On To Pittsburgh

[Ravenswintitle]

They've been making some big plays. Sometimes it's Ben or one of the receivers doing it. Their running game hasn't been so effective but they sure have been feeding Bell the ball each week. I'm worried about getting stung in the passing game. They've been scoring a lot more points that way since we last played the Steelers

So am I, their deep passing attack has been working just well enough....feeding the ball to Bell keeps the defense honest

[Ravens75]

Funny you should say that. I went back to see when we had a game without a turnover (seems like a lot lately)...and it was the Steelers game where we lost.

The Steelers didn't turned the ball over either. What got the Ravens in that game was that the Steelers ran the ball and the Ravens didn't. Roth only threw for 160 yards with 286 total yards of offense.

2 of the last 3 weeks the Steelers have faced two of the worst secondaries in the league in Det. and Buffalo so they were able to exploit them.

The Ravens have to make the Steelers one dimensional and I think they will. Will Brown get deep once? It's possible but only if its off a Ben R. scramble.

[lobachevsky]

Unfortunately, Harbaugh feels that the Ravens aren't "supposed" to blowout the Steelers. He's done a superb job of brainwashing some posters on this board.

:grbac: Oh, horse hockey. It's all a question of standard deviations. Harbaugh looks at the stats & concludes that a risk-averse, close-to-the-vest approach produces fewer blowouts (in either direction) than a pedal-to-the-metal game plan, but a higher probability of victory (even if narrow).

Many fans get impatient with this because they don't get many chances to do happy in-your-face suck-my-whatever dances over the wreckage of well & truly mauled opponents. (Or more charitably, because they're sick of biting their fingernails until the final gun over what might go [& distressingly often this year, has gone] wrong...)

But the important thing is that Harbaugh has convinced Bisciotti that this is the path to year-in-year-out success: Winning small & ugly during the regular season, but winning enough to sneak/squeak into the postseason, then letting everything fly once it's win-or-go-home, when anything can happen. Meanwhile Bisciotti is convinced that as much as Ravens fans grumble over the lack of soul-stompings delivered by the purple&black upon their adversaries, we will most all be mollified when the plodding & dull approach extends yet another campaign into the new year.

You want to dispute Harbs' reasoning, have at, but don't pretend there's no reasoning there. And keep in mind that his track record--5 postseason appearances, 3 AFCCGs & a Lombardi in 5 years--is pushing back pretty hard.

And FTR, FWIW, let me propose a corollary to Godwin's Law (call it Loba's Lemma if you care, I will hereby name it the Manchurian Candidate Corollary, or MCC):

As a dispute on RSR grows longer, the probability of an accusation that the other side is "brainwashed" approaches 1.

Can it also be assumed (a la Godwin) that whoever resorts to the accusation has by definition already lost the argument? Don't ask me--I just identify analogies, I don't promote them...:D

[The Excellector]

Just get the big mother fucker down. Don't worry about the strip. Just get him down. Every time they worry too much about the damn strip, he gets away.

[The Excellector]

This game is huge! It's pretty much king of the mole hill at the moment. Cleveland's already taken a tumble down the mole hill. One more loss eliminates them and Campbell is hurt. With Weeden at QB, they're bound to lose at any moment.

The Jets have already lost to Pittsburgh AND Baltimore

Isn't Locker done for the season?

SD already has 5 conference losses and still has to play Denver once and KC one, if I am not mistaken.

[alienrace]

The Steelers secondary is weak. They got torched by Detroit, and Josh Gordon had 237 yards against them yesterday. They won yesterday because of turnovers, as the Brown's were once again very generous in that department.

The Ravens will win this at home. They won't be fooled like they were in the first meeting, and the crowd/atmosphere will have them amped up like no other game. They will win because they'll be able to pass the ball, and because the pass rush will negate the Steelers passing game. Neither team can run the ball for shit.

[lobachevsky]

SD already has 5 conference losses and still has to play Denver once and KC one, if I am not mistaken.

And they host the Pooties next Sunday. If Poe's Crows prevail vs Tar&Urine Turkey Night that one's almost a can't-lose from here--either the Bolts practically get bounced out of the #6 seed sweepstakes, or things start to get awful innerestin' in the Black & Blue Division...

[Complex]

Actually I think they are league leading in not giving up the "big play." With Lebuea's concept of defense I am not surprised. I am not a stat junky, but I am pretty sure I heard that on a radio show. And, the secondary has been steadily improving forcing turnovers and making plays. And Josh Gordon threw for 237 yards? That is not that much. And how many touchdowns did he have? That is how the Steeler's D works; they play a little soft at the front end of the a series and tighten up in the later downs and in the red zone.

At the beginning of the year I was sure the Ravens would handle the Steelers easily, but as of late the Steelers could possibly be the most improved team of the year. As usual, no score would surprise me: 6-3, 30 - 0, 28 - 10, etc. with either team winning. Records mean nothing when these two teams play. It will surely be the usual slobberknocker!

The Steelers secondary is weak. They got torched by Detroit, and Josh Gordon had 237 yards against them yesterday. They won yesterday because of turnovers, as the Brown's were once again very generous in that department.

The Ravens will win this at home. They won't be fooled like they were in the first meeting, and the crowd/atmosphere will have them amped up like no other game. They will win because they'll be able to pass the ball, and because the pass rush will negate the Steelers passing game. Neither team can run the ball for shit.

[GirlsKickButt]

The Stealers by the numbers:

23rd ranked Rushing Defense
10th ranked Passing Defense
8th ranked Passing Offense
30th ranked Rushing Offense

For the Ravens to prevail on Thursday:

1) The rushing attack must show up like it did in Chicago, or at least have 100 yards with Rice + Pierce
2) Limit offensive turnovers to 0 - 1
3) Get to Ben while containing him
4) Shut down the Stealers weak running game
5) Shut down Heath Miller

I think our secondary matches up well with the Steeler's WRs. Brown is their big play guy. He's in the top 5 in receiving yards this season. Sanders and Cotchery can be handled with man coverage. And Miller is Ben's security blanket and has been a Ravens killer in the past.

[GOTA]

Just get the big mother fucker down. Don't worry about the strip. Just get him down. Every time they worry too much about the damn strip, he gets away.

That's the truth. You look at Ben and you see a big stupid slob. Then you watch him play and believe how he's able to move, scan the field and make plays. Wrap him up. That's by far the best way to play Ben

[alienrace]

And Josh Gordon threw for 237 yards? That is not that much. And how many touchdowns did he have?

Threw? Gordon is a receiver! And 237 yards for a receiver is a monster game. He had one TD as I recall.

[Complex]

Funny, I watched the game and I just assumed that some unknown QB was in! Doh! Yeah, that is a ton of yards for a receiver. Despite my own stupidity, I still stand by my comments that the Steeler secondary is improving by leaps and bounds even with that performance by Gordon.

Sorry about the confusion! If that is the worst mistake I make on a Monday then I am in good shape. Thanks for setting me straight.

Threw? Gordon is a receiver! And 237 yards for a receiver is a monster game. He had one TD as I recall.