at his disposal, including frequent nemesis Ray Rice. With the addition of so many talented receivers, Rice is having a bit of an off year with only 3 TDs (all rushing) to his credit.   He was terrible in our first meeting, mustering only one catch (where he usually does his damage) and a measly 20 rushing yards.

One thing of note, LT Michael Oher left last week’s game against Tampa after having his knee grotesquely contorted while caught up in a play.  He practiced with it heavily taped although is expected to play.  The Ravens did a good job keeping Flacco clean during the first meeting so a gimpy tackle protecting his blind side could be a break for the Black and Gold.  As we saw in that heartbreaking final drive, when the Steelers can’t get to the QB, bad things happen.

If by some unfortunate turn of events the Ratbirds manage to pull another win out of their ass, who on offense needs to come up big?

Offensively, it will be on the shoulders of Joe Flacco. As you mentioned above, Flacco has struggled against the Steelers. So he needs to step up, analyze the defense, recognize the blitz, quickly go through his progressions, and most importantly, not turn the ball over.

Defensively, the Steelers appear to be all hands on deck.  For three weeks now I’ve been saying Bret Keisel is ready to return and I’m pretty sure he’s going to give it a go this week.  He may have to since his replacement, Nick Eason, sprained his MCL against Buffalo.  B-Mac is nursing a sore hamstring which isn’t exactly the ideal injury for a pitifully slow corner.  He already provides comfy 5 yard cushions to everybody so slightly hobbled he may start backpedaling before the snap.

If for some reason he can’t go or is ineffective, Willie Gay will take his place with Anthony Madison taking over in the nickel.  We saw how well that worked out last week.  Although if Dick LeBeau decides to roll out his dime package again, I’d rather see Troy or Ryan Mundy line up as the fifth DB than the inept Kennan Lewis.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. RAVENS DEFENSE

Since week 4, the Ravens have also lost twice.  Once to the Falcons and once to the hated Patriots.  In both cases, they held leads only to see them vanish thanks to stunning defensive breakdowns.  Against Atlanta, Matty Ice took his team 80 yards in less than a minute, capped by a 33 yard TD to Rowdy Roddy White.  Naturally, Ratbird fans whined about a push off that didn’t occur because they can never lose with dignity.  Meanwhile, the Patriots made up a 10 point deficit in the 4th quarter as Brady-to-Branch hooked up seven times, including twice in OT to set up the game winning field goal.

What aspect of your team has been the biggest disappointment this season?

The biggest disappointment about the Ravens is their lack of shut-down ability in the defensive backfield. Our corners are a huge weak link of the team, and it’s no secret. Luckily, Ed Reed has returned to give the corners some much-needed support. Still, even with Reed and the signing of CB Josh Wilson, the big pass plays have killed the Ravens all season long.

Good to know the Steelers aren’t the only ones with that problem.

How about what part of the team/player has been the most pleasant surprise?

The biggest surprise has been the dominant play by Ray Lewis. This season, he was a part of 4 different plays that sealed a “W” in 4 different games. Yeah, Lewis is a future Hall of Famer, but the guy is 35 years old and still making plays today. Just a couple weeks ago, he caught an interception and returned it for a touchdown. I never expected him to do what he’s done this season. 15 seasons in the NFL, and he’s still doing things that never fails to amaze me.

The fact that Ratbird fans love to call the never tried, never charged, never convicted Ben Roethlisberger a rapist yet refer to convicted murderer Ray Lewis as “God’s Linebacker” never fails to amaze me.

The Steelers have been getting crushed by zebras since the NFL’s crackdown on vicious hits.  As painful as it is to admit, the Ravens play a similar brand of smash mouth hard-hitting football.  How has your team fared?

I think the NFL has targeted a single player on the Steelers rather than the entire team itself. And it’s pretty obvious I’m referring to LB James Harrison. I think the biggest thing the NFL is concerned with is trying to avoid helmet-to-helmet collisions, which Harrison has been a part of on numerous occasions. So it’s not too much of a surprise that the NFL is after the player that tends to frequently lead with his helmet. Not many Ravens lead with their helmet, so it hasn’t been too much of a concern on our side.

Uh-huh.

Wonder how much he was fined for that… *Fires up the Google* Ngata, er, Nada.  Shocking.

Hmm…  I’m sensing a pattern.  Fine?  *Fires up the Google*  $10,000.  Yep, sounds about right.

If by some unfortunate series of events, the Ravens are to win, who on defense do you expect to have a big game?

Terrell Suggs. It’s going to come down to the pass rush, and Suggs needs to get to the QB. Even if he can’t get sacks, putting the pressure on Roethlisberger and keeping him in the pocket will be key to winning this game.

Of course, the big news on Big Ben is his foot injury.  News media are saying it’s broken.  The Steelers, who would never ever lie, say it’s not.  They claim it WAS broken some time in the past and he just broke some scar tissue.  The bottom line is he’s spent the week walking around in a boot and has a super duper steel plated reinforced shoe he’s going to wear on Sunday.

Ben is saying he will play and the Steelers are saying he will play.  Then again, his symptoms may magically worsen 48 hours before kickoff like they did last year when he bailed on a crucial season-altering Sunday night game with some phony made-up concussion.  Although I wouldn’t be surprised if his vagina foot injury became crippling hours before game time, I think the Big Drama Queen realizes he owes it to his team to man up after what he’s put them through the past two off-seasons.

The story of the first meeting was missed chances.  The Ravens turned it over twice and both drives ended when brand new 49er Skippy Reed missed FGs.  If the Steelers convert either of those, the outcome is radically different.  With Rashard Mendenhall and Hines Ward coming off their best games of the season and the Ravens giving up big pass plays (Hello, Mike Wallace), all we need is a QB capable of taking advantage of those opportunities.

According to the annoying ticker which runs along the bottom of ESPN’s screen, the winner of this game has almost a 90% chance of winning the AFC North.  So unlike in past weeks when I’ve said a game is big, this game really is BIG.  With only one tough game on the horizon (Jets), the Steelers would have the inside track to a division title and possible first round bye with a victory.  A loss and they’d need to basically run the table and hope for a Baltimore stumble just to win the division.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had all they can stand and they can’t stands no more…

A day after James Harrison was slapped with yet another ludicrous fine, his teammates are firing back.  And they’re not just speaking in the bland sound bites you typically hear from athletes. Nope, they’re taking aim directly at the corrupt dictator doing everything in his power (and many things which aren’t) to bring them down: Roger Goodell.

Hines Ward is one of the most intelligent, well-spoken players in football. That’s why President Obama named him to his Advisory Commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Hines sees the big picture and isn’t afraid to speak his mind.  I have no doubt Hines will be a Senator or Congressman some day.  But in the meantime, he’s reserving his verbal beatdowns for the idiots running the NFL.

Quoth Hines:

The league doesn’t care about us anyway.  They don’t care about the safety of the game.  If the league was so concerned about the safety, why are you adding two more games on?  You talk about you don’t want players to drink … and all you see is beer commercials.  You don’t want us to gamble, but then there are [NFL-endorsed lottery scratch-off games].

Ouch.  Hines just gave the Ginger Dictator the ass-beating his momma should have gave him.  I wonder if any of his bought-and-paid-for minions in the media will dare call him on any of these things.  My guess is they won’t because heaven forbid anybody question the precious NFL.

Oh and make no mistake, Hines reference to not wanting players to drink is a direct shot at Ben Roethlisberger‘s unwarranted suspension.  To enlighten the uninformed, Ben wasn’t suspended for banging some skank in a bathroom stall.  Ginger’s official statement when announcing the suspension didn’t mention that at all.  The league’s ruling was Ben was being punished for “being in the presence of and facilitating the ability of minors consuming alcohol.”  As if it’s Ben’s fault some dopey sorority chick decided to get bombed and the local hick bartender can’t stop staring at her boobs long enough to card her.

I used to think the NHL and MLB were run by two of the biggest fools in sports history but Ginger has them beat by a long shot.  Everything Hines said was true.  Even more, the NFL sells sex (stripper poles in Cowboys Stadium?) and violence (seen those DVD compilations of vicious hits?  They sell ‘em on NFL.com) in addition to the booze and gambling.  Yet if their players engage in any of those actions, they earn a letter from the Ginger Dictator.

Does anybody realize that if dogging a groupie while drinking a beer and then going out the next day and laying out a QB was frowned upon in the 70s, half of the Steel Curtain would’ve been suspended EVERY WEEK?

Hines isn’t the only one fed up.  LaMarr Woodley, on his fantastic Facebook page, is posting pro-Silverback photoshops in his album.  The human ATM one is my personal fave.  Everybody hates their boss but how many times have you seen a player openly goof on their assclown commissioner like that?  Mad props to Mr. Woodley for also standing up for what is right.

Oh and for the one or two mouthbreathing Raven fans who’ve decided to visit this blog before your annual gut-punch courtesy of Big Ben, even your boys are standing up for James Harrison.  Terrell Suggs, who has made his dislike of the Steelers well-known, had this to say yesterday:

Your guy over there, No. 92 [Harrison], I think he is red-flagged.  The referees are kind of looking for him.  Even if he breathes on a quarterback wrong, he might get a flag. …  I think they are looking at him more closely than they are everybody else in the league.

Suggs even stood up for Ben, who was roughed up while on the ground by dirty Bills players on at least two occasions a week after the league turned a blind eye to the criminal assault perpetuated by Richard Seymour.  Suggs noted:

The league has their favorites.  One being in Indy [Manning] and one being with that team up north [Brady].  Besides those two, everybody is fair game.  Like I always said, Carson Palmer got his knee hurt in 2005, but there was no rule made.  Then Tom Brady got hit in the knee and all of a sudden there is rule and possible suspensions, excessive fines.  It’s just getting ridiculous.

It’s pretty sad when I’m not only quoting Ratbirds on my blog but AGREEING with them.  At least for once they’re whining over a worthy cause.  See, you can use your powers for good.  When even those thugs can see the league has it out for the Steelers, you know something is terribly wrong.

So what about the man at the eye of the storm?  What has James Harrison have to say about the controversy surrounding him?

It’s starting to look like it’s OK to cheat, it’s OK to fight, but if you hit somebody too hard, we’re going to fine you a whole bunch. Maybe it’s because I play for the Steelers, who knows?

We know, James, we know.  It is because you play for the Black and Gold.  The Steelers players know it, the Steelers opponents know it, Steeler Nation knows it, even the media is beginning to recognize it.  It’s funny, there used to be a time when the Raiders were the rebels of the NFL.  But they earned that reputation through all sorts of underhanded and borderline criminal actions.  It looks like the Steelers are the new rebels, although just like in Star Wars, they’re on the side of good fighting against an evil Empire hellbent on bringing them to their knees.  And we all know how that story ends.

Roger Goodell's idea of a clean hit

And the feeling is mutual, I would imagine.

On Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro linebacker James Harrison received some bad news.  His appeal of the ridiculous fines levied against him was denied.  Shocking.  I, for one, totally see the fairness in fining James a cool $75,000 for laying out Mohamed Massaquoi with a clean hit but not fining Kurt Coleman (for stretchering out Austin Collie) or James Sanders (for cheapshotting Hines Ward) a single penny for their filthy actions.

According to NFL justice, James would be 67% less dirty (and richer) if he just just pulled up and sucker-punched his opponent like a cowardly little bitch…

Yesterday, the NFL slapped the Silverback with another $25,000 deduction from his paycheck.  Who didn’t see this coming?  He somehow escaped last week’s uncalled for personal foul for “landing with full body weight” on Oakland’s Jason Campbell.   The Ginger Dictator must’ve been distracted with planning his Thanksgiving feast.

But breaks are short-lived when it comes to the NFL’s persecution of the Black and Gold.  This week’s laughable personal foul for hitting Ryan Fitzpatrick square in the chest with a form perfect tackle did not escape their notice.  In fact, when the flag was thrown, I immediately pictured Goodell and his lackey in charge of punishments pumping their fists and high-fiving each other because they got another chance to stick it to the Steelers.

And stick it they did.  Right up the back door.  Without lube.  For those keeping score at home, James Harrison’s badassery has now set him back $125,000.  No other player, not even lowlife thugs who get into UFC-style brawls, have been fined even half that amount.

Instead of pointless meetings with Ginger or appealing unfair fines, James should just write a check for $180,000 and ask the league if a brother can get a discount for early payment.

Here we go again.

In their never-ending quest to ruin the greatest sport on earth, the NFL has decided to crack down on hitting.  “Wait,” you may ask, “Isn’t football a game of large heavily muscled men slamming into each other at a high rate of speed?”   Yes it is.   But the NFL is doing their best to remove as much contact from a contact sport as possible.

James Harrison was fined $75,000 for his knock out blow on Cleveland’s Mohamed Massaquoi last Sunday.  It was a thing of beauty, a vicious yet perfectly clean hit.   The fact there were no flags on the play confirms that it was well within the rules.   Harrison was simply doing what players are taught to do from the time they first strap on a helmet.

Predictably, Browns fans were in an uproar over that play and Harrison’s equally clean leveling of Josh Cribbs. They even circulated a laughable petition whining because their incompetent players got jacked up.  I’m not bothered by that since it’s pretty much to be expected.   Losers cry when they lose and there are no bigger losers than the Cleveland Browns.

What upsets me is the media seized on Harrison’s actions, as well as several similarly violent hits this past weekend, and blew the issue entirely out of proportion.   The unbearable weekend wrap-up shows all beat to death a similar theme of,  “Something must be done!”   Naturally, the image conscious NFL sprang into action in the worst possible way.

The league’s chief of football operations, Ray Anderson, has declared from this point forward suspensions will be handed out for “dangerous or flagrant hits.”

Let’s analyze that wording a bit.   What exactly is a “dangerous” hit?   Call me crazy but isn’t a 275 monster crashing into you at full force a tad dangerous?  So basically every tackle is a dangerous play.  Now let’s look at the word “flagrant.”  A flagrant foul by definition is something which is obviously illegal.  If Harrison’s tackles were so clearly illegal, why did seven officials keep their flags in their pockets?

James Harrison was fined for playing the game the way it should be played.   Head coach Mike Tomlin called the plays, “Legal hits. Not fineable hits. He played good football.”  Harrison said it would be “a travesty” if he were fined.   Since the ruling came down, his agent has said he was going to appeal this miscarriage of justice.   Seventy-five grand is a decent chunk of change but I ordinarily wouldn’t worry about it because Harrison is paid to destroy and these annoying little fines are just the cost of doing business.

What does worry me is the prospect of some day losing our star linebacker for one game, possibly more, due to a suspension.   The Pittsburgh Steelers already lost their quarterback for a month as a result of an arbitrary and totally unwarranted suspension.  Now we’re facing the prospect that the next time Silverback clobbers the daylights out of somebody, he could miss games over it.   What’s worse, we’ll never know when that line is crossed because the rule is so vaguely worded, nobody has any idea what’s legal and what’s not.

James Harrison is 110% in the right on this one.   Not only were both his plays perfectly acceptable, the fact his fine is unreasonably high when there were far far more egregious rule violations last Sunday is ridiculous.  The only reason the league repeatedly comes down on him for playing football the way it should be played is they don’t find him marketable.  He doesn’t like interviews and he doesn’t like the spotlight.   Maybe he should start acting like a clown for NFL Films and on commercials like Ray Lewis so the the NFL would stop giving him these big fines.  In the meantime, the league’s punishment policies continue to be a joke.