Todd Porter: Browns will be good when they beat Pittsburgh
Tears of appreciation ran down the cheek of Kellen Winslow Jr.
The Cleveland Browns tight end has battled physical and mental walls to become the player he is.
On the heels of Sunday's 33-30 overtime win against Seattle, the Browns were left believing they're a good team. They are, after all, 5-3 halfway through the season.
Their quarterback, Derek Anderson, probably made Charlie Frye wince in agony as Anderson moved Cleveland's offense with throws that Frye never could. But are the Browns a good team?
Make that judgment this Sunday after Cleveland faces AFC North nemesis Pittsburgh. The Steelers handed the Browns their worst loss of the season back when optimism without reason ran as high as today's optimism with reason.
"This is a different team than the one that played them the first game of the season," Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel said. "We'll play them this time, and I think you get a better evaluation of where this team is."
The Steelers are the Browns' mental wall. Cleveland has just one win against Pittsburgh in the last 15 games.
One win, 14 losses.
That's not a rivalry folks. That's dominance.
Until the Browns beat a team like the Steelers -- on the road no less -- they cannot consider themselves good. Good teams not only win the games they should, they win the ones they shouldn't.
Having said that, these Browns are different than the ones that opened the season. Not only in personnel, but in attitude as well.
Winslow wouldn't have cried out of satisfaction after a game like Sunday before.
Winslow and Braylon Edwards have shown maturity off the field. They've always had the ability on it but not the head for the game.
In Anderson, fans are able to watch a guy grow every week -- a guy most of the rest of the NFL still doesn't even know.
"He ran a ball for a first down at the end of the game, and that's just a helluva play," Winslow said. "That's knowing the situation. Derek is a Pro Bowl player. He's coming into his own."
Those are lofty words, but Anderson is on pace for a 4,000-yard passing season. He's playing behind an offensive line that has depth and legitimacy, which they had the first time against the Steelers. They just didn't have a quarterback with a cannon and itchy trigger finger.
Anderson has had success in the past against Pittsburgh, but the Browns dropped passes. They did it again Sunday but got away with it. Beating the Steelers will take no less than the Browns' finest game since Art Modell passed out ham sandwiches in the press box.
So the second half of the season starts the way the first did: Against the Steelers, with plenty of hope and optimism. Yes, Cleveland has made both progress and none at all -- depending on how it plays against the big brother of the AFC North.
The Browns have turned some heads with a 5-3 start. Maybe now, though, they can earn some respect.
Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail todd.porter@cantonrep.com