I don't hate many things. I hate Al Quaeda. I hate Satan. I hate racism. I hate pedophiles. I hate when my steak is overcooked. I hate when my beer is skunked. But the thing I hate the most, without question, is the professional football team from Baltimore. I honestly get in a bad mood, a horrible mood actually (ask my wife), every time we play them. I hate the city, I hate their coach, I hate their ex-coach, I hate their fans, I hate their quarterback, but mostly I hate their linebacker or, as Coach Tomlin would refer to him, "#52." I hate thinking about them. I hate their stupid purple uniforms. I really, really hate them. Now that I got that off my chest, below are my thoughts on this week's loss to the Ravens.
THE GOOD
3-1: Most people anticipated a 1-3 or, at best case, 2-2 start for the Steelers without Large Benjamin (as you may recall, I predicted that the Steelers would begin the season with a 3-1 record. Unlike the national media, and most of yinzer nation, I recognized the fact that, when healthy, the Steelers defense is awesome). The Steelers weathered the storm the past four (4) weeks and did what they needed to do to put themselves in a good position to contend for the AFC North crown and a top seed in the AFC playoffs. Mike Tomlin certainly had his team prepared to face the fire without their signal caller. If one thing has been proven time and time again with this team it's that, when disrespected and/or underrated, they are at their best.
The rivalry: As noted above, I really hate the Ravens. However, there is no denying the fact that the Steelers/Ravens has become the ultimate rivalry in the NFL today. In the past ten (10) years the teams have met twenty-three (23) times with the Steelers owning a 13-10 record in those games (including a 23-14 victory in the 2008 AFC Championship game which ultimately led to the Steelers' sixth (6th) Superbowl win, which is five (5) more Superbowl championships than the Ravens, just for the record). In those twenty-three (23) games the Steelers have outscored the Ravens 426-407. In addition to the amazing competitiveness of the rivalry, these teams truly hate each other. There was the Joey Porter/Ray Lewis incident; the Joey Porter/Todd Heap incident; the Tommy Maddox (thank you dear Ravens for injuring Tommy Maddox and commencing our 15-1 season) incident; the Bart Scott/Ben Roethlisberger incident; the Hines Ward/Ed Reed incident; the Hines Ward/Bart Scott incident; the Ravens' bounty on Hines Ward incident; the Mendenhall/Ray Rice/text message/broken shoulder incident; and FINALLY, the time where I called the sweet, innocent, cute blond girl in a Ravens jersey a "fat whore" incident (I'm sorry). Once again yesterday, despite the outcome for Steelers' fans, this game did not disappoint. There were several times during the game when I simply leaned over to my dad and said "this is awesome." The atmosphere at a Steelers/Ravens game is just different. It's personal. It's amazing. I love it.
Rashard Mendenhall: Had you told me before the game that Rashard was going to have 80 yards rushing and two (2) TDs, I would have bet you $500 that the Steelers win the game. Unfortunately for you, and fortunately for my checkbook, we did not make that bet. Mendenhall is currently fourth (4th) in the NFL in rushing which is a testament to both his maturity as an elite NFL running back and the offensive line's renewed commitment to the running game. I truly hope that this hard-nosed mentality continues when Large Benjamin and his rocket arm returns to our offense.
Antwaan Randle-El: I momentarily forgot this gentleman was on the team. At one point in the second quarter I saw a Steelers receiver make an amazing diving catch near the goalline and commented, "who the hell was that?" Catch of the year thus far for the Steelers.
Daniel SEPULVEDA: I continually praise the punter, which is kind of weird, but this dude is really awesome. Seriously, he's awesome. 5 punts for a 49.7 yard average yesterday. Not to mention that the hang time on said punts was good enough to limit the Ravens to less than 5 yards per return.
THE BAD
Charlie Batch: I, once again, debated on where to place Chaz Batch in this article. On one hand, he was our FOURTH string QB about eight (8) months ago. He's 36, going on 56. He's brittle. I'm not sure that he would start for most college teams. So, I really can't pick on the guy, it's just not fair. HOWEVER, he is a 13 year NFL veteran and he looked like a fish out of water for most of the game on Sunday. He continually had plenty of time to throw and simply failed to find the open receivers. For the MOST part, when he did throw to open receivers, he missed them. But, like I said, not much was expected of Chaz and, quite honestly, he did enough not to LOSE the game for the Steelers. Unfortunately, he did not do enough to win the game. Regardless, I appreciate Charlie Batch. He is a true Pittsburgh Steeler (thank God I will not have to see him play again, EVER).
Late game play-calling: After the impressive goal-line stand by the defense late in the 4th quarter, the offensive took over at the 3 yard line with 2:40 left. They proceeded to rack up two (2) false start penalties, zero (0) yards and only use 1:32 on the clock. I understand the conservative mentality that Ariens and Tomlin had going into this series. Obviously, we are blessed with a world class defense. Obviously, they should be trusted with the game on the line. HOWEVER, this is the NFL and the Ravens also have VERY talented players on the offensive side of the ball. Had the Steelers gained one first down on that final drive the game would have effectively been over. The Steelers have two (2) of the most reliable possession, first down making, receivers in the NFL (Ward and Miller). You have to give those guys a chance in that type of situation.
Bryant McFadden: For the laymen, when you are playing cornerback in a cover-3 defense in a late game situation, you have one responsibility... DON'T LET ANYONE GET BEHIND YOU.
THE UGLY
Skippy: Once again, it's tough to be too hard on a kicker for missing 49 and 45 yard field goals in Heinz Field on a windy day. HOWEVER, this is the same guy who was publicly bitching to the media for not being offered a new contract in the offseason. Chances are that Skippy WILL be offered a new contract this offseason. It just won't be the Steelers doing the offering. God help the towel dispensers in whatever city he signs.
Late game defensive collapses: It's very difficult to criticize this year's Steelers defense. HOWEVER, the Ravens did make it look very easy in going 40 yards in :40 for the game-winning TD. Normally, I would say this was an aberration. But, lets not forget that the Steelers were a dropped Nate Washington TD catch, and potential 2-point conversion, from blowing an 16-point lead against the Titans less than 3 weeks ago. Furthermore, the Steelers allowed late game-winnings TDs last year against the Raiders and the Chiefs which prevented the reigning Superbowl champions from reaching the playoffs. I am very hesitant to criticize Professor LeBeau. But, if there is any criticism that can be made about his defenses over the past twenty (20) years, it's that they become somewhat soft in late game situations with a lead.
The Ravens do not support breast cancer awareness: This is really no surprise considering that the Ravens are composed of murderers and terrorists. As you may know, yesterday was "Breast Cancer Awareness Day" in the NFL. Most of the players in the NFL wore something pink yesterday to support the cause for breast cancer cure and research. None of the Ravens took part in this day. Not surprising. I hate them.
Other random thoughts:
- Obviously it's early in the season, but at this point there are only 12 teams I can consider Superbowl contenders: Saints, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Colts, Falcons, Eagles, Texans, Vikings, Packers, Patriots. Am I missing anyone?
- Calvin Johnson is making his case as the best receiver in the NFL.
- How does a guy like Arian Foster go undrafted? He played well for a big school (Tennessee), he's big, strong and fast. I understand that he had some character issues but Maurice Clarett and LeGarrette Blount both got drafted. How was this guy missed?
- The Chiefs are the worst 3-0 team in NFL history.
- The Colts are in THIRD place in the AFC South.
- Alabama and Oregon are clearly the two best teams in college football at this point. HOWEVER, if Pryor comes back healthy tOSU will run the table which will cause a complete cluster in the BCS. I expect there to be at least 4 undefeated teams this year.
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