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Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburg Steelers
Betting Line: Steelers -1 o/u 34.5
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By
John J. Raspanti
Ben who? The Steelers are 3-0 without their beleaguered quarterback. Dennis
Dixon had started the first two games but then injured his knee in week two.
Coach Mike Tomlin tapped Charlie Batch who hadn't started an NFL game in almost
three years. Charlie Batch? Yes...Batch completed 12 of 17 passes for 186 yards
and tied his career high with three touchdown passes in what can only be called
an admirable performance. He was aided greatly by running back Rashard
Mendenhall who slashed through the Buccaneers defense for 143 yards on 19
carries.
Wide receiver Mike Wallace has become the Steelers deep threat,
catching three passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Hines Ward chipped in
with three catches as the Steelers completely overwhelmed the Bucs 38-13. The
Steelers defense has been very stingy this year. It's like the Steelers are
playing with a chip on their shoulder and...it shows. Inside linebacker Lawrence
Timmons leads the team with thirty tackles while strong safety Troy Polamalo has
two interceptions. The Steelers team defense has racked up ten sacks and picked
off five passes through the first three games.
Are you nervous Joe Flacco? The 2-1 Ravens offense has been a bit spotty this
year, as has quarterback Flacco who has only completed 54 percent of his passes
and has thrown 5 interceptions. Flacco bounced back nicely against the Browns
with three touchdown passes. Running back Ray Rice hurt his knee and will
probably play but how effective will he be? Willis McGahee can step in but he is
averaging only 2.3 yards per carry. Star wide receiver Anquan Boldin gained 142
yards on 8 catches last week and scored three touchdowns. The Ravens offense
needs to step it up against the Steelers, maybe gamble a bit more and hope to
hit a big play or two. The Raven defense has been solid this year lead by vetren
Ray Lewis who has collected 21 tackles this year. Safety Dawan Laundry had 7
tackles and a sack last week as did outside linebacker Terrell Suggs.
To win the Ravens must play their best game of the season. The game is in
Pittsburg where the Steelers are universally tough, Joe Flacco can't make any
costly mistakes -- see interceptions, but as I said he needs to hit some deep
throws to keep the Steelers honest. The Ravens must pressure Charlie Batch's and
make him force passes. They need turnovers. The Steelers will run Mendenhall and
methodically attempt to move down the field.
It's too early to rely on stats such as yard per point but they can still give you a glimpse into a teams strengths and weaknesses. Everyone knew going in that the Ravens defense would be good. What this team needed to do was beef up the offense. If they were able to do that, it would be a scary team. They made some key moves in the off season to do just that, but so far, it simply hasn't paid off. Their offensive ypp number is among the worst in the league at 20.6. Their defense is a respectable 18. The Steelers however, are cruising right along with a 12 on offense and a whopping 25.3 defensively, among the best in the NFL on both sides of the ball.
Key Stat - Steelers +6 in turnover margin and Ravens -6
With that in mind, and with the number on this game basically pick em, at
Pittsburgh -1, we have to back the Steelers here to simply win the game straight
up. The Ravens will likely turn things around. But until they at least show
signs of being able to do that, we're against them.
Steelers -1