Listless in Cleveland: Browns a Major Disappointment in Finale vs. Steelers

Absolutely dreadful.

Terrible.

Sickening

These are just four of the words that describe the Cleveland Browns' performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers today. Even as I write these words, the game, nor the Browns' season for that matter, had yet to come to an end. 

But with the effort put forth today by the men in orange and brown, it might just as well have.

Any outside observer had to think the Browns entered this game relishing the role of playing home-field spoiler against hated rival Pittsburgh. Heck, despite losing its previous three games, Cleveland had been playing competitive enough to be considered a serious roadblock in the Steelers' quest to win the AFC North.

The Browns started the game fast, marching well inside Pittsburgh territory before a pass that was intended for Benjamin Watson was intercepted by Troy Polamalu. The Steelers connected for a long touchdown pass on the very next play, and that was the beginning of the end for the Browns. 

Down 14-0 at one point, the Browns kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 14-3. Those would be the only points they would score in the first half, as the Steelers headed into the locker room with a decided 31-3 advantage.

More importantly today for the Browns than whether they won or loss this game was the absolute lack of effort put forth by the entire team, something that seems to be the only constant during the Browns' four-game losing streak. 

Dropped passes, missed tackles or coverages and mounting frustration that result in silly penalties continued to haunt the Browns. That this poor performance comes just days after several Browns players publicly lobbied for Cleveland management to retain Eric Mangini makes it all the more baffling.

Many will point to the Browns' lack of depth, whether due to injury or lack of correct personnel, as the reason that they cannot compete with the likes of Pittsburgh. And it is true that the Steelers did have the more talented squad today. 

But the Browns' woes have to go beyond personnel depth. After all, McCoy was able to march the Browns down the field in the first half on a couple of occasions, even if the sum of those two drives was only three points. Defensively, Rob Ryan's unit was able to fluster Ben Roethlisberger on some plays, while getting burned on others. 

So, the question then becomes, are these inconsistencies the result of a lack of talent or poor coaching? 

The short answer is both. 

The Browns were clearly outmatched in today's game versus the Steelers. But it also appeared that the coaching staff waited until the team was down two touchdowns to even think of getting aggressive. Kicking a field goal on fourth-and-goal in any other game might have seemed like a wise decision, but in the final game of the season? 

It's not as if Cleveland needs to save anything for next week. After today they will have a whole six months or so to recuperate.  And, after today's performance, the management in Cleveland would be wise to take advantage of the entire six months to make this organization better in 2011.