PITTSBURGH (AP) — James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons probably didn’t believe it when they heard it.
The Cleveland Browns, with their two top quarterbacks injured, likely will give rookie Colt McCoy his first NFL start Sunday in Pittsburgh, where he would go against one of the league’s most physical and effective defenses.
The Steelers’ complicated zone blitz schemes and ever-varying looks are troublesome to the league’s top quarterbacks, so sending out a player who has yet to throw an NFL pass to oppose them would seem to be a tremendous mismatch.
That’s why some of the Steelers are questioning how much they’ll actually go against McCoy, if he’s chosen to start. They recall how the Browns upset them 13-6 in December, effectively deploying Joshua Cribbs in the wildcat offense during a loss that eventually cost Pittsburgh any chance of making the playoffs.
