Steelers TKO Ravens In First Half

this good watching a game since 2004 when we beat New England and Philly back to back, with both of those teams undefeated at the time(seriously, I was all smiles the entire game except for that garbage td that they scored on my fantasy defense).  That Philly win was the most complete victory I have seen in a long time.   Last night comes close, except for the running game sputtering.  It is just that much sweeter that it was the Ravens.

I think it's interesting that Ben was able to convince Tomlin to let him back in for a series after his injury.  Love the attitude that he wants to show the world and his team that he's alright. And then loved Tomlin pulling him after that. No need to be the Patriots and invite the cheap shot.  Seriously, after Manning and Brady is there a quarterback in the league you'd take instead of Roeth?

Also anyone check out Ray Lewis' comments? Made me think of the old "SCOREBOARD" cheer from high school. The way he was talking it sounded like his defense won the game and the offense won.  A good defense only gives up field goals even when the offense has a turnover.

First post on BTSC, love the blog though.

Great post guys. Just a few thoughts from a person who always love the way Steelers Nation takes the field:

• Great, Great win, but it won't mean anything if they stub their toe against the Browns. Good teams win this type of game coming up. I'm with Ron Jaworski. How can they look this good against the Hated Crows but yet lose to a team like the Broncos?
• America, meet James Harrison. Now you know what we've known for the past few years. That Silverback has B&B cred -- being a beast and a baller.
• Big Ben is officially back and he couldn't have delivered the proclamation against a better opponent. DaTruth was there when he took that beat down in Baltimore this past year and wondered if the Ravens had got in his head a little. Turns out the only thing in Ben's head now is visions of another Lombardi trophy. Too bad his OL don't want to cooperate.  
• 39 rushes, 90 yards. Not big-time numbers, but key stats against the Ravens. People thought the DaTruth was being sacreligious when he said he doubted the Steelers could run effectively against the Ravens. Ngata and K. Gregg do an excellent job of tying up tacklers and letting B. Scott and Ray-Ray flow to the ball. Moreso than them, this Steelers OL just can't move'em out like they used. It's priority no. 2 in the offseason, besides reupping Ben for the next 10 years.
• You guys get a shot of Johnathon Ogden last night? That is how Faneca could look in 4 years if the Steelers signed him to the contract he wants making him the highest paid guard in football. Our pass protection problems really come down to K. Simmons mostly and Faneca, to a lesser extent, having subpar years in pass protection. Simmons just isn't moving his feet well enough and Faneca doesn't have the movement he once did. Paying him what he wants isn't going to change that.  
• The good news to that is that K. Simmons had a spot on the sidelines behind Tomlin early in the 3rd quarter with Chris K getting some burn. Tomlin said in his press conference that he just wanted to give "Juicy" some time on the field. DaTruth thinks it was Tomlin's way of telling Simmons he better pick it up or he might be spending a litte more time on the sidelines.
• DaTruth loves Ben's 5 TD passes and Harrison's beast routine, but his favorite moment of the night was HOF Mel Blount calling the Ravens offense "pathetic." Now that was hilarious.
• Hines put more hits on the Ravens than Ike did Tina. What's love got to do, got to do with this beat down? Not a damn thing.
• You can hate the team, but it is hard to hate the player. What Ed Reed did after taking those hellacious hits by Silverback and Hines cemented why the DaTruth believes he is the best safety in the game. The dude gave everything he had, whether he was conscious for most of it or not.
• Silverback's salaries for 2008 and 2009 -- $1.1 and $1.2 million. Might be time in the offseason for his agent to ask for a meeting with the Rooneys, right about the time that they back that Brinks truck up to Ben's house to take care of him.  
• Kickoff coverage continues to be a bugaboo and I don't think Tomlin has many more cards to play to improve it. Troy P on the kickoff coverage team next? Ok, Ok, it was just a thought.
• By the way, that Joshua Cribbs dude coming into Heinz Field next week for the Browns is nothing to sneeze at. He is the 3rd best returner in the league -- right behind Hester and T. McGee from Buffalo. The Steelers better not play him cheap.
• That punt return that A. Rossum almost broke last night at the end of the game provides hope for better days. A. Madison showed up, too. Besides the OL, special teams is the second biggest wart on this team. Any ideas on how to fix this, since you don't like the Troy P idea?
• Tomlin's playmakers wheeled out the coffin for the Ravens last night, but it will be their upcoming schedule that will supply the nails. Besides the Bungles and Browns in the next two weeks, the Ravens will also have  3-game stretch of the Chargers, Patriots and Colts. And you thought Ray-Ray was about to blow after last night's game?
• Travis Kirschke did a pretty good imitation of Aaron Smith last night, didn't he?
• Anthony Smith didn't do that good of an imitation of Ryan Clark last night when he went high on McGahee and whiffed. That's why Clark has been able to fend off A. Smith up to this point -- he makes the plays he is supposed to make and is where he is supposed to be. Not a knock against A. Smith, who has star potential. It's just that coaches feel more comfortable with the known than the unknown. The team will probably need both this week, as they mix a little 3-deep with Cover 2 to stop the big, bad browns (being a little facetious, there). Clark plays well on special teams too.
• Well, we know the Bus has been eating good, from the way that no. 36 throwback was filled out. Let's see who on this team wants to eat in the second half of the season. That's why they play the games.

Steelers Nation, be blessed.

Great post guys. Just a few thoughts from a person who always love the way Steelers Nation takes the field:

• Great, Great win, but it won't mean anything if they stub their toe against the Browns. Good teams win this type of game coming up. I'm with Ron Jaworski. How can they look this good against the Hated Crows but yet lose to a team like the Broncos?
• America, meet James Harrison. Now you know what we've known for the past few years. That Silverback has B&B cred -- being a beast and a baller.
• Big Ben is officially back and he couldn't have delivered the proclamation against a better opponent. DaTruth was there when he took that beat down in Baltimore this past year and wondered if the Ravens had got in his head a little. Turns out the only thing in Ben's head now is visions of another Lombardi trophy. Too bad his OL don't want to cooperate.  
• 39 rushes, 90 yards. Not big-time numbers, but key stats against the Ravens. People thought the DaTruth was being sacreligious when he said he doubted the Steelers could run effectively against the Ravens. Ngata and K. Gregg do an excellent job of tying up tacklers and letting B. Scott and Ray-Ray flow to the ball. Moreso than them, this Steelers OL just can't move'em out like they used to. It's priority no. 2 in the offseason, besides reupping Ben for the next 10 years.
• You guys get a shot of Johnathon Ogden last night? That is how Faneca could look in 4 years if the Steelers signed him to the contract he wants making him the highest paid guard in football. Our pass protection problems really come down to K. Simmons mostly and Faneca, to a lesser extent, having subpar years in pass protection. Simmons just isn't moving his feet well enough and Faneca doesn't have the movement he once did. Paying him what he wants isn't going to change that.  
• A bit of good news during the game is that K. Simmons had a spot on the sidelines behind Tomlin early in the 3rd quarter with Chris K getting some burn. Tomlin said in his press conference that he just wanted to give "Juicy" some time on the field. DaTruth thinks it was Tomlin's way of telling Simmons he better pick it up or he might be spending a litte more time on the sidelines.
• DaTruth loves Ben's 5 TD passes and Harrison's beast routine, but his favorite moment of the night was HOF Mel Blount calling the Ravens offense "pathetic." Now that was hilarious.
• Hines put more hits on the Ravens than Ike did Tina. What's love got to do, got to do with this beat down? Not a damn thing.
• You can hate the team, but it is hard to hate the player. What Ed Reed did after taking those hellacious hits by Silverback and Hines cemented why the DaTruth believes he is the best safety in the game. The dude still made plays and gave everything he had, whether he was fully conscious for most of the game or not.
• Silverback's salaries for 2008 and 2009 -- $1.1 and $1.2 million. Might be time in the offseason for his agent to ask for a meeting with the Rooneys, right about the time that they back that Brinks truck up to Ben's house to take care of him.  
• Kickoff coverage continues to be a bugaboo and I don't think Tomlin has many more cards to play to improve it. Troy P on the kickoff coverage team next? Ok, Ok, it was just a thought.
• By the way, that Joshua Cribbs dude coming into Heinz Field next week for the Browns is nothing to sneeze at. He is the 3rd best returner in the league -- right behind Hester and T. McGee from Buffalo. The Steelers better not play him cheap.
• That punt return that A. Rossum almost broke last night at the end of the game provides hope for better days. A. Madison showed up, too. Besides the OL, special teams is the second biggest wart on this team. Any ideas on how to fix this, since you don't like the Troy P idea?
• Tomlin's playmakers wheeled out the coffin for the Ravens last night. Their upcoming schedule and the fact that they have no offense should provide the nails. Besides the Bungles and Browns in the next two weeks, the Ravens will also have  3-game stretch of the Chargers, Patriots and Colts. And you thought Ray-Ray was about to blow after last night's game?
• Travis Kirschke did a pretty good imitation of Aaron Smith last night, don't you think?
• On the other hand, Anthony Smith didn't do that good of an imitation of Ryan Clark last night when he went high on McGahee and whiffed. That's why Clark has been able to fend off A. Smith up to this point -- he makes the plays he is supposed to make and is where he is supposed to be. Not a knock against A. Smith, who has star potential. It's just that coaches feel more comfortable with the known than the unknown. The team will probably need both this week, as they mix a little 3-deep with Cover 2 to stop the big, bad browns (being a little facetious, there). Clark plays well on special teams too.
• Well, we know the Bus has been eating good, from the way that no. 36 throwback was filled out. Let's see who on this team wants to eat in the second half of the season. That's why they play the games.

Steelers Nation, be blessed.

I've been blessed & lucky enough to have been able to go to Steelers games since 1979 win v. Browns (when I was 8)- Bennie Cunningham TD catch to force OT- if my memory serves correct.  (BTW- I hope Bennie is OK health-wise. He didn't look too well at last night's ceremony...)

I've seen a lot of good football.  But I don't think I've ever witnessed a game like what the Steelers did to the Ravens last night.  Or an individual performance like James Harrrison's.  Seriously.

There will be people who will explain away the Steelers performance.  They'll say the sloppy weather caused the Ravens turnovers.  Or that the Ravens offense is inept.  Or that McNair is old.  Or that the Ravens were missing their cornerbacks.  Or that Billick has lost the team.

(Note: These are the same folks who tell us there has never been a football team like the NE Patriots. We know better.)

I would suggest you look at the game stats. Watch any of the highlights.  Watch what was going on around the edges of the plays, Ravens players literally being flattened by Steelers, having trouble getting up off the ground. Ed Reed was knocked out.  McGahee was knocked out-- literally had wobbly knees being helped to the sidelines.  Note how physical that game was-- even into the 4th Quarter.  

And this wasn't any team they beat-- this was the Ravens-- the reigning division champs, our bitter rival, the SAME (more or less) Ravens team that whipped us a solidly as I can remember being whipped-- one year ago. This was Steve McNair- "Ancient Enemy".  Take a look at McNair's record v. us & ask yourself-- has anyone, player, coach, or team, beat the Steelers more than Steve McNair while Bill Cowher was coach?  

This was a team that got into QB1's head-- and almost knocked it off his shoulders last year.  The guy who took one of the biggest hits of the year (according to SI-- and thanks Bart Scott for reminding us of it, every little detail, ad nauseum) That same guy, last night had a perfect-- I am going to type that again-- perfect QB rating & threw 5 TD passes in the 1st half.  With Terry standing on the sidelines.

And this wasn't any night.  It was National TV.  It was the 75th Anniversary Team in attendance.

And let's remember one fact: we have a rookie--I am going to retype that-- rookie head coach.  Pay attention to one word he used to describe the game-- "violent".

Something special is going on here.  Just like the game when Jerome Bettis literally ran through the NFL's #1 defense and in particular Brian Urlacher in the driving snow two years ago, and a light went off in your head... this is football.

I realize there are a lot of highly visbile & well-paid people who want to convince us that the NFL season was decided on Sunday--

BTW I remember a lean & hungry Pats team that came to Pittsburgh in 2001 that no one gave much of a chance to-- I think back then the Rams were the "Greatest Show on Turf", right?-- a team that had beamed back from the future to show the rest of us how football should be played. that no one had a chance of beating...

Yeah-- the 1st half of the season ended on Sunday.  The second half started last night.

So take a few moments to enjoy the gift we were given last night.  Ask yourself-- is there any other team in the NFL you wish you were following right now?  I didn't think so.

'Nuff said