Steelers vs. Ravens Preview

I have to say right off the bat that this game is impossible to predict. Not only have the Steelers themselves been impossible to predict thus far this season, but Steelers/Ravens games are tougher to divine than Steelers/Browns games. And, we haven't had a normal game against the Hated Ravens since the day after Christmas in 2004. Last year, one of the games was started by Tommy Maddox, so that doesn't count. The other one, we threw the ball 38 times. Thirty-eight times. Against the Ravens. And, it was a close game (the Monday night game on Halloween). And it's not like we were down 19-3 midway through the third quarter and had to throw like hell to catch up (ended up winning 20-19).

I was at the game on the day after Christmas in 2004. That's the way a game against the Ravens should go. We jostled back and forth for the first half, went in with a 13-6 lead, then staged a 9 1/2 minute drive to open the second half, where we ran the ball 12 out of 14 plays. It was 20-6 at that point and the game was over.

The first series for both teams is the key to the whole game. If the Ravens score on their first possession, we're screwed. If we can't run the ball on the first possession, we're screwed.

The reason for this is that Cowher and Whisenhunt don't seem to have any patience with the running game when we play the Ravens. They abandon it too quickly and start throwing the ball like crazy when there's even a hint of it not working. If we can't run the ball in the first quarter/series, take a look at Cowher, then (hopefully) they'll show Whisenhunt. Because Whisenhunt ends up looking like a battered spouse about midway through the second quarter. He's got that far-off expression, his hair's all messed up, and it looks like he could weep at any moment.

He'll start calling pass after pass. Instead of weakly claiming that he "fell" he'll call pass after pass. Instead of absent-mindedly dropping dishes while he's unloading the dish washer, he'll call pass after pass. This will continue until Cowher buys him a pair of diamond earrings so he'll stop crying at the dinner table.

The point is that the Ravens are not as talented a football team as the Steelers. Except for possibly 2000, they never have been. It just seems that they play us tougher than any other team in the league. Always have, always will.

If we can run the ball out of the gate and force them into a three-and-out on their first possession, we're golden. If we can't run and they score, we're screwed. We might make it close. It might be close even if we can run the ball and we force them to punt. But, at all costs, we need to stop any Sleeping With the Enemy crap from happening between Cowher and Whisenhunt. If that happens, the game is effectively over.

Prediction:
What the hell, let's say Steelers 17, Ravens 13.