16 Reasons the hated Ravens Make Me Poop My Pants

I'm late on this post and it's gonna be kinda short, because I have other stuff to do after I finish with this. And, strangest of all, I've had actual work-like stuff to do at work this week, which is why I didn't put anything up until now.

Enough excuses and qualifiers, here goes...

1. Everyone seems to think that Rashard Mendenhall will "shard" the bed, fumble 15 times, and gain only 10 yards on 22 carries. I am one of the few people that thinks he'll do okay. Against a defense that's as good against the run as the hated Ravens, okay actually translates to good. Willie's the kind of guy that needs a hole to make things happen. He needs a seam and, in order to break a long run, he needs about five yards of daylight after that seam. The hated Ravens don't give anyone that. They're too good against the run (haven't let someone rush for 100 yards on them in 21 games), so it makes sense to have a guy in there that can move the pile and doesn't need as much daylight.
2. At least that's what I keep telling myself. And then I remember that Amos Zeroeue had way better games against Baltimore than Bettis ever did. And then I tell myself to shut the fuck up, be optimistic, and stop crying like a little sissy.
3. Psychologically, neither team should have any trouble getting fired up for this game, but, throughout the week, it seemed like everyone was talking about how good the hated Ravens were, how they were this year's surprise team, and how the Steelers let the Eagles sack Roethlisberger 85 times on Sunday. So, from that perspective the edge goes to the Steelers: They feel disrespected, they're at home, Monday night game, they have to band together because of injuries. I mean, as long as no one gives the hated Ravens bulletin board material, we should be good to go.
4. Crap.
5. The line opened up at even, now it's 5 1/2 in favor of the Steelers. That means that the bulk of the action is on us. Last week, the bulk of the action was on the Eagles. Just saying.
6. Joe Flacco is not Donovan McNabb. He's barely Matt Schaub. He's a big, statuesque dude that doesn't move well and has a cannon for a right arm. He's lot like David Carr or Rob Johnson. More successful thus far than either of those guys thus far, but in the same mold. Dick LeBeau actually did a really good job of getting in the face of McNabb, a veteran quarterback playing behind a better offensive line. You had better believe he's going to get in the head of Flacco.
7. Trouble is that Buddy Ryan's kid (I can never remember the dude's first name, but he's Baltimore's defensive coordinator and I know his first name isn't Rob) also knows how to get to the quarterback. And, in case you hadn't noticed, or read any coverage, or happening to have buried your head in the sand, the offensive line isn't doing such a bang-up job of protecting Ben here recently.
8. Speaking of gambling, the over/under for this game is 34. Take the under.
9. Even without Brett Kiesel and Casey Hampton, I think the run defense is going to do just fine. It's not going to be great, it's not going hold Willis McGahee/Ray Rice/LaRon McClain to 15 yards on 34 carries or anything, but they're going to keep the total at around 100 (which is actually a hell of a job, considering Baltimore's probably going to run the ball 40 times or so).
10. So, dead quarterback on either side of the field. Ineffective running games. TAKE THE UNDER. And, really, take the points. No way the Steelers win by 6. I'm thinking it's a 10-6 proposition, just like the Cleveland game. But without the swirling winds and the rain.
    
11. We're 1-0 in our division, the hated Ravens are 2-0 in our division. If they beat us, they're 3-0 in our division and 3-0 overall. That's one hell of a start to the year. Pretty much can't let that happen.
12. The good news is that the players know that we can't let that happen, so they're going to try their damnedest to win this game.
13. The hated Ravens also know that they'll have a huge advantage in the division if they start out 3-0 both overall and in division play, so they have a little bit of incentive to play hard, too.
14. It's at home, it's Monday night, we tend to own the hated Ravens at home, and definitely in Prime Time, so we have that edge. Plus which, we kicked the holy shit out of them last year on Monday night, so we've got that going for us.
15. However, we must also consider... I will not be there. Hank Williams, Jr will probably not be there. The 75th anniversary team will not be there. And they're probably still really pissed about last season and how badly we humiliated them.
16. The x-factor in all of this is Ben Roethlisberger. One of the big reasons he ended up with 5 touchdown passes in last season's Monday night game was because he was able to escape pressure and throw the ball deep. The pressure is coming this week, so he'll either need to escape it, or we're looking at another trip to the woodshed. Seriously, our defenses are going to play to a draw. So are our running backs. The one huge feather we have in our cap is that Roethlisberger is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and Joe Flacco is some uni-browed dude from Delaware. Ben needs to win this game for us.

And I think he can. I'm sure he's somehow pissed at himself for getting the shit kicked out of him in Philly and he wants to prove that he's still great and the Steelers themselves are still great.

The only way to do that is to come out and pretty much win the game all by himself.

Prediction:

Steelers 14, Ravens 10