Friday’s “First Call” has a little fuel for the Cleveland Browns’ fire, via Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Cleveland still has questions in its secondary. Mike Sullivan thinks championship hopes are still in play for the Penguins. And a familiar NFL name with local ties surfaces as a candidate to coach the New York Jets.
No logo? No problem
Just because the Browns won’t have a logo for JuJu Smith-Schuster to dance on, that doesn’t mean he can’t stir the pot.
First, it was the Bills. Then it was the Bengals. The wide receiver gave those teams bulletin board material with his pregame dances. Now he’s feeding the Browns with pregame quotes.
Smith-Schuster doesn’t seem to think that Cleveland has made the same kind of strides a lot of other people do.
“I think they’re still the same Browns team(s) I play every year,” Smith-Schuster said this week. “I think they’re nameless gray faces. They have a couple good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don’t know. The Browns (are) the Browns It’s AFC North football. They’re a good team. I’m just happy we’re playing them again.”
#Steelers WR Juju Smith-Schuster on rivalry with #Browns:
"I think they’re still the same Browns teams I play every year. “I think they’re nameless gray faces. They have a couple good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don’t know. The Browns is the Browns."
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) January 8, 2021
Smith-Schuster made the comments Wednesday, and they went over quietly in Pittsburgh. Yet they seemed to get some more run in Cleveland. Perhaps that’s because we’ve heard that “nameless, gray faces” cliche from Mike Tomlin so many times it has fallen on deaf ears.
But “the Browns are the Browns” gets my attention now that I hear it. It did sound dismissive. And if the Browns really were still the Browns, they would’ve figured out a way to screw up before they even got to the playoffs. So JuJu is already wrong in that regard.
How about asking if the “Steelers (are) the Steelers”? Because to me, that means a team that has failed to win a playoff game the last three years.
Not out of the Woods
It sure sounds like the Browns are still trying to figure out who is going to be available in the secondary.
Four days before the #Steelers Wildcard game, #Browns DC Joe Woods has no idea if CBs Denzel Ward or Kevin Johnson will be off the COVID-19 list; He's prepared to start Robert Jackson again if he has to https://t.co/MciMtxFXJX
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) January 7, 2021
Yikes. That’d make me nervous if I was looking at the Steelers in a similar situation. To date, Keith Butler is missing only Joe Haden from their secondary this Sunday, and that already makes me nervous. Not to mention, that position group has been dealing with injuries on a regular basis since the preseason.
Meanwhile, on offense, former Pitt quarterback Alex Van Pelt is going to be doing the play-calling because head coach Kevin Stefanski is booted off the sideline because of a positive covid-19 test.
#Browns OC Alex Van Pelt on his approach to playcalling on Sunday pic.twitter.com/42jfqNcgix
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) January 7, 2021
Prior to joining the Browns, Van Pelt has coached running backs and quarterbacks in Tampa Bay, Green Bay and Cincinnati.
Van Pelt left the Panthers in 1992 with a school-record 10,913 passing yards.
If you say so
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan joined Mark Madden on Wednesday on 105.9 The X. He insists the Penguins’ window of opportunity to win a fourth Stanley Cup in the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era is still open.
“Is this team capable of winning a championship? We believe it is,” Sullivan said. “We believe these guys have elite hockey left in them. I have so much respect for the core here.”
Why so? The eye test would suggest that is no longer the case after back-to-back first-round exits in the playoffs.
“I watch these guys on a daily basis. I believe in these guys. And I know (general manager) Jim (Rutherford) does as well,” Sullivan continued.
Well, maybe Sullivan is looking at it through different glasses. Because, right now, I see a team with a questionable bottom six, a top six that forgot how to score in the postseason, a goalie who is a full-time starter for the first time, and a rebuilt bottom defensive pair from castoffs via other teams.
If that window really is open, catch the warm breeze while you can. Because I’m fearful it’s going to be slammed shut soon.
Manhattan Marvin?
The Jets interviewed McDonald, Pa.’s Marvin Lewis for their head coach opening. That’s according to a team announcement.
The Fort Cherry product was head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 years. He went 131-122-3 in that time, winning four AFC North titles. But Lewis never won a playoff game, going 0-7.
Lewis served as co-defensive coordinator this year on the staff of Herm Edwards at Arizona State. Edwards used to coach the Jets as well.
A one-time Steelers assistant, Lewis is the second known candidate to interview for the job. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy interviewed on Wednesday, according to the New York Post.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz
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