Ravens at Steelers Preview

Last week was real simple. Simmons and Starks were able to dominate Kemoeatu, as they should have. Teams have keyed in on this 350 lb waste of space all season. The loss of Mike Rucker was also nice, and the Steelers ran right at his replacement for much of the game.

This week the Steelers face the most dominating defense in the league, though. This Ravens defense is head and shoulders above the rest of the league, and nothing comes easy on them. They confuse, and generally just beat their opponents up physically. That�s what the Steelers saw the last time they met.

The past meeting has drawn some comparisons to last years Colts game, but I can�t even try that. The Colts game last year wasn�t nearly as bad as the scoreboard indicated. The offense was anemic, but the defense began to figure the Colts out by the second quarter. This was clear watching the game live, and it became even more evident in the playoffs. Roethlisberger was coming back from three straight weeks of inactivity, and was bound to play at a far higher level in a rematch.

There are some reasons to be optimistic, though. The Steelers defense allowed 17 first half points, but the two TD drives started at midfield. The Ravens will not drive the ball the length of the field on the Steelers defense too often. It will be up to the Steelers offense to protect the football and move the chains at a minimum.

The Steelers offense also finally adjusted in the second half, and were able to march the ball into Ravens territory on three occasions. And it must be noted that the Ravens never played soft on the Steelers. By their own admission, they continued to attack even when the game was well out of reach for the Steelers.

The Steelers have never been swept by the Ravens, and the teams have exchanged the occasional blow-outs in the past. The Steelers at a minimum will make a game of this meeting.

The Steelers came out and tried to run their normal offense. It failed miserably in the first half, and resulted in just a single first down. The Steelers need to come out as they did in the second half. Short three step drops. Get rid of the ball quickly on the slants and crossing patterns. They will need to pass the ball early and establish an up tempo attack to have any sort of success.

It�s also important to try and hit them deep early. The Steelers need to throw some fades and challenge these corners. They did not respect the Steelers receivers in the last meeting. They played up tight all day long outside. Compare that to Cinci, a team that has beaten them deep in past meetings. They provided their receivers massive cushions. It almost looked like Dick LeBeau had taken over play calling for the Ravens. Hitting these guys on the perimeter is key. They like to leave their DB�s out on islands. It�s key to their scheme. Steelers need to force them out of it.

Steelers tried to work in the pump-fake last game, and they should try it again this time around. They need to get the Ravens off guard first, though. Establish the short passing attack, stop them from blitzing, and then try it. The Steelers just looked goofy pump faking when defenders were walking into the backfield.

For those who doubt that the Steelers should come out throwing, I only have to reference the playoff game last year with the Broncos. Denver was a team that the Steelers weren�t going to run first on. They were a team that loved to bring heavy amounts of pressure. The Steelers countered by spreading them out, and using a heavy amount of motion. By the second quarter, the Broncos had stopped blitzing and were dropping 7 into coverage.

Colon will replace Starks this week, which either says a lot about how little the team thinks of Essex, or how much they think of Colon. Trevor Pryce racked up a few sacks in the last game, and is generally having a great season. Colon isn�t the typical Steelers lineman. He�s more of a technique guy rather than a mauler. He�s more of a pass blocker than a run blocker, although he isn�t the prototypical size for an NFL tackle. Pryce isn�t a speed rusher. He is too slow to beat most tackles. He may be able to bully Colon around. Like Essex last year, he is being thrown right into the fire in his first game. The Ravens are going to attack him and make him think.

Beyond the line blocking, receivers and TE�s also need to catch the balls that get to them. The Steelers dropped over 5 passes in the last game, including a perfectly thrown TD (Nate Washington). Holmes, Ward, Miller, and Washington were all guilty of this at some point.

Parker has to be a weapon in the passing game, because I don�t know how many touches he�ll actually get in the ground game. The Steelers should aim at getting him 25 total touches. They need to keep him involved, irregardless of the situation in the game.

Steelers OL has dominated some weak, or overrated competition the past two weeks. The Browns were near the bottom of the league in terms of the run defense, and the Panthers just 14^th. Peppers doesn�t play the run, and they could often bring down Starks on Kemoeatu and take him right out of the play. The Browns had a back-up DE starting for Orpheus Roye. They won�t run on the Ravens with any regularity early.

Very simple. Pass has to set up the run, and they won�t win any other way.

It isn�t so important for the Steelers to get points out of their possessions. It is crucial that they move the chains, though. They need to win the game of field position this time around. They can not turn the ball over and give short fields for the Ravens to work with. That is where their offense makes its living. The Steelers defense will hold more often than not. The Ravens may bend some, but they don�t break often. Take points where you can get them, and don�t do anything stupid with the football.

They have no deep passing game. They have no passing game beyond Todd Heap and Derrick Mason. Unfortunately, these two combined for 12 catches and 101 yards in the last game. Polamalu looks to return this game. The Steelers supposedly have an elite coverage LB in Porter. They need to take Heap out of this game. Stick one of these two on Heap at all times. Last time they allowed him to get matched up one-on-one with Townsend, and he burned them for a TD. He had two catches over 10 yards, and Ryan Clark and Townsend were those in coverage. Polamalu was on him for much of the day. The Steelers are fine if he catches some 5 yard pass underneath. There�s no way they can let him pull off a double-fake and beat them for a 20 yard TD pass.

McFadden is far more comfortable this time around. They threw at him a lot early in the last game, and you would expect them to try it again. They�ll want to test him and Anthony Smith. They�ll try a deep pass off a play action, and probably early. Smith has to be disciplined, and make them pay for trying it. McFadden has been reliable, and has yet to be burned on any sort of fakes. I think the two of them are going to scare the hell out of Clayton, and he won�t want to catch the ball.

The Steelers actually had some pass rush in the last game. They were just unable to close the deal on McNair. They missed tackles and generally just looked sloppy. If they get a shot at him, they obviously need to take him down.

I expect the pass defense to be stiffer this time around. A few more sacks, and maybe even a turnover.

The Steelers clearly struggled to stop the run in the last meeting. Keisel and Hampton were both going backwards. Ogden absolutely manhandled Keisel in that first half. The run defense did play better in the second part of the game, but the game was already out of hand at that point.

The LB�s missed tackles and played sloppy. Jamal Lewis looked like he was still in his prime against the Steelers. The DL did not have its best day, but most of the damage came as a result of blown plays. Lewis probably got half his yards after contact.

The Ravens will run the ball at the Steelers. They run the ball no matter what. Billick has committed himself to it. The Steelers have the best run defense in the league. The last meeting was the exception. Run defense is mostly about being disciplined, and they won�t be anywhere near as sloppy as last time.

Prediction: This Ravens team is inferior to the Steelers. They lack the balance and overall talent. They are a one-dimensional defensive team, just as they�ve always been. The Steelers win because of this. Roethlisberger and the passing game comes up big, and the Steelers defense plays better. They win.
Final Score: Ravens 17, Steelers 20