Ravens: Head game
It may sound a little odd, but you have to wonder if the absence of Ben Roethlisberger from the Steelers active roster actually translated into a more confident Ravens offensive unit in the first half.
Sure, you could point to the fact that Troy Polamalu was not in the Steelers' defensive backfield -- which would make a lot more sense, but the Ravens came out much more relaxed and quickly ended their long first-half touchdown drought.
Maybe the offensive would have performed better anyway, since there was plenty of room for improvement after five losses in seven games, but I don't think so. I think the concussion that sidelined Big Ben provided a huge mental boost for everyone in a purple shirt, including those in the crowd of 71,314.
Trouble is, it didn't translate into a big early lead. No. 3 Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon, who was supposed to be overmatched with just one brief NFL appearance, held his own and took advantage of a porous Ravens secondary to keep the game close at intermission.
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Comments
While Woozy Ben might have thrown for some extra yards, it is doubtful he would have run 24 yards for a TD.
Roethlisberger being out has nothing to do with the expectation of scoring more points unless you are EXPECTING the defense to score points directly.
Dixon was an unknown but he was essentially drafted in a similar position as Troy Smith, only a year later. Wasn't it last year Smith would have started instead of Flacco if injuries hadn't changed the plan?
While Polamalu being out helped, the same exploitation of the offense's weaknesses was taking place.
Aren't the Ravens missing a few players, too? Suggs. Ayanbadejo. Don't laugh. The Ravens are 16-7 with Ayanbadejo, 3-4 without.
Wanting more points and a bigger lead is fine and dandy, but closer analysis should have indicated this was going to be a close game unless PIT was going to be mistake-prone or stupid-prone. For the most part, they weren't.
The penalties have been getting worse and more stupid. That needs to change for BAL.
Everyone is scratching their head about the demise of the Raven D. Has anyone looked at the points allowed lately? Better than pretty good.
Meanwhile, PIT had fourth quarter leads in four of their five losses. You can't tell me that's ALL Polamalu.
Posted by: waspman | November 30, 2009 12:19 PM