The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't act as if finishing fourth in the AFC bothered them in the least. That could turn out to be a curious decision after their B team failed to beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The game leaves them hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, the same team that smacked them in the mouth at Heinz Field a few weeks ago. Things went wrong for Pittsburgh right from the get go. Willie Reid, subbing for injured returner Allan Rossum, coughed up the opening kickoff and set up a Musa Smith touchdown run. With Charlie Batch offering the defense little worry, the Ravens keyed on Najeh Davenport and slowed the offense down to a crawl for most of the first half. Batch was intercepted once and his biggest play came courtesy of a pass interference on Corey Ivy. The Ravens led 20-7 at the half and appeared to be in charge of the game.
They appeared to be pulling a Billick, as its come to be known this season, by losing that control late. Batch found Santonio Holmes and Cedrick Wilson for touchdowns to cut the margin to six but when David Pittman picked him off for the second time late in the fourth, a return date with the Jags was in place.
As mentioned, that's a tough draw for the Steelers. That was going to be the case no matter the opponent, so the Steelers were just hoping to be as close to full strength as possible. Unfortunately, today's game added more names to the injury list. Max Starks, essential with Marvel Smith injured, left the game with a knee sprain and James Harrison hurt a shoulder. Their status for next week is unknown but they'll both be needed against the smashmouthers from Jacksonville.
Baltimore can feel good about ending their nine-game losing streak but given their own ragtag lineup, it's hard to draw many conclusions from today's game. This wasn't much more than a final week of preseason for the Steelers, so feel good about Troy Smith's first NFL win and Cory Ross' first NFL touchdown but don't go overboard. The most exciting thing about today's game is that when the stage was set for another total collapse, the defense held. That's a pretty clear indication of how dreadful this season's been in Baltimore.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-31-2007 @ 9:00AM
Tim said...
Unfortunately that was our starting defense against a Rookie QB and he picked our D apart. Could someone give a refresher course on tackling? And quick. Maybe we could bring in Greg Lloyd for a mini camp this week. If the D doesnt play any better next week they will get their asses handed to them by the Jags. Although the one thing I did see late in the game was some emotion from Coach Tomlin, It's about friggin' time don't ya think?
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12-31-2007 @ 10:28AM
cal said...
steelers have had many players on injured res . look how long troy p. has been out. hines w. i'm hoping this is a rest/protection till playoff scenerio, and the powerhouse comes back in the playoffs. (i still think they should get outfited with pats type spycams for next season!)
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12-31-2007 @ 9:59AM
Marc said...
Tim: I couldn't agree more! I am a die hard Steelers fan and have been for 30 years! ben is having a GREAT year, butlets call a spade a spade! The defense for the past SEVERAL fgames has looked atrocious. I cant stand these people that blindly think we are going to roll. We should be VERY worried about the Jags AT HOME. Pitt hasnt shown us ANY reason to feel otherwise. I mean...the Dolphins, Jets, Ravens...tems we should have DOMINATED even NOT at full strength. I hope Dick gets these guys ready to play.
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12-31-2007 @ 1:05PM
Dave said...
Most teams want to be on their best play going into the playoffs. I for one am not impressed with Tomlin or his ability to get this team ready for any game. He was quoted as saying he's a better coach now than at the beginning of the year????
Tim made the right call on defense and tackling; they seem to be the worst team ever right now in that field, and the O line isn't far behind at protecting Ben. Forget powerhouse and running; just let Ben loose and let the speed team play. Coaching just isn't there this year...
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1-03-2008 @ 1:27PM
BRUINS said...
Fire Tomlin! My head still hurts about the thought of the Steelers back office and the Rooney Family hiring a coach with NO head coaching experience and only two years as a D-coach to one of the most successfull professional sports organizations of all time...Steeler nation..."Wake-up"...our team looked awful...Shawn Salisbury quoted on ESPN " worst tackling of a Steeler D in 25 years"...The O-line stinks...Big Ben lead the league in being sacked, and STILL, Big Ben put up some impressive numbers. It is ALL to clear to this Steeler fan that hard times have come to Pittsburgh, and the main reason is COACHING...best of luck to the coach who should have been selected and took the Steelers to a world championship...Ken Whisenhut...go cardnals!!!
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12-31-2007 @ 1:48PM
John said...
I would like to say that I have been a steeler fan all my life, but this year it has been really hard to be one. Yea, I know they won the north and everything but that was with a weak schedule. This team shows 0 emotion and it starts at the top. Tomlin is not a motivater at all. Cowher-bashers should be biting their tongues. Alan Faneca is a poison and I cant wait till he is gone! They better wake up or the Jags will destroy them.
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12-31-2007 @ 5:38PM
Tim said...
This is a game that these guys have played since they were kids, if they get back to basic fundamentals, these problems can be corrected very easily. This team does have talent, just two years removed from a championship and playing this poorly on defense is inexcusable. Granted , Aaron Smith is out but every team has injuries this time of year. If the Steelers play like they are capable of playing, they can compete with anybody. I guess we'll have to wait and see which Steelers team shows up on Saturday. If it's the one that lost 4 out of the last 5 games then it'll be over quickly. We as fans can only hope. Gooooooo Steelers!!
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