I wonder what it’s like to be a professional football player and to leave your family two days before Christmas to go to work…to be in an unfriendly stadium where rabid Steelers fans cheer your mistakes and wish a black Christmas for you. That can’t be easy particularly when the first big mistake occurs. Perhaps the Ravens could find themselves down 10-0 and then they start to think, “Man, I can’t wait to get home tonight to be with my family.â€
Might that take some of the bite out of the Ravens defense?
Of course it could.
That’s human nature.
But are we making more of the psychological side of today’s game than is necessary? I suppose we’ll soon find out but from my vantage point, I say we are overanalyzing this game way too much including all of this Christmas Eve discussion and its affect on the players.
Do they wish they were home? Of course. But I can tell you if it were me in there shoes I’d be saying to my mates, “Look, no one wants to be away from home today and that ticks me off too. But since we’re here, let’s not waste our time or take time away from our family for a losing effort. Let’s show them that the time was well spent and win this football game.â€
This game isn’t about whether or not Bill Cowher retires. It’s not about the Steelers being desperate or Heinz Field being the equivalent of Patterson Park’s “Dust Bowl.†This game is about being physical and about execution. The date and the emotional circumstances don’t change that. Did it change anything for the Packers on Thursday Night when the NFL’s marketing machine spun that game as Brett Favre’s last at Lambeau?
No. They were the same old lame Packers offense.
Bill Cowher heading down the dusty trail to suburban Raleigh, NC isn’t going to affect this game. I would be more worried about a Steelers team that played with nothing to lose. I’m happy that this game means something for them. Imagine how they would approach the game if they were already out of the playoff picture. Can you say Inspector Gadget? Cowher, if indeed this is his last game and if he had nothing to play for, would want to give the fans something to remember.
The fumblerooskis and flea flickers and Statues of Liberty and fake punts and field goals and onsides kicks would come in droves. That would worry me more.
No this game is about who wants it more and who executes their plan better than the other team. There are no surprises here. These two teams know each other too well. The Steelers will try to protect Ben Roethlisberger with 3 step drop pass plays; they will try to establish Willie Parker and they will try and use the Ravens’ aggressive tendencies against them with the Steelers’ signature screen pass.
That’s what they tried to do four weeks ago.
They failed. The Ravens made the Steelers one dimensional and when you allow Rex Ryan’s defense to do that, you essentially become no-dimensional.
Unless the Ravens completely fail to execute today and they forget all that made them immensely successful here in Baltimore during their 27-0 drubbing of Pittsburgh, the end result will be the same. Sorry but I don’t see where 250 miles, two starting tackles down (Ogden & Starks), a lousy field and the possible swan song of the NFL equivalent of Daffy Duck (Cowher) morphs a dominating win less than a month ago into a defeat today.
The last time I checked, the Ravens have something to play for too.
The last time they visited Heinz Field a miserable performance by Anthony Wright on Monday Night was almost good enough to be what would become the Super Bowl Champions.
You will get an early Christmas present tonight Baltimore when the Ravens beat the Steelers 20-17.
Might there be others arriving from Houston or Seattle?
