Tomlin still not saying who’s to start on the line

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Three days before the Pittsburgh Steelers open the season in Cleveland, new coach Mike Tomlin still wasn’t saying for sure Thursday who his starting offensive line will be.

Maybe it’s because the Steelers are playing the Browns, so it probably doesn’t matter.

The Steelers have beaten the Browns like no other team since Cleveland re-entered the NFL in 1999, winning 13 of 14 and 14 of 17 overall, counting one playoff game.

The reasons for that domination are varied — Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger and Joey Porter are among them — but they ultimately center on a Steelers offensive line that has frequently taken control of a game early and never let go.

Home or road, early season or late, good weather or bad, the Steelers often dominate the line of scrimmage, thereby controlling the tempo and the clock.

And never did they do so more convincingly than Dec. 7, when an hour after a snowstorm whipped through Heinz Field on a cold, windy night, Willie Parker ran for a team-record 223 yards in a 27-7 victory. The Steelers outrushed the Browns 303-18.

The result was much the same the previous season, when the Steelers outran Cleveland 209-55 behind Parker’s 130 yards during a 41-0 Steelers rout in Browns Stadium on Christmas Eve.

“That’s something I can’t answer,” Parker said of his success against Cleveland. “I just go out and play every game the same. I’ve had some good yards against the Browns ... but you have to play the next opponent like they are the best team in the NFL.”

Of course, All-Pro left guard Alan Faneca, left tackle Marvel Smith, center Jeff Hartings and right guard Kendall Simmons were responsible for much of that success. But Hartings is retired now, with former Tampa Bay lineman Sean Mahan taking his place.