Are Steelers this good, or are Browns this bad?

Answer: It was a little of each, but the Steelers weren’t perfect.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

CLEVELAND — Interesting questions emerged after the Steelers 34-7 rout of the Browns Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Are the Steelers (two seasons removed from a Super Bowl championship) this good?

And can the Browns possibly be this bad?

“I think we did a good job of making them look bad,” Steelers linebacker James Farrior said. “We won some one-on-one battles and [defensive coordinator] Coach [Dick] LeBeau called a couple of schemes where guys came free on our zone blitz.

“It’s trouble when you don’t know where the blitz is coming from,” Farrior said.

Despite the lopsided defeat, the Steelers weren’t perfect. In the second quarter when the game was still — sort of — in doubt, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn’t complete a pass. Dropped balls were a factor.

Steelers stalled

“We had a little lull there late in the first half,” Coach Mike Tomlin said of four-straight three-and-outs.

Wide receiver Santonio Holmes, whose 40-yard touchdown put the Browns behind by 17 points, said the Steelers weren’t frustrated at halftime.

“We came out [determined] to keep pounding away,” Holmes said.

And in the third quarter, Browns backup quarterback Derek Anderson engineered a 76-yard scoring drive by completing 4 of 5 passes for 73 yards.

Just about everything else went as planned for the Steelers, who gave Tomlin a game ball.

“I tried to give it to Dick LeBeau for his [70th] birthday, but he won’t take it,” Bill Cowher’s successor said. “So I guess I’ll take the ball.”

Pleased with Roethlisberger

Tomlin said he was pleased with how Roethlisberger handled his new role at calling the protection schemes.

“All in all, he did an excellent job managing the game, taking flash plays when they were there for us,” Tomlin said.

Roethlisberger, who passed for 161 yards and four scores, compared Tomlin’s demeanor to the characteristics that made Cowher famous.

“He’s not a rah rah guy who’s spitting and throwing things,” Roethlisberger said of Tomlin. “He’s pretty calm and cool. As a player on the sideline, you like that when he’s talking to you.”

Defensively, the Steelers limited the Browns to 46 yards rushing.

Anthony Smith plays well

Steelers backup free safety Anthony Smith (Hubbard High) finished with four tackles, trailing linebacker James Harrison (seven) and cornerback Ike Taylor.

“This felt real good,” Smith said. “I got in for a couple of snaps last year.”

Ryan Clark started at free safety and Smith was used as nickel back.

Smith said the demand of friends and family for tickets was about the same as he gets for home games.

“A lot of people wanted to come,” said Smith, who was glad to see so many fans wearing black and gold in the stands.

“Steelers fans travel real well and that’s one thing I like about Pittsburgh,” Smith said.

Tailback Willie Parker, who quietly rushed for 109 yards, said the team is looking ahead.

“We aren’t even thinking about this game,” Parker said. “We’ve moved on to the Buffalo Bills.”

williams@vindy.com