Even Battle at the Line of Scrimmage: Pittsburgh edges out Cleveland

When two teams score positive points within 500 points of each other or less using the Football ERA, the result is indicative of a relatively even battle on the line of scrimmage.



Cleve...637.04
Pitt......346.5683333

Cleveland battled a tough Pittsburgh team and held up fairly well in the battle of the trenches up front. Pittsburgh won the battle of turnovers and scored a Touchdown whereas the Browns kicked Field Goals. Nevertheless, the Football ERA rewarded the Browns for having more drives that were longer in length than those of the Steelers. Their performance on drives left them with a positive 155 points after the formula subtracted out 45 points defensively for a strong rushing performance by Willie Parker. But they gained 250 points on their own Rushing performance which included 125 points for their Rushing 1st Downs. They also added a little over 200 points for Defensive Pressure which reflects their 3 Sacks and 9 QB Hurries and Pass Defenses.

But the Browns failed to convert their drives into touchdowns while ending 2 of their drives on interceptions. Pittsburgh took advantage of one these interceptions and drove for a touchdown, making them more efficient on drives into the red zone in terms of scoring points. They earned their 346 point Football ERA score by Rushing the ball effectively along with earning points for defensive pressure in the form of 2 Sacks and a dozen or so QB hurries and pass defenses.


2008 Starting Lineups:

Both the Browns and Steelers put the same lineup back out on the field in Week 2 as they started in Week 1 except for the insertion of Rex Hadnot at right guard for Seth McKinney into the Cleveland Offensive Line.

There were a few changes for each team from their starting 2007 lineup with Cleveland making changes on their defensive front whereas the Steelers mainly replaced a starter on their offensive line. Here are the lineups with changes from 2007 highlighted in bold.


+++++++++Cleveland Browns+++++++++

Defensive Front:

Willie McGinnest...Andra Davis...D'Qwell Jackson...Kamerion Wimbley

Corey Williams.....Shaun Rogers.....Robaire Smith

Offensive Line:

Joe Thomas..Eric Steinbach..Hank Fraley..Rex Hadnot..Kevin Schaffer
-------------------------Week 1 starter---->Seth McKinney<----



++++++++++Pittsburgh Steelers++++++++++

Defensive Front:

Lamar Woodley..James Farrior..Larry Foote..James Harrison

Aaron Smith.....Casey Hampton.....Brad Kiesel


Offensive Line:

Marvel
Smith..Chris Kemoeatu..Justin Hartwig..Kendall Simmons..Willie Colon


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