Honestly, is 10-6 still possible?

[Dade]

I completely agree with his assessment that we match up better against the Steelers.

The Steelers were our roadblock to the Superbowl last year- so THAT is who Ozzie looked to surpass this year. He drafted a small, but fast corner (webb)- and bought one (Foxworth). We drafted a solid right tackle to protect Flacco. What has KILLED us this year is BIG wide receivers who can out physical our corners. The Steelers wide receivers are as much BIG, as they are FAST.

We've never had a problem in recent years shutting down the Steelers rushing attack- it's always been broke down plays where Roethlisberger finds Holmes or Ward breaking open downfield. This team WAS BUILT this offseason to combat that. I have said this from the beginning.

I think our defense talks so much trash, that maybe the refs have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to penalties- because if you subtract just half of the holding and pass interference penalties- the stats on the secondary don't look nearly as bad. BUT- those pass INTs were primarily against BIGGER wide receivers, where the corners felt they NEEDED to hold. This IS NOT the case against the Steelers.

I truly think this team was put together to match up with the Steelers and I love our chances against them. If we put together a 3 game winning streak going into the second matchup against them in Pittsburgh as well- I expect us to sweep them this year! WE were a bad call/play away from winning all 3 games last year- and we both have gotten better- so why not?!

Don't jump off the ship. This team has a leader on offense now that can carry the load. The slow starts are a product of quick holes and momentum more than anything. So long as we get thry Monday night with a win- I expect a VERY close game against the Colts next week. Their secondary is weak and Flacco at home should be able to dominate. OUr defense at home will have the juice to get to Manning- and we break the curse against the Colts in what will be viewed as the turning point in the season.

Mark my words.

I hope your right.

[Ravenator]

I completely agree with his assessment that we match up better against the Steelers.

The Steelers were our roadblock to the Superbowl last year- so THAT is who Ozzie looked to surpass this year. He drafted a small, but fast corner (webb)- and bought one (Foxworth). We drafted a solid right tackle to protect Flacco. What has KILLED us this year is BIG wide receivers who can out physical our corners. The Steelers wide receivers are as much BIG, as they are FAST.

We've never had a problem in recent years shutting down the Steelers rushing attack- it's always been broke down plays where Roethlisberger finds Holmes or Ward breaking open downfield. This team WAS BUILT this offseason to combat that. I have said this from the beginning.

I think our defense talks so much trash, that maybe the refs have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to penalties- because if you subtract just half of the holding and pass interference penalties- the stats on the secondary don't look nearly as bad. BUT- those pass INTs were primarily against BIGGER wide receivers, where the corners felt they NEEDED to hold. This IS NOT the case against the Steelers.

I truly think this team was put together to match up with the Steelers and I love our chances against them. If we put together a 3 game winning streak going into the second matchup against them in Pittsburgh as well- I expect us to sweep them this year! WE were a bad call/play away from winning all 3 games last year- and we both have gotten better- so why not?!

Don't jump off the ship. This team has a leader on offense now that can carry the load. The slow starts are a product of quick holes and momentum more than anything. So long as we get thry Monday night with a win- I expect a VERY close game against the Colts next week. Their secondary is weak and Flacco at home should be able to dominate. OUr defense at home will have the juice to get to Manning- and we break the curse against the Colts in what will be viewed as the turning point in the season.

Mark my words.

[pyite32]

I hope you are right too, but I will outline my problems with your assessment below.

I completely agree with his assessment that we match up better against the Steelers.

The Steelers were our roadblock to the Superbowl last year- so THAT is who Ozzie looked to surpass this year. He drafted a small, but fast corner (webb)- and bought one (Foxworth). We drafted a solid right tackle to protect Flacco. What has KILLED us this year is BIG wide receivers who can out physical our corners. The Steelers wide receivers are as much BIG, as they are FAST.

This is true of their recievers, however Ward is pretty damn physical.

We've never had a problem in recent years shutting down the Steelers rushing attack- .

This was true of recent years when our Rushing defens was #3(2008), #2(2007), and #2(2006).

This year so far we are #6 in total yards which doesn't sound so bad unless you look at the individual games and trends.

Games 1-4: 238 yards allowed Rushing (59.5 YPG Average)
Games 4-8: 521 yards allowed Rushing (130.25 YPG Average)

it's always been broke down plays where Roethlisberger finds Holmes or Ward breaking open downfield. This team WAS BUILT this offseason to combat that. I have said this from the beginning.

With the zero pass rush and amount of time we give quarterbacks to throw, I can't see Foxworth, Washington, and Webb staying with the receivers for 6 or 7 seconds no matter how fast they are. I think we actually play right into Rapistberger's strength with this one.

I think our defense talks so much trash, that maybe the refs have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to penalties- because if you subtract just half of the holding and pass interference penalties- the stats on the secondary don't look nearly as bad. BUT- those pass INTs were primarily against BIGGER wide receivers, where the corners felt they NEEDED to hold. This IS NOT the case against the Steelers.

I don't think size has as much to do with this as the amount of time the receivers have to run around and get open, and the secondary blowing assignments causing them to be out of position

I truly think this team was put together to match up with the Steelers and I love our chances against them. If we put together a 3 game winning streak going into the second matchup against them in Pittsburgh as well- I expect us to sweep them this year! WE were a bad call/play away from winning all 3 games last year- and we both have gotten better- so why not?!

Looking at the shortcomings of this team I would completely disagree with this statement. This may have been the intention going into the season however currently our biggest weaknesses match up with Pittsburgh's biggest strengths.
1. QB who is deadly if you give him time for his slow brain to process.
2. Strong Rushing attack since Mendenhall has taken over.
3. 1 Physical WR who gets in our D's heads and 2 game breakers at # 2 and #3 (can you imagine Carr against Wallace... I shudder)
4. Relentless Pass rush, and lately our OL hasn't stopped any pressure from getting to Flacco.
5. A team that never seems to overlook opponents and will come out strong and fast.

Don't jump off the ship. This team has a leader on offense now that can carry the load. The slow starts are a product of quick holes and momentum more than anything. So long as we get thry Monday night with a win- I expect a VERY close game against the Colts next week. Their secondary is weak and Flacco at home should be able to dominate. OUr defense at home will have the juice to get to Manning- and we break the curse against the Colts in what will be viewed as the turning point in the season.

I am not jumping ship, I am a Ravens fan and always will be. While I think that Flacco is good enough to carry the load, the question is can he do it with our current receiving corps. As far as Indy goes, I can't see us beating Manning with no pass rush against one of the best Pass Protecting OL's, and a QB and WR's that good. Our Secondary will be in really big trouble. Even if Flacco has a career day Manning has the ability to outscore us. Also for some reason, Indy's D always plays their best game of the season against us.

All that being said I really hope you are right and I am wrong, this is just the way I see the state of the team right now.

[Jeremiah W]

I agree with Rex that this roster was built to beat the Steelers. Our Cbs do struggle with tall Wrs, but the Steelers have speed guys more than jump ball catchers.

The Ravens are going to have to put it all together like they did vs Denver a lot more often to go 6-2 or better, but I think it is very possible.

When I break down the rosters of some of the teams playing great D right now, not many have more talent than the Ravens. Denver was doing it with solid scheme and team play. The Steelers D has some individuals better at some spots than we have, but only about half the starters would start on the other team.

Last year our O was much more effective at controling the clock and running the ball, keeping the D fresh. This year we have the potential to play better in all 3 phases than we did last year, but so far have only seen that play out in one game for 60 mins. I still see a lot of comparable things in last year's 3-3 start and this current 4-4 uphill climb. The Ravens let some of those wins get away for one reason or another, but were able to correct the correctable mistakes and get on a roll.

I think not playing very well, penalties and forced throw ints, blown coverages and over running tackles are easier issues to correct than a bunch of injuries and just inferior talent week in and out.

[RAVENOUS52]

While I hope we can beat the Steelers twice this season, I don't see it happen, given Flack's less- than-stellar play against them thusfar in his career.

I saw a stat on TV last night that says our QB is one of the league leaders in multiple INT games since last season (7) and that in those games, the Ravens are 1-6...

That's pretty scarey stuff, given that he's been starting very slowly the past few games. A start like that against the Stoolers in primetime Nov. 29 is something that I don't think our slightly overrated offense can overcome, especially since the Stoolers D tends to take turnovers to the house!

Flacco has to break the chains that bind him and somehow get to the next level of his potential by the time Nov. 22 rolls around, or this season is all but done.

[purplepoe]

While I hope we can beat the Steelers twice this season, I don't see it happen, given Flack's less- than-stellar play against them thusfar in his career.

I saw a stat on TV last night that says our QB is one of the league leaders in multiple INT games since last season (7) and that in those games, the Ravens are 1-6...

That's pretty scarey stuff, given that he's been starting very slowly the past few games. A start like that against the Stoolers in primetime Nov. 29 is something that I don't think our slightly overrated offense can overcome, especially since the Stoolers D tends to take turnovers to the house!

Flacco has to break the chains that bind him and somehow get to the next level of his potential by the time Nov. 22 rolls around, or this season is all but done.

Those stats take into account last season when he was a rookie and struggling mightily during the first 5 games. Flacco has been the MVP of this team this year IMO and is clearly a different QB than when alot of those multi int games occurred.

He is way down on the list of worries for me with this team.

Im reading how this team was built to beat the Steelers with the faster CBs?

I mean, come on. Our CBs are struggling against all WRs, not just big ones. Footwork and technique are basic things they aren't doing well.

I get the idea of positive thinking but you gotta call a spade a spade. And right now the reality is that the Ravens are playing at an average to slightly below average level and will get smoked by the Steelers if they don't improve their play significantly.

As far as talent on defense? The Steelers own that title over the Ravens and it's not really close.

PP

[effo5231]

Flacco has been the MVP of this team this year IMO

I think Ray Rice might have a better claim to that particular award.

[RAVENOUS52]

Those stats take into account last season when he was a rookie and struggling mightily during the first 5 games. Flacco has been the MVP of this team this year IMO and is clearly a different QB than when alot of those multi int games occurred.

He is way down on the list of worries for me with this team.

Im reading how this team was built to beat the Steelers with the faster CBs?

I mean, come on. Our CBs are struggling against all WRs, not just big ones. Footwork and technique are basic things they aren't doing well.

I get the idea of positive thinking but you gotta call a spade a spade. And right now the reality is that the Ravens are playing at an average to slightly below average level and will get smoked by the Steelers if they don't improve their play significantly.

As far as talent on defense? The Steelers own that title over the Ravens and it's not really close.

PP

Not for me against the Stoolers. I am VERY concerned about how Joe is going to perform against them. They turn mistakes into points. Especially coming off of a game where underthrown balls led to multiple interceptions and a loss.

He's the key component to any chance we have at beating the elite teams left on our schedule.

And Ray Rice is my team MVP so far, though Flack would be ranked #2 on my list.

[Dade]

Flacco has been the MVP of this team this year IMO

What about Ray Rice? He's been the MVP for me, this season.

[HoustonRaven]

Put me in the Ray Rice for MVP category, too.

[Jeremiah W]

Im reading how this team was built to beat the Steelers with the faster CBs?

I mean, come on. Our CBs are struggling against all WRs, not just big ones. Footwork and technique are basic things they aren't doing well.

I get the idea of positive thinking but you gotta call a spade a spade. And right now the reality is that the Ravens are playing at an average to slightly below average level and will get smoked by the Steelers if they don't improve their play significantly.

As far as talent on defense? The Steelers own that title over the Ravens and it's not really close.

PP

- CB -
24 I. Taylor

31 K. Ratliff

27 J. Burnett
- DE -
96 Z. Hood

90 T. Kirschke
- NT -
98 C. Hampton

76 C. Hoke
- DE -
99 B. Keisel

93 N. Eason
- CB -
22 W. Gay

26 D. Townsend

20 K. Lewis
- LB -
56 L. Woodley

54 A. Frazier

97 A. Harrison
- LB -
51 J. Farrior

57 K. Fox
- LB -
94 L. Timmons

57 K. Fox
- LB -
92 J. Harrison

55 P. Bailey
- SS -
43 T. Polamalu

29 R. Mundy
- FS -
25 R. Clark

23 T. Carter

Ravens
- CB -
31 F. Washington

41 F. Walker
- DE -
90 T. Pryce

93 D. Edwards
- NT -
97 K. Gregg

98 K. Talavou

91 B. McKinney
- DE -
92 H. Ngata

94 J. Bannan
- CB -
24 D. Foxworth

25 C. Carr

21 L. Webb
- LB -
95 J. Johnson

50 A. Barnes
- LB -
52 R. Lewis

53 J. McClain
- LB -
56 T. Gooden

59 D. Ellerbe
- LB -
55 T. Suggs

99 P. Kruger
- SS -
26 D. Landry

43 H. Nakamura
- FS -
20 E. Reed

28 T. Zbikowski

The talent for the Steelers D is not the biggest difference. Sure some of those guys would start here, but some of our guys would start there. I think our front 7 is better over all, they have been much better this year in the secondary, but last year there was very little differnce in the talent or the stats.

The combo of Harrison and Woodley put more pressure on Qbs and Troy can cover ground like Reed but tackle and hit more like Ray. They have CBs with more strength and less speed, but it is not like they have all pro players at every position.

In my opinion the difference is in the DC, the scheme, style of play and using each player in matchups and roles they can handle or accounting for it with scehme.

I would have Suggs and JJ rushing the QB 70% of the time from the 3-4 look like the Steelers use Harrison and Woodley, mixing in ILB and DB blitzes along with dropping DL into coverage once in a while.

Calling and planning a great defense is not easy. You can not just line up and dominate even with a lot of good players. The DC needs to keep the OC and QB guessing and under pressure, and most of the time this year, that has not happened.

It may be the talent, but I doubt the team that has had the best D over the last 10 years got old and untalented in one off season coming off the #2 rated D last year, #1 in take aways and at or near the top of all the major catagories.

[purplepoe]

I'll concede with Rice.

My main point was that Flacco is far down my list as far as major concerns when it comes to this team right now.

PP