BEREA, Ohio -- Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer will always have a love-hate relationship with the Steelers, whom he'll face Sunday in the opener in Pittsburgh.

The hate came first, all the way back when Hoyer was a little boy growing up in North Olmsted, darting around the yard like he was Bernie Kosar, kicking some black-and-gold butt.

A lifelong Browns fans whose family had season tickets, Hoyer could work up a rage against the Steelers just as well as anyone around these parts.

The love came much later, when Hoyer was a 27-year-old out-of-work quarterback waiting for the phone to ring.

The Steelers called on Nov. 20, 2012 and rescued him from the scrapheap, where the Patriots had unceremoniously dumped him three months earlier in their finals cuts -- when most teams had their rosters set.

On Nov. 25, 2012, Hoyer pulled on the enemy jersey and marched into Cleveland Browns Stadium as a backup quarterback, where he watched the Browns feast on third-teamer Charlie Batch in a 20-14 victory.

"I didn't visualize being on the other side of the rivalry the first time I was a part of it, but I know what this means to this city,'' said Hoyer. "I know what it means to our fans. Like I've said all along, for me, I'm one of the few that get a chance to actually impact it.''



It didn't matter to Hoyer that the first team that called just so happened to be the arch-enemy of his parents, his siblings, his neighbors and everyone he went to school with at St. Ignatius High School. To him, it wasn't black-and-gold, just a golden opportunity.



"I was just grateful to have a job,'' he said. "As bitter as this rivalry is and being a Cleveland boy, I'll always have a place in my heart for Pittsburgh because they gave me a job when no one else would. Had a couple things fallen different ways, you never know how it would have turned out.

"I couldn't be happier to be a Cleveland Brown. Like I said, there will always be a spot in my heart for those guys because they gave me a job when 31 other teams wouldn't. I'll always be thankful for that, but at the same time I think I'm on the right side of this rivalry now."



The Steelers cut Hoyer three weeks later, when Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich were on the mend and the Steelers needed to call up a cornerback from the practice squad. He signed with the Cardinals two days later, and even started their season finale that year.

The Steelers reportedly wanted to re-sign Hoyer as a free agent in March of 2013, but the Cardinals -- then coached by Hoyer's former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians -- slapped a second-round, $2.023 million tender on him, making him a restricted free agent.

The move essentially blocked the Steelers from signing him, and they inked Bruce Gradkowski to a three-year deal instead.



Ultimately, Arians set Hoyer free on May 13, 2013 -- his third waiving in nine months -- and the Browns pounced on him four days later.



"Well, (the Cardinals) found (the technicality) no doubt,'' said Hoyer. "I don't know for what reason. Maybe I could be on the other side. You never know. I'm glad I'm here, that's for sure.''



Hoyer, knowing the intensity of the rivalry from both sides of the turnpike, has been studying film of the Steelers for a long time already.



"Not only here but when I was in New England,'' he said. "It seemed like we played them every year. Obviously I was here last year, and I was there for a few weeks, so I ran the scout team against their defense. I don't know how much I can recall from that. But I've been familiar with Pittsburgh ever since I've been in the league.''



Hoyer was laid up with his torn anterior cruciate ligament for the two meetings against Pittsburgh last season, but he studied them nonetheless.



"I was still coming in and watching film knowing that I'd be back again this year and you get a feel for how they are defensively,'' he said. "Really, I think if you watch them, you know exactly what you're going to get.

"They're going to be solid, the guys are going to be in the right place, they have some schemes where you really have to be ready for them or else they're going to get you. We know what we're going to face and we have to be at our best to be able to beat these guys.''



Hoyer knows the offense will have to be much better than it was in preseason -- when the first-team offense failed to score a touchdown against a starting defense and scored only three points against first-teamers.



"I feel really good,'' he said. "Now you have a single purpose that you're working towards and you're going to be working on plays that you're running in the game. You're not just working on concepts that are your core concepts.

"You could tell there's a little more pep in people's step and a sense of urgency and attention to detail. That's what we need.''



Sure, Hoyer's gotta love the Steelers for what they did. But he still hates 'em just as much as you do.