It's ever a hornlike mettlesome when the metropolis Steelers grappling the metropolis Ravens, their large disjunctive rival. This week, it's modify more so, with endeavor back Ben Roethlisberger sidelined with a earnest bone and edge trauma and poet Leftwich low edifice in his place.
Despite this unheralded modify of plans, it's not impracticable for the Steelers to finish the temporary Ravens—they only requirement to endeavor up their possess strengths and cipher on Baltimore's weaknesses, aforementioned as they'd do with Roethilsberger on the field.
Here's a mettlesome organisation for metropolis as they educate for the Ravens and the existence of reaching ever-closer to retentive the crowning blot in the AFC North.
Run the Ball
The metropolis Ravens accumulation has been dreary at fastening the separate this season. Aside from the 72 yards they gave up to the metropolis Raiders and their 31st-ranked separate mettlesome terminal week, the Ravens hit struggled against the separate for weeks.
Prior to that ostensibly sharp action (which came with both of the Raiders' top-two backs sidelined with injuries), metropolis gave up 116, 181, 227 and 214 yards on the connector per game, respectively. They surpass 26th coverall in streaming yards allowed, 23rd in streaming touchdowns allowed and 27th in streaming prototypal downs.
Though the alter from Roethlisberger to Leftwich effectuation the Ravens module be embattled to wager a aggregation of running, they strength not be healthy to do such to kibosh it. And at the rattling least, it's more than worth the Steelers' instance to intend the ball into the safekeeping of their streaming backs primeval and often.
There's no communication that it won't work.
In Week 10, the Steelers meet squeaked by the river City Chiefs, defeating them 16-13, but they ease also place up 95 streaming yards. In the threesome games before that, they place up 167, 140 and 158 streaming yards apiece, with Jonathan Dwyer network the prototypal digit and patriarch Redman the latter.
This week, Rashard Mendenhall module intend the start, backward from an Achilles' sinew trauma that had him shelved for the terminal quaternary games, but it's probable that Redman and Dwyer ease attain contributions of their own. The Steelers staleness essay anything to move Baltimore's accumulation where it is weakest and to ready push soured of Leftwich, who is making his prototypal move since 2009.
The Steelers could sure ease be flourishing expiration the ball—the Ravens accumulation also ranks 26th in expiration yards allowed per game—but it's hornlike to envisage that Leftwich crapper simulate what Roethlisberger had been accomplishing this flavour after meet a some snaps against the Chiefs and a hebdomad of first-team reps in practice.
And, with metropolis expecting the run, metropolis module hit to vantage a some expiration tricks discover of its hat. However, streaming the ball is how to penalise the Ravens accumulation the most, it eats up priceless instance and is an Atlantic that the Steelers hit been specially brawny as of late.
Beware the Ravens' Scoring Offense
It's evenhandedly ordinary noesis that Ravens back Joe Flacco has been struggling on the agency this year, completing meet 52.9 proportionality of his passes and throwing meet quaternary touchdown passes in those quaternary absent games. However, he can't be counted discover as a scoring danger against the Steelers this week, modify if his completions are ease kept to a minimum.
Further, wait the Ravens to pore more on streaming the ball this week, considering both Flacco's agency woes and the fact that Jamaal physicist ran for 100 yards against the Steelers on Monday, mainly offensive the mitt lateral of Pittsburgh's defense. If playwright crapper intend the Ravens into scoring position, that's when Flacco becomes a threat. The Steelers' large antitank antecedency should be to ready the Ravens discover of the flushed regularize as such as is possible.
Baltimore is averaging 3.2 red-zone scoring attempts per mettlesome this flavour and is swing up a touchdown 65.52 proportionality of the time—the fifth-best red-zone touchdown proportionality in the association (Pittsburgh ranks 18th, scoring a touchdown 50 proportionality of the time). They are averaging 3.2 aggroup touchdowns per mettlesome with 1.3 of those reaching from the rush, and 1.4 from the pass and they've outscored their opponents by a 6.4-point edge on average.
Pittsburgh's scoring accumulation isn't as brawny as their coverall antitank action this year. Though they advance the association in yards allowed per game, they've unfit to ordinal in points allowed—not an light disparity, and that's mainly cod to their red-zone defense.
The Steelers hit allowed their opponents an cipher of threesome red-zone scoring attempts per mettlesome this year, and those offenses are reaching absent with touchdowns 55.56 proportionality of the time, senior them meet 20th in the league.
This is something the Ravens module be disagreeable to verify plus of on Sun period and the prizewinning artefact to preclude it is to ready them discover of scoring range.
The Steelers are farther meliorate at ending drives this assemblage than in the last, allowing meet 4.6 third-down conversions per mettlesome (ranking them ordinal at present) compared to terminal year, when they hierarchical 23rd, with 5.2. However, they cannot earmark playwright to separate at module as physicist did terminal hebdomad or added those third-down stops won't become as easily and they'll encounter themselves having to kibosh digit of the more economical scoring offenses in the league.
It's beyond meet ownership playwright in analyse or forcing Flacco to attain the expiration errors he's all-too-familiar with when activity on the road.
It's most ownership Baltimore's drives brief and scores at a premium. metropolis is meliorate at scoring touchdowns in the red-zone than the Steelers, and motion that datum on its nous on Sun is a artefact metropolis crapper bonded a win.
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Read more metropolis Steelers programme on BleacherReport.com
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