beating the Ravens

I've been a Steelers fan for 62 years. Born in the Pittsburgh area but now residing in Maryland, I am stuck hearing about the Ravens. I am by no means an expert on play calling, but I have seen one thing for certain - the way to beat the Ravens is to sack / knock down, Joe Flacco early in the game. He then becomes "gun shy" and is not effective the rest of the game. I hope Keith Butler knows this. Anyone with contact with Keith, please try to point this out. We need this win over the Ravens. I would not want to face them again in the Playoffs. Beating the same team 3 times is not always ea

 

I agree. Really, pressure IS our defense and we can do that. The secondary is very shaky.

Against the Ravens, playing 1/2 a game like we did against the Bungles and other weak teams will not result in a close win. Maybe we can get away with 3 quarters of effort and win, but I`m really worn out and wish we would play a full game. Besides, we have to be prepared to play a full game against the evil empire. If we win the next two, then I would be ok with losing the away game in Houston.

 

The Ravens defense is #1 or #2 in the entire league. And last week their offense came alive. Flacco is still pretty good. AND, the Ravens always play out of their butts against us. We cannot take them lightly. I'm worried our players will think it's an easy win, looking beyond to NE. If we win the next 2 and I'll start making Super Bowl hotel reservations.

 

I'm hoping the Ravens play the Patriots! in the playoffs!! Let them take care of the dirty work!!!. lol...

 

Beating the Patriots in the regular season will be a tall order. Beating the Patriots in the playoffs will be monumental task of epic proportions.

I don't think the Steelers have enough defense (without Shazier) to keep Brady below 40 points. Hopefully, the Ravens can take them out for us.

 

This. Ravens are riding the hot hand... and historically they split with us, and they have taken brady in fox twice. Let us lick our wounds and have them battle test the big boys.

Sad thinking? sure. Do I care? nope. get that #7 boys lol

Besides, Ravens are kinda like our little rabid pet. Unleash them at the right time and they can do damage

 

Welcome to the MB Barry. You're going to like it here when you figure out some of the nuances. Keith should be joining us on the MB around 4pm eastern - I think you should pass this critical scouting info on to him personally. He posts under the screen name of RealSteel. You may perceive him to be a bit antagonistic but that's just him trying to keep things "Real" around here.

 

First off, I don't think the Ravens are done for; I still consider them dangerous, especially to us, given our history with them. They are physical and can really get dominant on D, unlike almost any other team.

But that being said, who have they beat?

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/gameday/season-schedule.html

Bengals, before Cinci got it together on OL and QB. They started the season as a bad team.
Browns - nothing needs said.
Raiders, one of the most overrated team this season. For sure.
Fins - a losing team.
Packers, first game without Rogers and QB was lost, much better by time he played us.
Texans, without Watson, Savage is a backup, not a legit starter.
Lions, not a bad team, but nothing more than simply average. .500 team most of the season.

That's it? And who beat them?

Pgh, fairly handily.
Jags, destroyed and humiliated them in London.
Bears, would like to laugh, but we lost to them too.
Vikings, turned out to be a very good team but we beat them.
Titans, fairly solid but we beat them.

If not for our propensity to border on losing to any team, or our history with Balt., I would not be overly worried, but...those two factors exist, so I can't feel overly confident. But facts are, the Ravens have beat almost no team that is very good.

 

Nobody has to tell Kieth anything, pressure on Flakeo has been the book on him for years. I expect the Steelers to come out fired up at home looking for blood. Last night was a game they won on heart. A week removed from what happened, and the (seemingly) good news on Shazier will make them pretty energized vs the Rats on Sunday.

That said, a part of me is concerned they're looking ahead.

 

Welcome to the board Barry! I don't think we have to be too worried about looking past any game with the Ravens, at least for the vets on this team. They know darn well that it's going to be tough every time we get together. One look at Suggs face ( YIKES!) should be enough to remind them. Plus the fact it's on prime-time under the lights I think helps this cause.

 

.....and the names of QB's who shouldn't be pressured early and often would be????????????????????? This is silly stuff.

 

The Ravens have reeled off some pretty nice wins lately. I doubt they will be overlooked. I'm glad this game is in Pittsburgh. Road Ben may not be able to beat them now, lol. Having said that, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to win the AFC North. They could take the next three weeks off and smack the Browns around and clinch. In fact, unless the Ravens win out, they may not even need to smack the Browns around. But that's all hypothetical. I expect the Steelers to finish 14-2. At this point, anything less than 13-3 is a disappointment. They must secure at least a first round bye.

Say they finish 14-2, then they will be the #1 seed. Which means the Ravens will likely come to Pittsburgh during the divisional round instead of going to the then 2 seed (I refuse to mention them until after the game on Sunday).

Say the Steelers finish as the 2 seed, this is the more likely scenario for the Ravens to go against the then 1 seed (no name team).

However, if the Ravens can't beat that team during the divisional round, Pittsburgh would travel back there for the AFC Championship game.

Last option is if either the Jags or Titans lose 3 more. Then Baltimore would be the 5 seed. They would go to the 4 seed which would be either the Chiefs, Raiders, or Chargers. Likely win. Jags and Titans play week 17. Winner (3 seed) likely hosts the loser (6 seed) the next week under this scenario. Titans already beat the Jags in Jacksonville. It's hard to beat the same team 3 times in one season. So there is this slim chance that Baltimore is the 5 seed and both wild card teams win. Then the Ravens go to the #2 seed.

In my opinion, the Steelers will play both Baltimore and that other team in the playoffs. I prefer the AFC championship game be in Pittsburgh. Furthermore, I prefer Pittsburgh play in the Super Bowl. But they must not fear any team. They must beat them. Go out and prove it next week and then the week after. Don't rely on one team beating another to improve your chances. Take care of your own business.

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/04/ravens-jimmy-smith-ped-suspension

 

One little tidbit why I think the Steelers will beat the Ravens. If the Steelers win they will clinch the division and no worse than a number 3 seed

 

Its time to unleash Deebo.

 

If this win will clinch the division you know the Steelers are going to lose. They can never do anything easy , they always take the hard road.

 

Who?

The guys that's been riding the pine so much and inactive that he might not even know who the next team on the schedule is?

 

The Smith-Schuster suspension really hurts. The Steelers' biggest advantage was those three receivers against a Ravens' secondary that just lost its best cornerback and the league took it away with some serious BS.

 

This commentary brought to us by Cecil B Demille

 

Wow, you’re old.

 

This commentary brought to me by Clive.

 

Off-topic: for no good reason, I’ve been enamored of the 1940s-era manner of speech. I think it’s ripe for a comeback.

 

Much like yourself Clive (apparently)

 

we just need to do what we do and cut out the mistakes. play a clean game the next two. hell the next 4. mistake free football goes a long way. play like we are capable of doing and see where we are.

 

I've made mention of this before. I'd actually be okay with the Steelers being the #2 seed if that meant Baltimore had to play the Patriots. The Ravens have always played New England extremely tough. I could care less about the Steelers getting the monkey off their back of not beating the Pats, as long as it leads to a Steelers Super Bowl.