|
Leave YOUR Writing on the Wall! Send your postgame critiques, analysis, ranting and raving about the last game as well as your predictions, smak, & insults about our upcoming opponent. Whether your message is a simple "Go Steelers" or detailed, in-depth analysis, tell us what you think and we'll post it below.
|
|
|
 | Dig This Site?
to Your Favs! |
Steelers at Ravens (31-18)
 |
|
Fan Poll |  |
|
|
Who deserves the game ball for the Ravens game?
• Tommy Maddox
• Plaxico Burress
• Amos Zereoue
• Hines Ward
• D. Washington
|
|
|
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
PIT - TD, Amos Zereoue, 35 Yd run (kick is good).
PIT - TD, Plaxico Burress, 20 Yd pass from Tommy Maddox (kick is good).
Second Quarter
PIT - TD, Plaxico Burress, 9 Yd pass from Tommy Maddox (kick is good).
BAL - FG, Matt Stover 28 Yd.
PIT - TD, Amos Zereoue, 1 Yd run (kick is good).
Third Quarter
BAL - TD, John Jones, 18 Yd pass from Jeff Blake (kick is good).
PIT - FG, Todd Peterson 34 Yd.
Fourth Quarter
BAL - TD, Jeff Blake, 1 Yd run (kick is good).
Key Stats & Facts
• Tommy Maddox starts game 11 of 11 for 125 yards & 2 TDs: Like last week, Tommy was literally unstoppable in the first half, playing so well that the game was all but over midway through the 2nd quarter. At some point, the rest of the world is going to figure out what Pittsburgh fans already know... this guy is the REAL deal!
|
Steelers Offensive Leaders | |
PASSING |
ATT |
CMP |
YDS |
TD |
INT | |
Maddox |
24 |
18 |
172 |
2 |
1 |
|
RUSHING |
ATT |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
|
Zereoue |
13 |
53 |
2 |
35 |
|
Haynes |
3 |
23 |
0 |
20 |
|
RECEIVING |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
|
Ward |
8 |
97 |
0 |
20 |
|
Burress |
5 |
55 |
2 |
20 |
|
Mathis |
2 |
13 |
0 |
7 |
|
|
Ravens Offensive Leaders | |
PASSING |
ATT |
CMP |
YDS |
TD |
INT | |
Blake |
50 |
29 |
298 |
1 |
3 |
|
RUSHING |
ATT |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
|
Lewis |
13 |
34 |
0 |
6 |
|
Blake |
6 |
25 |
1 |
13 |
|
RECEIVING |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
|
Taylor |
7 |
82 |
0 |
18 |
|
Heap |
6 |
51 |
0 |
11 |
|
Lewis |
5 |
50 |
0 |
37 |
|
|
|
Key Defensive Players | |
DEFENSE |
T-A |
SCK |
INT |
FF |
|
Washington |
3-2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Porter |
5-1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Gildon |
3-1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Townsend |
2-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Bell |
6-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Key Defensive Players | |
DEFENSE |
T-A |
SCK |
INT |
FF |
|
Harris |
7-3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Reed |
7-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Demps |
5-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Boulware |
1-0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Trapp |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
Oh, The Shame
Give Brian Billick credit for getting it right. Following the game, he said: "On offense, their 11 kicked the sh*t out of us. On defense, those 11 kicked the sh*t out of us. And on special teams, those guys also kicked the sh*t out of us." That's 3 out of 3 correct, Brian. You win 3rd place in the AFC North.
|
Just to make it fair
Hand tied behind back, Steelers win
Article by McMillen & Wife
Who can blame the officials for stepping in and taking away Tommy's favorite receiver just to make it fair?
So much for Baltimore's "special secondary," folks. Tommy Maddox absolutely TORCHED them from the get-go. What's more, he did it on the road and in spite of the absence of his Pro Bowl running back and starting center. He did it in spite of injuring his ankle and having his favorite receiving target taken away. Maddox started the game 11 of 11 for 125 yards & 2 TDs (both to Burress) and Burress had an easy 3rd TD squirt through his fingers. So it seems only natural that Plaxico would be ejected from the game after James Trapp stomped on Plex's head and ripped his helmet off. After all, with the score 28-3 in the first half, the officials obviously had to step in and do something, ANYTHING, to try to save the Ratbirds' asses. Right?
The Ravens continue to talk a MUCH better game than they play.
I find it incredibly amusing that a number of Ravens players felt compelled to come out and declare that the Steelers "aren't that good" following the game, particularly after their coach got it so right (see Billick quote under photo above right). QB Jeff Blake was among the most vocal Pittsburgh detractors. Interesting. I guess those three interceptions are testimony to Blake's incredible STUPIDITY rather than anything the Steelers might've done defensively. I can live with that, I suppose. Accordingly, I'm also going to assume that Jamal Lewis' whopping 2.6 average per carry was because he just flat-out SUCKS, even though he averaged 4.6 yards per carry and was one of the most productive backs in the league during Baltimore's previous 4 games. Okay, guys... whatever you say. Todd Heap's longest reception was, what? 11 yards? What a complete waste THAT guy apparently is. I mean, clearly, it had nothing to do with our defense. Heaps just can't play, right?
What's the perfect compliment to any Terrible Towel?
McMillen and Wife's very own handmade
Steel City Soap!
(pictured above)
|
|
|
Certainly, Baltimore's defense earned the right to crow. After all, they only allowed 3 points in the 2nd half -- and listen, let's just not talk about the 28 they surrendered in the first half, alright? Boulware finished the game with ONE tackle and ONE sack... a so-called "sack" that came when Maddox fell on a fumbled snap and Boulware flopped on him like a bloated manatee. Woo-hoo! Chris McCallister's final stats were equally impressive: TWO tackles, ONE TD allowed, and ZERO passes defensed. Pro Bowl-bound, baby!
Listen, just to satisfy my curiosity, could someone down there in Baltimore please explain the 72 false start penalties the Ravens committed on their HOME TURF? Was it hostile crowd noise keeping you from hearing the snap count, guys? I didn't notice Blake using silent snap counts, but hey, I could be wrong. Or could it be that your O-linemen were just a wee bit antsy to get out of their stance against the likes of Joey Porter & Jason Gildon? Nah... must've been the crowd noise.
The fact is, dear Ratbirds, no matter how big you try to talk, the Steelers kicked your sorry asses in YOUR house and brought first place in the AFC North home to Pittsburgh. Screw you guys. You can claim that the Steelers are "not that good," but they sure proved they're one helluvalot better than the Raisins.
A few quick observations from the game...
• 1st place - Pittsburgh Steelers, 3rd place - Baltimore Raisins.
• There is no doubt in my mind that the Baltimore Ratbirds were out to intentionally INJURE some of our key offense players. Watch the tape if you doubt me.
• The kickoffs looked ever-so-slighty deeper this week. I'm not excatly high-fiving Peterson, though. Cowher opted to go for it (and failed) on 4th down late in the game rather than attempting a 40+ yard FG to ice it because of Peterson's eratic leg.
• Chad Scott, get your head out of your ass, please. Leading the team in tackles is not a good thing for a CB.
• Kendrell Bell, I love 'ya, but please work on those tackling angles, bro.
• Congrats, Amos! You finally had a long run where you didn't get caught at the 1-yard line!
• Thank you, Ravens players, for opening your big fat yaps and helping us keep the chip firmly planted on our shoulder.
• Viva, Tommy Maddox! Need we say more? Actually, we DO need to say more. Pundits around the league will scoff at the notion right now, but as the season progresses, Maddox is going to HAVE to receive some serious consideration for league MVP. He has certainly been team MVP so far. Many Steelers veterans have downplayed Maddox's impact (presumably to shield their friend, Kordell Stewart... I notice the younger guys will come right out and say Tommy is the man), saying that the wins are more a result of the team getting its act together as a whole. There is certainly some truth to that, but without Maddox in there, I firmly believe this team would still be floundering. Kordell's unproductive couple of series Sunday proved that to me. I wish him the best, but Stewart is a broken man. Long live Tommy Maddox!
One last point and I'm done...
There's been some fussing and fuming among fans about our "lackluster" 2nd half. Remember... we were on the road without Burress, Bettis and Hartings, plus Kordell Stewart came in and botched a couple of drives when Tommy was out. Of these things, I think the Burress ejection caused the biggest problems. It totally disrupted our passing attack, because it allowed the Ravens to double Ward, which really tightened things up. With Bettis out and the O-line hobbled by the absence of Hartings against a historically strong run defense, we couldn't run as effectively as we normally might have. Thus, we couldn't grind down the clock, leaving our defense on the field much longer than they normally would've been. Time of possession is a HUGE stat, our hobbed running attack helped give the Ravens a 7-1/2 minute advantage in time of possession. The return of Bettis and Hartings (not to mention Burress) will shore that up nicely.
Next up: the dismantling of the Cleveland Browns. Until then, bruthas & sistas!
Tim McMillen
Webmaster, McMillen & Wife
Mac & Wife is Hosted and Sponsored by Pittsburgh's Finest!
|
|
|
|
Fan Smak & Analysis
| |
The following articles are listed in the order they were received (with the most recent entries at the BOTTOM). This isn't a "guestbook" format... I read and manually insert every message, so you may not see your submission show up immediately. Thanks a million for your comments, people!
|
|
Author: Your name here!
Comment: Coming soon!
Leave YOUR Writing on the Wall! Send your postgame critiques, analysis, ranting and raving about the last game as well as your predictions, smak, & insults about our upcoming opponent. Whether your message is a simple "Go Steelers" or detailed, in-depth analysis, tell us what you think and we'll post it here.
|
Author: Your name here!
Comment: Coming soon!
Send us your comments!
|
|
