Steelers Today - A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

The play that finally slammed the door on the Baltimore Ravens’ chances of beating the Steelers and moving on to the Super Bowl was Troy Polamalu’s interception that he returned for a touchdown.

Prior to the game, all anyone talked about was Ed Reed and his uncanny ability to generate interceptions and return them for touchdowns.  Everyone seemed to forget that the Steelers have a pretty good safety too.  His name is Troy Polamalu!!

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January 19, 2009
By Donald Starver

For the seventh time, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be playing in the Super Bowl.  Only the Dallas Cowboys, with 8 Super Bowl appearances, have been there more often.  But with a win, the Steelers will stand alone with 6 Super Bowl victories, the most in NFL history.

Like the highways in Pittsburgh, the road to Super Bowl XLIII was full of potholes.  The biggest pothole was the Baltimore Ravens.

After beating the Ravens twice in the regular season, the Steelers had the unenviable task of trying to beat them for a third time.  The Ravens were a team on a roll, and beating them was not going to be easy.

We predicted before the game that the team that avoided turnovers was likely to win the game.  This proved to be true.  Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco was the first rookie quarterback to win 2 playoff games, but the AFC Championship proved to be too large a stage for the promising freshman.  Flacco threw 3 interceptions, and ended up with a quarterback rating of 18.2 (no, that’s not a typo).  Flacco was also sacked three times.

The Ravens also had 3 fumbles during the game, but they only lost one of those.  Likewise, the Steelers had 2 fumbles and lost one.  Thus, the fumbles basically canceled one another out.  But the interceptions proved to be the deciding factor in the game.

As everyone expected, this was a defensive struggle which pitted the top two defenses in the NFL.  The Ravens proved to be very difficult to run on, as they held Willie Parker to just 47 yards on 24 carries.  That’s an average of only 2 yards per carry.

Fortunately, the Steelers’ defense proved to be just as stingy.  The Steelers held the Ravens to only 198 net yards from scrimmage.

The Steelers probably should have had several more scores.  A touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes was called back when the Ravens issued a challenge.  Later in the game, Ben Roethlisberger threw a sure touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Limas Sweed.  Sweed, as has become his pattern, got great separation from his defender, but then dropped a pass that was right in his hands.  To make matters worse, Sweed was so embarassed because he dropped the pass that he faked an injury after the play.  The faux injury cost the Steelers a timeout.  The lack of that timeout prevented the Steelers from stopping the clock to bring in the field goal unit at the end of the quarter.  Hopefully, Sweed has learned that personal pride can cost his team dearly.

After allowing the Ravens to stick around far too long, the Steelers finally pulled away and won the game 23-14.

The final nail in the Ravens’ coffin was an interception by Troy Polamalu that he returned for a touchdown.  That was one of many great plays in the game by Polamalu. 

There were several scares in the game.  The Steelers lost wide receiver Hines Ward early in the game with a knee injury.  Ward is scheduled to have an MRI tomorrow.  The Ravens saw running back Willis McGahee carted off on a stretcher after a vicious hit by Steelers’ safety Ryan Clark.  Clark knocked himself silly on the play as well, but he was able to leave the field under his own power (although he was extremely wobbly while doing so).

It should be noted that the Steelers have given up fewer than 100 total yards rushing in their two playoff games COMBINED.  That’s some pretty stingy defense.

So now the Steelers move on to Tampa to take on the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.  That’s right, the Arizona Cardinals.  It must be snowing in Hell.

The Cardinals (also known as the Steelers West) defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25 in the NFC Championship game to move on to their first Super Bowl.  The obvious Pittsburgh connections on that Cardinals team adds several storylines that are going to be beat to death by the media over the next two weeks.  You know, Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm were candidates for the position that ultimately went to Mike Tomlin.  Larry Fitzgerald went to Pitt.  Several (most?) Cardinal players used to play for the Steelers.  Blah blah blah.  Yeah, I’m sick of hearing it already.

On to the Super Bowl.

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January 15, 2009
By Donald Starver

The time is finally here.  It’s the AFC Championship game, and appropriately, the two roughest, toughest, meanest teams in the NFL are going to square off for the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.  The NFL’s #1 defense (the Pittsburgh Steelers) will battle the NFL’s #2 ranked defense (the Baltimore Ravens).  Perhaps the old saying really is true; “defense wins championships”.

On Sunday at 6:30PM ET, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will square off at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.  This will be the two teams’ third meeting this season.

There will be no surprises in this game.  The Steelers and Ravens are long-time rivals in the AFC North.  They know one another very well.  And they don’t like each other.

This will not be a game of finesse.  You won’t see any West Coast offense here.  Nope, what you’re going to see is pure, unadulterated smash-mouth football.  You’re going to see football the way it was meant to be played.  The way Dick Butkus played it.  The way Ray Nitschke played it.  The way Jack Lambert played it.  The way Ray Lewis and Ed Reed play it.  The way James Harrison and Troy Polamalu play it. 

This will be a battle of pure testosterone.  Only real men need step onto the field.  Reggie Bush couldn’t play in this game.  Matt Leinart either.  Braylon Edwards would wet his pants.  Nope, the soft need not apply.  No sissies allowed.

Both teams expect to lose players to injury during this game.  That’s just what happens when these two teams play.  Both teams walk onto the field, but they usually limp or even crawl off of it.  So the crew at Heinz Field had better have lots of crutches and bandages available.  Order a few extra stretchers, and have the paramedics standing by.  You’re going to need them.

Here is a little video clip of captures the intensity of the game.  At first we thought these were scenes from a Steelers-Ravens game, but then we noticed that the players were wearing boxing gloves. 

 httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxMbt3qYRSk

I know they were wearing boxing gloves, but are you SURE that wasn’t a Steelers-Ravens game?  It sure looked like one to me.

On offense, both teams are going to try to run the ball and impose their will on their opponent.  Both will use the run to set up the play action pass.  And most importantly, both teams know that they must keep turnovers to a minimum.  This is not going to be a high scoring game, and the team that turns over the ball most will likely lose.

On defense, both teams will try to stop the run.  At all cost.  Afterall, neither of these teams has allowed a hundred yard rusher since….. well, too long for anybody to remember.  The Steelers’ defense gives up only 237 yards per game.  Total.  Doesn’t Drew Brees pass for that many yards in a quarter?  The Ravens are right behind them, yielding only 261 yards per game.

Last week against the San Diego Chargers, the Steelers defense gave up 15 yards rushing.  No, not 15 yards in the first 3 minutes of the game.  That would be pretty normal for most teams.  Nope, the Steelers gave up 15 rushing yards in the ENTIRE GAME.  That’s what I call defense.  The most impressive part is that it was Darren Sproles that they contained.  You know, the same guy who had torched the Indianapolis Colts’ defense for 328 all-purpose yards just one week earlier.

Suffice it to say that nobody on the Ravens or Steelers is going to be running for 328 yards, all-purpose or otherwise.  28 maybe, but not 328.

The Steelers come into the game with a slight advantage, but only slight.  The steelers advantage comes in the form of what I call the “3 H’s”. 

The first “H” is “history”.  These teams have already faced one another twice this season, and the Steelers have won each time.  That is a decided advantage.  The Steelers know that they can beat this team.  The Ravens on the other hand……….  There are some who have used twisted logic to imply that having lost twice is actually an advantage for the Ravens.  They say that it is very difficult for a team to beat another team three times during the same season.  Therefore, the odds are in the Ravens’ favor.  Huh??!!  That’s some pretty convoluted reasoning.  Under closer scrutiny, it just doesn’t hold water.  I debunk that myth here.

The second “H” that is working in the Steelers’ favor is “health”.  The Ravens are banged up.  Really banged up.  They are coming off a brutal battle against the Tennessee Titans last week.  The Ravens won on the scoreboard, but they took a beating physically.  Terrell Suggs hurt his shoulder, and is questionable for Sunday’s game.  Samari Rolle is also hurt, but he is likely to play.  Other Ravens nursing injuries include Ed Reed, Fabian Washington, Todd Heap, Le’Ron McClain, Willie Anderson, and Derrick Mason.  They’ll all take the field on Sunday, but they won’t be at 100%.

To make matters even worse, the football gods played a cruel joke on the Ravens when the 2008 NFL schedule was formulated.  The Ravens got their bye in week 2.  That’s right, week 2.  They really needed it then, after that brutal pre-season (in which the starters barely play) and one regular season game (yes, that’s sarcasm you hear).  Since then, the Ravens have played for 17 straight weeks with no rest.  That’s not good for any team’s health.

The third “H” is “home field advantage”.  The Steelers are playing at Heinz Field.  One of the best home field advantages in the NFL.  Not only will the Steelers have Steeler Nation behind them waving their Terrible Towels and rooting the home team to victory, but they’ll also have the added advantage of the Heinz Field turf.  Heinz Field’s turf is notoriously bad.  The NFL players voted it the worst playing surface in the NFL.  Sure, the Steelers have recently had the turf replaced, and they say that the field is in great shape.  But does anyone really believe them?  “Great shape” is a relative term.  It may be in great shape relative to the normal sloppy, cratered disaster area that the Steelers call a playing surface, but relative to any other field in the NFL, it would probably be found wanting.

Because of those 3 H’s, it’s hard for me to bet against the Steelers.  Well, I’d never bet against the Steelers anyway, but if I weren’t so biased, then I still wouldn’t bet against the Steelers.  The odds are in their favor, and it doesn’t take a biased homer like me to see that.

Because these two teams have faced one another twice, I’ve already done some pretty extensive analysis of the two teams and the key matchups in the game.  Rather than recreate that, I’m going to ask that readers refer to those articles for additional information.  We try to provide some of the most comprehensive pre- and post-game analysis available anywhere.  Please take a look at them.  I’ve provide links below:

Steelers vs. Ravens Preview (Round 1)

Steelers vs. Ravens Key Match-ups (Round 1)

Steelers vs. Ravens Recap (Round 1)

Steelers vs. Ravens Preview (Round 2)

We also wrote the following articles pertaining to the two Steelers-Ravens games earlier this season.  There is very good information here as well for those who are less familiar with the Steelers-Ravens rivalry.  It is good background information before watching Sunday’s game:

Welcome to the NFL, Rookie!!

Steelers vs. Ravens: A tale of good versus evil  (I highly recommend this one)

Purple dragon slain (Part 2 of the story above.  Highly recommended.)

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December 16, 2008
By Patrick Cartwright

I hate the Ravens.

I abhor and disdain them.

I loathe, despise, and detest them.

But I respect them.

Not as individuals.  On their defense, they have a linebacker who, more likely than not, was involved in a murder.  They have another linebacker that tells the media they put bounties on opposing players in order to injure them.  They have a player who spit in a kicker’s mouth.  And another player who so delighted in the fact that when he sacked Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger he “felt the breath leave his body”, that he felt the need to brag about it to the national media.  To call the Ravens a bunch of thugs would be unfair and offensive to thugs.

So how can a Steelers fan respect a group so heinous?  A group that I wouldn’t let inside my house without a national guard regiment present.  A group that makes my skin crawl.  A group that undoubtedly gets together in the offseason to drown kittens, strangle puppies, and plot to bring back the Macarena?

Because they play the game the way it should be played.

The Baltimore Ravens play the game with intensity and vitriol.  They run the ball down your throat.  They  trust their young , confident QB.  They control the clock.  And they play a punishing style of defense that leaves the other team’s offense battered, broken down, and wondering how much time is left before they can get on the bus and get the hell out of town.  They play good old-fashioned smash-mouth football.

Sound familiar?

It’s the exact same way the Steelers organization has played for the past 40 years, ever since Chuck Noll took a losing team and molded them into a dynasty.  And it’s the way the Ravens have played since the day that Art Modell pulled the midnight switch on Cleveland and bussed the team to the East Coast.  Just another reason to hate the Ravens.  They used to be the Browns.  But even so, you have to respect the way they go about playing the game, even if you don’t like it.  Even if you don’t like them.

The best enemies are always the ones that are slightly distorted reflections of the hero.  Wolverine and Sabertooth.  Green Lantern and Sinestro.  Spiderman and Venom.  It’s the same with the Steelers and Ravens.  They play the same style of football, and they play it the same way.  Both teams have a QB that has been a rookie phenom, playing well beyond his years.  Both have an All-World game-changing safety.  Each has an old man that just happens to be the most reliable receiver on his team.  Each has punishing linebackers who regularly put the opposing quarterback on his back.  Since the AFC North was founded in 2002, with the exception of the 2005 Bengals, only the Steelers and Ravens have won the division.  They have both won a Super Bowl this decade.  Ravens Coach Jim Harbaugh is in his first year at the position.  The Steelers’ Mike Tomlin has been at it twice as long, currently coaching in his second year.

If the NFL was a soap opera (and with the likes of T.O., Chad Ocho Cinco, and Pacman Jones in the league, who’s to argue that it isn’t?), the Ravens would be the Steelers’ evil twin.  Nobody knows the Steelers better.  Nobody plays them harder.  No other team has been as much a thorn in the Steelers’ sides as the carrion birds from Baltimore.

From a Steelers fan’s perspective, looking at the Ravens is like looking at the Steelers in a dirty, grungy, distorted mirror.  You don’t like what you see.  You don’t want to admit that what you’re looking at may well be everything you love filtered through a different light.  When you look at the Ravens, from an organizational and team standpoint, you’re just looking at a thugged-out version of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Did the truth of that just make you throw up in your mouth a little?  Me too.

Like them?  No way.

Respect them?

You have to.  Right?

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As we all expected, the Steelers and Ravens engaged in a defensive struggle on Monday night.  The game was truly a tale of two halves.  And the two halves were polar opposites of one another.

In the first half, the Steelers’ offense was completely dominated by the Ravens’ defense.  Rashard Mendenhall was stuffed for no gain on his first carry.  That would prove to be a precursor of what was to come for the rookie in his first NFL start.  Mendenhall would end up with 30 yards rushing on 9 carries before leaving the game with a shoulder injury.

With Willie Parker already out with an injury, Mendenhall’s injury left the Steelers with only Carey Davis and Mewelde Moore as healthy running backs.  When Davis twisted his ankle later in the game, Moore was left as the lone healthy running back on the Steelers’ roster. 

While most thought that Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco would be overwhelmed by the pressure of his first appearance on Monday Night Football, Flacco showed his doubters that he was ready for prime time.  In the first half, Flacco actually looked much more polished than Ben Roethlisberger did.  While Roethlisberger spent much of the first half on his back, Flacco looked like Joe Montana.  He was cool under pressure, and he had the Ravens up 13-3 at the half after throwing a touchdown pass to TE Daniel Wilcox.

Unlike last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers offense seemed to make adjustments at halftime, and looked like an entirely diffferent team in the second half.  Ben Roethlisberger attributed the difference to the no-huddle offense.  He said that he asked the coaches if the offense could start using the no-huddle offense to accelerate the pace, and it worked like a charm. 

In the second half, it was Roethlisberger who looked like Joe Montana.  He made quick reads, and was able to avoid the Ravens’ blitz.  He connected with WR Santonio Holmes early in the 3rd quarter for a Steelers touchdown.  15 seconds later, the Steelers scored again when James Harrison forced a fumble on Joe Flacco.  LaMarr Woodley dived on the ball, and when he realized there were no Ravens in his vicinity, he got up and ran it into the endzone.  In less than 30 seconds, the Steelers went from being down 3-10, to being up 17-10.

Contrarily, Joe Flacco spent much of the 2nd half on his back.  While he looked calm and comfortable in the first half, he looked hurried and uncomfortable in the second half.  The Steelers defense applied constant pressure on Flacco, and made him look like the rookie that he is.

By the end of regulation, the two teams found themselves tied 20-20.

In overtime, the Ravens won the coin toss and chose to receive.  The Steelers’ defense held them just like they had done pretty consistently since halftime.  The Ravens were forced to punt.  On their first overtime possession, the Steelers were able to get the ball close enough for Jeff Reed to attempt a 46 yard field goal.  Reed’s field goal split the uprights, but the Ravens called timeout right before the kick, and Reed was forced to kick it again.  Apparently, the Ravens don’t know that Reed is the coolest kicker in the NFL.  As expected, Reed made his 2nd attempt, and the Steelers won 23-20.

The Steelers’ win was their 14th consecutive home win on Monday Night Football.  That is an NFL record for home effectiveness on MNF.

Injury update

Rashard Mendenhall left the game with a fractured shoulder.   Will be put on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Steelers guard Kendall Simmons left the game with an achilles injury.  Coach Tomlin said that he will  have to be placed on injured reserve.  Out for the rest of the season.

Running back Carey Davis sprained his ankle, but it is not thought to be serious.

Linebacker Andre Frazier was injured on the first play of the game.  Fans got a scare when Frazier didn’t move after a collision.  He was carted off the field on a stretcher, but tests proved to be negative, and he seems to be okay.

Keyaron Fox was injured on special teams.  Injury not thought to be serious.

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