keys to winning against the Ravens

Might be early in the week, but I'm tired of talking about the Stain's game already, so here goes:

1. Hold on to the darn ball
2. No interceptions (guess I didn't get over last weeks game with those first two, lol)
3. DB's catch the ball when it's in your hands
4. Unleash Worilds, with limited playing time he leads the team in sacks.
5. Keep a defender on Ray Rice. All those screen plays make me sick. That's what they used on the 4th & 29 against SD. No one was within 20 yards when he caught the ball.
6. Pressure
7. YPC greater than 4 yards.
8. Find Mike Wallace. Crossing routes, etc, etc. Get him the ball and see how far he can take it.
9. Find the endzone
10. Stop holding
11. Punt the ball out of bounds, is Jacoby hurt?
12. Stop the penalties
13. Hold on to the darn ball

 

14. Score more points than the ratbirds.

Sorry, couldn't resist!

 

15. Hold on to the darn ball

 

Keys to beating the Ravens

1) BEN plays....


thats it...thats the list.

HACK

 

This.

 

Absolutely...no Ben, no win.

 

Terrible towel power!

 

I agree, but if the RB's lose 4 fumbles...

 

if Ben plays, they won't have to rely on the run so much.

 

let's hope he comes back and can play lights out. He's been pretty consistent and good this year. Unfortunately, not as good in the 4th quarter. But he's been money on 3rd down.

 

Winner winner chicken dinner.

 

Yesterday aside, the Steelers were actually VERY GOOD at not turning the ball over this year. Up until then they were 8th in the league for fewest give aways. Yesterday was some strange anomaly. I wouldn't count on such a performance going forward.

 

if we only turned it over half as much as sunday, it would still be a bad day. LOL

 

that is all!

 

Here's a key! Don't allow the game to hinge on the officials' correct spotting of a 4th down ball late in the game. Only after seeing the highlight of the miraculous 4th and 29 play by the Ravens after the Monday night game (YAWN) tonight, did I really get a good view of what happened. After 1 (count 'em 1) replay and 15 seconds that clearly shows the knee down prior to the 35 and the ball WELL short of the 34 that can easily be viewed by anyone with one eye (and Pete Morelli), it was a bit mystifying to me that there really wasn't any mention of any controversy on the call by the talking heads the day after. Make no mistake, the Chargers' defense was egregious on the play and Rice made a great effort, but so what? Isn't that what replay is for? If, on the last play of a game, a kick returner breaks 10 tackles only to have his knee hit at the half yard line, do you just give him the touchdown because the play was so amazing? What I REALLY don't get is listening to the talking heads (include Merrill Hoge whose commentary I usually like) not only wave away the bad spot, but praise the block that got thrown in front of God and everyone as though it were legal....That kind of stuff sort of turns my stomach even if it WEREN'T involving the Ravens, of course the fact that it DOES turns it all the more, but as any cogent Ravens fan will tell you, "Haterz gonna hat. We winned that game."

So, please don't let the game come down to a critical call late in the 4th.... (and why the hell is Pete Morelli still officiating, anyway? Even though he wasn't involved in this particular call)

 

I am conceding this game, I think for the future of the season
ahead, get Ben back next week and go on a four game roll into the playoffs.
Now do you see why we can't lose to the Raiders/Titans?

 

I agree with #5 if we contain ray rice we win if we don't There may be more people on them bridges this week

 

I'm sorry - no offense to you, but I'm so tired of this argument already. Bad spot..yeah..but who was the moron that decided to play 8 of their 11 defensive players 40 yards off the line of scrimmage when the offense has RAY FRICKIN' RICE lined up? 99% Chargers breakdown, 1% Refs bad spot.

As I've always said, you never let yourself get into a position where one bad call can make the difference between winning and losing. That's on the team, not the officials.

 

Thank God you aren't the coach.

 

Like everyone else, Ben playing is the key.

 

Good luck, hoodoo, black magic, terrible towel curse, and no Lefty or Batch.

 

Yeah, that's what I was saying too (no offense taken, and I get your point). Don't ALLOW the game to hinge on a call like that (if we expect the officials to make the right call late in the game, we will be disappointed -- agreed). That being said, the officials shouldn't get a pass for making an egregiously bad call after 7-8 minutes when one replay and 15 seconds would show anyone looking at it where the ball should be spotted. Isn't that why we have instant replay and all this HD technology and stuff? And though there are many bad calls throughout the course of any game, calls made where the game would otherwise END if the right call were made are especially disturbing -- and we've all certainly been THERE before.

Yes, Chargers defense was horribly undisciplined, yes, Norv Turner deserves the axe, yes, even most Chargers fans are resigned to their fate and see this game as 'just another blown opportunity,' but should being stupid as a team and coach deny a team a call that a one-eyed chimpanzee with cataracts could probably make given the technology they use in instant replay booths (or even a bad youtube rendition?) Does the excitement of the play or the game situation mean that it's okay to apply the rules differently in a particular case and get a pass because "the Chargers screwed up anyway and didn't DESERVE it?" Does the excitement of the play mean that suddenly an illegal block becomes a 'great block' the next day among the talking heads? Sure, criticizing the officiating doesn't change the outcome or, indeed, REALLY accomplish anything, but I was surprised at the level of pass they received from just about everybody.

If this had been a 4th and 1 play and been reviewed in this manner, they most certainly overturn it. If the replacement officials had made this call after a 7-8 minute delay, they would have been seen as totally losing control and affecting outcome of games. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a conspiracy theorist that believes referees like the Ravens and are trying to give them breaks, but as human beings, the nature of a play can cause them to make a call that they otherwise wouldn't (regardless of the team), and that's why instant replay is supposed to be the objective eye in the sky that corrects those sorts of human errors when applied within the rules. That system failed egregiously (again) on Sunday....then again, if it hadn't we wouldn't have the feel good "Hey Diddle Diddle, Ray Rice up the middle" story so I guess it sort of balances out.

 

Agreed. I think the problem is with how the replay rule is written. It's not "find the right call", it's "prove that the call on the field was wrong". And no matter how much "we" all know he didn't reach the 33.5 yard line, you can't look at a 2-dimensional screen from an angle other than 90 degrees from the sideline to the player and determine where the ball was when the player's knee touched the ground. It's not physically possible without just plain guessing where the ball "should" be. I don't like it, but the call/ball-placement on the field is what screwed the pooch on this play. The replay was done within the rules - although to be perfectly fair, they shouldn't have moved the ball at all if they weren't going to do it right.

I think it's way past time to start visiting the idea of embedded sensor technology - balls, pads, goal markers, field goal posts...you name it. If team's playoff lives are going to live and die by a flawed system, then it's time to update that system to the 21st century.

 

After the Cleveland game, I felt like we just blew our playoff opportunity. However, I am already looking forward to this game with the Ravens. While logic supports a Ravens win, there is always a chance. If Ike shuts down T.Smith again and Timmons can keep Rice in check (two big if's) then we have a chance. There is no way we see another flurry of fumbles again. I am also hoping Harrison picks Sunday for his best game of the year. I don't like the idea of playing an injured Big Ben - give Batch one more chance. You never know... Go Steelers!