Ravens, Lions, and One Big Win
Now that the Steelers‘ season is over, it occurs to me that the Ravens can take credit for ending it.
When the two teams met on 11/29, the Steelers were 6-4 and still considered playoff contenders. But they were coming off two straight losses, including a heartbreaker at Kansas City, and were starting to show signs of trouble.
The first indicator was their mismanagement of the Roethlisberger injury. Poor communication and decision making led to catching their own players (most notably Hines Ward) off guard. It was an odd scenario, something that didn’t jibe with the way they normally operate. They managed to turn in an admirable performance in spite of it, however, and that should have been enough to come back strong against upcoming inferior opponents. Not so.
Instead, the Ravens game exposed the Steelers as a team in the throes of an identity crisis. Their offense is all over the map, their defense lacks finishing instinct. Their locker room is a somber, divided place. Their young coach is experiencing his first real adversity since taking the job and leading them to a Super Bowl. The veterans look older than ever and the depth behind them is — and this is putting it mildly — a question mark.
The story of that November game isn’t that the Steelers fought hard but came up short, it’s that they threw everything they had left into a rivalry match and emerged beaten and broken. Subsequent weeks have proven as much as they’ve come out listless and aimless in losses to two teams they should have beaten easily.
They lack that certain something that is the difference in the NFL between winning and mediocrity. Any chance they had at finding it was taken from them by the Ravens. Their season ended that Sunday night in Baltimore, they just didn’t know it at the time.
As for the Ravens, they remain in control of their destiny. I’d be absolutely shocked if they missed the playoffs at 10-6 — it’s not a realistic scenario. The march starts today at home against Detroit.
I don’t care if it is Detroit, the Ravens need to show themselves and the rest of the NFL who they are. I was at the game in Green Bay and the Ravens looked flat. Joe made some really terrible decisions like that INT in endzone. They can’t go out there and win by less than 10. This needs to be a statement game where they show exactly who they are
the disgusting thing about the ravens is they’re basically the same as the steelers this year, they’re just three days better than them right now.
maybe they go 4-0 and get in at the end but basically they’re two teams with no offensive identity and an aging, frustrated defense.
and with that, go crush the fucking lions and get a clue you fucking underachievers i’m sick of it.
but i love you and of course you know that
Good to see that we’re deciding to throw on every single down in the freezing rain. Because that’s smart football.
What the hell happened to this team? They look like they have no idea what they are doing. I’m calling that if they win this game, it’s going to be because the Lions lose it, not because we win it.
Perhaps I spoke too soon.
That Mason touchdown was pretty sweet. Takes a helmet in the gut, stays standing, and manages to run like 30 yd for the TD.
just imagine for a minute where this team would be without ray rice.
actually, don’t do that.
Ravens are taking this thing over!
I’m surprised Todd Heap lasted as long as he did this year.
hey whattaya know cam cameron – rushing wins football games for the ravens.
better late then never – then again maybe it’s too late who knows.
fun game to watch though. just what the doctor ordered.
Rushing and spreading it around a little. We have 3 running backs again? WTF?! Nice to see Williams get some catches, too.
RUN UP THE SCORE JOHN!
Jim Schwartz is pissed. McGahee is just doing whatever he wants.
It would be cool to see Troy Smith do something in the 4th quarter.. I wonder if they go there or not.
BEARS – WIN
STEELERS – WIN
RAIDERS – WIN
10-6 would make this season look a little better, that’s for sure.
@dan the man – I’m thinking we might need to be 10-6 to get into the playoffs, though honestly I’m not sure if I see the value of the whole thing, since it is pretty obvious to me that the Ravens just can’t run with the big boys this year. Though I suppose “any given Sunday” and all that.
The value is that it’s fun to have your team be in the playoffs. I don’t really understand fans who are like, “should we even be in the playoffs”. Well, no, probably not. But if we CAN be, then I’m all for it. Weasle your way in any way you can. And there’s nothing wrong with continuing to improve as the season winds down.
@dan the man – Well, of course. But whether or not the Ravens make the playoffs – for me – won’t change my opinion of this season for them at all…unless they get deep into the postseason somehow. It’s been a disappointing year.
Very disappointing. But 8-8 and 10-6 might be the difference between “what the hell happened to this team this year” and “ok, they had a new defensive system, a young o-line, not very many weapons, and a few injuries”. At least to some people. No question it’s been disappointing, though.
In baseball, the dominoes are starting to fall. Lackey to the Red Sox, Halladay to the Phillies (almost), Matsui to the Angels. Bay and Holliday are left. Also, there’s a small blurb about Troy Glaus on MLBTR, which is literally the very first thing I’ve heard on him all off-season.
What if we got Glaus for 3B and Delgado for 1B? Now there’s some power corner infielders. Risky power, but power nonetheless. Glaus has hit at least 20 home runs in the years he’s been healthy.
37, 28, 20, 27 from ’05-’08, and he was hurt all of last year. He’ll do a one-year deal and he prefers playing a corner full-time to DHing. Go get him.
@dan the man – I could live with Glaus, but the issue is what do you do with him in the event that he’s healthy and playing well and Josh Bell’s time comes in mid-May. It’s too early to trade Glaus, and I assume the O’s are getting someone (Johnson would be my choice) to play first, and of course we already have many DH options. So what would you do with Glaus then?
I guess you don’t worry about the best case scenario, but you know Glaus sees the situation and thinks “Well, what happens then? I don’t particularly like that uncertainly surrounding me, so maybe I’ll look elsewhere”.
Well, if the O’s are playing well and being competitive, you push back Bell’s debut until next year or until you trade Glaus to a contender. Or you trade whoever you have at 1B and throw Glaus on 1B. Or someone gets hurt. Who knows? But you’re right, if you’re Glaus, the Josh Bell question is probably on your mind.
I’m all about Nick Johnson also.
We miss the playoffs if the Jaguars finish the season with the same record as the Ravens (I believe they have a better conference record which puts them ahead), and the Broncos finish with a better record than the Ravens, both of which are current realities.
A huge advantage is that the Jags have to play Indy and the Pats. They get a freebie in Cleveland. However, if there is any team that plays the Colts well, it’s Jacksonville. And Brady’s team looks sloppy this year.
The Broncos finish the year with Oakland and KC, two teams they SHOULD beat to get to 10 wins, so we have the tie breaker in that scenario. They also get the Eagles who are a very good team, and I think the Broncos lose that matchup nine times out of ten.
In any event, if the Ravens lose ANY game here on out, kiss the playoffs goodbye. We would need several miracles from some pretty bad teams to make it happen at 9-7.
to me it comes down to the pittsburgh game and honestly i’d rather play any other team because it’s gonna be their superbowl and those games are impossible to predict.
i feel like the bears and especially the raiders will mail it in just like detroit did yesterday but i could be wrong.
as much as i want the steelers to burn in hell they wouldn’t do that in a million years.
i guess i just wish pittsburgh was the FINAL game and winning equaled playoffs.
and just to clarify my post the steelers will most certainly burn in hell in less than a million years – but they wouldn’t lay down in a million.
@Big Ben’s Motorcycle – The Steelers are a team in crisis. They’re either going to hit the Ravens with 100% intensity and play their asses off and look like the team that started 6-2…or they’re going to continue to look disorganized, confused, and inept.
They won’t lay down, but if the latter scenario plays out it won’t matter.
There’s a nice little deli around the corner from my apartment in the hipster section of Rochester, owned and operated by a die-hard Yankees and Browns fan (and he made that combination seem plausible, too) – but he’s still a good guy, so when I’m in there we talk about the Browns and the Ravens a lot.
His take on Art Modell is very touching indeed, and while we as a town are certainly not going to muddy his name at all, it at least gave me pause (especially in the light of re-watching “The Band That Wouldn’t Die”) to reconsider my position on many things about the Ravens and the Hall of Fame case for Art. Not saying it changed my mind, but it did give me pause after considering the very real pain he brought to many people.