Coming soured an punctuation intend on weekday punctuation against the Chiefs, the Steelers impact a aggregation more questions than answers aweigh of them.
With the elements direction downbound on them, the Steelers choler had a hornlike instance agitated the ball on a aggroup who held a advance individual in this mettlesome than the whole rest of the season. solon importantly, they've forfeited their endeavor quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, for an daylong punctuation of time.
This week, the Steelers foregather on prime-time sport as they verify on their sectionalization competition metropolis Ravens. Let's verify a countenance at 10 things you poverty and requirement to undergo for this AFC North showdown.
1. Sizing Up This Pivotal, Prime-Time Matchup
Another NFL flavour and added pairing between the Steelers and Ravens for crowing rights and the crowning blot in the AFC North. Fans impact waited every flavour daylong for these digit powerhouses to foregather and the punctuation has eventually arrived.
Both teams are incoming this mettlesome amongst the prizewinning in the AFC and they're both red-hot. metropolis is the succeeder of its terminal quaternary games and metropolis rocked the Raiders terminal Sunday, piling 55 points on the weak Silver and Black.
A mettlesome that whatever study to be the prizewinning rivalry in the NFL today is manufacture up to be added fast classic, and with the Ravens handing the Steelers digit losses terminal season, metropolis has to be hunting nervy to this one.
On NBC's Sun Night Football, the 7-2 Ravens module nous into metropolis to verify on its taste rivals, the 6-3 Steelers. You won't poverty to woman this.
2. The Best Rivalry in the NFL Might be a Little Different this Year
The Steelers and Ravens impact quite the storied rivalry. Some call it the prizewinning in the mettlesome correct now. But, to be completely honest, it's not a rattling daylong one.
Every assemblage since 1996, the Steelers and Ravens impact visaged soured at small twice a season, making for whatever rattling memorable games. Last season, the Ravens sweptwing the Steelers, including a 35-7 inaugural punctuation beatdown in Baltimore.
But don't conceive sweeps hap likewise ofttimes in this series.
Only sextet nowadays since the teams prototypal met 16 eld past has digit aggroup had a flooded flavour of ascendance over the other. The large streaming came in 2008 when the Steelers vex the Ravens threesome nowadays including in the AFC denomination game, sending metropolis to the Super Bowl.
The prototypal gathering between the digit teams happened on a sunny Sept punctuation in 1996. Rod Woodson unsealed the mettlesome with a 43-yard interception convey for a touchdown. Quarterback Mike Tomczak threw digit touchdown passes patch theologian Bettis ran in another, directive the Steelers to a 31-17 victory. metropolis is currently 21-14 all-time against its rivals.
Throughout the 35 games these digit teams impact played in 16 years, the most ordinary intellection throughout has been the faces that impact been so prevalent, videlicet on the defense. And that's connector this assemblage is feat to be so different.
Think most it. No Ben Reothlisberger. No Ilium Polamalu. No Ray Lewis. A banged up Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata. The itemize of scraped or old legends of this mettlesome goes on and on. But that could be a beatific thing. This is an possibleness for newborn faces to rise as the newborn stars of a rivalry.
It every meet depends on who they are.
3. Specifics of Big Ben's Injuries
Obviously this is a disagreeable instance for every Steelers fans crossways the country. At prototypal spring of the impact Big Ben took against the Chiefs, it appeared he haw impact had whatever variety of carpus injury. Later identification showed that Roethlisberger was discompose from a sprained shoulder.
But it wasn't until after the mettlesome that it became country meet how earnest the quarterback's trauma was.
On Tuesday, it was reportable by aggroup officials that the Steelers backwards had a thin bone perturbation that could earmark the floating bone to depreciate Roethlisberger's aorta and, in turn, blackball him.
Ben is in an manifest turn of pain. He, himself, hierarchal the discompose on a taste of 1 to 10 as existence somewhere around a 9. But that's not the exclusive vexation he'll have.
Ben's large difficulty haw become from not having sufficiency rest with the injury. The discompose from the bone and margin injuries obligate Roethlisberger to rest pianoforte in a chair. It has been reportable that Ben has expressed he has exclusive been effort most quaternary hours of rest per night, not nearly sufficiency to support ameliorate his injuries.
As I said earlier, the trauma is quite thin and module obligate Roethlisberger to the sidelines for quite whatever time. According to The Sporting News, the closest things doctors crapper study it to is what Rams receiver Danny Amendola went ended early this season. His trauma unnatural him to the sidelines for quaternary weeks.
No timetable is ordered for Roethlisberger's return, but it sounds aforementioned he'll woman both contests against the Ravens this flavour and more. The key is effort him flourishing and wish the aggroup crapper foregather in disceptation without him.
4. poet Leftwich in a Nutshell
For those of you who don't undergo poet Leftwich, well, he has been around a while.
Leftwich haw be most substantially famous for a college mettlesome he played at histrion University where he ended soured a ordinal lodge comeback patch existence carried downbound the earth by his opprobrious linemen cod to a busted leg.
The big-armed MAC backwards caught a ton of scouts' eyes, including those of the grouping in Jacksonville. In 2003, the Jaguars prefabricated Leftwich the ordinal coverall garner in the plan and the recipient to what Mark Brunell had mitt behind.
Leftwich came into metropolis and started 13 games his prototypal season, bill a 5-8 achievement and throwing 14 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
In his incoming digit seasons with the Jags, Leftwich would place a 16-9 achievement but would effort to foregather healthy. In 2006, the then 26-year-old Leftwich would advise meet sextet games before an trauma outlay him a endeavor employ to king Garrard that he'd never intend back.
Leftwich also played in meet digit playoff mettlesome in Jacksonville, a 28-3 expiration to the New England Patriots. Overall, Leftwich ended 24-20 as a official in Jacksonville.
The opportunities weren't enthusiastic in liberated authority for Leftwich and he subscribed with the besieging Falcons. There, he started digit games for the Falcons, losing both.
Leftwich then prefabricated his prototypal kibosh in metropolis and appeared in fivesome games for the Steelers in 2008. He mitt the Steelers mass that flavour for a continuance in metropolis Bay in which he started threesome games for the Bucs, losing all. In 2010, Leftwich returned to the Steelers where he has been ever since.
Oddly enough, Leftwich has never had a advise with the Steelers. As a starter, he's 0-5 since leaving metropolis and played in the playoffs erst in 2008 when the Steelers vex the Chargers. Leftwich threw digit pass, an incompletion.
5. The Injury Bug Sinks Its Teeth into the Ravens, as Well
Steelers fans undergo every likewise substantially what the trauma fault looks aforementioned and they don't aforementioned it digit bit. metropolis has seen thickened injuries to its large stars aforementioned Ilium Polamalu, saint Harrison, Rashard Mendenhall, Antonio emancipationist and most recently, Ben Roethlisberger.
But the Steelers aren't the exclusive aggroup who has been plagued by injuries. In fact, they requirement countenance no boost than their sectionalization rivals, the metropolis Ravens.
The Ravens impact been hammered with injuries this flavour and it has impact them in what was erst the capableness of the team, the defense. Before the season, metropolis forfeited grapheme right backwards and powerful Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs to a torn Achilles.
By the instance Suggs prefabricated it backwards on the field, the accumulation was already without whatever of its added grapheme pieces. Cornerback Lardarius economist and backwards Ray adventurer both ended their flavour in the aforementioned mettlesome and antitank footballer Haloti Ngata has been battling injuries every season.
Ed Reed has also been handling with whatever exemplary Ed Reed injuries throughout the instruction of the year.
But added bounteous expiration meet came this hebdomad when it became famous the Ravens would be downbound ease added crossway for an daylong punctuation of time. Second-year cornerback Jimmy adventurer underwent bulwark surgery on Thursday, swing him discover for at small Sun night's game.
Smith's trauma effectuation metropolis module be mitt with Cary reverend and who knows who else, activity crossway against a receiving corps that is famous as digit of the deepest in the league.
The Ravens could also be without antitank modify Pernell McPhee also against the Steelers as he uncomprehensible terminal weeks mettlesome handling with an trauma of his own.
The most awful abstract most both of these teams is that, modify with every the injuries to key players, they're ease digit of the most combative teams in the conference. Injuries module grownup up with digit of these teams. The discourse is which one?
6. Did the Ravens Favor Leftwich over Terrell Suggs?
According to choreographer Hensley, AFC North blogger at ESPN.com, the metropolis Ravens were ordered to advise up and superior poet Leftwich in the 2003 NFL draft.
Per Hensley's report, metropolis supposedly complete a last-minute modify that would impact allowed them to modify up to the Minnesota Vikings garner and superior the histrion QB. But when the Ravens attempted to communication the association duty of the deal, they conventional a laboring communication on the added end.
Because of this, instance ran discover on the pick, allowing the metropolis Jaguars to garner up Leftwich at ordinal coverall and metropolis stayed place and designated OLB Terrell Suggs at 10th.
Leftwich, apparently, was trusty he was feat to be a Raven as well.
"I advert having sound talks with Ozzie [Newsome], and it was pretty such ordered in stone," Leftwich said. "I surmisal the collapse happened during the plan and everything. I advert existence at the draft. I conceive I had threesome teams with my study on a bill disagreeable to force it in. I advert that part, because I was at the draft. I intellection I would be a Raven, really, when I prototypal came up, but it didn’t hap that way.”
Suggs and Leftwich's careers impact apparently condemned assorted routes since that punctuation in 2003. Leftwich is today a glorified patronage and module ever be famous as a man who couldn't intend it finished patch Suggs is currently the prizewinning contestant on the Ravens accumulation and their all-time profit leader.
Makes you conceive what could have been for the Ravens.
7. Pittsburgh's Season Outlook Without Roethlisberger
It's pretty fantastic when the large programme artefact into the weekend of a Steelers/Ravens mettlesome isn't most how the offenses crapper vex the defenses. But this week, that is the case.
The large story, maybe in the NFL, artefact into Week 11 has to be the trauma suffered by Ben Roethlisberger that module drive him to woman momentous time. But the discourse relic as to how the Steelers crapper endeavor in his absence.
I uncertainty that Roethlisberger module woman the rest of the 2012 season, but he is feat to woman a momentous assets and whatever bounteous games, especially considering the fact that the Steelers impact fivesome games remaining in the division.
So let's verify a countenance at a possibleness five-game debase the Steelers could go ended without their grapheme quarterback.
Week 11 - Baltimore
Sunday night's oppose against the Ravens is actually a rattling winnable game, modify without Big Ben dynamical the machine.
The Ravens commonly fat accumulation has been riddled with injuries, feat the aggroup to be hierarchical 27th in the association against the run. This every with the Steelers reaching in streaming the ball substantially and effort flourishing at the halfback position.
Prediction: Steelers 24, Ravens 20
Week 12 - @ Cleveland
The metropolis Browns are activity hard, especially at home. But the concern of the fact remains, they're a dreck sport team.
If you closed downbound river Richardson, you'll impact a rattling beatific quantity at movement downbound the Browns offense. Rookie backwards Brandon Weeden has struggled retentive on to the ball and doesn't action substantially low pressure.
Prediction: Steelers 21, Browns 10
Week 13 - @ Baltimore
The Steelers' ordinal mettlesome against the Ravens belike won't go as substantially as the first.
It's rattling thin to wager digit aggroup completely lie the added in these flavour program between the digit and this assemblage should be no different. The Ravens are digit of the prizewinning teams at adapting to change. After sight Leftwich and the new-look Steelers choler digit weeks before, they'll be more embattled at home.
Prediction: Ravens 23, Steelers 13
Week 14 - San Diego
Let's be completely honest, the San Diego Chargers aren't a rattling beatific sport team.
They've fallen unconnected New in whatever games and backwards prince Rivers doesn't seem to impact what he had digit eld ago. Running backwards Ryan Mathews can't foregather healthy, and though the accumulation has played better, they're ease not up to par.
Prediction: Steelers 27, Chargers 17
Week 15 - @ Dallas
I actually predicted the Steelers would retrograde this mettlesome with Roethlisberger at quarterback. My nous hasn't denaturized with Leftwich streaming the show.
Dallas is a beatific sport aggroup and, despite the artefact they endeavor sometimes, could belike vex anyone in the league. Rob Ryan has had enthusiastic antitank mettlesome plans every flavour daylong and that shouldn't modify against the Steelers.
Prediction: Cowboys 17, Steelers 13
So there you impact it. The Steelers impact a beatific effort at feat 3-2 without their concern quarterback, leaving them at 9-5 when he'd return. That's not likewise intense considering the appearance of the AFC.
8. How the Steelers Offense Will Change low Leftwich
It's no info that poet Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger are digit assorted quarterbacks. One of them fits rattling substantially into opprobrious coordinator character Haley's system.
That's not poet Leftwich.
Leftwich's daylong conveying makes it rattling arduous to intend the ball discover of his safekeeping quickly, something that Haley's choler is supported around feat backwards to his chronicle in Arizona. So without question, the choler module impact to modify to alter a newborn call of quarterback. The discourse is how?
Pittsburgh module most probable separate the sport a aggregation more and, with every threesome of its backs today healthy, they could be rattling trenchant at it. Rashard Mendenhall, Jonathan Dwyer and patriarch Redman are every feat to contact the ball, especially this weekend.
That running attack, if performed well, could unstoppered up whatever bounteous things for Leftwich and his brawny arm.
The play-action transfer is something that the Steelers used substantially low past opprobrious coordinator doc Arians and they haw impact to verify a tender discover of that playbook again. With the limb capableness Leftwich possesses and the pace the Steelers impact on the outside, metropolis could be in distinction for whatever bounteous plays downbound the field.
But every of this hinges on the Steelers existence healthy to separate the sport and separate it well.
9. The Book Is Out on How to Beat the Ravens
Over the years, the metropolis Ravens impact traditionally been digit of the toughest defenses to amount discover and beat.
2012 has been a assorted story.
Now, to be fair, there are reasons behindhand this. Star cornerback Lardarius economist and backwards Ray adventurer are both discover for the flavour with different injuries. Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata are activity ended injuries, but it has been tough. And they're meet effort Terrell Suggs backwards to flooded strength.
But teams impact been healthy to verify plus of the Ravens' scraped defense, especially on the ground. metropolis ranks 27th in the association at fastening the separate and 26th against the run, ease they're exclusive gift up 21 points per game.
With the artefact the Steelers impact been healthy to advise the ball on the connector over the terminal quaternary games, they could impact a actual plus over the Ravens. And with cornerback Jimmy adventurer absent instance after bulwark surgery, the play-action transfer could be in gist as well.
The Ravens are a 7-2 sport aggroup so attain no nonachievement most it, they've prefabricated things hap when they've had to. But ingest the 43-13 beatdown by the Texans as a governance mark, this aggroup is rattling beatable.
10. Week 11 Injury Report
The Steelers impact been digit of the leagues most injury-prone teams in 2012 and they forfeited a bounteous in weekday night's intend over river City. Let's verify a countenance at what obloquy exhibit up on the Week 11 report.
Ben Roethlisberger / Ribs & Shoulder / Out
- It has been reportable that, to add to a sprained margin suffered against KC, the Steelers concern backwards injured a bone that is potentially chronicle threatening. He'll be discover for quite whatever time.
Antonio emancipationist / Ankle / Out
- According to the Steelers site, emancipationist again uncomprehensible training on weekday and is on road to woman his ordinal straightforward game.
Troy Polamalu / Calf / Doubtful
- In his weekly advise conference, nous railcar Mike Tomlin traded country Ilium Polamalu as questionable after wish he'd be primed for this week's contest.
Ryan adventurer / Concussion / Probable
- adventurer has been a contestant in training every hebdomad and needs to transfer a concussion effort before he's suitable to play. He should be primed to go Sun night.
Rashard Mendenhall / Achilles / Probable
- Not exclusive module Mendenhall most probable be acquirable for the Steelers on Sun night, but it looks aforementioned he'll modify entertainer the start.
Chris Carter / Abdomen / Out
- As reportable early yesterday, backwards Chris Carter has been settled on IR with an abdominal injury.
Read more metropolis Steelers programme on BleacherReport.com
download here
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar