Right Off Russell

BaltimoreRavens.com
Nov 30, 2009

Head Coach John Harbaugh
(opening statement) “I can tell you right now, about injuries – I don’t know a thing. You know, I just haven’t had a chance to look into it. But [Senior Vice President of Public/Community Relations] Kevin [Byrne] kind of got that covered. First of all, what a game. We’ve had a few of these this year. We’ve had a few where we’ve walked in here, been in this kind of football game, and they’re not perfect, and they don’t lay out exactly the way you might plan them, and we come up on the short end. We didn’t come up on the short end tonight. Our guys came up on the long end of this one. I was proud of them in those other situations when we didn’t win, and I’m proud of them in this situation when we did win. Maybe just a little bit more, I’m proud, to be honest with you. But that’s a really good football team. We were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m really not interested in hearing questions about who didn’t play for them and who didn’t play for us. That quarterback over there, Dennis Dixon, is a player. We liked him coming out of the draft. He can throw. He made some tremendous throws, especially in the first half. They caught us a little bit…we had an all out blitz, and they just had a great call, and they executed it well. It was a perfect call, really, against that defense, and the young guy made a great play. So, I have a ton of respect for that football team, and we’re very proud of this victory.”
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Shouldn’t beating your most hated rival in a come-from-behind, overtime game feel better than last night felt for me? A win is a win and the Ravens certainly needed one last night, but that victory was not very satisfying. To be pushed to OT by a hobbled Dennis Dixon led Steelers was not the way I envisioned last night playing out. The Ravens have kept this season alive by a thread, but this team does not have the look of a play-off caliber squad. How much can that change in the coming weeks?

The Good: Paul Kruger made his presence felt in a big way last night. His INT and return were a remarkable play for a guy who spent most of his college career rushing the passer. Kruger looked good dropping ino coverage and showed nice hands andathleticism on the play. Maybe he needs to lend his hands to Lardarius Webb, who dropped a pick that could have put the game away in regulation, but otherwise played well and was physical in his expanded role last night. Ray Rice ran the ball well, so did LeRon McClain and Willis McGahee for that matter. I thought the offensive line got a boost in run blocking from Marshall Yanda’s insertion into the starting line-up. Yanda is much more physical that Chris Chester and it showed last night. I thought John Harbaughs decision to go for it on 4th and 5 with 3:31 left in the game was the right call and it really paid off. Joe Flacco also made some big throws late in the game despite an ankle injury that seems to be affecting his mechanics and mobility. Mark Clayton stepped up and had a big game and Chris Carr was much better in punt returns than he has been all year. Read more »

It was a tough game that could have and possibly, should have gone the other way. Regardless, it is nice to see the Ravens win one of these tough games. At 6-5, the Ravens are still very much in the picture. I think the game next week is a must win. I will stand by my prediction that 10-6 is the magic record.

Denver Broncos: 7-4 Up
The win against the Giants was huge. Not only are they still in it in the West, but they also have a 1 game advantage on everyone else. They did lose to both Pittsburgh and Baltimore, so they better maintain that lead.

Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-5 Down
2 losses in 2 weeks. They need Big Ben and Troy back.

Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-5 Up
The loss against San Fran was brutal. They still have games remaining with Houston, Indy and the Pats.

Houston Texans: 5-6 Down
They needed to win and they didn’t. They have to hold serve the rest of the season.

Miami Dolphins: 5-6 Up
You can’t lose to Buffalo. You need to win those games. I think the season is over. It’s just a matter of when.

Baltimore

• QB John Beck
• CB Cary Williams
• FB Charles Ali
• LB Terrell Suggs
• LB Antwan Barnes
• OT Oniel Cousins
• OT Tony Moll
• DT Kelly Talavou

Pittsburgh

• QB Ben Roethlisberger
• QB Charlie Batch
• CB Keenan Lewis
• S Troy Polamalu
• OG Kraig Urbik
• OG Chris Kemoeatu
• DE Sunny Harris
• DE Nick Eason

Had I sat down to write this 2 days ago my thought on how the Ravens defense might have played would have been drastically different.  Two days ago the Steelers were planning on starting a dinged Ben Roethlisberger at QB.  Now he has been ruled out by the Steelers and third stringer Denis Dixon will make his first NFL start with just 1 career pass attempt to his credit.  The tone of this game has changed drastically as the Ravens are heavy favorites to win a game that may believe will decide the play-off fates for these AFC North rivals.  Will this game play out as it should?  Or, will Ben not playing lead to a let down from the Ravens and do they not perform as they should?

Against the Run: Stopping the run game will has not been as big a key all year as it will be tonight.  No doubt the Steelers will look to establish their ground game to take pressure off QB Dennis Dixon.  The Ravens will not only have to slow down the Steelers RB’s, but they will also have to keep an eye on Dixon in the run game.  Dixon was a dual threat QB at Oregon and I am sure there will be some option and wildcat looks built in for Dixon.  The good thing is that this plays right into the Ravens strength on defense.  Although the Steelers have gotten strong production from 2nd year back Rashard Mendenhall, they do not have a strong offensive line.  Couple that with the lack of a significant pass threat and the Ravens should have good success clogging up the running lanes.  The Ravens also need to keep the Steelers in 2nd and 3rd and longs.  Forcing Dixon to make plays through the air in obvious passing situations should mean big play opportunities on defense for the Ravens. Read more »

Various outlets are reporting that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will not play Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium against the Ravens.  Reportedly, Dennis Dixon will make his first career NFL start for the Steelers.  This is a huge break for the Ravens as it looks like the Steelers two biggest play makers will be out for this pivotal home game.  I am still taking a “I will believe it when I see it” approach to Ben not playing, but I can say I am not disappointed by this news if it is accurate.

Ironically, according to the Baltimore Sun, the Steelers are expected to sign QB Tyler Palko from the practice squad.  Palko was the QB at the University of Pittsburgh who beat out Joe Flacco for the starting job.  Flacco subsequently transferred to the University of Delaware.

It might be too early to start talking NCAA tournament time but the 2 recent losses in the Maui Invitational have been the Terps in a hole. I’m not the only one worried here. This is a thought from Jeremy over at Turtle Soup

The schedule works against them from here on out. If they lose to Villanova (likely), then they will need to be 10-6 in the ACC to make the Tourney. If they lose to Indiana also (not out of the question by any means), or heaven forbid, any other non-conference opponent, and there may not be a way back into the Dance regardless of their ACC record. They won’t have the RPI to get in. The ACC is not as good as in years past and they won’t have as many opportunities for signature wins. The season is in dire straits whether you choose to believe it or not. It’s not even Thanksgiving!

Granted, they have one of the most prolific players in the college game. He has the ability to put the team on his shoulders and give the team the lift it needs. He just doesn’t seem to be able to do it consistently.

What should be the short term goals of this team in order to get back on track?

by BaltimoreRavens.com
Nov 27, 2009, 5:46PM

Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Jerry Rosburg
On what he’s seen from the Steelers’ kickoff coverage: “Anytime that you get touchdowns run back on you, you always look back and try to figure out what the result was. What I’ve seen from the opponent standpoint is there are guys that just made some plays. Some of those kicks were really good kicks, and the guys squirrel around and got out of there. They’re well coached, and they have good players. I know they’re working hard on it. Our job is to just do our job. We go into it every week with the idea that we’re going to try to score as well. It’s going to be no different this week than it is any other week.” Read more »

It does not get more must win than this weeks match-up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The atmosphere at M&T should be electric as the Ravens welcome their most hated rival. Add that to the extra buzz created by the prime time start on Sunday night and this should be another loud, hard hitting and close game. What else would we expect for a Steelers/Ravens game? Is the Ravens offense ready to rise to the occasion? It did not last week against Indy and has struggled against teams that appear play-off bound. In order to beat a Steelers team that is desperate for a win, after losing in Kansas City last week, the Ravens offense will need to carry its’ share of the load and take advantage of a depleted Steelers defense.

Passing Game: The good news is that the Steelers biggest play maker in the secondary is likely out for Sunday night’s match-up. Not having Troy Polamalu flying around and making plays is a huge advantage for the Ravens. The Steelers secondary seems ordinary without their leader and is less aggressive in pass coverage. The bad news for the Ravens is that they have not shown they have the weapons to hurt teams downfield. The Ravens will need a big effort out of all their receivers and they need to confuse the Pittsburgh defensive backs with route combinations designed to force quick decisions. The Ravens can exploit the Steelers secondary, but a big part of that will be giving Joe Flacco time to find receivers downfield. The Ravens offensive line was strong pass blocking last week against Indy, but this week they will be facing a pass rush that is more difficult to read. Indy primarily brought 4 lineman. Pittsburgh will vary its’ blitzes, bringing LB’s and DB’s in an attempt to confuse Flacco and the o-line. Tackles Jared Gaither and Michael Oher will need to contain LB’s James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley on the outside, while Birk, Chester and Grubbs need to improve their play. I am interested to see if the screen game could take advantage of an aggressive Steelers defense. They are aggressive, but also fast and fly to the ball well. The game may come down to how good a game Flacco has against the Steelers, who are much more vulnerable in the secondary. Read more »