Is this a must win for the Ravens? It would be unexpected and nice if our beloved team goes into Baltimore and gets a win. It is arguably a must win for us too. Whichever team loses will be dealt a serious blow to their chances of winning the division. Big Ben with a fractured left index finger for this one.
The annual Roethlisberger pre-Ravens game injury. He'll throw for 350+, 2 TDs, 1 or 0 INTs, and folks will discuss how tough and resilient he is while calling him a warrior. Seriously though, I expect these stats to happen
I hope your prediction comes to pass (pun intended). I won't predict it though because you know: In Baltimore / Harbaugh vs Tomlin / Baltimore's defense vs Ben / ..... insert way in which Baltimore usually causes my beloved super Steelers strife in here ...... did I miss anything?
I would certainly hope that the offense plays better this weekend than they did in Pittsburgh. The Ravens defense is good but if the Steelers play at the level they are capable, they should be able to score a few more points than they did a few weeks ago. Then its on the defense to hold the Ravens down. We'll see...still not sold on that unit. Ben's finger isn't really an issue I don't think. He played the entire second half last week with it and was fine.
I can't remember the last time Ben had a well-played, complete game on the road. So unless those stats come AFTER Pitt is down 17-0 early with half of them in garbage time, just don't see how Ben has that stat line vs the Ravens in BMore. The guy has won what..............THREE TIMES (08', 10', 17') in his career there? I don't see the Ravens coming out flat after dropping their last two games, with essentially the division on the line. A loss would put them 2.5 back of Pitt and two plus a tie-break back of Cincy with another big game with them the following week. Given what's at stake and the rivalry component, they'll be ready to play. Pitt STILL has uncertainty and inconsistency at a number of positions, particularly on defense. And although Connor has played well the last month, he has yet to put up solid stats versus a very good defensive opponent. I don't think teams yet are ready to dedicate game planning for him yet if they feel they don't have to. And we STILL don't have a true #3 receiver performing like a #3 receiver. Washington has had a slow start, and Rogers may not return from PUP/IR for a couple weeks. I see a somewhat low scoring game again, with Ravens making a few more big plays defensively, and pulling away late to seal it 26-17. Ravens are like 2-10 in their last one score games, so if you think they are going to win, far more likely they win by 10+, rather than by a fg.
Second half of the season Ben is better than first half of the season Ben. Being that the second half of the season is here, I would expect Ben to come out in all-pro form this week.
The schedule for the second half of the season looks tough. Ravens lost to both Carolina and the Saints. Steelers still have to play both of those teams plus the Patriots. Both teams still have the Chargers. Ravens have a game with the Chiefs who already beat the Steelers. As always it's a big game. Ravens dominated the last game. Flacco was hardly pressured and the Steelers had almost no running game. The Steelers had better get to Flacco and run the ball if they want a different outcome.
blackngold, i always love the detail with which you post ... you are great at nailing down a point and always an enjoyable read it will really be a sweet victory if our guys can pull off this win deep in enemy territory
great post man, two things that may help: 1) our guys play their best against the best - hopefully we see wins vs carolina and the saints 2) i think we may lead the league in sacks (or close to it) ... butler cmon man you better dial up the pressure vs flacco !!
That last game was UGLY!!! The Ravens were 9-18 (50%) on 3rd/4th down conversions and the Steelers rushed for 19 yards. I don't have a good feeling about this game, but it would be great to see another AFC North coach get canned. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy than Harbaugh
The Ratbirds are starting to show what they really are. And Ty Montgomery is not going to save their season. A successful pass rush will be the key for the Good Guys. This game will be the flip side to their last meeting. The Steelers win this one by double digits.
Ravens just played the Saints and Panthers. Ravens were a missed extra point from beating a one loss Saints team. The Panthers are currently 5-2. I'm not expecting a Steelers win because the Steelers have won three in a row and the Ravens lost 3 of their last 5... They did lose to the Browns! Fitchner admitted he abandoned the run to early in the last game. Hopefully the Steelers can get some positive runs early. The past two weeks I'm not sure if it's the line or if it's James but the running game gets stronger as the game goes along. Seeing a lot more of the 2 and 3 TE sets and physical football from Pittsburgh. Steelers broke the will of the Bengals and Browns defenses in the second half. Defensively the Steelers have been much better defending the deep ball and getting pressure. Can't let Joe get comfortable back there.
One of the hoped for offshoots of the game will be, for me, how the relationship between Ben and #13. It would just be a wild thing if he's the surprise (both to us, somewhat) and to the Ravens... potentially a less covered, #3 or 4 defender . He's being, I think, asked to do a job fairly similar to MB. Tear the lid off it? Certainly as a first year player, trying to understand the rhythms from Ben, the game, his defenders will take mire time and especially time on the field. Nothing is going to replace that in his learning curve. Obviously there's so much more to this than just pitch and catch. (which by the by IMO is the most remarkable of all things about J2S2 ... his remarkable learning curve vs. time played) ... When Washington was picked I went to YouTube and found the reasons why he was considered the best receiver in the country ... we've seen first hand some of his combat catch capability and although not as big as Vance of James, he absolutely ran through CB and Safety ... even glancing LB tackles and has enough speed to challenge one bad angle for the end zone. He needs a chance ... and IMO if he gets it then he gets off the bench for good. Check out his 2018 college YouTube... it's fun and informs of his NFL potential with enough OTJ training as possible... the sooner the better. it's all in there ... just waiting to bust out ... but it needs on get on the field and he needs to get legitimate opportunities from Ben.
The even better thing about Washington’s highlights is that we also have the guy throwing those beautiful passes he is catching. I definitely feel much better about knowing that we have Ben’s replacement on the roster.
Except AB did it in the playoffs when we needed every point and inch we could gain to crawl out of the hole we let the Ravens put us in. AB had that nice 60 yard catch he pinned to his helme before going out of bounds. I just wish they would have used him against the Packers in the SB.
Especially after Sanders went down first qtr in Super Bowl. Probably wouldn't have mattered even if AB-now was AB-then. Not with the way Ben played in that game. He had three crucial mistakes that resulted in 14 points for the Packers (one pick-6, and one pick at midfield that went for six the other way a few plays later that SHOULD have been a td FOR US on a busted coverage to Miller), and finally a missed deep ball to a wife open Wallace badly overthrow to the post instead of the pylon. Ben was the biggest factor in us losing that game.
