NFL PLAYOFFS - Browns quarterback Charlie Frye felt Peyton Manning's pain during the Colts' 21-18 loss to the Steelers in the AFC Divisional Playoffs last Saturday.

Manning, a two-time NFL MVP and eight-year pro, looked just as befuddled and spent almost as much time on his backside as Frye did during his 41-0 loss to the Steelers on Christmas Eve.

Manning was sacked five times and Frye eight. Neither had an answer for the Steelers' relentless blitzing and confusing fronts, which they'll spring on the Broncos in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

"What happened to Peyton in that game, it didn't surprise me," said Frye by phone from Arizona, where he's vacationing with his family. "After playing the Steelers and then watching that game again on film, their defense is playing at a different level than anybody else in the NFL right now. They're playing so fast."

Before the playoffs even began, Frye's mind was made up.

"My prediction was that the Steelers were going to win the Super Bowl," he said. "The way they won four in a row to end the season and how well they were playing, I just felt they were unbeatable."

Frye was even more convinced after the Steelers upset the Colts in Indianapolis.

"The way Jerome Bettis fumbled at the end of the game and they still won, I said they were destined to go to the Super Bowl," Frye said.

Frye took no consolation in the fact that Manning, a probable future Hall of Fame quarterback, was as confounded by the Steelers' defense as Frye was as a rookie.

"It doesn't make me feel any better because it happened to somebody else," said Frye. "It just shows you how good they are. I don't think it matters who you put back there right now with the way they're playing."

Frye attributed the Steelers' recent dominance to deception and the continuity to pull it off.

"Their defense is based on trying to confuse you," Frye said. "They'll bring five guys, but four of them will come from one side. Troy Polamalu is a freak and they'll line him up at safety, at linebacker or up on the line. You can't get a read on where he's coming from."

Frye said he watched hours of film on the Steelers the week before the blowout. "You think you have it figured out on film and boom - they're coming at you from somewhere else," he said. "They make it so hard to decipher what they're doing."

On one play against the Colts, Polamalu lined up at linebacker and stormed the gap at guard. The left tackle moved inside to help and linebacker Joey Porter was left free to sack Manning from the backside.

On other plays, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau deployed only two down linemen but still rushed five - with Polamalu blitzing up the middle. On one such play, Porter and James Farrior combined for a sack. Porter, who sacked Frye three times, got to Manning 1½ times.

"Even Peyton was confused and he's so advanced at what he can do and see at the line of scrimmage," Frye said.

Frye said the Steelers had such a good game plan against the Colts that his friend Ben Roethlisberger didn't have to carry the day.

"He had an excellent first quarter, but after they got ahead [14-0], he didn't have to do too much," Frye said. "They pounded the ball with Willie Parker and Bettis."

Frye said he'll spend plenty of time in the off-season studying film of the 41-0 rout.

"Next year, because I've played those guys and seen it live, I'll be much better prepared."

He said he'll also benefit from more first-team snaps in the off-season program, minicamps and training camp. Coach Romeo Crennel hasn't declared Frye the starter, but General Manager Phil Savage said he deserves a strong look.

"Last season, up until the time I started, I was getting maybe one rep in the whole team period," he said. "This off-season, I'll be able to work on my timing with the receivers and really get it down."

In the meantime, he took his family on vacation.

"I'll be back soon and start watching film with my quarterback coach," he said.

And you can bet which one he'll start with.

SOURCE