Eyes turning to Heinz Field
November 1st 2011 16:24
On Sunday Night, NBC broadcasts the Ravens visiting Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. Oh, the things that will be written and said this week. And usually, the hype this game generates is warranted, and sometimes the game is actually better than the hype.
The one storyline that will get a TON of attention this week, but in the grand scheme of things probably doesn't matter one damn bit, is that the Ravens ran up the score on Pittsburgh, scoring a late TD through the air, in their 35-7 beatdown of the Steelers in week 1. Much will be made of going for 2 and making it when they could have easily kicked the PAT. Truthfully, I think that both sides understand what it was. The Ravens were venting years of pent-up frustrations, at finally unleashing hell on the Steelers. They had an opponent down and out, and figuring (rightly, perhaps) that delivering a well-placed kick to the ribs might derail their entire season. The Steelers had to absorb those blows, and they did. They didn't exactly learn from it, but they absorbed them, learned from them, and got better from them. Mike Tomlin doesn't always play the "us-against-the-world" card, and certainly has to do nothing to get his team up for this game, but I would imagine that he is pointing to the late-game antics of the Ravens as a reminder to his team about the nature of their opponent. He will remind his team that kicking an opponent when its down is fundamentally sound yet inherently dangerous. The thing is, bad blood doesn't win or lose games. Good fundamental football does. Being over-hyped for a game doesn't help in that department. So, fundamentally, cool your jets and focus on the game at hand.
The media will play up the hatred/rivalry angle. They need to generate attention, and this is an attention-grabbing game. And has often been the case, this game very well may decide critical playoff issues like division titles and home field advantage. With the AFC West looking weak, the AFC East a topsy-turvy division and the AFC South nipping at the heels, both AFC North squads have their eyes on the real prize: the AFC North crown and the overall #1 seed. There's no way that the West teams have a shot at the #1 crown, and my guess is that Buffalo will fall back to earth just a bit. I'm going to pencil the AFC East winner in for the #3. That leaves the North winner and Houston to duel it out. Despite the fact that Houston beat Pittsburgh this year, I'm going to go with either of the AFC North teams.
So, if Pittsburgh wins, they'll go to 7-2 and have a full 1-game lead over Baltimore. The tiebreakers get incomprehensibly complex and I don't care at this point. What is important is that with a win Pittsburgh takes the driver's seat. With a win, the Ravens take the driver's seat. Both teams have 4 games left against the Ohio teams, and the Niners among others. I think that there are losses yet on the schedule for both Pittsburgh and Baltimore, so the winner of this game gets a clear, massive advantage. And don't forget, Cincy is a stalking horse, and no one is quite sure how good that team really is. So winning this game is massively important. Perhaps so important that no other game left on the schedule (barring unforeseen losses) comes close.
It's also simply amazing how the NFL changes perception from one week to the next. Granted, it's that time of year where the best separate from the pack. But everyone - absolutely everyone - is super-high on Pittsburgh right now because of how they handled the Patriots. Don't think for a moment that the Ravens aren't smarting over this. After all, they started the season by crushing Pittsburgh. They're right in the assertion that perhaps the Steelers are getting more love than they deserve. After all, it was only just one win. With a win of their own, the Ravens will rise to the AFC's "most likely" position. It's a position they would like to hold.
When the dust finally settles on this game - and much, MUCH more on the game itself later - the only thing that will be truly settled is the direct, fierce competition these two foes have waged. With 7 or 8 games left on the schedule, much will be left to determine. Other foes, like Cincy, will stake their claim. But it's equally fair to say that no other game on the Week 9 slate is bigger than this one.
The one storyline that will get a TON of attention this week, but in the grand scheme of things probably doesn't matter one damn bit, is that the Ravens ran up the score on Pittsburgh, scoring a late TD through the air, in their 35-7 beatdown of the Steelers in week 1. Much will be made of going for 2 and making it when they could have easily kicked the PAT. Truthfully, I think that both sides understand what it was. The Ravens were venting years of pent-up frustrations, at finally unleashing hell on the Steelers. They had an opponent down and out, and figuring (rightly, perhaps) that delivering a well-placed kick to the ribs might derail their entire season. The Steelers had to absorb those blows, and they did. They didn't exactly learn from it, but they absorbed them, learned from them, and got better from them. Mike Tomlin doesn't always play the "us-against-the-world" card, and certainly has to do nothing to get his team up for this game, but I would imagine that he is pointing to the late-game antics of the Ravens as a reminder to his team about the nature of their opponent. He will remind his team that kicking an opponent when its down is fundamentally sound yet inherently dangerous. The thing is, bad blood doesn't win or lose games. Good fundamental football does. Being over-hyped for a game doesn't help in that department. So, fundamentally, cool your jets and focus on the game at hand.
The media will play up the hatred/rivalry angle. They need to generate attention, and this is an attention-grabbing game. And has often been the case, this game very well may decide critical playoff issues like division titles and home field advantage. With the AFC West looking weak, the AFC East a topsy-turvy division and the AFC South nipping at the heels, both AFC North squads have their eyes on the real prize: the AFC North crown and the overall #1 seed. There's no way that the West teams have a shot at the #1 crown, and my guess is that Buffalo will fall back to earth just a bit. I'm going to pencil the AFC East winner in for the #3. That leaves the North winner and Houston to duel it out. Despite the fact that Houston beat Pittsburgh this year, I'm going to go with either of the AFC North teams.
So, if Pittsburgh wins, they'll go to 7-2 and have a full 1-game lead over Baltimore. The tiebreakers get incomprehensibly complex and I don't care at this point. What is important is that with a win Pittsburgh takes the driver's seat. With a win, the Ravens take the driver's seat. Both teams have 4 games left against the Ohio teams, and the Niners among others. I think that there are losses yet on the schedule for both Pittsburgh and Baltimore, so the winner of this game gets a clear, massive advantage. And don't forget, Cincy is a stalking horse, and no one is quite sure how good that team really is. So winning this game is massively important. Perhaps so important that no other game left on the schedule (barring unforeseen losses) comes close.
It's also simply amazing how the NFL changes perception from one week to the next. Granted, it's that time of year where the best separate from the pack. But everyone - absolutely everyone - is super-high on Pittsburgh right now because of how they handled the Patriots. Don't think for a moment that the Ravens aren't smarting over this. After all, they started the season by crushing Pittsburgh. They're right in the assertion that perhaps the Steelers are getting more love than they deserve. After all, it was only just one win. With a win of their own, the Ravens will rise to the AFC's "most likely" position. It's a position they would like to hold.
When the dust finally settles on this game - and much, MUCH more on the game itself later - the only thing that will be truly settled is the direct, fierce competition these two foes have waged. With 7 or 8 games left on the schedule, much will be left to determine. Other foes, like Cincy, will stake their claim. But it's equally fair to say that no other game on the Week 9 slate is bigger than this one.
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