Raven's Week Part III...Are You Kidding Me!?

Steelers fans, Ravens fans...does it get any better than this? Every single one of us knew that the Steelers and Ravens were the two best teams in the AFC, and here we all stand, correct in our judgment and faith in our teams...while all the Chargers, Colts, and Titans apologists must watch disinterested this weekend. Talk about satisfying.

Now, I may be in the minority on this, but I look forward to Raven's week more than any other team on the Steelers' schedule, whether regular or post season. And for one simple reason: old-fashioned, smash mouth, cut-throat football...exactly the way the game was meant to be played. We're going to see the top 2 defenses in the NFL...with the 4 biggest playmakers in the NFL (Reed, Lewis, Harrison, Troy P). 2 defenses that hit you in the mouth on every play...that stop the run, pressure the qb, and force bad decisions all over the field. This is throwback, blood and guts football at its finest...and I can't wait. (Like Tom Jackson said on ESPN’s NFL Primetime, "It’s going to be a blood bath.")

Consider our two meetings this year: sure the Steelers are 2-0 against the Rat Birds, but our margin of victory is by a total of 7 points, with both wins coming on our last offensive play of the game. Drama. But, what else would you expect from these two teams?

As a Steelers fan, I must get this out: I hate the Rat Birds...with a passion. The only team I hate more ON EARTH than the Rat Birds is the Raiders (but I'll save that rant for later). However, while I hate the Rat Birds, I also respect them more than any other team in the league (except Pittsburgh, of course). I'm not talking about their FO, or what type of person their players are off the field...I'm simply talking about their style of football, their scheme, their philosophy, and their determination. It reminds me a lot of...Pittsburgh. And this is what makes this rivalry so great in my opinion: you have two teams who pride themselves on running the football, stopping the run, and being more physical/violent than the opposition. And as we know in Steel Town, that's the recipe for successful football, especially in January.

Furthermore, you have two absolutely rabid fan bases, both teetering on the fence of healthy interest and radical fanaticism (I, personally, am closer to the latter) who identify with their team, and expect the world from them. That’s enough to breed a rivalry in itself…

Over the next 125 hours or so until kickoff, there’s going to be shit-talked by any and everyone…some good-natured, some not. But there’s one thing that both Steelers and Ravens fans can respect: that the AFC Champ (and likely the Super Bowl champ) will be from the AFC North, and that team will definitely be the most physical on the field. The similarity between the two styles of football can elicit myriad emotions, like pure hatred for one…but also can illuminate why this rivalry is very quickly taking center stage as the most fierce and intense the NFL has to offer. We’ll talk about injuries and bye weeks, compare Joe Flacco to a young Big Ben, Ed Reed to Troy P, and debate the "best defense" designation…but there’s only one safe assumption for this Sunday from either side: that it’s going to be an all-out, absolute war.

So while the trash-talking has already begun, the speculation of the other team’s health, wellness, and mindset talks shape, and the predictions/accusations fly…let’s all stop for one second and appreciate what we have here: the most heated rivalry in the NFL, appearing for the 3rd time this year, and for the right to go to Super Bowl XLIII. At this point in time, for my money, it doesn’t get any better!!