Baltimore Ravens (5-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3)
Sunday 830pm ET
NBC TV, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
WDVE and Steelers Nation Radio
There are few things that need to be said when the Ravens and Steelers hook-up and Sunday night is no different. While all games are important, the significance here is divisional standings. A win pulls the Steelers to 2-2 in the division while a loss would drop them to 1-3 and likely end chances of a division title assuming a split with Cincinnati.
We won’t assume anything for now though and instead let’s focus on the game at hand. Here’s what we need to see from the Steelers in rder for them to win on Sunday night.
1. The defense must limit the number of splash plays. The Steelers have surrendered 40 passing plays this season of 20 yards or more. Seven of those have gone for over 40 yards. In the running department, they’ve given up eight plays over 20 yards as well. If we know anything about the Ravens it’s that Joe Flacco will take shots deep early. He does on the first drive almost every time these two teams play.
With Brice McCain taking over on the outside for Cortez Allen, I have no doubt that Flacco will test him sooner rather than later. Stopping the big plays will start with the front seven getting pressure consistently and shutting down the run as well.
Baltimore will get their share of yards but the Steelers have to limit them and keep big plays to a minimum.
2. Keep the foot on the gas. As I wrote earlier this week, Steelers’ Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley can’t ignore the fact that he has weapons that must be used properly. Going back to his multiple tight end sets and his penchant for throwing the ball side-to-side at will just doesn’t move this offense.
While every defense the Steelers face from one week to the next is different, that doesn’t mean that he should get away from worked last week which was throwing the ball down-field. The Baltimore secondary is banged up and is missing it’s best cover man in Jimmy Smith. Haley needs to keep staying aggressive and keep the foot on the gas pedal.
3. Special Teams has to be a positive factor. The Steelers return game has been brutal and that’s putting it nicely. On kickoffs, the Steelers average start is at the 16 yard line while the Ravens average starting position is at the 28. That might not sound like a big deal to you but it is because it limits what the Steelers can do offensively at that point on the field.
Last week, Mike Tomlin thought going with LeGarrette Blount on returns rather than Dri Archer would help push the return average up a notch. No such thing occurred and now Tomlin is considering going back to Archer. The problem as I see it for Archer is that he tends to decelerate as he gets into traffic and that’s the last thing young can do.
Can the blocking be better? Absolutely it can and that goes for the punt return team as well.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and the website @SCBlitz. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/steelcityblitz and on Fancred.com. You can hear him weekly during the season on game day on the Trib-Live Radio Steelers Pre-Game
photo courtesy thursdaynightfootballive.com
