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With the start of the NFL season in less than a week, here's the verdict on the upcoming battle between the Steelers and Cleveland in AFC North: It's a heat wave.
The Steelers either added by subtraction or simply subtracted re: Antonio Brown. The first seems more likely, but you have to play.
But the Steelers have definitely added to the defense by trading to join linebacker Devin Bush with the 10th pick in this year's draft. The effect of training is a much faster unit that can explode in various directions.
Is this defense fast enough to prevent Tom Brady and his instant release from taking an important part? It's a good first test.
The Browns are either added or subtracted by addition: Odell Beckham Jr. There is no doubt about Beckham's talent, but there is no denying that the New York Giants and Eli Manning have fallen apart under his watch.
Is Beckham a winner, or just another one of "these" receivers? So far, it's the last one.
Beckham is one of Cleveland's potential malcontents. This could spread like a disease under a rookie coach. Maybe the Browns give birth to a new set of Toxic Twins, or even Toxic Triplets.
Unless the Browns win and everyone has their number. Even that might not be enough indefinitely.
The hype of the Browns is unbearable. This does not mean that it is unjustified, but the power of stars and success are not mutually inclusive. How much will the expectations weigh?
The greatest act of faith achieved by the faithful of Cleveland concerns the defense of the Browns. He ranked 30th in the NFL last season.
The Browns have no defenseman who excels in the blanket, which could be expensive when JuJu Smith-Schuster queues in the slot. Cleveland led the NFL in missed tackles last year. The Browns have added a lot of defense points in the off-season and should be better on this side of the ball.
But to see, is to believe. That should be the motto of the team, given the rash assumption, the Browns will continue to improve exponentially after being led from 0 to 16 just two seasons ago.
Their seventh is more than legitimate. Defensive end Myles Garrett has 20 and a half sacks and four forced fumbles during his two seasons in the NFL. He has the talent to continue to improve exponentially.
But Cleveland will concede points.
The Steelers attack will reflect the team's training camp: organized and professional, as opposed to explosive and random. This constant and selfish drone has been removed from the group. The expensive appeasement policy (and the forced jets it produces) no longer exists.
Can the balance won compensate for the departure of the talent?
Here is what is planned. The Steelers will score more points this year than last year and will have a better balance between races and passes than in 2018 when they launched 67% of the time.
Cleveland has a cornucopia of receivers led by Beckham and Jarvis Landry but complemented by Rashard Higgins, Antonio Callaway and tight half David Njoku.
But do not sleep on the smugglers of the Steelers. The varied skills of the group speak well, even though the plight is a disaster beyond Vance McDonald's. But Donte Moncrief will be better in Pittsburgh than he has been elsewhere.
All the receivers are worth only the quarter which throws the ball to them. (Brown will quickly understand it in Oakland.)
Ben Roethlisberger is better than Baker Mayfield, and any quarter totem that Mayfield listed above Roethlisberger is just a hype plunged into madness. Roethlisberger is a member of the nailed Hall of Famer who pitched for 5,129 yards last year and got a quarterback rating of 96.5. Mayfield threw for 3,725 yards and his rating was 93.7.
But it's also crazy to claim that Mayfield is not very good.
This is the play played by Mayfield during his insertion in training during the third week of last season that stimulated the Browns and earned them a record of 7-8-1. It's hard to trust a quarter that is barely 6 feet tall. Mayfield has a bit of discontent in him, and if Beckham and / or Landry tie in Mayfield's ear like Brown with Roethlisberger, Mayfield might not be able to stand it as well.
But Mayfield wins. Well, he wins. A 7-8-1 record is not 16-0, and Mayfield has been 1-5 against teams with records. His protection seems in question. Cleveland has just cut his left starting tackle.
But it is easy to forgive the citizens of Cleveland for doing so. They have been down for so long, it looks like it is upstairs.
A key figure in the rivalry between the Steelers and the Browns is Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell.
After a terrible season in '18, Boswell played pretty well at training camp to keep his job. But his errant starts prevented the Steelers from participating in the playoffs and prevented the Steelers from winning in Cleveland during the first week.
If Boswell tried to score 43 points in overtime, the Steelers beat the Browns instead of tying them. The Steelers finish 10-6 and win the division. The Browns would have finished 7-9, which is a little worse than 7-8-1. The Steelers would now seem to be the best team by a bigger margin. All of this amounts to a missed shot.
The funny thing: everyone forgot Baltimore, who won the division last season.
But the Ravens seem to be peripheral factors in '19. The AFC North Championship will take place between the 11th and 13th weeks. The Steelers and Browns play twice in three weeks, first at Browns Stadium and then at Heinz Field Stadium.
The hype will be unbearable by then. This will also be justified.
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