Week 2 VS Ravens Pregame

[ATL96Steeler]

Short week...and another DIV foe no less.

Travel to the BAL Ravens. Need to strap it on tight as the Ravens will be in a foul mood after losing to Dalton @ home for the 1st time...plus not wanted to go 0-2 in the DIV.

Injury...Shamarko Thomas (achilles) was the scariest, but it does not appear to be that serious as he's noted to be questionable at this point even though there hasn't been an update on the Steelers site...I don't expect him to play.

McCain/Archer/Bryant/Moore...same thing...Steeler Depot blog has them all as questionable....Bryant better get well soon or J. Brown will lock that spot up as he gets more comfortable.

We all saw the Steelers weakness on DEF last week...the run DEF was poor...the front 7 has to do a better job...Rice was not going to play this week anyway so the longer suspension means nothing.

I think BAL will definitely try to pound it and you have to know Timmons and Shazier will be quick to bite on playaction so I expect Pitta and S. Smith will get a lot of targets of playaction in the middle of the field and cross patterns. Of course you know Flacco will go after Ike deep so Mitchell will need to stay over the top of him as much as possible.

I think the PIT OFC is better than BAL right now and they will help the Steelers to a 2-0 record...another typically hard fought Steelers-Ravens game...24-17 is my guess on the score.

What say you?

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

I concur...though anything can happen.

A lot depends on which Steelers show up. If it's the bunch from the first half of the Cleveland game, no problem. If it's the zombies who showed up for the second half, BIG problem.

Clearly, our boys became complacent on Sunday. I actually hope it's relatively close at halftime, so we might get FOUR quarters of football from the Black-n-Gold.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I concur...though anything can happen.

A lot depends on which Steelers show up. If it's the bunch from the first half of the Cleveland game, no problem. If it's the zombies who showed up for the second half, BIG problem.

Clearly, our boys became complacent on Sunday. I actually hope it's relatively close at halftime, so we might get FOUR quarters of football from the Black-n-Gold.

Absolutely, but the fun part is guessing right.

Yep...I can see that...you prepare all spring/summer for a hard fought DIV game and you're up 24 after 30 mins...60 min game and the DEF has to bring a better effort to win this one, but with it being BAL, I don't expect any kind of letdown in this one.

 

[NorthCoastSteelersFan]

We'll keep a good thought.

And it sure doesn't bother me that Way Wice won't be playing for the Wavens.


Sorry. For some reason, whenever I mention that guy's name, I become possessed by Elmer Fudd.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Pretty much sums it up ATL! Good work as usual!

All eyes will be on the offense again, since they stole the show last week. I hope the defense continues to progress so that the offense doesn't have to carry them each week. We knew it was going to be a slow start for the Defense so I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed. I mainly just want the D-line to show up. I have a hard time watching a defense that can't stop the run. I could care less about a shaky secondary, because they will look A LOT better if the D-line can provide constant pressure. They did a decent job in the passing game, but yea... We all know what the run defense looked like...

I'm not as worried about this Ravens team as I was in recent years. Call it a gut feeling...

Steelers 21-10

 

[evolver115]

I'm worried about the front seven on defense. McLendon still has not consistently shown he has what it takes to play NT in LeBeau's defense. When on the field last game, to my eye he isn't commanding a double-team hardly ever. That's a real problem, as the three man front demands that reaction from the o-line. If he cannot get a guard/center engaged with him at the point of attack, a zone scheme like Kubiak runs will allow the O-line to reach the second level and engage Shazier and Timmons. He has to be better on Thursday or baltimore will run it effectively, and like ATL96 said, use that play action.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Pretty much sums it up ATL! Good work as usual!

All eyes will be on the offense again, since they stole the show last week. I hope the defense continues to progress so that the offense doesn't have to carry them each week. We knew it was going to be a slow start for the Defense so I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed. I mainly just want the D-line to show up. I have a hard time watching a defense that can't stop the run. I could care less about a shaky secondary, because they will look A LOT better if the D-line can provide constant pressure. They did a decent job in the passing game, but yea... We all know what the run defense looked like...

I'm not as worried about this Ravens team as I was in recent years. Call it a gut feeling...

Steelers 21-10

DL...same here man...getting gouged on the ground like that bothers the hell out of me...even though I'm not ga ga over them but imo CIN's OL is better than BAL so hopefully we won't see TP & Mitchell making tackles 8-9 yds downfield on running plays.

Gut...I hope you're right...I think that Steeler jersey brings out the best in DIV opponents for some reason...If the OL holds up, I think the OFC can put up more than 21...Not iron clad, but I've always felt control Rice/running game and Flacco will have a tough time beating you.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I'm worried about the front seven on defense. McLendon still has not consistently shown he has what it takes to play NT in LeBeau's defense. When on the field last game, to my eye he isn't commanding a double-team hardly ever. That's a real problem, as the three man front demands that reaction from the o-line. If he cannot get a guard/center engaged with him at the point of attack, a zone scheme like Kubiak runs will allow the O-line to reach the second level and engage Shazier and Timmons. He has to be better on Thursday or baltimore will run it effectively, and like ATL96 said, use that play action.

Astute! That 2nd sentence is it in a nutshell...I watched about half dz of their running plays in slo mo (I know I'm nuts) from the 2nd half last night & they were pulling a G so one could engage the DE, the other the ILB...and the OTs were on the OLBs so the RBs were getting to the line untouched a lot. Well designed way to attack a 3-4 front when the C can handle the NT 1 on 1....I'm sure Lebeau has seen it before.

McLendon's game is quickness, he's going to beat the C and get into the gap a few times and if the play is call for that gap he'll get a TFL (got 1 last week) but, he's really a DE, just the best NT on the team I guess...If we could get our hands on another legit 3-4 NT, this DEF could be something special...until then we have to hope Troy doesn't miss as many tackles as he did last week in support...or the front 7 improves against the run.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

If the offense can keep the pedal to the metal then PIT should come away victorious. The defense will do what it can while it's still developing.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Forgot to mention... If you haven't heard, Shamarko & Bryant were full participants in practice this week.

 

[evolver115]

Astute! That 2nd sentence is it in a nutshell...I watched about half dz of their running plays in slo mo (I know I'm nuts) from the 2nd half last night & they were pulling a G so one could engage the DE, the other the ILB...and the OTs were on the OLBs so the RBs were getting to the line untouched a lot. Well designed way to attack a 3-4 front when the C can handle the NT 1 on 1....I'm sure Lebeau has seen it before.

McLendon's game is quickness, he's going to beat the C and get into the gap a few times and if the play is call for that gap he'll get a TFL (got 1 last week) but, he's really a DE, just the best NT on the team I guess...If we could get our hands on another legit 3-4 NT, this DEF could be something special...until then we have to hope Troy doesn't miss as many tackles as he did last week in support...or the front 7 improves against the run.

I guess they can blame the miss on Ta'amu in 2012 for not having a true two gap NT on the team who is ready to go. Obviously, they cannot expect McCullers prepared enough to just step in, but in my eyes, if they're expecting McLendon to own that role on this defense for the duration, I don't see that situation ending well.

That is truly the piece to all of this that is missing. Like you said, they could be something special if they had that lynchpin at NT to control the point of attack, but they don't.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Forgot to mention... If you haven't heard, Shamarko & Bryant were full participants in practice this week.

Great news...Thomas probably gets some dime work if McClain is not a go...will be interested to see how Bryant factors tonight with J. Brown looking pretty good in game 1. Hope Archer is ready to go next week.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Ravens looked bad against the Bengals, plus they've had a lot of distractions with the Ray Rice situation. Let's hope the Steelers can take advantage of a team down on its luck

 

[Bridgeburner]

Keep the no huddle rolling and let the offense carry this team until that young defense can get it's legs under them. Hopefully the defense is vastly better the second half of the year and we'll be making a serious push into the post season.

Gotta love Ravens week. Nothing better than beating that classless purple wearing disgrace of a franchise.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Just started up the smoker and popped the top off a beer… Countdown to game time has officially started

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

RECAP…

This was the perfect opportunity tonight to bury their biggest rivals.

What I saw tonight was about effort. The Steelers basically didnt show up to compete or perform much tonight. The Ravens were a team that had a HUGE amount of distractions heading into this game, so one would think that a good team would take advantage… The offense sustained a few long drives only to sputter near the RZ. The defense couldn't stop a sub average offense, nor could it generate pressure on a supposedly porous offensive line. That allowed Flacco to sit back all game with a tub of popcorn to watch his plays develop. If you look at the stat sheets, one might deduce that turnovers killed them. But if you watched the game, you would know that they lost the battle in the trenches all game long. And a few bad calls yes, but still doesn't change the fact that they got destroyed. The Steelers literally handed the Ravens all the momentum to boost their confidence and ultimately bury themselves. What a disgraceful performance. No effort tonight, which is on the coaches.

Ok… Now that I got that knee-jerk anger post off my chest… let's dig a little deeper

O… The offense looked somewhat good in the first half. They sustained an 8 minute drive in the 1st quarter which looked masterful on 3rd downs. J-Brown's fumble killed the momentum. Even still, they were able to storm back down the field on the next drive, but couldn't punch it through the RZ. The O-line held it's own (with exception to Gilbert) in the 1st quarter. But then they unraveled. Ben was under duress throughout the remainder of the game. That didn't allow many plays to develop and Haley's ticky tacky play calling wasn't getting the job done when it counted. The announcer said it best, that his style of play calling with sweeps/bubble screens/reverses etc are just not going to cut it in the RZ when the defense has a shorter field to cover. Haley has to get that shit figured out. On a positive note, the WR's had a decent game. Even with a QB that had a lot of errant throws throughout the game, they still managed to convert some good 3rd downs. Wheaton still looks sharp. I think defenses now have the blueprint to stop this offense though because once Jimmy Smith & Chykie Brown started to jam at the line it threw the entire scheme out of balance. Ben had to check off his first looks constantly because of that bump & run style of defense. The O-line wasn't giving him much time to get through his progressions so it was a long game. The Ravens were able to stack the box and bring their safeties down to add even more pressure. Recipe for disaster…

D… Like I said before… The battle was lost in the trenches. The D-line was only able to generate a little pressure when Flacco had already snapped the ball over 5 seconds prior. The supposedly porous Ravens' O-line looked dominant tonight. The run game wasn't all too bad though. A few good goal line stands were glimpses of that. Pierce & Forsett didn't have a whole lot of room, so that's something good to build on. The Ravens decided to go pass heavy and that's when the defense fell apart. The TE's were eating up the seem routes off play action (something ATL expressed concern over days ago). But my bigger concern is with the secondary. Not a single person out there looked like they should be considered a starter. Taylor & Allen were miserable. Don't be fooled by the goal line stand where Taylor looked like he came up big twice, because after watching the replays I decided it was more just bad passing by Flacco. Allen got beat constantly. Polamalu got embarrassed on a quick 5 yard slant by Steve Smith. He looked awfully slow tonight, often looking exhausted. But later on he then lead with his helmet on a defenseless receiver and draw a personal foul penalty deep in the RZ. BIG mistake and he should have known better than to do that! The Mitchell personal foul was bullshit, and I'm not even going to get into that one. I didn't see Mitchell much this game, so I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. The entire defense looked disconnected at times. We knew this team needed time to develop, but if I didn't know any better I would think this entire defense needs to relearn the playbook. Lebeau has his work cut out for him.

Tomlin & Lebeau are going to receive some fire this week. I hope they can right this ship! I'm not going to call it a sinking ship yet since we're only 2 games in, but man that ship looks like it has a lot of holes in it! Being outscored 40-9 in the last 6 quarters of play is an ugly stat to look at. This is going to be a long 10 days before they face Carolina.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Well...expected reaction...I didn't see anything Tomlin or Haley/Labeau for that matter, did specially to lose the game.

Here's what I saw last night in a few words.

OFC...3 turnovers...2 were clearly momentum killers with the game in reach. J. Brown...young player, young players make mistakes....trying to get a couple extra yds...bad time to make a mistake. Miller...vet player...in the middle of the field, he should have known he was going to hit...gotta secure the ball.

After the DEF stop them on their 1st drive in 3Q...the OFC has to get 6 there, but settle for 3...Ben was just not sharp really all night...the MO changed for good on Miller's fumble...somehow I knew they were not coming back then, Ben's pick just made final margin look better.

DEF...the penalties hurt...I don't blame Mitchell on the 1 call, but the facemask is going to get called...again bad tackling...McLendon is losing the battle @ point of attack most of the time...all in all the DEF played better in the 2nd half...and considering BAL had the ball nearly 10 mins longer I can't pin this lose on them totally. Yes, Allen had a tough night...got beat deep...I would like to see Allen get beat playing tighter, but I think the scheme is part of that...keep the play in front of you...if that's the scheme you have to make cleaner tackles.

It was a team loss....I thought they could win last night based on everything going on in BAL, but the Ravens were focused...they were the better team last night...gotta take care of them at home, but in the mean time...get ready for CAR.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Agree totally with Face and ATL's analysis. Big question for the Car game is will we see the team from the first half of the Brown's game or the one from the last 6 quarters??????

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Well I sure hope that we see the team from the 1st half of the Browns game. But we need Ben to bring his A-game for that to happen. And for the love of god Munchak needs to get this O-line to gel better. Gilbert is not paying great dividends yet. But I still believe they made the right decisions in resigning him. We can at least agree that his start to the season isn't worse than Mike Adam's start to 2013. If the offense can get back on track then it will help the defense's progression. That sentence could be the reoccurring theme lol.

I've already been reading articles about how people want Tomlin, Haley, Lebeau and even Colbert to be cleaned out. Sad state of emotion for Steeler Nation all around. But we all know that none of those guys are going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. Because that is just not how the Rooneys do business. Plus none of them have lost the trust of their players, just the fan base lol. But that is an important thing to remember. This is a well put together coaching staff that should be able to make the proper adjustments to get this team back on track. It's still early, have faith!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Well I sure hope that we see the team from the 1st half of the Browns game. But we need Ben to bring his A-game for that to happen. And for the love of god Munchak needs to get this O-line to gel better. Gilbert is not paying great dividends yet. But I still believe they made the right decisions in resigning him. We can at least agree that his start to the season isn't worse than Mike Adam's start to 2013. If the offense can get back on track then it will help the defense's progression. That sentence could be the reoccurring theme lol.

I've already been reading articles about how people want Tomlin, Haley, Lebeau and even Colbert to be cleaned out. Sad state of emotion for Steeler Nation all around. But we all know that none of those guys are going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. Because that is just not how the Rooneys do business. Plus none of them have lost the trust of their players, just the fan base lol. But that is an important thing to remember. This is a well put together coaching staff that should be able to make the proper adjustments to get this team back on track. It's still early, have faith!

I know fans that just plain don't like Tomlin and probably more that don't like Haley...and a performance like last night gives them ammunition to fire off. It will probably take another SB win imo to turn those fans around.

I'm a results oriented fan like any other I guess, but I realize that there had to be a bottom after the GB SB loss, and I hope they've reached bottom last year and are on the uptick again....The last 2 season does bring Tomlin and I hate to say it, but Lebeau also into the hotseat if you will, but calling for heads after 2 games and 6 bad Qtrs is over the top...the Rooneys are going to stick with this group as you've said, but anything less than 9-7 with the schedule they have would make me want to see change on some level as well.