Recent ghosts of the confluence at Three Rivers will be out this week for the battle of the 5-2 Ravens and 6-2 Steelers. The 3rd and 29 play in last year’s playoffs and the pick six by Polamalu in the AFC Championship a few years ago are both haunting memories. Another Ravens Steelers game looms large. Sunday night and three hours watching this one unfold and hoping that those ghosts are gone.
The Ravens gained some much needed confidence and momentum with their historic comeback against the Arizona Cardinals. They need to carry that momentum into this week’s Sunday Night rematch with the Steelers. What did we learn from yesterday’s performance?
Once again we are left with more questions than answers. We did learn that Cam can adjust at halftime, the offense can spread the field, the coaching staff can manage the clock, the offense can play with a sense of urgency and Joe Flacco can show emotion! The big question is at 8:20pm on Sunday night will we get the Flacco led offense that slept through Monday Night Football or will we get the Flacco led offense that was poised, quick and crisp during the second half comeback?
The defense continues its solid play. Don’t overlook contributions by Bernard Pollard, Paul Kruger and Jameel McClain. All three came up big on Sunday. Was anyone concerned in the first quarter when #52 wasn’t in on defense? I know I was! Big Ben threw the ball 50 times on Sunday, will he throw it that much against the Ravens? This armchair QB thinks he will be over 40 pass attempts on Sunday. A sweep of the Steelers would be big but don’t forget about the Bengals. We will see what they are made of in November as they travel to Tennessee, then have the Steelers at home followed by a trip to Baltimore. November will be an interesting month in the AFC North.
Note to Ravens Special Teams Coach Jerry Rosburg, you need to tighten up the tackling as the runbacks are unacceptable. A big thank you to Sam Koch for pinning the Cardinals inside the 5 yard line on their last possession. Also a thank you to Bionic Billy Cundiff for nailing all three field goals including the game winner.
Note to NFL official Jeff Triplette, you and your crew stink.
Bring on the Steelers!
