BAL at PIT

[NorthCoast]

It's a bit early on this but I got a ton of things to get done for Turkey Day tomorrow so here it is. There's only a few experts that have put their picks in and 95% are taking the Steelers straight up (forget about being a dog and sneaking up on opponents this season ). Rather than looking at NFL ranks I thought it best to look at the last matchup between these teams:

BAL Offense:

• BAL is tied for CHI in the number of different formations they've used this season (total of 12). Against PIT they used mostly 11 or 12 personnel with a handful of 21 and 22 personnel.
• Rushing out of 11 personnel they averaged 5.9 yds/att, out of 12 they average 6.4 yds.
• BAL was in shotgun >95% of plays against the Steelers; when under center they ran 100% of the time (maybe an indication they don't trust LJ to turn his back on the defense?).
• BAL offense is explosive; they had 6 explosive runs and 4 explosive passes against the Steelers so the defense didn't do much to slow this down. But fortunately this was partly diminished by timely Steeler takeaways in the game (4).
• LJ as a passer completed 13 of 26 atts with successful play rate of 46% and QBR of 70.7. (in case your curious Roethlisberger was 21 of 32 with 56% success and QBR of 101.3).
• BAL went no-huddle on one play (Steelers used no-huddle on 15 plays with 60% success, all passing).

BAL Defense:

• Defense limited PIT offense to just 2 explosive plays, one run and one pass (doesn't say much here since the Steelers are middling in explosive plays in general).
• Steelers most effective in the middle of the field against BAL using Ebron (4 rec on 5 targets for 9.6 yds/att) and Claypool in the slot. Expect they will try to do the same in this game.
• BAL defense did a decent job against the run (3.2 yds/att). No surprise there . But Steeler WRs had a decent day with a 57% success rate on down and distance).

These teams are built to battle each other and expect BAL will not go down easy. I also expect them to take more shots down field in the hopes of a few big plays to go up early. They are beat up physically from the Titans game and personnel-wise with covid. This is a chance for LJ to redeem his season and carry the team to a win. I just don't think he has it in him.

Steelers 23
Ravens 19

[Oviedo]

Good guys win 27-13

We get 4 sacks and 2 INTs

Jackson fumbles at least once...I'm betting on twice

Hold bad guys to less than 100 yards rushing

[flippy]

Good insight NC.

Baltimore will have more turnovers than points.

I'm not sure how much a few games ago applies now that we have Hilton and Alualu back on D. We still have a lot of weaknesses, but we've had a lot of moving parts and I see us from here on out dialing in on D. I'm leaning toward we'll really dial it in after this week and this will be our last grind it out.

I think you have to dare LJ to throw early and often. He'll likely make some plays, but we've got to get some turnovers too. I think we're going to live and die this season on getting opportunistic turnovers.

We have a lot of great performers on D, but I'm not sure what we're ever going to get out of the unit. I take comfort on their ability to lock down and close out games. I think we can turn that into a 60 minute thing eventually.

[whisper]

Reports are that Balt. has more players/staff with covid. May still be delayed.

[NorthCoast]

Reports are that Balt. has more players/staff with covid. May still be delayed.

Shaping up to be very convenient for them.

[Ghost]

Moved to Sunday.

[Buzz]

Moved to Sunday.

The league will do anything they can to help the Ravens out in this situation.

[Starlifter]

What a load of horse$hit. Tomlin should get 6-7 third stringers exposed so we can get a bye week.

NFL says it’s for safety. I bet it’s to get all the rats players available.

[Buzz]

What a load of horse$hit. Tomlin should get 6-7 third stringers exposed so we can get a bye week.

NFL says it’s for safety. I bet it’s to get all the rats players available.

Yep. Hairball knew the Rats didn't stand a chance the way it was, so he called and asked uncle Rog to help them out.

Makes 2 games altered on short notice to the disadvantage of the Steelers.

[Ghost]

I’m ok with pushing the game. All the players who tested positive are out for 10 days minimum so still out for Sunday.

The issue is the testing. Even if a player tested negative tomorrow he still might be able to infect other players (possibly Steelers) because it can take 3 to 5 days to show up positive on a test. This gives everyone an extra 4-5 days of testing to ensure the game is safe.

Better to move the game than have a phenomenal season derailed by COVID b/c they forced it .

If Baltimore can’t go Sunday it should be a forfeit.

[Buzz]

I’m ok with pushing the game. All the players who tested positive are out for 10 days minimum so still out for Sunday.

The issue is the testing. Even if a player tested negative tomorrow he still might be able to infect other players (possibly Steelers) because it can take 3 to 5 days to show up positive on a test. This gives everyone an extra 4-5 days of testing to ensure the game is safe.

Better to move the game than have a phenomenal season derailed by COVID b/c they forced it .

If Baltimore can’t go Sunday it should be a forfeit.

Though they should require a forfeit, the NFL won't for Baltimore. I look for them to postpone Sunday's game until after week 17, giving the Rats time to get their act together and have the best opportunity against the Steelers.

Look, the NFL is clearly being inconsistent with the way they're handling this covid situation. Why have other teams been able to go ahead with their games as scheduled even though a few players are on the covid list? I thought this is why they granted the expanded practice squads?

[feltdizz]

Not sure how I feel about this. Seems kind of odd to demand to play a game against a team with a bunch of covid cases.

[Ghost]

I’m not going to cry foul just yet. If they move Sunday’s game to after week 17 then that will be all sorts of horse sh!t.

But I think this is more of both teams have this coming Sunday off so why not play it extra safe and still get the game played.

[Captain Lemming]

Though they should require a forfeit, the NFL won't for Baltimore. I look for them to postpone Sunday's game until after week 17, giving the Rats time to get their act together and have the best opportunity against the Steelers.

Look, the NFL is clearly being inconsistent with the way they're handling this covid situation. Why have other teams been able to go ahead with their games as scheduled even though a few players are on the covid list? I thought this is why they granted the expanded practice squads?

Hey Buzz.
If we have an outbreak...you for forfeiting the game during our undefeated season?

[Chucktownsteeler]

It just reeks of bull**** knowing Harbaugh cried to Goondell a few years back about not wanting to play the Steelers at home on primetime.

Right or wrong decision are highly questionable when they are not consistent.

Has any other NFL team had it's schedule changed because of the opposition COVID cases other than the Steelers?

**** Goondell.