I don’t know if the Ravens caught the Steelers with their pants down or were just so tired of Pittsburgh’s dominance over them in recent years that they decided that enough was enough, but this Ravens team completely destroyed the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens had never scored 35 points against Pittsburgh and the Steelers hadn’t lost a season opener since 2002, until today. Baltimore controlled the game from the first play, a 36 yard run by Ray Rice. Two plays later, the Ravens went up 7-0 in a game that was the biggest embarrassment of the week. Here are my quick thoughts on Baltimore’s 35-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- What offensive line problems? – I don’t want to undersell the difficultly of playing on the offensive line, but when I heard the experts say that the Ravens would lose this game due to a lack of chemistry up front on offense, I couldn’t help but laugh. How much chemistry does it take to push back defenders and ensure enough time for a quarterback? Michael Oher moved back to right tackle, where he belongs, Matt Birk looked was healthy enough to protect Joe Flacco and a slender Bryant McKinnie, now down to 372 pounds, ate up the space of several defensive lineman. Pardon the stupid joke. How much chemistry does it take to do that?
- I told you Joe Flacco improved – Excuse me for a second while I do the “I told you so” dance. Joe Flacco’s pocket presence, on field awareness and attitude is going to lead this Ravens team this year and I called it weeks ago. This is his offense, finally. The best throw Flacco made all day was called back on a questionable holding penalty by Bryant McKinnie. It was a 34 yard completion on a crossing pattern by tight end Ed Dickson that Flacco threaded through several defenders. Flacco hit six different receivers, three in the end zone. Unfortunately, new comer Lee Evans was catch-less on the day, but his presence allowed Anquan Boldin to get some separation and make four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Joe has taken steps forward this year, I saw it in the preseason and I look for it to continue in the weeks to come.
- Ray Rice + Vonta Leach = Monster Season – As our Ravens reporter Edgar Walker told me in his season preview video, Vonta Leach could be the Ravens biggest acquisition this offseason. The guy will explode defenders and you can tell that he enjoys creating lanes for Ray Rice. Here’s a trivia question for you: Who are the last two running backs to gain over a hundred yards on the Steelers? Answer: Ray Rice and Ray Rice. The Ravens running back confidently rolled up to the game in a white Maserati with the top down and then continued to roll by the Steelers with 107 yards on the ground and 42 in the air. With Vonta Leach’s help, Ray Rice will return to 2009 form and could even see more success as the Ravens have more confidence in him up the middle.
- Pagano’s defense > Mattison’s – Can you imagine how successful the Ravens defense would have been last season if they had a confident defensive coordinator? I think a lot of their failures were because Greg Mattison didn’t mask their weaknesses well and was afraid to take risks. Chuck Pagano isn’t. Haloti Ngata was a monster, recovering two fumbles and tipping a Ben Roethlisberger pass that led to an interception. Terrell Suggs owned Roethlisberger all day and finished with three sacks. Lardarius Webb was Baltimore’s tackle leader with nine, two assists and a half sack and Ed Reed intercepted two balls. Two! He’s on pace for 32, but an over rated player (likely from Pittsburgh) will probably win Defensive MVP over him. Pagano’s men set a franchise record with seven turnovers. Bravo gentleman.
- Thoughts on Pittsburgh – I loved seeing the boiling point of Mike Tomlin. Everything was fine and dandy during the first half, but when Big Ben was picked off to start the second half, Captain Cool lost it. I honestly don’t think Pittsburgh was ready for this game, maybe they got cocky and thought that they would always beat the Ravens or maybe they’re just old. I will say though that Troy Polamalu got scorched in the Super Bowl and was a total non-factor against the Ravens. I saw him jump on a couple piles at the end of plays and he hit Ray Rice in a scrum after the whistle was blown, but other than that they guy was completely useless. No one seems to be talking about that. I’ll have a full article on it tomorrow.
Expect the Ravens and Steelers matchup in Pittsburgh to be closer. These two teams are evenly matched, but the Ravens executed a perfect game plan today and finally get the monkey off their back with an awesome victory.
“and thought that they would always beat the Ravens or maybe their just old.”
OK. We all make mistakes with the language, but if you are going to publish as a professional…
they’re, there, their, learn the difference,
I believe you meant “they’re” as in they are, as opposed to their the possessive
This was the most fun I have had watching a Ravens game in a long time. Didn’t anticipate them being this dominant but could not have been more pleased.
Congrats guys. Don’t know who those players were in the Steelers uniforms but that must have been fun for the Baltimore Bunch. See you at Heinz Field!
@slamy jate – STFU! Get a life loser. You search the blogs looking for grammar issues… Go back to the your basement fortress and look for “Golub the Horned Gordat” in your video game. Jackass…
@islandgirl – You don’t know who those players were in Steeler uniforms? Seems to me they were Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Troy Polomalu, Mike Wallace, etc. The same ones who have been putting on the Steeler uniform for years. I’m not counting them out though as they find a way to win but this game didn’t bode well for them. Ravens2488 told me your a good Steeler fan so glad to hear from you.
BTW @islandgirl – Chow is our resident international writer. He’s like the “BSR Mascot”
I am a bitch Menedenhall You and the stoolers will never win on Sept 11th.
I’m glad someone’s mentioned the poor sportsmanship and just dirty play by so many Steelers today. The announcers either missed it or chose to ignore it. Everything from the pop on Ladarius Webb after he allowed a punt to go unfielded with the whistle blown to the shameless brawling at the end. The ref’s seemed oblivious to it. Very confusing. Nearly every video shot of the Steeler offensive line had them holding all over the place because they were so outgunned there today. The Steelers were not only man-handled, they were shown to be classless thugs in the process.
Canadian Steelers Fan- Have a Labbats Blue! The pain will wear off soon.
Tried to tell Island Girl last week that the fact the Steelers stood pat was a mistake. They got a year older and the Ravens got younger and more athletic. This is the Ravens year. Harbaugh will finally get his so called “National Championship”.
I realize the guys in the Pittsburgh uniforms were Ben, Hines etc. That was my attempt at light-hearted banter after a very tough loss.
For the record: let it be stated that there are two self-evident truths here. 1) I will never slink away from defeat by not congratulating the opposition and 2) Now I know how you guys have felt after all the ass-whuppings my Steelers have given your Ravens over the years!
Don’ start hoisting that Lombardi just yet; it’s a long season.
And Intimidator? As for Chow,believe me, no International writer would be so obviously trying to disguise his facility in English.
Chowman is nothing more than a pretender , he adds nothing to this site but rude comments,,,,,,,just ignore him,,,,,,,,,,,Don’t feel too bad , you team will regroup and be back , they are too good to disappear…..
Congratulations on the win. The Ravens took it to the Steelers, in a big way. No Excuses.
As always BM1958, you are a class act. I think both teams will be in the upper tier of the AFC, but I think this is the Ravens’ year to get over the Steeler hump.
as a steeler fan the game was hard to watch but the ravens were there to prove a point & make a statement & they did!!
The Ravens looked too good to be true , I think it was a combination of the Ravens being well prepared and the Steelers being over-confident,,,,,,,,,,great way to start the season…………