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Week 9 @ BAL2.0

ATL96Steeler

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Week 9 is rapidly approaching.

The 4-2-1, 1st place Steelers make their annual trek down to Baltimore to play the second game of the year vs the Ravens.

The Ravens come in to this game 4-4 after back to back losses for the 1st time this season. After a 3-1 start including a week 4 win @ PIT, the Ravens have since gone 1-3. The Ravens rank 14th on OFC and 1st on DEF....the last 4 games their scoring has dropped slightly from their 1st 4 games.

It almost doesn't matter how these teams are playing coming into this matchup...the games are typically close. The week 4 game, BAL jumped out to a 14-0 lead 1st Q lead. PIT matched them 14-0 in the 2nd Q and from there, both DEF played pretty well in the 2nd half...BAL was able to move the ball better and got 4 FGs while Ben and company were shut out in the 2nd half enroute to a 26-14 loss.

Injuries...Gilbert (knee), Sensabaugh (foot), both are questionable. Ben (left index finger) probable. Worth noting, Burns was late to a team walk through or meeting and was effectively benched for that reason...it's be interesting to see if he's out of the doghouse or do they go with Sutton like they did last week when Sens came out.

Outlook...PIT won in BAL last year to get the sweep...they can't really afford to get swept in return. There is a chance that BAL could be w/o both starting OTs. PIT will need to play a cleaner game in terms of penalties, and also Fichtner/Ben have to stay balanced with Connor and give them a wrinkle or two they haven't seen 500 times already.

24-20 PIT...I think the BAL OFC played over their heads early, certainly better than I thought they would look. The Steeler DL needs to wreck havoc in this game against a suspect Raven OL.

What say you?
 

Yo Tee

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We lost at home to Baltimore. Wasn't a very good game for us. Last year, we won in Baltimore for the first time since 2012. Usually, you can always bank on at least 1 division road loss and it's usually always against the Ravens. The Ravens have the best defense in the league while the Steelers have 5th ranked offense in the league. We have to be hitting on all cylinders out the gate in this one. We've only scored 3 TDs in the first quarter all year long. Most of our scoring happens in the 2nd quarter. Baltimore has only given up more than 15 points 3 times this season. On the flip side, since Week 2, the Ravens haven't broke the 30 point mark at all. If we want to win this game, we need to attack on offense quick and often. I think this team has improved since the first matchup and I do believe we win this game, but it's gonna be a knock down drag out game where the last defensive stop will prove to be the deciding factor.

Steelers 21
Ravens 16
 

ATL96Steeler

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We lost at home to Baltimore. Wasn't a very good game for us. Last year, we won in Baltimore for the first time since 2012. Usually, you can always bank on at least 1 division road loss and it's usually always against the Ravens. The Ravens have the best defense in the league while the Steelers have 5th ranked offense in the league. We have to be hitting on all cylinders out the gate in this one. We've only scored 3 TDs in the first quarter all year long. Most of our scoring happens in the 2nd quarter. Baltimore has only given up more than 15 points 3 times this season. On the flip side, since Week 2, the Ravens haven't broke the 30 point mark at all. If we want to win this game, we need to attack on offense quick and often. I think this team has improved since the first matchup and I do believe we win this game, but it's gonna be a knock down drag out game where the last defensive stop will prove to be the deciding factor.

Steelers 21
Ravens 16

Stats can be deceiving.

BAL is the #1 ranked DEF....the only good OFC they've held under 24 pts was PIT....lol The others were BUF (3), DEN (14) CLE (12, and they lost) and TN (0)….all under .500 teams.

So...I'm not that concerned about their DEF....the reason they're so effective vs PIT is they know the plays and formations better than any other Steeler opponent. Tomlin preaches execution, Harbaugh looks at the tape and see the same stuff from 2014.
 

SteelersPride

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this game scares me. because i see the ravens with a formidable D at worst.
artie burns.
they will make adjustments for this game
Tomlin will make no adjustments.
I dont know what to think
 

ATL96Steeler

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this game scares me. because i see the ravens with a formidable D at worst.
artie burns.
they will make adjustments for this game
Tomlin will make no adjustments.
I dont know what to think

This game is on Fichtner & Ben, the BAL OFC is not going to run up 30 unless they get some short fields.

If they go down there running the same plays from the same formations the entire game, Berry will be a very busy man. The DEF will get worn down and they will lose like 23-17 or something.

If Randy didn't put anything fresh in during bye for the Ravens, he's nuts.

They will probably get at least one of them to play, but both OTs missed practice yesterday and maybe a OG as well. DL needs to step up again. Overall, their play has been just okay imo given they have probably been the stronger trench unit in most of their games so far.

Tuitt had one last week, Heyward needs a breakout game now for this year. Nice 2 bagger would be nice for Captain.
 

FaCe-LeE-uS

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I have a feeling we're in for a wild ride today.

O... Surprised to see them struggle as much as they did last week coming off the bye (and at home no less). Concerns me. I don't imagine the Steelers will have a very hard time moving the ball against Baltimore so long as they can play cleanly. I'm mostly worried about penalties & turnovers in this game. Ben needs to bring his A-game today or things will get ugly. Be smart with the ball and the rest will take care of itself. The O-line & Conner are primed for a good day. No need to force the ball.

D... Another lashing to the dead horse. They absolutely cannot let Flacco get comfortable in the pocket on his home field. Ravens O-line is banged up so the Steelers need to take advantage. Shut down the run game and force Flacco to the air. We know the Steelers secondary can & most likely will give up the big plays, but I'm less concerned about Flacco. He's playing better this year... I'll give him that. But he's still not striking fear in anyone. Just keep Artie on the sidelines and they should be in good shape.

It's going to be a bruising game. Both teams are battling for the division lead right now. It's going to be a stressful game. But this is one the Steelers cannot afford to lose. Getting swept by BAL would damage their postseason route.

Steelers 23 - Ravens 20
 

SJ20

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This is the biggest regular season game in a long time. The importance is incredible. Steelers have to return the favor today by defeating the Ravens. This game is a must. Go in there and win this game!

PIT 29
BAL 17
 

FaCe-LeE-uS

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Coaching... Lots of penalties today, but mostly questionable calls. They didn't look undisciplined so can't fault Tomlin for it. Tough environment to play in and the Steelers looked prepared today. Offense started hot. Liked the balance we saw early but they sort of abandoned the run in the 2nd half. Not completely but still passed a ton later on. Would like to see better hash work from their slot receivers. Those dinky plays to Switzer are getting tiresome. Defense looked good early but the pressure sort of disappeared as the game wore on. Lot more zone coverage in this game. Didn't like it, but they got the job done. B-

O... Started well and that carried them to a win. Ravens defense clenched down and made life very tough for Ben & Co. Ben passed more than I liked but Conner just wasn't finding any room in the 2nd half. Tough game all around for the offense. Glad Ben found a way to get more hands involved. McDonald & James providing a small sample, but clutch plays. JuJu grinding out those 3rd down plays were monumental. Without those plays the Steelers lose. Plain & simple. Tough yards all day against the #1 defense. B

D... Decent amount of pressure early on, but coming from the inside & not outside. Watt & Dupree didn't do much today against backup OTs. That's a problem. Secondary did just enough not to cost them the game, but they are still a soft spot. Need better pressure up front from inside & out. They at least shut down the run for the most part. If Flacco had better field vision this might have been a different outcome. C+

ST... Can't keep forgiving Boz for missing kicks. I know it was only 1 pt, but that 1 pt could have proved costly had BAL got the TD late in the game. And Berry outkicking the punt team late was scary. Thankfully it didn't cost them. Just a meh day for this unit. C

Overall/Outlook... Huge win today. As grueling as expected, but they found a way. And a must-win to boot. Hats off to the Steelers for getting it done. However ugly it seemed. Gotta commend the entire team for going 3-0 in consecutive weeks to AFCN opponents. Very rare & a brutal slate. They survived & made a huge statement to the division. Short week with Carolina coming into town Thursday night. Typically favors the home team, but the Panthers are a hot team right now. Newton is playing well. Going to be an interesting game. Need to stay focused. Another brutal slate of AFC games after that. 5 STRAIGHT! @JAX, @DEN, vLAC, @OAK, and lastly vNE. Steelers always save their best ball for the months of November & December. Let's hope that holds true! B- or C+
 

FaCe-LeE-uS

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Understated stat of the day

 

cincygrad

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Big win for the Steelers and a tough blow to the Ravens playoff hopes. With AJ Green potentially being out for the Bengals, the Steelers are now in position to clench this thing before Christmas. The Ravens still have roadies in KC, LA Chargers, and Atlanta (who seems to be playing better). They have a few gimmies too, but I'm not sure they have a clear path to a winning record at this point.
 

Yo Tee

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4 straight wins including 3 in the division? Can't complain about any of that.
 

Ewa PGH Fan

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If Dobbs keeps that level of play up then its going to be a while before we ever see Rudolph sniff a gameday helmet.
I have to give mad props to Dobbs. To come in cold like that and get the 1st down with their backs to the end zone especially if he checked out of a run takes huge grapefruits!!! You could see the Ravens deflate after that first down when they thought they knocked Ben out of the game, Dobbs kills them and then Ben came right back in. Their whole stadium was like WTF just happened. I loved it!
 

Ewa PGH Fan

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They’ve got momentum, now watch Bell show up Monday and screw that all up.
 

Maximus Rex

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DeCatstro put it well. From ESPN

As Conner continues to perform, players have grown tired of questions regarding Bell's absence.

"Honestly, no one cares anymore," guard David DeCastro said in the locker room after the game. "Why would I? I don't want to waste the energy. I have to block some of the best players on the best defense in the world. Do you think I'm going to worry about a guy who's not here? Like I've said before, I love Le'Veon. There's great memories with him. But it would do an injustice to this game worrying about someone else when I'm on the field. I'm just trying to give my best effort for the rest of the people on the field with me."
 

Yo Tee

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We lost at home to Baltimore. Wasn't a very good game for us. Last year, we won in Baltimore for the first time since 2012. Usually, you can always bank on at least 1 division road loss and it's usually always against the Ravens. The Ravens have the best defense in the league while the Steelers have 5th ranked offense in the league. We have to be hitting on all cylinders out the gate in this one. We've only scored 3 TDs in the first quarter all year long. Most of our scoring happens in the 2nd quarter. Baltimore has only given up more than 15 points 3 times this season. On the flip side, since Week 2, the Ravens haven't broke the 30 point mark at all. If we want to win this game, we need to attack on offense quick and often. I think this team has improved since the first matchup and I do believe we win this game, but it's gonna be a knock down drag out game where the last defensive stop will prove to be the deciding factor.

Steelers 21
Ravens 16

So close! haha
 

ATL96Steeler

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Coaching... Lots of penalties today, but mostly questionable calls. They didn't look undisciplined so can't fault Tomlin for it. Tough environment to play in and the Steelers looked prepared today. Offense started hot. Liked the balance we saw early but they sort of abandoned the run in the 2nd half. Not completely but still passed a ton later on. Would like to see better hash work from their slot receivers. Those dinky plays to Switzer are getting tiresome. Defense looked good early but the pressure sort of disappeared as the game wore on. Lot more zone coverage in this game. Didn't like it, but they got the job done. B-

O... Started well and that carried them to a win. Ravens defense clenched down and made life very tough for Ben & Co. Ben passed more than I liked but Conner just wasn't finding any room in the 2nd half. Tough game all around for the offense. Glad Ben found a way to get more hands involved. McDonald & James providing a small sample, but clutch plays. JuJu grinding out those 3rd down plays were monumental. Without those plays the Steelers lose. Plain & simple. Tough yards all day against the #1 defense. B

D... Decent amount of pressure early on, but coming from the inside & not outside. Watt & Dupree didn't do much today against backup OTs. That's a problem. Secondary did just enough not to cost them the game, but they are still a soft spot. Need better pressure up front from inside & out. They at least shut down the run for the most part. If Flacco had better field vision this might have been a different outcome. C+

ST... Can't keep forgiving Boz for missing kicks. I know it was only 1 pt, but that 1 pt could have proved costly had BAL got the TD late in the game. And Berry outkicking the punt team late was scary. Thankfully it didn't cost them. Just a meh day for this unit. C

Overall/Outlook... Huge win today. As grueling as expected, but they found a way. And a must-win to boot. Hats off to the Steelers for getting it done. However ugly it seemed. Gotta commend the entire team for going 3-0 in consecutive weeks to AFCN opponents. Very rare & a brutal slate. They survived & made a huge statement to the division. Short week with Carolina coming into town Thursday night. Typically favors the home team, but the Panthers are a hot team right now. Newton is playing well. Going to be an interesting game. Need to stay focused. Another brutal slate of AFC games after that. 5 STRAIGHT! @JAX, @DEN, vLAC, @OAK, and lastly vNE. Steelers always save their best ball for the months of November & December. Let's hope that holds true! B- or C+

Great write up!

Mostly the same for me.

HC...4 of 5...must win game, and they won it. It's rarely ever easy in BAL and this one wasn't easy, but I never got the sense that BAL would win once Dobbs got the 1st down and they went on go up 2 possession again and killed nearly have the Qtr.

OC...4 of 5...The play of the game imo was the 1st down pass by Dobbs on 2nd & 20...big balls for the youngster to come in and fire a dart...I was going to say huge pair for Fichtner as well to call a pass, but apparently Dobbs checked to that from a predictable run. Generally speaking they couldn't run it when they wanted to run clock in the second half, but aside from that, the Steeler OFC owned this game, owned 3rd down, only 2 punts per half and nearly 37 mins of possession...lots of different targets was enough to tell me that Fichtner did show a few things or at least some targets BAL has not seen 5000 times on tape.

DC...4 of 5...The two early stops in the RZ for FGs made this an entirely different game...BAL OFC did not sustain many more drives after that, the lone TD drive was it iirc. Butler kept the heat on...they weren't as effective on the blitzes in this game probably because they've seen them so many times...Less than what I was hoping for against 2 backup OTs, but I actually thought Bud played a decent game I think he got a sack or part of of one and TJ struggled to make anything happen...Tuitt got home once. Burnett did not play as well this week as he did last week.

Better, but I'm still not comfortable with the DEF...this 4 game win streak has only included 1 very good OFC (ATL), but to hold BAL to 1 TD on their field was a strong effort.

ST...3 of 5...Boswell not Mr Automatic this year...hope it doesn't come back to bite them.

Summary...they got a much needed win in a place that's difficult to get wins and stay atop the DIV. Looking at the next 3 games...CAR, @ JAX, @ DEN...CAR is a unique kind of challenge...fortunately they get that game at home. JAX is not the same kind of threat this year on either side of the ball and DEN out there is always a challenge, but they need to come thru these next 3 games no worse than 2-1, with the NFC game being the least important, but 3-0 makes a statement that maybe this team will be a factor in JAN.
 
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