Do the Ravens "own" us?

[flippy]

Actually, I'd like to turn it around this year. Let's just say that we lose a hard fought game on Sunday with Charlie, but after that we get Ben and other injured players back that allow us to run the table. The best revenge would be beating them in their own crib in the playoffs on our way to #7.

A guy can dream can't he?

If I remember correctly, we beat the Ravens the last time we played them the year they ended up going on and winning the SuperBowl.

So if this is their SuperBowl, so be it. Ours is the last game of the year.

Let's go!!!

[steelfin]

Actually, I'd like to turn it around this year. Let's just say that we lose a hard fought game on Sunday with Charlie, but after that we get Ben and other injured players back that allow us to run the table. The best revenge would be beating them in their own crib in the playoffs on our way to #7.

A guy can dream can't he?

I like your scenario better than mine...Let's go with that....

[Oviedo]

The short answer is yes....We can use injuries as an excuse all day long, but the only thing that really matters is who beats who...and who wins the division. They have owned us for the last two years....

We are no longer the king of the AFC North...

Sucks but it is the truth...Hopefully the Steelers can turn this trend around next year.

I would agree. The Ravens played without Suggs, Lewis out for the season, Ngata hurt and they are still 8-3. They seem to be able to get it done while we can't. Obviously losing your starting QB is a bigger deal then any of their losses, but as much as I hate to admit it they just seem to be more resilent than we are. IMO Ozzie Newsome is one of the best talent evaluators in the league and as good as Colbert is I think Newsome is better.

Every year I expect their defense to take a major step back but they seem to age more gracefully than we do. They seem to have the ability to adjust and be more flexible without their system falling apart.

[Keyplay1]

Checking out what they are saying in their newspapers this week, not really much is going on. There was an article about how their ST are ranked by Football Outsiders as the best in the league. Another story took notice of maybe not seeing a lot of Wallace[I would have had him watching as early as game 4] might help their D. Then there was a mention of how they have only had 1TD in their last 10 Quarters. They were concerned about that. But they still managed to win their last 3 games and are according to Ray Rice "an angry 9-2"

That was about it. Surprisingly, nothing was said about the fact that if they do not win this game, they must win their final four games to insure at least the 2nd seed. They currently have a 1 game lead over NE and own the tie breaker. But, a slip up here could prove costly. Certainly no one wants to go to NE. No?

The 2 or 3 times I got curious about how the opponents were viewing the game, TS[the Steelers] managed to win those games. [Jets, Eagles, Skins] Not too many are expecting a win here but still? Hmm! Wouldn't it be fun to watch them choke away this alleged gimme?

btw: No! Not really, uh well maybe. After all, they did win the last game doing next to nothing. They only brought their punter and a couple of D guys and somehow still manged to win.

[pittpete]

Yes, and its because we are all spoiled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RuthlessBurgher]

Every year I expect their defense to take a major step back but they seem to age more gracefully than we do. They seem to have the ability to adjust and be more flexible without their system falling apart.

If you think the Ravens are playing better defense than we are this year, I don't know what to say. We are first in total defense, they are 24th. We are first in passing defense, they are 23rd. We are fifth in rush defense, they are 26th. Our problems right now have nothing whatsoever to do with defense.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Anyone mention Jim/John Harbaugh's a douche?

That's a given. We should just call them the Massengill brothers. Let's give John a "not so fresh feeling" this Sunday.

[flippy]

If you think the Ravens are playing better defense than we are this year, I don't know what to say. We are first in total defense, they are 24th. We are first in passing defense, they are 23rd. We are fifth in rush defense, they are 26th. Our problems right now have nothing whatsoever to do with defense.

The Ravens are 28th in TOP on Offense while we're 2nd. So their D is on the field 5:34 more a game than ours. That 26 spot ranking difference is bigger than the 24 spot difference in D rankings. So you could argue their D is doing a little better given the circumstance. It's probably a wash if their offense could control the ball.

They're giving up 19.9 pts vs us giving up 19.1. Not that much difference. Yardage doesn't tell the whole story.

[feltdizz]

Ravens are plus 12 in TO's.... The D stinks though... nowhere near as good as previous years but they are doing enough to win. They are pretty much making that 1 play the changes the game, like the punt return vs us.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Ravens are the better team this year. 9-2 vs. 6-5, they're finding ways to win. They were the better team last year, too. Hopefully, we turn the tide...I'd love to see it begin this Sunday, but I'm so not optimistic about that...

[fordfixer]

Do the Ravens own us?

No but they have beaten us like a rented mule for the last year or so.....

[Slapstick]

The Ravens are 28th in TOP on Offense while we're 2nd. So their D is on the field 5:34 more a game than ours. That 26 spot ranking difference is bigger than the 24 spot difference in D rankings. So you could argue their D is doing a little better given the circumstance. It's probably a wash if their offense could control the ball.

They're giving up 19.9 pts vs us giving up 19.1. Not that much difference. Yardage doesn't tell the whole story.

Time of possession isn't necessarily a good correlation...

The Steelers defense isn't better because our offense hold the ball longer...

The Steelers defense is better because their 3rd down conversion % is better (34.3% vs 37.9%)

The Steelers defense is better because their yards per play is better (4.5 vs 5.2)

The Steelers defense is better because their scoring defense is better (19.1 ppg vs 19.9 ppg)

The Ravens have a better record because their scoring offense is much better than the Steelers (25.7 ppg vs 21.0 ppg)

The Steelers have improved over last year despite the last three games...but not enough...

[Oviedo]

If you think the Ravens are playing better defense than we are this year, I don't know what to say. We are first in total defense, they are 24th. We are first in passing defense, they are 23rd. We are fifth in rush defense, they are 26th. Our problems right now have nothing whatsoever to do with defense.

They won 8 games and we've won 6. They have lost 3 games compared to our 5. So much for rankings. I'll trade their rankings for ours and take the two more wins, what about you?

To quote the great Mike Tomlin, "we're not interested in style points." All that matters is the "W" and the Ravens are finding a way to get one and we aren't. I could care less about rankings.

[BigRob]

Time of possession isn't necessarily a good correlation...

The Steelers defense isn't better because our offense hold the ball longer...

The Steelers defense is better because their 3rd down conversion % is better (34.3% vs 37.9%)

The Steelers defense is better because their yards per play is better (4.5 vs 5.2)

The Steelers defense is better because their scoring defense is better (19.1 ppg vs 19.9 ppg)

The Ravens have a better record because their scoring offense is much better than the Steelers (25.7 ppg vs 21.0 ppg)

The Steelers have improved over last year despite the last three games...but not enough...

Wow all this goes to show is there is not much difference at all between our defenses. The only real difference appears to be the amount of yards given up.

These are the only three stats that really matter:

The Steelers defense is better because their scoring defense is better (19.1 ppg vs 19.9 ppg)

The Steelers defense is better because their 3rd down conversion % is better (34.3% vs 37.9%)

The Ravens have a better record because their scoring offense is much better than the Steelers (25.7 ppg vs 21.0 ppg)

The Ravens don't give up many points, 3rd downs, and their offense scores more than we do.

Bottom line....there is not a lot of meaningful difference between our defenses this year.

[fezziwig]

I don't know if they own us the way we have owned them for so long. We lost three in a row and a safe bet would be, get ready for fourth in a row. When we were kicking their buts I don't remember them having so many injuries as we have. Last seasons opener , we stunk the place up and they owned us that particular day. The second game of the season and this past game of the this season we were having our typical Steelers Raven rival games but, they Ravens are now winning the close ones the way we used to.
Having said all that, let me see the Ravens continue to beat us and then move on to three Super Bowls as our Steelers had.
The Ravens have never been as good as our Steelers. They may beat us once in a while or a couple of seasons in a row but, they do it when we are down and they never go to the big dance afterwards.
We beat the Ravens and then we go to and win Super Bowls afterwards. To me, that's owning the Ravens.