Week 4 Ravens

[ATL96Steeler]

The team played well enough to get a road win, but bittersweet losing Ben for some period of time, but not a total season loss so we move on.

The Ravens...since their inception they have made themselves a true rival...0-3 for the 1st time ever...lot of turnover since their last SB...still a lot of good players on that team and I expect it to be a typical Steelers - Ravens matchup with hard hitting and short temps.

Vick, 35 has a shot to go out a winner…gets to have a significant impact starting this week… This Ravens team is different from those we’ve seen in the past…they seem to have laspes on both sides of the ball now, whereas you could always count on the D…most notably the OFC is lacking playmakers, that Flacco trusts…Smith at his age getting 13 targets in game tells me that Flacco doesn’t trust everybody.

Who is out…on such a short turnaround hard to update this, but from what I have now, we all now Ben is out for 4 to 6 weeks, they are not planning on bringing in another QB I hear so Landry is QB2 and will have hat for the 1st time in a while….Shazier/McCullers no update, but practice participation will drive their availability.

Gameplan…Haley just to keep it simple and work Bell/Williams to setup some playaction…Vick still has a great deep ball so I might test them with a couple. He can still move so I would move the pocket maybe run a boot or two with Heath…try to keep the passing load under 25….stress ball security in the pocket.

DEF…at this point you have to key on Smith/Gilmore and don’t give up any big runs…per norm, keep some heat on Flacco.

I like the Steelers in this one.

23-17

What say you?

 

[Kevin12773]

Not a fan of either but would like nothing more than to see those crows go to 0-4. What's up with Gradkowski? Is Vick the only qb on roster?

 

[MISKO]

Not a fan of either but would like nothing more than to see those crows go to 0-4. What's up with Gradkowski? Is Vick the only qb on roster?

grad is out with a shoulder injury or something like that so we picked up vick ..I think vick will look a lot better after getting first team reps at practice this week .and landry jones our 3rd string QB nobody has any confidence in him ..

 

[Kevin12773]

grad is out with a shoulder injury or something like that so we picked up vick ..I think vick will look a lot better after getting first team reps at practice this week .and landry jones our 3rd string QB nobody has any confidence in him ..

Ah yes how could I forget the ex sooner!

 

[Cali Steel]

Books have the Gayvens at 2.5 point favorites right now.
Hope the Pitt fan base brings the noise.
Nothing would be sweeter than the Ratbirds @ 0 - 4

 

[Cali Steel]

Lets just hope Vick isn't quite the turnover machine he seemed to be while with the Jets.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Lets just hope Vick isn't quite the turnover machine he seemed to be while with the Jets.

That's my biggest fear...ball control in the pocket...if he handles that part well I think PIT wins

 

[Cali Steel]

Morning ATL
He certainly has something to prove come Thursday evening.
I think he will have a rather short leash as far as airing it out.

 

[evolver115]

Books have the Gayvens at 2.5 point favorites right now.
Hope the Pitt fan base brings the noise.
Nothing would be sweeter than the Ratbirds @ 0 - 4

Aye!!

Would be funny as shit!

Isn't it just the Steelers luck that they have the opportunity to put them at a franchise record 0-4 to start the season and the best player on the roster is hurt

 

[Cali Steel]

Aye!!

Would be funny as shit!

Isn't it just the Steelers luck that they have the opportunity to put them at a franchise record 0-4 to start the season and the best player on the roster is hurt

This is true.
Would be great evening if Vick can "git-er-done"

 

[MISKO]

I think vick gets it done ... but wont be pretty

 

[MISKO]

btw HIYA cali and evo

 

[evolver115]

It just seems like there is always a, "yeah, but" involved when the Steelers meet up with those dirt birds from Balto.

Last season it was, "yeah, but no LeVeon Bell." Now it's, "yeah, but no Big Ben".

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Morning ATL
He certainly has something to prove come Thursday evening.
I think he will have a rather short leash as far as airing it out.

Was going to say likewise, but just noticing the time...probably still morning out there in Cali land.

I don't want to treat Vick like he's a rookie, but if the pass attempts go over 24 or so I feel we're going to be in so trouble...realistically, he's been on the team 2 mos...how many plays can he really know AND have the timing down on?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Offense... Vick will be tested early, but as a few of you already pointed out, it will come down to ball security and being smart with his passes. If we get the NYJ Vick then we might be in trouble, but if we get the PHI Vick then we should be in good shape. Vick has never had this much talent around him, both in skill players & O-line, so he is in the perfect situation to "thrive" if he ever will. However, on a short week we might have to wait a week to see vast improvements. I have a lot of confidence in him, much more so than when he was first signed. @SteelersPride will make me eat that crow at some point lol. For this game it comes down to winning the field position battle. If we can keep the Ratturds on their heels and not give up chunk yardage then they should come out on top. Bell is obviously the difference maker. He will open up the offense and keep the pressure off Vick. And we should see ample amount of D-Will mixed in to keep him fresh. Their secondary is worse than ours so Haley needs to test them early. Capture the momentum and ride it all game long.

Defense... If the front 7 keeps doing what they have been, then it will keep Flacco from finding any sort of rhythm or comfort. Lord help them if Deebo goes into "2014 vs. Ravens @ home" mode. Secondary keeps improving sans Cortez so I'm hoping they will continue that trend. Mitchell & W-Allen will need to stay disciplined back there. Flacco has a big arm and knows this secondary is suspect. Like ATL pointed out, it should be hard to key on his "trusted" playmakers. We'll need some more of that 'opportunistic' play from the D. Make the stands when they count and create some turnovers! Sort of what Lebeau had in mind LY with the "bend don't break" mentality.

This could be ugly, but could be glorious. We have the chance to put the Ratturds into a hole where they've never been. An all time low so-to-speak. Or this could be the moral boost they need to vault themselves back into contention. I think the Steelers are going to be highly motivated, as they usually are with the Ravens coming to Heinz field.

I'll always take the Steelers in this matchup! 24-20

 

[SteelersPride]

get emmmmmmmmmm vick

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Offense... Vick will be tested early, but as a few of you already pointed out, it will come down to ball security and being smart with his passes. If we get the NYJ Vick then we might be in trouble, but if we get the PHI Vick then we should be in good shape. Vick has never had this much talent around him, both in skill players & O-line, so he is in the perfect situation to "thrive" if he ever will. However, on a short week we might have to wait a week to see vast improvements. I have a lot of confidence in him, much more so than when he was first signed. @SteelersPride will make me eat that crow at some point lol. For this game it comes down to winning the field position battle. If we can keep the Ratturds on their heels and not give up chunk yardage then they should come out on top. Bell is obviously the difference maker. He will open up the offense and keep the pressure off Vick. And we should see ample amount of D-Will mixed in to keep him fresh. Their secondary is worse than ours so Haley needs to test them early. Capture the momentum and ride it all game long.

Defense... If the front 7 keeps doing what they have been, then it will keep Flacco from finding any sort of rhythm or comfort. Lord help them if Deebo goes into "2014 vs. Ravens @ home" mode. Secondary keeps improving sans Cortez so I'm hoping they will continue that trend. Mitchell & W-Allen will need to stay disciplined back there. Flacco has a big arm and knows this secondary is suspect. Like ATL pointed out, it should be hard to key on his "trusted" playmakers. We'll need some more of that 'opportunistic' play from the D. Make the stands when they count and create some turnovers! Sort of what Lebeau had in mind LY with the "bend don't break" mentality.

This could be ugly, but could be glorious. We have the chance to put the Ratturds into a hole where they've never been. An all time low so-to-speak. Or this could be the moral boost they need to vault themselves back into contention. I think the Steelers are going to be highly motivated, as they usually are with the Ravens coming to Heinz field.

I'll always take the Steelers in this matchup! 24-20

I think both teams will be at full attention...the Steelers and especially Haley have something to prove after the playoff game last year imo.

In terms of having a backup leading the charge...we have to live with the up and downs of a back up playing, but ...I tend to agree with @SteelersPride ...in terms of experience and accomplishments, Vick is probably the best 4 or 5 game option the Steelers could have found inclusive of Gronk...hopefully he can turn back the clock because I really feel if they win this game the confidence will grow even more and they will go to Cali and win vs SD.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Injury update for week 4.

From Steelers.com

Did Not Practice

Shazier - Shoulder
McCullers - Knee
Spaeth - Hand

Cortez Allen was limited

If Spaeth can do anything today, he might be a game time decision, but I don't think we're going to see Shazier or McCullers this week...Allen is making it easy for PIT to move on...I'm expecting Cockrell to get his snaps.

Did Not Practice...Canty, Gilmore, Perriman

At this point I would not expect Perriman to play.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Officially.

OUT - McCullers, Shazier, I'm hearing the shoulder is still not at full strength so it was more than a stinger. Big man like McCullers...you take your time with a knee.

Questionable...Cortez Allen...Boykin has not been able to take any snaps away from Blake and Cockrell got 22 DEF snaps last week @ nickel...I'll really be following that again.

 

[SteelersPride]

vick better be sharp, becaue the ravens are gonna blitttttttttz