For all intents and purposes, Cleveland’s 14-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn’t that big of a deal.

It was a defensive struggle. The Browns went into the game 4-8 against the 9-3 Steelers, so dropping a game on the road by only 11 points is pretty good. That’s sorta the running theme of being a Cleveland sports fan, you have to watch the Indians do well through June and finish the season clinging to second place in the worst division in baseball going “hey, this isn’t so bad!” Or the alternative, “CLEVELAND HAS WASTED THE LAST 20 YEARS OF MY LIFE, GO CLEVELAND.”

Because I’m not a Lead Football Analyst I can’t provide any insights you wouldn’t catch watching guys talk over a game, but what I can do is show you ten photos from the game and cut to the heart of the situation, bypassing photo service captions like “#18 makes a tackle on December 8, 2011″ with easier to handle captions like “look at this football team suck a f**king dick, you guys”.

So, enjoy that.

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No matter how much you might hate the Steelers (or passively loathe them, as I do), it’s difficult to deny the awesomeness of head coach Mike Tomlin. In his four years in Pittsburgh, he already has won a Super Bowl and will be on his way to another with win against the Jets on Sunday. Plus he just looks cool, man. So it was forgivable–even appropriate, really–when Tomlin took a bite out of the ass of ESPN’s Bob Holtzman, who leaked news last week of a potential Steelers trick play before their game with the Ravens. Tomlin and Holtzman crossed paths at a press conference earlier this week.

Bob Holtzman, ESPN: [How] much time and preparation does it take to prepare for a Rex Ryan defense?

Mike Tomlin: It depends on whether you give him my plays, you know?

<a href=”http://burgh.us/19e”> Watch the video at NFL.com

Get him, Mike! I was pretty bent out of shape when I heard Holtzman’s report last week. Coaches and personnel will regularly tip off the media to plays that they might run for a certain game, with the understanding that such information is embargoed until kickoff. Holtzman committed a serious professional breach here, and I’m glad that he was called out for it. Holtzman strikes me as the kind of guy that would negotiate anal with a prostitute, only to take a stab at it anyway after being turned down. “It” being…well, you know…

The acknowledgement of Omar Epps’ uncanny resemblance to Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin finally happened on “House” last night. And it was a thing of beauty from out of nowhere. For me, anyway. Supposedly this clip has been online since Thursday. It’s new to me! Ever notice how Tomlin and Epps are never in the same place at the same time? I don’t have a joke for that, it was just a genuine observation. Vid. Img.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers saw charter buses waiting outside of their facility in Latrobe, Pennsylvania yesterday, they assumed that their coach was allowing them to skip their last day of camp and go to a movie theater. But head coach Mike Tomlin had different ideas. In fact, he was executing a prank conceived by Steelers kicker Jeff Reed.

It was all a ruse — there were no movies, no bowling alley excursion, no break on the last day at camp. Practice went on, and Tomlin only grinned at the prank orchestrated by Reed, the team’s best-known jokester. The Arizona Cardinals may have had a day at the movies this week, but there will be no such day off for the Steelers.

“Just a little mental warfare,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes people need to be horribly disappointed and then asked to perform. And they did pretty well.” via.

Reed–who wasn’t in on the joke as it happened–was actually hoping that Tomlin was planning to trick him and send the team out anyway. Like Reed had such a hard day ahead of him–kicking balls while kicking back beer* sounds like a better vacation than a lot of people get. And that’s his job. The only thing easier would be sitting in front of a computer all day and making fun of a…oh.

*Probably not true

"Saint Andrew's Net" is With Leather's daily link dump, written by the bane of respectable journos and scrupulous primates alike, Michael Tunison. Expect sports and tits.

• The Legend of Cecilio Guante looks at the most jarring late-career teams of star players. Franco Harris on the Seahawks ain't sitting right either.
• Big League Stew searches for MLB players with the best NASCAR names.  But do they have NASCAR inner tumult?
• Mondesi's House reports Mike Tomlin gave two commencement speeches in two days. And didn't wear sunglasses during either of them!
• The Worldwide Leader is trying to sell a web site to T.O. Hope they're willing to accept popcorn.
• Machochip profiles Spencer Tunick, photographer of lots of nudes in Vienna stadiums. Couldn't fly up this Italian?

 Send your submissions for Saint Andrew's Net to withleather@gmail.com