We’ve all heard it enough times by now – Ravens/Steelers has lost some of its luster in recent years. This rivalry, once widely considered the best in the NFL, just doesn’t feel like it used to. In the heyday of Ravens-Steelers, you had two teams full of superstar players who genuinely disliked one another. Unfortunately, the march of Father Time has taken such players as Ray Lewis, Hines Ward, Jamal Lewis, Jerome Bettis, Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu and others off the field of battle.
This particular contest is even less exciting from the Ravens’ side, as their avalanche of injuries will relegate many of the players who have helped keep the rivalry at least simmering, if not at a full boil – Joe Flacco, Steve Smith Sr., Terrell Suggs – to a spectator role.
Even if you’re feeling a bit apathetic as a Ravens fan right now though, trust me when I tell you this: once you see M&T Bank Stadium 30-40% full of rag-waving bandwagon-riding morons tomorrow at 1 PM, your blood will be boiling like it was 2009 all over again.
Pittsburgh can clinch a playoff spot tomorrow with a win and a Jets loss. It would be great if our depleted Ravens could summon up one more miracle win and pull off the improbable upset. While Pittsburgh will likely still sneak into the postseason, let’s make them sweat it out in Week 17, huh? No partying in our house.
And remember this – whatever DOES transpire on Sunday, until it happens, the Steelers still face the prospect of being swept in 2015 by this trainwreck of a Ravens squad.
KNOW THY ENEMY
SERIES HISTORY
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
DB/RS Lardarius Webb on the season’s final two games:
“[We will] keep fighting, just keep fighting – just fight for the man next to you. We don’t want to see quitters. That’ll let us know who belongs on this team and who [doesn’t]. So, we’re just going to see the guys who keep fighting.”
G Marshal Yanda on the Ravens’ challenging season:
“Playing in the NFL is tough, even if you’re winning. Obviously, when you’re losing, it makes everybody’s job harder, but it really doesn’t change your mentality as far as how you approach each game. No matter what, we lost [Sunday], and we’ve got two games left. But that doesn’t change anybody’s approach. We’re all professionals in this business. You have to attack each day no matter if you are winning or losing. I feel like the older guys need to make sure that the younger guys stay focused on what’s important – that’s playing for one another through this tough time. Everybody wants to win. Obviously, we are paid to win. When we’re losing, it’s not getting it done. We’re all in this thing trying to win no matter what.”
DT Brandon Williams on the Ravens’ fighting mentality:
“We just have a team full of fighters. We are going to continue to fight no matter what. That’s the biggest thing about these last few games. We need to figure out what type of guys we have – how many fighters and warriors we have. We’re not going to stop playing until the whistle blows and until the clock hits zero. That’s what I’m proud of.”
RB Terrance West on staying positive after losses:
“Each and every week, your job is on the line. That’s how you have to look at it, no matter what the record is. You have to go out and play for each other no matter what the circumstances. That’s my mentality.”
DT Timmy Jernigan on this Sunday’s Pittsburgh game and the team continuing to fight:
“We’re going to keep playing; we’re not going to back down. They’re going to have to take it from us; they’re not coming in here and just beating us.”
GETTING TO KNOW YOU ~ Q&A with Marshal Yanda
Your most memorable Steelers game?
“There are a lot of them, obviously. We’ve won a lot of them, and they’ve won a lot of them. It would probably be those two road wins there in ’10 and ’11; we won on last-second plays at the end of the game, and we were just fighting to the bitter end. Both games ended on two-minute drives with us on the field.”
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
“My first dream job was to be an airplane pilot – commercial or military, didn’t matter. I was a little kid, and I had an uncle who flew airplanes and used to give us a ride once in a while. After I got to around 12, I switched gears and just lost the itch to do it, but that was my first dream job.”
Do you have post-football plans?
“You think about it more and more as you get older, but I don’t know how much I’m going to miss the game when I’m done playing. So, possibly somewhere coaching football, whether that’s high school or wherever that takes me. And possibly farming, too, buying a farm and having an acreage back in Iowa.”
What are your passions outside of football?
“I love to fish. That’s my main passion in the offseason. I love to go on fishing trips. I go ice fishing up north, up in Canada. I’ve got a boat, and we go to Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and we go up in Minnesota all over. The boat is small enough to pull behind a trailer, so we just hitch the trailer up, pull it all over and go fishing all over the Midwest. We always go ice fishing up north in Canada on Lake Winnipeg. We go to Lake Erie at least once a year. We go to northern Minnesota, up in Baudette, and we go on the Rainy River.”
Who is the most challenging player to block?
“The two guys on top of their game right now are Geno Atkins and Aaron Donald. We played them this year, and both of those guys stick out in my mind as guys who can stuff the run and rush the passer.”
Describe John Harbaugh:
“The way he builds this team is the way that we all are: physical, tough, smart, accountable, responsible people. He tries to bring in those players, and that starts with Ozzie [Newsome]; that starts with Steve [Bisciotti], too. But John has those traits, and those are the people we try to bring in here. That’s the way John is, and that’s the way John is always going to be.”
John Harbaugh called you a future Hall of Famer. What is your reaction?
“I’ve still got a long way to go. There’s still a lot of football ahead of me to play, so I really can’t think about that. It’s a heck of a compliment, but I feel like when you’re in the battle, and you’re constantly fighting, you can’t really think about your accolades.”
HEY, YOU LOOK FAMILIAR! ~ Key Connections
Steelers ILBs coach Jerry Olsavsky (1998) and DBs coach Carnell Lake (2001) played the final seasons of their NFL careers with the Ravens, while Ravens East-regional scout Andy Weidl spent two years (1998-99) with the Steelers as a player personnel assistant.
Steelers WRs coach Richard Mann served in the same capacity for the Baltimore Colts (1982-84) and the Ravens (1997-98). In 1985, Mann was hired as the WRs/TEs coach for the Browns, for whom he coached current Ravens GM/EVP and Hall of Fame TE Ozzie Newsome (1978-90).
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith coached together in Philadelphia in 1998. Harbaugh was the Eagles’ special teams coordinator from 1998-2006 and coached the secondary in 2007, while Smith led the special teams units from 1995-96 and the DBs during the 1997-98 seasons.
Ravens QB Matt Schaub and Steelers QB Mike Vick were with the Atlanta Falcons from 2004-06.
Steelers WR/RS Jacoby Jones played in Baltimore from 2012-14, totaling 3,890 return yards on 101 KORs (30.1 avg.) and 86 PRs (9.9 avg.) and 922 receiving yards on 76 catches (13.1 avg.). Jones was electric during the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII run, scoring 3 TDs in the 2012 postseason.
Steelers RB Fitzgerald Toussaint played in four regular season games and both postseason contests for the Ravens in 2014 and spent the 2015 training camp with Baltimore.
Ravens TE Richard Gordon spent part of 2013 on Pittsburgh’s roster, and OLB Chris Carter (drafted in 2011) played three years in the Steel City.
Ravens WR Steve Smith Sr. (IR) and Steelers RB DeAngelo Williams combined for 17,060 all-purpose yards in Carolina from 2006-13. Steelers S Mike Mitchell (2013) and Ravens QB Jimmy Clausen (2010-13) played with Smith Sr. and Williams for the Panthers, while Steelers player engagement coord. Terry Cousin was Smith Sr.’s teammate from 2002-03.
LAUGH OF THE WEEK AT EXPENSE OF RAVENS’ OPPONENT
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8rLXbIH4W8[/youtube]
