Well, I dunno. Pittsburgh finally demonstrated that they can find a way to win, even when they’re not playing their A game. You sorta knew after the Ratbirds answered with that touchdown early that they were up for it. They came to play. Pittsburgh didn’t. And yet they still pulled it out in the end.
That’s clutch. Or maybe it’s luck. Either way, I’ll take it.
Again, I have to ask, why is it so easy for teams to pick up our blitzes? Conversely, why can’t we stop a simple linebacker blitz straight up the middle? It seemed like it was raining Ravens all over Roethlisberger all night long.
Why do we have such a hard time developing a balanced attack? The first drive - great. Runs and short passing to move the ball down the field at will. The remainder of the game: “Okay, this is our passing series.” “Okay, now’s the time on Sprockets when we run.”
Ike Taylor - you started believing your press. What is so fucking tricky about a 20 yard in route to Mason? That play worked at least three times. I think one time Madden ran it and fooled Taylor.
Steelers defense - how many missed tackles were you going for there?
Ricardo Colclough, I never want to see you back returning a kick again. This guy is good for a run straight into contact, and straight to the ground, unless he fumbles it first. Then when Quincy Morgan gets the ball again (after an awesome return early in the game) you turn around and don’t block for him and tell him to keep it in the end zone. Prick.
I’m thinking again about how good teams seem to have a persistent confidence and a game plan that looks well thought out. How come that is so rarely true of us? Does that equate to an inability to get it done in the post-season?
How about the blown calls by the refs? Jesus - two over the back pass interferences where the flag was picked up (one they called a tipped ball, which was only “tipped” by the guy flying over Hines Ward’s back and knocking him in the head, and the other where they waved off an illegal contact penalty, while the dude was doing the same thing again behind the illegal contact), and then the play on the Ravens’ last drive where Mason’s knees clearly go down in bounds and they rule he went out.
And finally, yesterday we had the “unnatural act,” and today, according to Al Michaels, the Ravens receiver gave Chris Hope a “reach around” to down him after he intercepted the ball. :eek:
Bolding mine.
Ah, the drawbacks of a mobile quarterback. Rolling out of he pocket: the gift that keeps on giving! Have at my receivers, d-backs, while I roll to the left. Don’t worry, since I’m considered a runner while rolling, the defense is allowed to engage as if it’s a running play.
Was I the only one completely unaware of this rule? Because it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of it.
In other news, no change in the touchdown race, as all passing TDs went to the tight end in both games.
The Ravens played well. They had great pass protection and shut down our run. It was a good game. Woohoo! we won!
That one looked to me like it was tipped by the guy in front of Ward (Suggs? Thomas?), not the guy behind him. And Mason’s not down when his knees hit - he has to be touched. The Steelers were playing him so soft that he had a lot of time to get out before anyone got to him. I think the refs got both those calls right.
I knew they were fair game once a scrambling QB passed the line of scrimmage, but I never realized it began as soon as the QB left the pocket. That creates a tough situation for DBs, though - you can hit the guy until and unless the ball’s in the air? Maybe that’s why you don’t hear about it much - it seems like a big risk for a defense to take.
The Farve-Ball guy, as it appeared on TV: http://s1.putfile.com/videos/c8-30216355494.wmv
Which leads to this:
I have a link to a vid clip of the shot he took from security on my other PC, I’ll try to remember to post later. At least you can look at the last picture on this link and get a good idea of how hammered he got.
Well, I disagree - the replay showed that the guy in front did not touch the ball, and that the guy coming over Hines’s back was the first. However, I would be forgiving and recognize that in real time, it would have been a tough call. I think they still blew it.
I’m 99.9% sure that Mason was touched with his knees on the ground before going out of bounds, regardless of the cushion he was given. I’m fairly cognizant of the rules as I’m watching the game, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t forget that someone has to be touched to be down.
Well, I think that the ruling was that illegal contact is okay when the quarterback is out of the pocket, so they picked up the flag for that, and just completely blew the pass interference that was also happening on the play. I’d be very surprised if that was not illegal.
But the big news out of Pittsburgh today is:
Roethlisberger had knee surgery, and is expected to miss two games - Green Bay and Cleveland. Batch to start.
The story from the Post-Gazette.
Bummer.
So…, who thinks that Indy goes down this week? ::raises hand::
Nah, I think somewhere this summer, the Colts stole their mojo back from the Patsies. I think it’ll be a great game, but I think Indy’ll handle them even on the road. For some reason, I think their biggest challenge will be versus JAX. I know there are better defenses, but man I like how the Jags play D.
So, can the Ravens beat the Bengals? They gave the Steelers a tough game and they beat the Bengals. If they were to do so, it would put us in first place.
Can the Steelers beat the Pack with Batch in? I dunno, haven’t seen ol’ Charlie play, but I’m worried. Even though the Pack suck this year, I haven’t seen the Steelers play well without Big Ben.
Goooooooooooooooooooooooo Bengals! 
I refuse to watch the rest of this game. How we still happen to be on top on the scoreboard is a miracle.
This is pretty much the gauge of the rest of our season. We won’t win our division. If we manage a wildcard spot we won’t go much further than Round 1 if we’re lucky.
Not having Ben doesn’t seem to matter too much when our defense simply doesn’t show up. Can someone get me the stats? From the looks of it we have the worst third down defense in the league. And dare I say we blitz too much? Blasphemy, I know, but how 'bout we actually start defending against the pass?
Jesus.
God damn I’m fickle.
And I’m also not capable of staying mad at my team and leaving the TV off for more than 5 minutes.
They were killin’ me. But in the end, we pulled it out. The defense won the game for us. Batch did OK - mostly by not screwing up. I was worried there in the 4th.
I’m just flabbergasted by our defense - it sucks. I’m sure we have the worst third down defense in the league. On the Green Bay touchdown drive, we allowed them to convert at least two 3rd and 10s. We allowed their 5th back on the depth chart to run against us fairly freely in the first half.
We can’t afford not to blitz, because we cannot generate any pressure with our three down linemen, and if we give a quarterback any time at all, our secondary still sucks. Anthony Wright picked us apart, for example.
And I don’t understand it. We should have the personnel to get the job done. I agree with the assessment that with our defense playing like it has been, we won’t go anywhere in the post-season.
I disagree. The only reason we seem to do so poorly against the pass is because the guys who are supposed to be defending against it…are usually blitzing. Hell, Polamalu has pretty much been a linebacker this season.
We have good defensive backs. They’ve all proven that in seasons past. It’s just that…they aren’t being defensive backs.
I think the Ravens deliberately lost that game in order to hurt the Steelers. Yes, I think they’re that spiteful.
Woohoo! Another win! I was pretty nervous in the first quarter, especially the first ddrive. But Charlie Batch looked great - much better than last week - and the defense stepped it up and looked good. I’m worried about next week, with Charlie hurting his hand we may end up with Maddox in…
Congratulations to Hines Ward! He certainly earns his money and I was happy to see him take the record. 