"Unleash them." My favorite line from the beginning of the movie, Gladiator, when Russell Crowe sends his men to finish off the enemy. This is what is going to happen when the ball comes off the foot of the placekicker to finally start this epic contest.

Both teams will be unleashing their hard hitting defenses and the offenses better keep their heads up at all times. You will hear the crunches throughout the stadium and even your TV set and the ambulances better be lined up all around the outside of M&T Bank Stadium. The victor may end up being more of a survivor than the winner. I can't think of any game that seemed to be on the verge of such a war as this game seems. All week, we've been talking about this game and the crescendo has now risen to the near deafening roar that will erupt from the stands when Ray Lewis emerges out of the fog from the Ravens tunnel, surrounded by flames while 70,000 fans goes practically insane! When he picks up that grass and does his dance, the true meaning of defending our turf will be obvious to everyone in attendance.

Yes, this will be a game for the ages. At least, I certainly hope so. Normally, I talk about how this game will be won or lost in the trenches. Not so today, as the trench wars will seemingly be won by whomever is on defense at the time. The key to the trenches will be which offensive line holds off the other team's defense the best. Don't expect either offensive line to win the trench war, but if ours can wear down the Steelers front seven, then that will go a long way, especially in the fourth quarter. However, don't bet on it, as yards will be hard to come by today. The key to this game will not be the running or even the passing games. No, it will not be the offense or even the defense per se. It will not even be the Special Teams or even the coaching. Will the QB's make the difference in today's game? No, it won't even be the QB's alone that will determine the victor. Today's game will be decided by the one thing both teams want more than anything else. The pigskin covered football. Yes, I said it, the ball.

What the hell has finally cracked in his skull, you say, laughing and shaking your head in pity? Nothing, hear me out on this wild thought. Both defenses are going to get after the ball. Both offenses are going to be desperate to move the ball. Something is going to have to give. What is it going to be? Who is going to crack and make the first big mistake that sets the tone of the game and ends up deciding its outcome? Why, the ball, of course. Let me explain and you will understand the truth about why this makes perfect sense.

The offenses of both teams will make an attempt to move the ball on the ground. The Ravens will probably stick with it longer, as they are more stubborn and believe that since it has worked against other teams when they stick with the run game, they wear down opposing defenses by the time the fourth quarter rolls around and we have a lead to protect. On the other hand, the Steelers have not had much success this season running the ball, even in their victories. Due to injuries to both the offensive line and running backs, Pittsburgh has relied on the short passing game to break the backs and hearts of their opponents, as Big Ben Roethlisberger has escaped certain doom over and over again by shrugging of would be tacklers only to complete the key pass that keeps the drives going and ends up eating the remainder of the clock as it winds down to victory. You've got to give them credit as it's worked ten times so far, so don't knock it.

But we digress. Back to the offenses. After it becomes obvious that the only way you're going to drive the ball downfield for any success through the air, that is when the defenses will get that glazed look in their eyes as the defensive linemen pin their ears back and the secondary looks for the right moment to pounce. The linebackers will be looking to victims to lay out while the receivers keep their heads on a swivel and their elbows close to their unprotected ribs. That is when the ball starts to bounce.

See, you with me now? The ball will be in the air a lot more than the typical game, even those involving these two teams. Normally, even the Ravens and Steelers run the ball a decent amount, and of course, their opponents laughingly try to do the same. We've all seen what happens when the Ravens and Steelers opponents have to abandon the run to play catch up with them. The balls fly through the air, some caught by the offenses, some by the defenses. Tipped balls typically end up in the defenses hands, usually after a crunching hit on the defenseless receiver. Both of these teams have become experts and coming up with the tipped ball. You all feeling me now? I expect there to be more than a few of these today, as theses defenses feast on the turnovers. Expect to see and hear the fans' collective gasps and cheers as the tipped balls either fall untouched to the ground or end up in the defenses hands.

At that point, you know what happens? The Ravens, especially Ed Reed, know exactly what to do when they become the offense after a turnover in mid-play. The Steelers are no slouches at turning the turnovers into scores, as witnessed by the Dallas Cowboys meltdown at the end of last week's contest in Heinz Field. However, make no mistake about it, the Ravens have been much more opportunistic once their defense has the ball than the Steelers.There is nothing a defensive player likes better than to become the blocker for their teammate after an interception or picking up a fumble on the run. They love the opportunity to lay out an offensive player with a blindsided block as much as they do making a crunching tackle.

So today, follow the tipped and bouncing ball, because that is where this game will be won and lost. The team that grabs it more often will be the one celebrating when the clock winds down. I fully expect the Ravens to be able to move the ball, both on the ground behind their huge package and uneven offensive line, with two tackles on the end of the line and the 260 pound running back, Le'Ron McClain behind 255 pound fullback, Lorenzo Neal, and through the air as well. The Steelrs have nothing to compare with that and even with their number one ranked rush defense, I still give the Ravens ground attack the edge. The Steelers couldn't run at home on Monday Night Football when the came back from the brink to defeat the Ravens 23-20 in OT back in week four. They won't be able to run this time either. The Ravens were able to get to Big Ben and they will do so again. who wouldn't love to see this hit again?

Unfortunately, you will see lots of these hits, but from both the Ravens and Steelers. Let's hope that Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco remembers to slide this time rather than take on the defense when he scrambles. These are not the Cincinnati Bengals or even Washington Redskins, Joe. These guys want a piece of your head! Expect the Ravens pass rush to disrupt the Steelers as much as the opposite. Expect Hines Ward to try to bait the Ravens defenders into stupid penalties. But no, this will not happen today, as Ward gets a taste of his own medicine. The funny thing will be when the Ravens defense gets an interception, everyone without the ball will stop blocking and look to take Hines Ward's head off. He will hightail it to the sideline to hide when that happens, just you watch.

The Ravens will win the tipped ball and turnover battle today. Their home record and the stats you should have read in an earlier post by one of the Beatdown's contributors says it all. We will protect this house! The Ravens will create a tie at the top of the AFC North today and all but lockdown a spot in the post season, regadless of where they end up. However, after today, the goal will not just be the playoffs, but it will be the division title.

Three months ago, who'd have thunk it!

Unleash them!

Ravens:  20-13

I put a synopsis of this post in a comment responding to the comparisons of the two offenses. For years the Ravens have been offensively challenged, leading to them even being the subject of bad jokes:

How do you keep the Baltimore Ravens off your front yard? Erect a set of goalposts!

A guy walks into a bar with a cat. He asks the bartender if they can watch the game together, as their TV is broken and the cat likes to watch the Ravens. The Ravens kick a FG early in the game and the cat jumps up and holds its front paws in the air, signaling the FG good. Everyone in the bar is amazed and the bartender asks the man, "what does he do for a touchdown?" The man replies, "I don't know, I've only had him for three years!"

There are a ton of more ones, each as bad as the ones above (although I like the cat one!).

Anyway, as I've said before, this is not your father's Ravens' offense (?). This team can score, is the 10th highest scoring team in the NFL and is averaging over 24 points per game. In fact, over the past eight games, I've heard that the Ravens are the highest scoring team in the entire NFL over that span! This offense has added two things that have plagued this team over the years, both of which are the reason for our offensive success. I'm not talking about individuals, players or coaches. I'm talking about what we are able to do on the field, regardless of the people planning or executing it. For the first time in recent Ravens memory (no slight to the Vinny Testeverde offensive-minded teams of the early years), we have the two big things that lead to offensive success and points on the scoreboard. That is the ability to have long, time consuming, ball control drives that eat up clock, wear down defenses, keep the opposition offense off the field and end up with points on the board. The other thing is that we also now have the big play ability to break open a close game or put the proverbial nail in the coffin of a beatdown or blowout. This can be accomplished though the perfect execution of a routine play or through the same of a trick play. The Ravens have regularly accomplished both of these offensive options on a regular basis this season. The scary thing that this presents to opposing defenses is that we've done it regularly and with great success. Many teams try it and don't succeed, which in itself, puts the defense on alert. However, to do it successfully with regularity presents a totally different mindset for defensive gameplanning by our opponents.

This is the difference betwen us and the Steelers offense. Pittsburgh always seems to make the little plays to extend the drives that end up with points when you thought they would bog down, get sacked or not make the play. Ben Roethlisberger always escapes the expected sack by shrugging of the defensive player better than anyone else in the league, and then takes a few steps to hit Hines Ward for the short gain and the key first down to keep the Steelers in the game. That is why with their three losses, they still have not been blown out in any game while the Ravens have been blasted twice. However, don't read much into this, as the Steelers have lost to the same two teams that blew us out, but both times they lost at Heinz Field, while we were crushed as visitors. Coincidence? I think not.

The Steelers do not seem to be able to make the big play. That is a bold statement, but they are much more of a ball control dink and dunk pass team than one looking for the long pass or trick play. Their offensive line has not been able to give Roethlisberger the time to make a big pass or trick play, so they rely on ramming the ball down your throat or frustrating the hell out of you and wearing you down with their extended drives.

Wthout the threat of the big or trick play, they have more opportunities to fail and face a tougher time to score. However, they are a good team and have found the ways to do both, as their record is not anything other than excellent. In a tough defensive game coming up like this one as well as their next one at Tennessee, that might make it a bit more difficult to put points on the board than a team like the Ravens, who can now score from anywhere on the field at any time.

Must be nice to be us, huh?

...the Cincinnati Bengals had a slim chance of beating the Steelers last night and even less once it was announced that Chad Ocho Cinco wasn't playing.

...Roethlisberger seems to always get out of what looks to about be a sack, only to make a completion at a key point in the game.

...I guess that's part of the reason they've been able to pull out games even when he doesn't play so well.

...that's the mark of a good team, as I've always said you don't have to be good to win, just good enough (see Trent Dilfer, circa 2000-01).

...I can see the future, as we will be either tied or right on the Steelers' heels when our December 14th 1pm game is moved to prime time by the NFL.

...I hate the late games, as it makes for a long night and we don't exactly tear it up on national TV.

...I think this time it will be different, as we just lost in OT in a game we could have won earlier in the season and we are a better team now.

...our improvement is mainly due to the additional experience that Joe Flacco has gotten each game, and he is much better at home (other than the Titans game).

...the Eagles are a dangerous team and can score as well as most teams.

...they can also implode even better than most teams, as evidenced by their embarassing OT tie at Cincinnati.

...I couldn't care less whether or not Donovan McNabb knows the OT rule, as long as the coach knows it.

...trust me, the fact McNabb didn't know the rule had nothing to do with the OT tie.

...perhaps McNabb's three interceptions and one fumble contributed to the tie?

...if he has three more interceptions this Sunday against the Ravens, the Eagles will limp home at 5-5-1 and virtually out of the NFC playoff race.

...if the Ravens beat the Eagles, then go on the road and do the same to the Bengals, then I say they return home the following week to host the Redskins and continue their winning ways.

...I'm still not impressed with the Redskins, despite their staying in the playoff race.

...while Clinton Portis is having a great season, he won't be running against us, as he's no Brandon Jacobs.

...without a running game, the 'skins can't rely on Jason Campbell to pass them to victory.

...defensively, the Redskins' pass rush is virtually nonexistent and Joe Flacco will calmly stand tall in the pocket until he finds an open receiver.

...the fans will go crazy to see us beat our neighbors to the south, who we need to remember, did all they could to prevent us from getting an NFL franchise the years before we landed the Ravens.

...we will be focusing on the Eagles this Sunday and we will rebound behind the great fans at M&T Bank Stadium to defend our home turf.

If the Baltimore Ravens couldn't hold leads late in the games against the past two teams, both who have had offensive issues, how in the world do they expect to hold one, much less even get one, when they visit the Indianapolis Colts this weekend? The Ravens had a ten point lead into the second half against the Steelers two weeks ago, and were all over the back of QB Ben Roethlisberger, who had a suspect offensive line and injured throwing shoulder and hand. Yet, they let them back into the game and couldn't get close to him late in the game and into the overtime period when he patiently drove them down the field for the game winning field goal. Last week, they had Tennessee on the ropes with a seven point lead and were driving for a field goal that might have put the game out of reach or at the very least sent it to OT, but couldn't get the last 5-10 yards to get into field goal range. The Ravens couldn't sack Titans QB Kerry Collins even once and gave him too much time to get his act together and improve on his horrible first half by carving up the Ravens defense with short, accurate underneath passes that underscored our defense's glaring weakness.

If we are having obvious problems getting to the QB (zero sacks last six quarters), any QB will be able to pick us apart regardless if C-Mac and Ed Reed are healthy and looking for the interception. Our linebackers are aces against the run, but cannot seem to cover the tight ends and RB's out of the backfield running those short underneath crossing patterns. Opponents wait to see which LB is rushing the passer and then flood that side of the zone with the underneath routes. Someone is bound to be open and our LB's just can't catch them. Collins did that to perfection on those final two drives and virtually ignored his wideouts once he realized what was available.

One can only imagine what the Colts' Peyton Manning will do if he sees this happening again Sunday afternoon. Tight end Dallas Clark and RB Joseph Addai figure to have field days against us (at least I have Addai on my fantasy team), as both can outrun any of our LB's in the open field. The only reason we have ever been able to play the Colts close is that our scheming and changing defense has been able to play a great chess match with Manning. If he is able to figure us out and win that battle, we have no chance of keeping up offensively.

Speaking of the offense, while it may be improving and has nowhere to go but up, we have relied way too heavily on the notion to get get us into field goal position and let placekicker Matt Stover put the vast majority of points on the board. However, Stover has been anything but automatic this season, as he has been below average so far, hitting only four of seven attempts, including none of three from beyond the forty yard line. Last week he missed a 45 yard attempt that would have given us that ten point lead I spoke about earlier. According to Rototimes, he is only 26 of 38 from 40+ yards since 2004, including only one 50+ yarder during that same stretch. Now I understand that Stover is one of the most valuable Ravens since they came to town and deserves to be in our Ring of Honor upon retirement, but right now it also appears that he deserves to be in the unemployment line. The combination of his inaccuracy and weak leg has hurt us on the obvious field goals, but also on his inability to pin the opponents back on kickoffs, as he consistently only kicks off to the 10 yard line and rarely gets touchbacks. At some point, hopefully sooner than later, the Ravens need to bring in younger, stronger legs to, at the very least, combine with Stover to hit the longer kicks as well as the gimme's, as most any other kicker in the league can seem to do, and take over the kickoff duties asap.

So therein lies my big concern. If we have problems stopping the pass, and cannot put points on the scoreboard through Matt Stover, then the rest of our team's strong points may not matter, as the Colts will put more than enough points on the board to make it way too hard for us to keep up with.

More to follow the rest of the week. Your thoughts?

...while many Ravens fans were satisfied with their close call on Monday night, I'm just pissed that we didn't win a game we should have.

...if we don't start winning those types of games, we have no right to even think about talking about the playoffs.

...the way the Steelers have played this season, they make it hard not to think about the postseason, because they have a very difficult schedule and might do everything they can to keep us in the race.

...if we want to stay in the playoff hunt (there, I already started talking about it!), we had better start taking care of business this week against the Titans.

...if the Browns and Bengals don't get a complete makeover and turnaround, I see very few games that they will win on their schedules, other than the one remaining between them.

...if the Bengals want to start rebuilding, the Ravens would be glad to take either TJ Whoyourmomma or 85 off their hands.

...even though I think I'd rather have TJ, why does it seem that Ocho Cinco would fit perfect here in Baltimore with that cast of characters we already have!?

...why can't we wait until we start winning the big games before our "cast" starts dancing and showing off after every routine play?

...how many times did we whiff on QB sacks due to trying to arm tackle Big Ben Roethlisberger last Monday night (as well said by DT711 in a great FanShot).

...didn't he escape and make some plays downfield that put them into position to win?

...Jarret Johnson said he didn't know he was on the sideline when he hit Hines Ward after the play to draw that painfully stupid personal foul penalty. Would it have been okay to do the same thing in the middle of the field, Jarret!?

...methinks that the next Ravens to incur a personal foul penalty should be fined, tarred and feathered, or at least something to make it clear these "sophomoric" behaviors have to stop so the league and officials stop laughing at us.

...Tennessee's 4-0 record is great, although two of their wins came against winless teams (just like us!) and the first against Jacksonville was at home while the Jags were still trying to figure out what to do about their offensive line woes.

...that being said, their running game has been the most well rounded in the league with Mr. Inside (LenDale White) and Mr. Outside (Chris Johnson).

...their secondary and team defense might be the best in the league, as evidenced by their leading the league in interceptions, sacks and points allowed.

...the way to beat the Titans is too slow down their running game and unleash the pass rush on QB Kerry Collins, to force him into turnovers and a short field for our offense to put some points on the board.

...didn't we crush Collins when he was the NY Giants QB way back in Super Bowl 35 in 2001?

...if we win, then we'll have momentum on our side as we head on the road to Indy and Miami the next two weeks and then host the Raiders.

...if we lose, then we're possibly looking at a loss to Indy and a three game losing streak to totally deflate our early season hopes.

...if we do indeed win Sunday and the Steelers fall flat in Jacksonville, then unleash the bandwagon, as it's going to get full real quick in this city dying for a winner!

I'm in a foul mood. My head hurts, my throat is sore and I'm real tired. I'm also not anywhere near satisfied that once again, similar to last season's Patriots' game, we came real close to upsetting the favorite on national TV, only to suffer our 5th straight loss on Monday Night Football, while the Steelers won their 14th straight MNF home game (why do they always play us at home on MNF!?).

No, close is not enough for me, when we pretty much dominated a majority of the game, only to let it slip away on a few really bad plays and some typically stupid Ravens' penalties. The entire league knows that they can get the Ravens undisciplined defense to unravel and lose its cool and the officials are always ready to pounce on us and throw the yellow flags. Not that we don't deserve it, as Jarret Johnson's stupid late hit on Hines Ward cost us an additional 15 yards, but didn't cause us to lose. How come Hines Ward always is able to hit us without getting called on it by the refs? It's because he's more of a pro than our guys are and knows the time and place to take his shots. Most Ravens fans hate him, but I love the way he plays the game with a permanent smile and I'd take him on my team any day.

The first half we looked great, playing solid defense and surprisingly efficient offense. Cam Cameron was calling a great game plan, with even more passes than runs against the stingy Steelers run D. Rookie Joe Flacco looked as poised as he had in the first two games as he calmly found his open receivers and hit them with strong, accurate throws. He even ran around the field on one play for over 12 seconds until he found Derrick Mason down the sideline for a long gain. Gee, think Kyle Boller would have done that? I think not. Flacco even threw his first NFL career TD pass to TE Daniel Wilcox, who made one of his few receptions as he was injured most of last season. The Ravens run game was working a bit, but the passing game was where they made the most headway and Cameron noted and responded in the first half. The Ravens defense was all over Roethlisberger, and he looked absolutely horrible, so much so that the Steeler faithful was booing by the end of the half. I made a note in my Open Thread that he was so hard to bring down by one person that the tag team tackling was probably the biggest reason he was getting injured, as it might not hurt as much by getting tackled by just one defender rather than the entire d-line.

The second half started off decently, but then it seemed to fall apart in the space of a couple of minutes, with the Steelers scoring two TD's within a span of 15 seconds. You can blame it on the dumb penalties all you want, but the pass to Santonio Holmes was dead on and the tackling effort was abysmal. No problem, however, just come back with a sustained drive to quiet the crowd and keep them out of the game. Uh,...sorry, but no, as the Ravens quickly revert to a "McNair-like" effort and Flacco carries the ball like a loaf of bread, showing his lack of understanding of the speed of the pro game and gets it knocked from his hands and BAM! - all of a sudden a 10 point lead turns into a four point deficit and the Pittsburgh crowd goes into the frenzy we hoped to avoid. From that point on, the Ravens seemed to be affected on both sides of the ball. The defense couldn't get a sack or the turnover needed to help the offense as it has when the game was on the line against the Bengals and Browns. The offense seemed to turn super conservative, as the play calling began to be questioned. I didn't understand why Cameron had Flacco throw the ball after the first Steeler TD, when the crowd was going crazy and the Ravens needed a time consuming drive to shut them up. Props to the offense by getting the tying TD back late in the game, especially the efforts by wideout Derrick Mason, who looked super all game long, definitely caught that TD pass in the first quarter and lord only knows why the Ravens didn't throw the red Challenge Flag on it!? Likewise, I was miffed when the Ravens decided not to press the issue in the last minute of regulation and just ran out the clock, waiting for OT to win the game.

As much as I laughed when the Steelers were down to Mewelde Moore at running back, he ended up being one of the stars that put them into position to win the game. Two good receptions in OT put them into field goal range for placekicker Jeff Reed to just get his kick inside the upright when I was trying to will it wide.

The Ravens put a Baltimore Beatdown on the Steelers, knocking out two running backs and an o-lineman from the game. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall, who was replacing an injured Willie Parker broke his shoulder and is IR'd for the rest of the season. Right guard Kendall Simmons tore his Achilles Tendon and also was lost for the season from an already thin and ineffective offensive line. Mendenhall's backup, Carey Davis was hurt as well, paving the way for Mewelde Moore's heroics.

Many people think this game was a positive effort for the Ravens, as they were expected to once again get blown out by the Steelers. Even I predicted a close loss, but never expected it to be this close and certainly a win-able game. However, to get close enough and be in position to put the game away and win it would have been a huge statment to the rest of the league, but it just did not happen. You can blame it on the penalties, luck or even the officials, but at some point in time you have to look at the players as this has been a trend for the Ravens and that looms large in my mind. ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame QB Steve Young reamed the Ravens for their horrible offense over the past five or six years, almost trying to start an issue between our defense and offense. While the offense gave up six points and couldn't put the last few points on the board this team needed to win, the Ravens defense still gave up 16 points and couldn't stop the Steelers when they needed to in crunch time.

You can tell I'm frustrated and angry and am hoping that we regroup and take our revenge out on the unbeaten Tennessee Titans when they invade M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Sunday. I'll be there yelling like a Raven Lunatic and will also be scoreboard watching, hoping the Jacksonville Jaguars take care of business by dropping the Steelers to put us back into a tie for first place in the AFC North. The Steelers have a hellacious schedule this season and there's no reason why the Ravens cannot compete for the AFC North division title. However, in order to do so, they will have to start pulling out games like these if they want to play football in January.

The Baltimore Ravens most likely couldn't care less that the Pittsburgh Steelers' Willie Parker will miss the Monday Night Football contest coming up. Parker and the Steelers running game never did much in the way of damage in their recent games against the Ravens and don't figure to do any this week either. Without Parker, who is nursing a knee injury, the Steelers turn to first round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall (Illinois). Mendenhall has only 10 carries for 28 yards in the Steelers first three games, although he stands to at least double that against the Ravens. He's a little bigger (225 pounds) than Parker (209 pounds), although both are listed at 5'10". Parker is the faster of the two and a better receiver out of the backfield, and most likely knows the schemes and blocking assignments better. Mendenhall had trouble holding onto the ball in the last two preseason games, fumbling three times, which may be part of the reason for the limited carries so far in the regular season.

This is not good news for the pass protection of the Steelers' hurting Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens most likely will gameplan to blitz on every passing down, although the Steelers pass protection hasn't stopped the rush on non-blitz packages as well. Mendenhall will have his head spinning trying to figure out who's coming and who's dropping into coverage for the always moving Ravens defensive front seven. I'd be very surprised to not see Ben running for his life all evening and therefore planning a lot of draws, screens, three step drops and other quick plays. Expect the Steelers to sub in both RB Mewelde Moore (1 carry, 6 yards) or FB Carey Davis (2 carries, 3 yards) for pass protection, although neither figures to carry the rock much at all.

No matter who gets the handoff, especially Mendenhall, expect Ray Lewis and company to welcome them with vicious hits and pay the price for the few yards that they might gain. However, this will play right into the Ravens' hands, as the lack of a running game will force the Steelers to go to the air and allow the Ravens ferocious pass rush to pin their ears back and zero in on Roethlisberger.

Rashard Mendenhall will not be any more of a factor than Willie Parker would have been. As you will hear all week, the deciding factor for a Ravens victory will most likely lie with their offense's success against a good Steelers' defense, which we will review in our next posting.

I perused a bunch of local Steeler's sites and they all seem to have the same concern, and write the same phrase which includes "...the Ravens defense are licking their chops..." After being sacked nine times, the Steelers QB's were looking like a deer caught in headlights. In addition to the nine sacks, they were also hit and harrassed many more times than that. Notice that I said "Steeler's QB's" and not just Ben Roethlisberger, as backup Byron Leftwich appeared towards the end of the Eagles game. It was reported that Roethlisberger's hand was stepped on and they didn't want to risk further injury. However, after the pummeling he absorbed, perhaps this was the best thing to do at that point in the game. Remember, Big Ben had a sore shoulder before the game, and I can only imagine how sore his entire body was after that physical contest.

Now the Steelers have to get a quick case of amnesia and ready themselves for the same type of physical defense from the Baltimore Ravens. With the return to health of the majority of the Ravens' defense, they have enjoyed the ability to put the same kind of pressure on the opposing QB that they did in their record setting 2006 season. Last year, injuries in so many key defensive positions limited their ability to pressure, much less sack the QB and they went from the top of the league in that category in 2006 to the bottom in 2007. However, it appears the days of mediocrity are behind them as far as defense goes, and if the first two games are any indication, the future is bright for this squad.

While pundits can say look at who the Ravens played, as both teams they beat are now a combined 0-6, they must also say the same about the Steelers. Their two victories were over the winless Houston Texans and the same Browns the Ravens defeated, for a combined record of 0-5.

Those same web sites I visited spoke of a concern heading into the Ravens game of the embarrassing defeats to the Ravens in 2006, including the home victory that highlighted linebacker Bart Scott's vicious hit on Roethlisberger, as well as their trouncing at home in Pittsburgh later that season. Of course, us Baltimore fans are still stinging from the embarrassing showing on Monday Night Football last season in the Steel City.

Here's hoping we see more of the former than the latter memories listed above. Either way, both teams are looking forward to proving themselves next Monday night, although for different reasons. The Steelers want to return to excellence while the Ravens want to stay there.

...Aaron Rodgers is performing so good, you wonder if the Packers would be as good even if Brett Favre was starting.

...Favre has made the Jets a lot better than they were with Chad Pennington.

...Pennington is not helping the rebuilding efforts in Miami and should be benched in favor of the other Chad (Henne). Insert 'hanging chad' joke here.

...with the season ending injury to Tom Brady, the AFC East is up for grabs.

...that also includes Buffalo, as the Bills have looked impressive, starting the season 2-0, with the Raiders coming Sunday (soon to be 3-0).

...while the Steelers look to be the class of the AFC North, if Ben Roethlisberger's sore shoulder gets pounded this weekend by the Eagles, it certainly would level the playing filed in the division.

...due to the Colts slow start and Peyton Manning's rustiness, the Jaguars and Titans have a chance (although I doubt it) to unseat them atop the AFC South (sorry, Houston).

...the NFC East is by far the toughest division in football, with no close second.

...the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants will beat each other up pretty bad twice per season, and the survivor will win the Super Bowl.

...that would have been a pretty bold prediction pre-Brady injury, but now it is certainly reasonable.

...the Carolina Panthers may return to form and take the NFC South.

...the Falcons might have looked decent to start the season, but will still finish in the division basement.

...speaking of division basements, joining the Falcons in the NFC cellars will be the Rams, Lions and Redskins (ha!).

...the cellar dwellers in the AFC will be the Dolphins, Bengals, Texans and Raiders (pretty easy picks).

...the division winners will be a lot harder to pick than the losers.

...in the NFC North, it will be between the Packers and Bears (I say the Pack takes it).

...in the NFC East, I have to give the edge to the Cowboys, but wouldn't be surprised if the Giants repeat, even with their personnel losses.

...in the NFC South, I like the Panthers, although I wouldn't be surprised if the Saints or Bucs end up on top.

...in the NFC West, the Seahawks were the favorite, but the Cardinals are looking pretty good so far, especially under Kurt Warner.

...in the AFC East, I still like the Patriots, even though the Jets and Bills look much improved.

...in the AFC South, the Colts should regroup and take it once again.

...in the AFC West, I think the Broncos will edge out the Chargers.

...I left the AFC North for last, as I think the Steelers should easily take the title, but somehow I like to dream that if Roethlisberger's shoulder injury is worst case scenerio, the Browns continue to thud back to earth, the Bengals implode even more, ...and the Ravens stay healthy and rookie Joe Flacco has a "Roethlisberger-like" rookie season,...then maybe, just maybe....hmmm...

With the Steelers victory in Cleveland last night, they go to their familiar position at the top of the AFC North standings. The Ravens are in second place, by way of their Bye week and opening day victory over Cincinnati. Speaking of the Bengals, they are now 0-2 and heading to New York to face the Giants. Can you say "basement?" The Cleveland Browns have also lost their first two games and worst of all, both at home, albeit to two of the toughest teams in the league. However, they were the offseason darlings of the league after their impressive 10-6 2007 season. After two demoralizing and lackluster efforts, they now go on the road for four off their next five games, with their only home game being another tough Monday Night Football matchup hosting the New York Giants. The Browns visit Baltimore this Sunday and the only hurricane they'll encounter will be the ones from Miami, namely Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Willis McGahee (nice link, eh?).

The Ravens will have enjoyed their unexpected Bye week, and will be healthy, rested and waiting for a Browns team that took two from them in 2007, including a 33-30 overtime classic that included the supposedly-game-ending-missed-field-goal-that -was-then-called-good-and-led-to-the-overtime-field-goal-that-won-the-game-for- Cleveland (whew!).

Baltimore will have revenge on their minds and will be hungry to hit someone else in over two weeks. Cleveland will be embarassed and angry after opening the season 0-2. An 0-3 start for the Browns would be devastating and most likely end their playoff hopes way too early in the season for their rabid fans to accept. On the other hand, if the Ravens do as I expect them to and come away with what will probably still be called an upset over the Browns and start the season 2-0, then their fans will be calling for the Steelers, whom they face in a week four matchup on Monday Night Football. In last year's debacle on national TV, the Ravens' starting two corners were out and they were embarassed by Pittsburgh in a game over by the end of the first quarter. This year should be different on all fronts as the Ravens are pretty much healthy in all positions and determined to show the nation that last year's 5-11 season was an aberration and their 2006 13-3 season was the norm.

Of course, repeating that type of season will be a tall task, especially with a rookie quarterback in Baltimore. Not since Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger did so a few years ago when he took over and led the Steelers to 15 wins and a Super Bowl victory in the following season has a rookie quarterback succeeded like that. However, the conditions are earily similar in that both teams had tenacious defenses and veteran players to make the QB's role to manage the game, not win it every week. Ravens rookie Joe Flacco has only played one game, and let's face it, it was against the Bungels, so we still have no inclination of how successful his season will be. Having his second game also at home will only help his confidence, as the following week he will see what it is like to face a very stout defense on the road in prime time.

For now, the Ravens have a lot to look forward to, which is more to say than the two Ohio teams, whose fans are frustrated and angry as the state has gone 0-for in 2008 and it doesn't get any easier in the coming weeks.