Week 14 Ravens @S teelers - Steelers Week v2.0

Last time they met the Steelers whipped the Ravens like red headed step children which seemed to spark a offensive downslide that only now they are appear to be recovering from. It so, it couldn't happen at a better time. The Steelers are vulnerable with many of their own fans stating that it possibly the worst 10-2 team they've ever seen. While the Steelers usually get the job done they've played wildly inconsistent as evidenced by their last game against the Bengals. No way should a pro team worth their salt that's ahead 17-3 at the half should take the gas off the pedal that much against a division rival. While I respect what the Steelers have managed to do this season and that the Ravens are all but out of the race for division champions, I can safely say that several Steelers wins were "given," not earned. That won't diminish the intensity of this rivalry and I don't expect that either team will roll over like the Bengals did.

The Ravens offense showed us that the pass attack is possible. I won't say"it's back" because one game is not an indicator. However, the revelation by Flacco after the win v Houston that "they need to let the offense loose" is reminiscent of Joe talking the reigns in his historic 2012 SB run. While a SB run is s stretch this year, a strong finish with a playoff appearance appears more likely at least...and vengeance for a 26-9 thrashing would offer some redemption. That said, the Steelers defense is stout AF. They have holes for sure, but this is the wrong week to think the passing attack could yield 250-300 yards and 2 TDs against a secondary ranked 2nd vs the pass.

The run game too will face the difficult task of bludgeoning an 8th ranked brick wall. The offense will need to get creative with disguised plays, trickery and lots of short passes on timing routes and 3-5 step drop backs by Joe. The run game will need to mix it up with Collins and Allen to wear down the front 7 with Woodhead being the off-pace and passing downs back. I'd expect the Steelers to try and overwhelm and underwhelming OL early so Joe and the OL needs to be ready for early pressure. A big advantage (and sadly the case) is the absence of Ryan Shazier in which our rushers may be able to take advantage of b/u Matakevich with a dinged up shoulder.

The Ravens D needs to to do much of the same in overwhelming the Steelers OL to prevent Roethlisberger from passing. With Jimmy Smith on IR you know he'll will target whoever is covering AB on each play like Savage did with Hopkins. No matter who that is they'll need a ton of safety help over the top.

LeVeon Bell will be the main focus after torching Bmore for 144 rush yards, 42 receiving yards and 2 TDs earlier this year. However, we didn't have a full compliment on the D-line then as we do now and I think that they end up stifling Bell once again keeping under 80 yards and no scores. The worry then with so much attention on Bell is then AB and the passing game minus our star CB.

My crystal ball is murky here and a Steelers win is more likely than not, but one thing this rivalry has taught me is that the underdog can pull off and upset. While I've written an "L" in for the Ravens for this game earlier this year, especially after the atrocious offensive performance they've displayed up til last week, I'm going "homer pick" for the win, but by a narrow margin.

Ravens 19 - Steelers 16. Expect another ho-hum stat line from Joe, a bigger day from our running backs, a gutsy performance from our defense and monster day from Justin Tucker.

 

The first Steelers win against the Ravens was certainly a "given" haha

Sounds like Moats will be starting at ILB alongside Williams

 

Gonna be a good one. Both teams have something to play for even though the Steelers have a big lead in the division.

I do think Brown could have a big game if the line protects Ben but, ultimately it will come down to not forcing the ball and making a few big plays.

It could come down to the 4th quarter just like last year but with less on the line for the Steelers. I don't see them looking past the Ravens though. Big rivalry and the Ravens are legit.

Hard to predict a score so I won't but I will say how proud I am of the Ravens for their outpouring of support for #50. Suggs works out with him in the off season I'm told. Pretty cool to hear.

Gonna be a good one and maybe it will be two of three match ups.

 

Curious which games you are talking about? The Steelers certainly have not won games in the way I thought they would this year. I expected a dominant offense and a work in progress defense. The defense has, at times, been dominant while the offense struggled. I can't think of a single game that the Steelers won that they shouldn't have. Even the Bengals game was a game that I thought the Steelers were only down in the first half because of the emotional nature of the injury to Shazier. The second half was a different game.

I agree. This is a big loss for the Steelers. He's not easy to replace.

AB will get his, especially with Smith out, but Bryant is the guy you need to worry about. He's been getting better every week and if Carr is tasked with covering him with little help...assuming they roll coverage to AB...Bryant could have a career game.


I think its going to be a good game. One that will be very emotional for the Steelers. Expect a very fired up team to hit that field tomorrow night. Shazier, Haden and Matakevich being out (and Mike Mitchell being questionable) are big for the Ravens offense. I think they score some points. However, the Steelers offense is playing its best football the last 4 weeks and I expect that to continue. Without Jimmy Smith, this is a very different defense. I'm taking the Steelers 27-20 with a rocking rendition of Renegade with all Shazier highlights sparking a key defensive stand by the Steelers late in the game.

 

Bryant reminds me of Limas Sweed. So much potential that will not ever be lived up to. He was a fantasy BUST for me this year, sat on my bench and worthless But anyway at least you have JuJu who has shown to be a draft steal this season.

 

Really, Martavis Bryant reminds you of Limas Sweed?

So, a player with over 100 career receptions and 16 career TDs in 32 career games reminds you of a player with 7 career receptions in 20?

So, a player who was at least a very good player and at best a dominant player in his first two seasons reminds you of a complete bust who only played in 20 career games with no starts?

I can understand your frustration with Martavis for your fantasy team. I honestly expected him to be dominant out of the gate this year as well. However, to compare him with somebody like Sweed because he's had a disappointing season is just silly.

Bryant has struggled, but if you've watched the past few Steelers games you would see that he's starting to turn the corner. With JuJu out tonight, don't be surprised if he has a big game. You may want to get him off the bench today!

 

To be clear, I'm not saying they didn't deserve to win, but there are plenty of cases where they just didn't suck quite as bad. I'm can't recall all the botched plays each of their narrow/from-behind wins, but there are plenty of examples and against teams you'd expect a 10-2 team to have controlled the game start to finish. The Giants are the first I can recall where they should have lost had it not been for MacAdoo's ineptitude. Last week against Cincy, the Bengals reverted to the Bungles. Shazier imo made no different because a rout was happening with him in and he is better than Moats and Maketavich combined. Cincy just lost focus and massive lead. The Packers with Hundley at the helm and a banged up rushing corps should've been easy picking, but they only managed to pull it out in OT. The Colts are a terrible team they kept it interesting and the win vs the Lions is arguably in there too. They just seem to be playing down to the competition most weeks and start out terrible and have to step on the gas in the 3rd & 4th qtrs. They have barely had one game playing 4 solid quarters.

This is possible. The Ravens have a good run defense and they will be tested without Jimmy with the Steelers receivers. Bell is going to keep them occupied near the LOS. There is going to be plenty of one-on-one coverage to exploit. The DL needs to get to Ben early and often. If they can sack him twice in the first 15 minutes they could get in his head enough to make a difference. Otherwise he could pick them to pieces even if we did have a healthy Jimmy.

I'm thinking it will be close too...at least closer than the last game anyways. Good luck and hope there are no more serious injuries to either.

 

The Steelers haven't played the Giants this year.

BS. Did you watch the game? AJ Green dropped a couple of balls in the rain, but otherwise the Steelers just outplayed them in the second half. Should the Steelers have dominated an inferior team in that game? Maybe, but its divisional football. Rarely are their blowouts in divisional games.

Shazier went out on the THIRD defensive play of the game! How the hell were they being blown out prior to his injury?

This, at least, I can agree with.

 

I am comparing him to Sweed because BOTH had big expectations coming out of the gate. Granted Bryant has done quite a bit more with his opportunity so far, but his attitude early this season which landed him in Tomlin's doghouse reminded me of Sweed's actions in his brief career. This kid was supposed to step up and become AB's help on the other side. He has not shown that and probably won't show it. He was going up against a Ravens secondary last night that let up over 500 yards passing and he got 6 balls for 33 yards. Thats running back catch territory. Sorry he sucks in my book and i am still pissed that the draft auto-picked him before i could get in the draft room that night lol.