Who would have ever thought that we would find ourselves in the position we
are in, surely I never anticipated such a rough start coming off a Superbowl
Victory. But we have to deal with the cards we were dealt and make the best
of each game from here on out. That being said, it will not only take a team
effort to make this happen, but strong support needs to come from all members
of Steeler Nation, especially in Baltimore, we need to look at the Ravens Stadium
as the Heinz Field East and let them hear us and see us ! Those folks who wear
the Purple and Black are not the most savy of fans and can be rather rude at
times to the opponents fans that are in the stadium. Typical of the ghetto dwellers
that lurk in the alleys and shadows of the Inner Harbor peddling their crystal
rocks and packing those weapons with the serial numbers etched off ...... You
see, Baltimore leaves such a bad taste in my mouth, could it be from the Raven
?
Our Steelers are coming off a huge 4th quarter comeback win in Cleveland last
week to be faced with a must win in Baltimore, the Ravens are on top of the
world boasting a record of 8-2 while we have a less than acceptable record of
4-6 and we are fighting for survival, almost like the flocks and flocks of Turkeys
being prepared for the slaughter house. We have zero room for mistakes and we
have zero room for anouther loss, especially against our divisional opponents.
Our key is to beat the Ravens in Baltimore and also beat them when they travel
to our home turf, many other factors need to happen if we stand a shot to make
it back to the playoffs this year ..... all I can say for now on this is to
hang tough, believe and have faith in our Coaches and Players !
Moving the smoke and mirrors aside for a second, not for one waking moment
do I nor does anyone think that Brian Billick is a genius as they tout in Baltimore,
this is a freak season this team is having ...... Yes, it is that simple ! Granted
in years past they have not had strong leadership at QB until now, Air McNair
is a playmaker and plays with heart and desire, I can't take anything away from
him .... Except that he is a Raven Player which is a negative ...... He sparked
this team and has helped them win games by the slimest of margins. Jamal CokeHead
Lewis is not himslef after coming out of his prison sentence, he lacks the explosiveness
he has shown in years past, I feel their running game can and will be stopped
by our Steeler Defense, if we take the running game away this will do two things,
force McNair to scramble and hopefully we can bring our guys around the end
to put a crushing stop to that and eliminate any positive yardage gains and
the other, which is going to be key for this Ravens Offense and that is pass
the ball, the connection between Heap and Mcnair has yet to show it's ugly head
and thus, we need to be aware of this TE at all times, they will make those
small strikes in the middle while we focus on the long ball, I know we can take
the long pass out of the equation, we have to ! But what worries me is those
short passes, in the middle and off to the sides, our team really needs to play
like the Superbowl Champions they are and play a well rounded, smart game. In
reality, the Ravens are not an impressive team, digging deep into the previous
games they have played so far and you will see, they got lucky, real lucky in
those games and we can and will exploit them for what it is worth !
Ben needs to be stellar like he was in the 4th quarter of the Browns game,
make smart passes, be fully and I mean fully aware of all receivers on the field,
make smart passes and not risk throwing or forcing the ball into tight coverage,
we need to see Ben at his very best ! Sure, those picks he has thrown in several
games hurt us, this Raven D is nothing different then what we have faced, so
Ben, we have faith in you my friend .....
Our running game, Parker and Davenport can wear down this Ravens D, watching
the games we have played so far, one thing that bothers me is why do they run
the ball straight up the gut, to many times we do not get any yardage gains
and find ourselves forced to pass, if we can equally mix up the running plays,
get Willie outside and use Davenport as we used the Bus last year, we can wreck
havoc on this team. Run smart guys ...... Run smart !
Our receivers should find the spots and time to work themselves open, Holmes
should and I think will be a huge factor in winning this game, we need to have
Heath find those short open spots as a safety valve for Ben .... Let's get creative
at times and do what we have done in the past with ARL, the time has come for
that ..... No dropped passes, or this will kill us ......
Reed, he needs to be focused and well practiced during warm-ups in the morning
..... We can't nor can we afford any missed scoring chances ...... I have a
feeling this will be the deciding factor in the game, comes down to a kick !
What can be said of our D going into this game, better be ready and alert and
just play a mean, nasty 60 minutes of football, bring the battle to them ! Troy,
is the going to be a key playmaker in this game as well as Porter ..... We need
to get Porter in there to handle McNair ......
Special Teams ...... Hmmmm, it is time to turn it around, this has to happen
as this has hurt us in games past.
With all of that said, I could break down all the stats and numbers, but why
? We need to WIN, that simple .... I can give paragraph after paragraph of reasons
to win and reasons to lose, but we are faced from here on out with MUST WIN
GAMES to survive !
I believe and know what this team is all about !
Go Get Em Steelers ..............
Mac & Wife is Hosted and Sponsored by Pittsburgh's Finest!
|
