Steelers vs. hated Ravens Review

Generally, I have to say that I thought it was a great game, I thought the defense stepped up (once again) and I thought that Ben Roethlisberger, though it wasn't always pretty and his stat line doesn't really show how well he did, had another clutch game.

The defense sacked Unibrow three times, after the announcers all stressed that he hadn't been sacked in his other two playoff games. They also intercepted him three times, after it was pointed out all pre-game that he hadn't turned the ball over. Aside from the fact that the hated Ravens have a pretty crappy offense, I didn't feel as though, at any point, they were coming back. Once we went up 10-0 (more on this in a moment), I felt the game was safely in hand. And, really, it was. They only had 175 yards of offense, and Flacco was 14 of 30 for 141 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. That's about as much as you can dominate a team.

If you look at Roethlisberger's stats in a vaccuum (16 for 33, 255 yards, one touchdown) they're not all that impressive. But, then you remember that the hated Ravens have a great defense, they hadn't allowed even a peformance this good thus far this postseason, and he ends up over 300 yards with three touchdowns if you count the TD pass the refs stole and the one that Limas Sweed dropped.

I usually don't single the refs out and, well, since we won, it's not like it really matters, but I have two main points about the officiating in this game:

1. Seahawks fans can now, officially, drink a tall, frosty can of STFU. Seriously. It's over. The dead horse has been beaten for almost three years, has been placed in a coffin, and the last nail has been driven in. The Steelers had two calls (a phantom pass interference call and a questionable spot by the officials) go against them and still won the game handily. Like it or not, right call or wrong call, Seattle couldn't overcome the calls that went against them in Super Bowl XL (which the Steelers won, BTW) and that's why they lost. The Steelers were able to overcome the calls that went against them on Sunday, wrong call or right call, and that's why they won. Same number of points in the hands of the refs, completely different results. So, crack that open and drink it down and please, kindly STFU.
   
2. I can take the pass interference call where Bryant McFadden got flagged for getting nailed in the head by Derrick Mason's shoulder. It's pass interference, it usually goes against the defense, and those are things that just tend to happen. I won't accept the Santonio Holmes touchdown that was called an incomplete pass until I get a proper explanation that makes sense. I have too many questions. What I've heard is that the ball came out of his hands when he hit the ground and that made it incomplete. In order for it to be complete, he needed to hang onto the ball. But, I thought someone established possession by getting two feet down and making a "football move," which Holmes did. Is this not the case? The Cliff Notes version that I heard/read was that it wasn't a catch because the defender made contact with him and the ball came out after he hit the ground. He took two steps, though, and, in football terms, got three or four feet in bounds with the ball in his control (not moving around and he wasn't bobbling it). So, how many steps would he need to take, exactly? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the sequence of, "offensive player catches the ball, is contacted by the defender, hits the ground," something that happens on every play? If he had caught it at the 50, been contacted, then hit the ground and lost the ball at the 35, would that still be an incomplete pass? What if he caught it at the 10 and lost the ball in the end zone? Still incomplete? I realize those are two pretty big hypotheticals, but, hey, isn't that why we have the "two feet a football move" rule? So, all that aside, what happened with the challenges (which actually could've fixed the mess)? Did Harbaugh throw his flag out first and therefore got first dibs? Did Tomlin hear what Harbaugh was proposing and say, "That guy's a dumbass. I don't need to challenge anything now. Let him waste a timeout."? It seems to me that Tomlin was going to challenge the ruling that it wasn't a touchdown (which it also obviously was). If it's ruled a touchdown, then that means that Holmes crossed the plane before the ball hit the ground. Once the ball crosses the plane, then Holmes could've lit the ball on fire and handed it to a cheerleader and it wouldn't have mattered (though he would've gotten a penalty for Excessive Celebration). So, why didn't Tomlin challenge from there? I know that's possible. I'm not pinning this on the refs, I'm just wondering what the sequence of events was. At any rate, it was dumb.

I hate to say it, but the game pretty much speaks for itself. I was only annoyed by two things (other than the officiating):

1. Bruce Arians deciding to go shotgun and throw the ball two yards down the field (to Nate Washington, no less) on 3rd and 1 with the lead and a chance to wind the clock. You just got 9 yards on the previous two carries. You're starting to push the hated Ravens around a little and demoralize them a little. The clock is your best friend. You have a crappy punter and your most reliable receiver is on the sidelines. Why throw there? And, if you're going to "think outside the box" or "go for the throat" why go shotgun, then throw a two yard out to Washington? Why not line up in the I-Formation, play fake to Parker, and throw deep (even if it's to Washington or Sweed, who will probably drop the ball)? Why not take a page out of the 2004 Patriots playbook and run an endaround in that situation? With all the things you can do at midfield on 3rd and 1 with the clock as your best ally and a lead, why a two yard out to Nate Washington?
2. Sweed and Washington are not ready for prime time. And they're our only options if Ward can't go (or is hurt) or Holmes gets hurt. Our passing attack is significantly affected when Sweed or Washington have to go in there. Just something to get paranoid about.

One other main point:

I waited until today to post because I wanted to see if the league posted some kind of logical explanation about what happened on the Holmes TD. But, I also wanted to give the City of Pittsburgh a chance to attone for the fact that there was a serious lack of buzz leading up to the AFC Championship Game. We were one game from the Super Bowl and I was the only person in my office that wore Steelers gear on Friday. In an office of about 40 people, where you can come to work in sweats (loose dress code) and no one will say anything, that's very noteworthy.

Well, the City of Pittsburgh has not attoned. We're now going to the Super Bowl and no one's talking about it. There's still no buzz. It's almost like it's not worth mentioning. It's very, very, very strange.

I was at the bar on Friday and saw about 60 people come and go throughout the course of the night. Only eight of them were wearing Steelers gear. Friday before the game. One game away from the Super Bowl. Eight people wearing Steelers gear.

At some point, a bunch of guys in the corner played "Renegade" by Styx and pounded the table during the bass drum bits at the beginning. I asked them if they were Styx fans or Steelers fans to break the ice. Then I asked them why they weren't wearing their gear and why almost no one else was.

"I think it's because there's a quiet confidence among the fans," one guy said. "I think that's it. It's not that people don't care, because they do. The fans showed up against San Diego in a big way and they'll show up against Baltimore. I think they're confident because we've been there, done that, and no one feels the need to overcompensate. Last time, it was 20-some years since we won and 10 years since we went. This time, we won three years ago."

Fair enough. But... it's the Super Bowl. It's not like there are more steps. It's not like there's another playoff game this week. The Super Bowl is happening in two weeks and we are the AFC representative. We have a chance to maybe start another dynasty if we win this year and once in the next couple of years. We have a chance to be the first team to win six Super Bowls. We have a chance to bolster the Hall of Fame resumes of several key players by winning one this year (principally Hines Ward, who still would need some help, I think). If we win, we can start talking about this year's defense as one of the greatest of all time. Every other all-time defense, with the exception of the '76 Steelers (who kind of fall under the blanket of the Steel Curtain), has a title.

I think it breaks down to three key factors:

1. Everyone is kind of stunned and not sure how to react. If they support Tomlin on this, are they stabbing Cowher in the back? How did we get back again this quickly? Shit, I just bought a 50" plasma to commemorate the last trip to the Super Bowl. Do I have to buy another one?
2. Quiet confidence. We just won one. We can win another one, easy. We'll be back next year or in a couple of years, so it doesn't matter. Cowher (who still contacts guys from his teams) and the veterans will make sure this doesn't happen with the players, but there's no way to force the fans into thinking otherwise. Hey, trips to the Super Bowl and championships are damn rare things. They need to be savored, honored, and enjoyed.
3. We don't have a good catch phrase. I know that sounds completely ridiculous, but even people who didn't follow the Steelers, but still lived in Pittsburgh knew "One for the Thumb." And there were cool spinoffs like, "The Drive for Five." I was at the eye doctor today, it was all women there, and no one knew who we beat to win Super Bowl XL (we won that, BTW), but everyone knew that it was our fifth Super Bowl. It was one for the thumb.

To sound even more ridiculous, I really think #3 is the biggest thing.

All the die hard fans and the fringe fans and the guys that watch the games, but aren't fringe, diehard, or the equivalent to a bunch of women at an eye doctor's office, they'll all be psyched up in about a week. They have two weeks to get in proper game form, so I'm not worried about them.

I'm also not worried about traveling well and having 75 or 80 percent Steelers fans on hand for the game. The Cardinals fan base is weak, for one, and there are more than enough diehards with money to back it up that the Steelers will get those seats filled.

I'm worried that there won't be a buzz. That the ladies in the eye doctor's office won't be psyched up. That no one will jump on a bandwagon that was filled to capacity in the last few weeks of January in the first Sunday in February in 2006.

"Ah ha, Keller, you smarmy bastard," you say. "We don't want bandwagon fans anyway. So this is a good thing."

I don't want bandwagon fans during a close Week 4 game against Cincinnati, because they'll only say, "Ah, it's not the playoffs, who cares?" or, "What quarter is it?" or, "Are they here or in Cincinnati?" or, "They can't get the Bengals? The Steelers suck." or something similarly idiotic/inappropriate/obvious.

But now? I want all the bandwagon fans that will fit... and then some. Like I said previously, I believe in momentum, I believe in the power of positive thinking, I believe in karma, and you bet your ass I believe in Concern Rays. The more people that are behind this team, the better the chances.

And, really, in Week 4 against the Bengals, I'm not looking for any possible edge that I can find, any possible thing that can be done, or avenue that can be pursued, to help the Steelers win.

This is the Super Bowl, though. And, quiet confidence or no quiet confidence, I want to gain every advantage I can.