By Shawn Clarke, NFL Contributing Editor -- (Sports Network) - An AFC North battle is on tap for the first weekend of the 2007 NFL season, as the Pittsburgh Steelers pay a visit to Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday for a showdown with their longtime rivals.

Mike Tomlin will make his regular-season debut as the Steelers' 16th head coach in franchise history on Sunday. Tomlin, who was given the reigns in January, is just the third head coach for Pittsburgh since 1969, as both Chuck Knoll and Bill Cowher left their mark in the Steel City with long and successful tenures.

Tomlin spent last season as Minnesota's defensive coordinator after toiling for five years as the defensive backs coach in Tampa Bay. The Steelers hope the 35-year-old can get them back in the playoffs after the club finished with an 8-8 record in 2006, just one year removed from a fifth Super Bowl title.

Ben Roethlisberger played through a tumultuous and injury-riddled 2006 campaign that included a motorcycle accident, an appendectomy and a concussion. He passed for 3,513 yards with 18 touchdowns and an NFL-high 23 interceptions last season, a complete opposite of his 17-touchdown, nine-INT showing during Pittsburgh's 2005 championship run.

Running back Willie Parker will be counted on again to carry the load for the Steeler offense. The shifty back had 1,494 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 2006, while recording 222 yards receiving with three more scores. Parker is the main focus for the offense in 2007 and will most likely carry the ball almost 400 times.

Browns head coach Romeo Crennel enters his third season at the helm in Cleveland after coming off a 4-12 campaign in 2006. He recently had to make a tough decision on who the starting quarterback would be, with the team having selected Notre Dame standout Brady Quinn in the first round (22nd overall) of April's NFL Draft.

Crennel handed the starting duties to Charlie Frye, who beat out both Quinn and Derek Anderson in training camp. Frye is the veteran of the bunch and started 13 games for the Browns last season, passing for 2,454 yards with 10 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His hard work in camp and during the preseason was more than enough to earn the starting job, though it may be only for now.

New Browns running back Jamal Lewis will try to take some of the pressure off Frye when he gets his chance to shine this season. Lewis signed a one-year deal with the Browns in the offseason after torturing them annually as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. He spent his previous seven years in the league with Baltimore and rushed for 1,132 yards with nine touchdowns on 314 carries last season. Lewis will certainly make an impact in Cleveland.

SERIES HISTORY

The Browns lead the regular season series with the Steelers, which dates back to 1950, by a 55-53 count. Pittsburgh has won 12 of its last 13 regular season games against Cleveland, including seven straight since the Browns pulled off a 33-13 win at Heinz Field in 2003. Last season, the Steelers were 24-20 winners in Cleveland in Week 11 and took a 27-7 decision from the Browns at home in Week 14.

Pittsburgh is 6-0 in Cleveland since last losing there in 2000, a 23-20 defeat.

The clubs have also met twice in the postseason, with Pittsburgh winning both times. The Steelers picked up a 29-9 victory in a 1994 AFC Divisional Playoff, and won a 36-33 thriller in a 2002 AFC First-Round Playoff.

Crennel is 0-4 versus Pittsburgh as a head coach. Tomlin will be meeting both Crennel and the Browns for the first time as a head man.

WHEN THE STEELERS HAVE THE BALL

Now that former offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Bruce Arians will take over in his place after three years as Pittsburgh's wide receivers coach. Arians has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including 14 years in the NFL. He will be in charge of keeping Roethlisberger under control as well as devising productive plays for Parker. Since Arians is very familiar with the wideouts, expect Santonio Holmes (49 receptions, 2 TD in '06) to have a breakout season in the Steel City. Holmes is a young, speedy deep threat who compliments veteran wideout and possible future Hall of Famer Hines Ward, who had 975 yards receiving for the second straight year along with six touchdowns and 74 receptions. Also at Roethlisberger's disposal will be tight end Heath Miller (34 receptions), who compiled 393 yards and five TD's in 2006.

Pittsburgh, which ranked 10th overall in rushing and ninth in passing last year, has a new center on the offensive line in Sean Mahan, who replaces retired former Pro Bowl honoree Jeff Hartings. Roethlisberger and Parker will need a cohesive line this season, a question mark due to the disgruntlement of All-Pro Alan Faneca. The left guard is entering his 10th and perhaps last season as a Steeler. He is still waiting on a new contract, something right guard Kendall Simmons just earned on Monday, when he inked a five-year extension.

The biggest preseason story concerning the Cleveland defense has been cornerback Gary Baxter, who tore both patellar tendons in his knees on the same play against the Denver Broncos in late October of last season. Baxter vowed to make a strong return, but will most likely miss Sunday's game.

Linebacker Kamerion Wimbley enjoyed a solid rookie season for the Browns and will try to apply the pressure on Roethlisberger this weekend. Wimbley had 62 tackles with a team-high 11 sacks in 2006 and will anchor the defense again. Inside linebacker Andra Davis was force in the middle last season with a team- best 104 tackles, a sack and a pair of interceptions. Veteran outside backer Willie McGinest will miss the start of the season as he recovers from back surgery, however.

The Browns were 23rd against the pass and a putrid 31st against the run in 2006. They can expect a lot of Parker on Sunday, especially with defensive end Orpheus Roye on the mend. The 34-year-old, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery which forced him to miss almost the entire training camp and all four preseason games, is expected to play but could see limited time. Roye had 32 tackles and a sack in nine games in 2006.

WHEN THE BROWNS HAVE THE BALL

Now that the quarterback controversy is at least temporarily over and Frye gets the starting nod on Sunday, the Browns can now focus on improving a weak offense from a year ago. He will be the first Cleveland signal-caller to start two consecutive opening days since Kelly Holcomb did so back in 2002 and 2003, but faces a tough schedule ahead that includes three home games versus AFC North foes in the season's first month. New offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski will work with a beefed-up offensive line after the offseason additions of guard Eric Steinbach and first-round draft pick tackle Joe Thomas. The two should provide the proper protection for Frye as well as open holes for new running back Lewis, who replaces the traded Reuben Droughns as the team's primary ball carrier. He likely has something to prove this season after the Ravens basically labeled him as finished. On the injury front, center LeCharles Bentley continues to recover from knee surgery and is out indefinitely.

Frye will have a nice bunch of receivers to throw to in stud wideout Braylon Edwards (61 receptions, 6 TD), tight end Kellen Winslow (89 receptions, 3 TD) and wide receiver Joe Jurevicius (40 receptions, 3 TD). Edwards is expected to have a breakout season in the new offense and is arguably the best target in Cleveland since Ozzie Newsome ran routes before heading to the front office in Baltimore. Winslow led the Browns in catches and receiving yards and managed to have no run-ins with motorcycles while playing in all 16 games.

With longtime linebacker now Joey Porter in Miami, the Steelers will have to rely on someone else to be the vocal, high-spirited force on defense. Tomlin prefers to run a 4-3 defense, but coordinator Dick LeBeau has instilled new schemes to Pittsburgh's traditional 3-4 look. With the personnel conducive to LeBeau's defense, Tomlin has added only parts of the 4-3 that he coached during his days in Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

The Pittsburgh defense could give Frye and company fits on Sunday, with linebacker James Farrior (128 tackles, 4 sacks) leading the way. Fellow linebackers Clark Haggans and Larry Foote contributed to a defense which ended third overall against the run and 20th versus the pass last season. Haggans had six sacks, second only to Porter's seven for the team lead. James Harrison is slated to take over for Porter at the right outside spot.

Pro Bowl nose tackle Casey Hampton is Pittsburgh's big man up front, while ends Aaron Smith and Brent Keisel sandwich him on the line. The trio will face a tough test against an improved Browns line, as well as Lewis now running the football.

Perhaps the most-feared player on Pittsburgh's defense is safety Troy Polamalu, who signed a four-year extension in the offseason. Polamalu is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and finished third on the team with 82 tackles in 2006. The hard-hitting USC product will keep Browns receivers Edwards and Winslow on their toes.

FANTASY FOCUS

The main fantasy player on Pittsburgh's roster is Parker, who shook off preseason knee injury and has been a first-round pick in most fantasy drafts. Not only can Parker hurt defenses between the tackles, but his speed around the ends and ability to catch out of the backfield makes him one of the best backs in the NFL. If Parker suffers an unfortunate injury, backup Najeh Davenport will most likely handle the running duties. If Roethlisberger can put up similar numbers from his rookie campaign, then he will be a steal for fantasy owners this year. Projected to be plucked in the later rounds of most drafts, the reliable Roethlisberger does not put up Peyton Manning-type numbers, and probably never will. But he serves as a nice backup unless you forget to draft a quarterback. Roethlisberger has some pretty decent fantasy receivers to throw the ball to in Ward, Holmes and Miller. Neither of the three are top picks at their respective positions, but it wouldn't be a bad gamble on any of those players in later rounds.

Even though Cleveland has been serving as an NFL doormat on a yearly basis, the Browns do have some point-makers in the fantasy business. Lewis, Edwards and Winslow are all solid fantasy picks for owners. Edwards' numbers are expected to improve under new offensive coordinator Chudzinski after he had just three 100-yard games a season ago. Winslow is pretty much in the same boat, but the brash tight end is due to have a productive season similar to his college days at Miami.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

It doesn't get any better than having two old rivals duke it out in Week 1 of the NFL season. Pittsburgh will win the game simply because Cleveland's defense is terrible. With Parker headlining the ground game and a linebacking corps frothing at the mouth to start the season, Tomlin will start off on the right foot in helping Steelers fans forget Cowher. It will take more than one win for that to happen, however. Crennel has a lot to prove this season and could be on the way out by mid-year if Cleveland starts out slow. Lewis and Edwards are the offensive stars Crennel is relying on to keep him employed by season's end.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Steelers 31, Browns 17