WHERE’S ALL THE TALK?

By Tom Misson

I like a good argument, probably as much as I do a good cup of coffee. It gets the blood pumping, and the nerves wired.

So where then is all the chatter this week? After all, it is Steelers week, right? Where’s the made-for-bulletin board material?

Steelers all-pro linebacker James Farrior fired the first salvo yesterday, saying the Browns-Steelers game really isn’t a rivalry anymore until the Browns actually win one. His words Browns nation, not mine.

So far, all is quiet from the Browns locker room. QB Derek Anderson, who made his first ever NFL start last year in Pittsburgh, appeared to down-play the rivalry as just another game on the schedule.

“Everybody is excited about the things that we’ve been doing and we’re just going to keep working. I don’t think we’re over anxious and we’re just going to keep preparing the way we have,” Anderson said calmly.

Atleast the network has finally realized the significance of Sunday’s game. CBS tapped the Browns-Steelers as the number one game on the schedule.

“Well, I didn’t know we had the number one broadcasting crew, ” said a surprised Romeo Crennel.

“It’s no different. We still have to go down and play and we have to play good football. I think, as I mentioned before, that because of where we are – and we haven’t been here in several years here in Cleveland – that people are excited about the possibilities.”

Possibilities indeed. A win would move the Browns into a first place tie with the Steelers. That’s a possibility which has not been realized in C-Town since the 2001 season.

Coming later this week: my prediction on the game.

Browns fans, e-mail me your predictions for the Browns-Steelers game at misson@wews.com