Brett Keisel was unable to practice again today and won't play Sunday against the Ravens.
Fullback (?) Carey Davis did practice and is questionable to play.
James Harrison was also back at practice today after sitting out Thursday with a sore knee.
© While doing my weekly picks, I iniitally picked Baltimore to win this game.
But I've been thinking about it and Bob Prince's hidden vigourish comes to mind. The more something happens, the more likely it is that the opposite will occur.
The Steelers are due to win in Baltimore. And Ben Roethlisberger has only started one of the five games the Steelers have lost there.
I like Pittsburgh, 14-13.
I like Flacco to be exposed as the rookie QB he is now that the Steelers have actual game tape of him against them.
ReplyDeleteIt's like in baseball for a new pitcher. His first trip around the league, he might look great, but as teams learn about his "stuff" and tendencies, the pitcher comes back down to earth.
Interesting point about Big Ben.
ReplyDeleteAs a live long Steeler fan, who lives in Cleveland it is great to get info like that. That is why I your blog in the best!
Dale, if the Steelers win, do you think we'll see Kiesel again until the playoffs? I've said before they should play everyone tough but Kirschke is ok and Kiesel has had a tough season with injuries, almost no need to play him, for almost a month. Same goes for Marvel. Imagine if he could come back strong.
ReplyDeleteI got the game at 24-10 Steelers. My only fear is Baltimore running well, if that doesn't happy, then I think the Steelers get this one easier than most people think. I know the last game was tough at home, but they just don't scare me.
Speaking of teams running well, I love Lebasu, but its time to come up with something to stop those long runs on 3rd and 8+. Expect to see that from the Ravens try that with Ray Rice this weekend. It seems like the 3rd down defense doesn't account for the RB,running or short passing.
I don't expect the ravens to have very good 3rd and 8 runs. For one thing ray rice is likely out, so they will be left with mclain who takes awhile to build up steam.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, who are they going to spread the field with? The ravens don't have a 4th WR option and their third one is not much of a threat. They can't spread the field and force the pass defense nearly as much as the boys/pats can.
Regardless, Lebeau needs an answer for the playoffs when we'll be seeing that again.
I'm really not worried about those 3rd down runs
ReplyDeleteIt's happened in TWO games this season. One against the back that best does that in the league and another against a rookie who they probably weren't expecting much from
It'll probably be fixed when keisel comes back
Honestly, I think LeBeau's 3rd down defense purposely neglects the draw play in order to focus on maximum pressure and coverage on the receivers. Look at the last two games against the Pats and 'Boys. Yes, they had a few nice runs, especially on third own to move the chains, but we never gave up the big play in key situations. That's what I think the main concern is.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd trade better coverage against some of the top WRs in the league for a few rushing yards. They can do it and get down into the redzone, but that's when it gets a whole lot tougher. Better to let them have 70-some rushing yards a game than a few big bombs downfield that totally change the outcome of the game.
I dunno. They gave up a big 3rd and 3 in the Q3 on a draw. Farrior blitzed TE side leaving Timmons manned up on Choice. But Timmons just stood there forever never reacting until it was way too late. 20+ yards later... key play on their lone TD drive.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I don't think we'll see nearly as much package D as we did last week, so the nickel runs should be less an issue.
Dallas hit them with the third-down draw once, but the Steelers shut it down at least two other times when they tried it later in the game.
ReplyDeleteKeisel will be back next week in what could be a big game in Tennessee one way or another.