Does this loss, our losing by 23 points mean that we aren't as good as we thought? Or was it just a really off day and a little rust from not playing for a couple of weeks? Sure hope for a bounce back from this.

To me it looked a lot like week 1 against Cleveland, almost the same game. The only difference was this week our defense wasn't tackling well. Orton looked uncomfortable, the line wasnt giving him a pocket, runblocking was almost nonexistent, and we weren't stretching the field at all. They set up shop at the line of scrimmage and held it all game. Teams with big physical line players like the Ravens expose our weaknesses when running the spread. No big fullback to pick up extra blitzers, takes a little time for routes to develop, not enough beef on our line to make running lanes when they stack the box. I feel like this is a game where you need Hillis or Larsen in the backfield to try and keep that pocket alive, and run the ball with power. Hopefully we figure out what didn't work today and use it against a similar Pittsburgh defense

NittanyBuff wrote: It means we better learn from this game because Pittsburgh is even better than Baltimore!!

I'll go with Baltimore,  I think Denver beats Pitt in Denver. 

It seemed to me that the Raven receivers were consciously stopping and starting after the catch, which they probably picked up on film.  It really added to their yards after catch today.  I saw that move at least five, six times today.  Even Flacco pulled it out for a nice gainer.

DBroncs wrote:

To me it looked a lot like week 1 against Cleveland, almost the same game. The only difference was this week our defense wasn't tackling well. Orton looked uncomfortable, the line wasnt giving him a pocket, runblocking was almost nonexistent, and we weren't stretching the field at all. They set up shop at the line of scrimmage and held it all game. Teams with big physical line players like the Ravens expose our weaknesses when running the spread. No big fullback to pick up extra blitzers, takes a little time for routes to develop, not enough beef on our line to make running lanes when they stack the box. I feel like this is a game where you need Hillis or Larsen in the backfield to try and keep that pocket alive, and run the ball with power. Hopefully we figure out what didn't work today and use it against a similar Pittsburgh defense

No! It doesn't mean much for us, except valuable learning experience...

Ravens are a good team, and we are now 3-1 against the hard part of our schedule...

Who would have thunk right?

Like BB says, you can't win them all....Assuming we learn from this,we are fine.

DBroncs wrote:

To me it looked a lot like week 1 against Cleveland, almost the same game. The only difference was this week our defense wasn't tackling well. Orton looked uncomfortable, the line wasnt giving him a pocket, runblocking was almost nonexistent, and we weren't stretching the field at all. They set up shop at the line of scrimmage and held it all game. Teams with big physical line players like the Ravens expose our weaknesses when running the spread. No big fullback to pick up extra blitzers, takes a little time for routes to develop, not enough beef on our line to make running lanes when they stack the box. I feel like this is a game where you need Hillis or Larsen in the backfield to try and keep that pocket alive, and run the ball with power. Hopefully we figure out what didn't work today and use it against a similar Pittsburgh defense

You guys played Cincinatti in Week One--Not Cleveland.

ahah ya your right, sorry i got it mixed up. But Raz I'm not saying that this week means were doomed. I'm just saying it showed some of the things we were worried about after game 1. I think were all passed the season being over mentality. Im ecstatic we didnt lose until week 8. Im just saying todays game seemed uncharacteristic of how weve been playing recently (O-line, sure tackling, 2nd half defense, Orton in the pocket) and I hope we can make the right adjustments for when we play a similar team in Pittsburgh, especially defensively

sandyw4broncos wrote:

Does this loss, our losing by 23 points mean that we aren't as good as we thought? Or was it just a really off day and a little rust from not playing for a couple of weeks? Sure hope for a bounce back from this.

I think you guys have a good team the thing that stuck out often yesterday was Orton.  He just can't make a throw beyond 10 yards and the Ravens exploited that yesterday by putting some  heavy pressure on him all day.  After they shut the pass down they stacked the line and took the run away making your offense useless.    I think if you get a decent QB on your team you guys will be good for years

I feel MUCH different about this loss than I have losses past.  I was borderline apoplectic last year after we lost to the Chiefs, but it sounds to me -- again, I didn't watch the game -- that we simply didn't show up.

I also wonder about the play calling.  There wasn't an issue with Orton not being able to throw a deeper ball.  He can, and we've seen it.  But the play calls seem to have called for more underneath stuff.  And when we did try to make something happen downfield, they dialed up a good blitz and got to Orton on the late-developing stuff.

They did exactly what I would have done as a DC....stack the line, take away the short stuff and the run and force Orton to throw down field under pressure.  The only surprising thing was how poorly our OL played....of course, the Ravens played very well.  We couldn't match their intensity all game and the kick return was the emotional back breaker.

Pittsburgh will do the exact same thing, they have the personal to do exactly what Baltimore did.  They might not match the Ravens in intensity, being that the game is here, but they are as desperate being tied with the Bengals. I give us a better chance to win this one than we had against the Ravens, but I'm not overly confident we'll come out on top in this one.

runHENrun wrote:

 

NittanyBuff wrote: It means we better learn from this game because Pittsburgh is even better than Baltimore!!

I'll go with Baltimore,  I think Denver beats Pitt in Denver. 

This is not just a regular game. This is Monday Night Football. The Steelers OWN MNF.

DrinkyCrow wrote:

 

runHENrun wrote:

 

NittanyBuff wrote: It means we better learn from this game because Pittsburgh is even better than Baltimore!!

I'll go with Baltimore,  I think Denver beats Pitt in Denver.

This is not just a regular game. This is Monday Night Football. The Steelers OWN MNF.

You guys are fine.  Every now and then you just need to get punched in the mouth and build a little more character.  And like already been said its unlikely you win them all anyway.

This one loss does nothing to take away from the quality wins you've had.  Really as the season plays out the only "give me" games so far are Oakland and Cleveland since they just are plain bad.  But you beat Dallas, Cincinatti, New England and San Diego.  That ain't too bad a resume to have.

I would love to see my Saints win out, but I keep waiting for our punch in the mouth cause its gonna happen.  Good luck the rest of the way......

kjunsaint wrote:

This one loss does nothing to take away from the quality wins you've had.  Really as the season plays out the only "give me" games so far are Oakland and Cleveland since they just are plain bad.  But you beat Dallas, Cincinatti, New England and San Diego.  That ain't too bad a resume to have.

 

 

Absolutely!

Great Post!

No idea what you're talking about.  You have it backwards.  They didn't put pressure because we can't throw it ten yards.  We couldn't throw it ten yards because of the pressure.. AND, it's kinda hard to throw long when nobody is getting open.

Steelman36 wrote:

 

sandyw4broncos wrote:

Does this loss, our losing by 23 points mean that we aren't as good as we thought? Or was it just a really off day and a little rust from not playing for a couple of weeks? Sure hope for a bounce back from this.

I think you guys have a good team the thing that stuck out often yesterday was Orton.  He just can't make a throw beyond 10 yards and the Ravens exploited that yesterday by putting some  heavy pressure on him all day.  After they shut the pass down they stacked the line and took the run away making your offense useless.    I think if you get a decent QB on your team you guys will be good for years

frankinphoenix wrote:

No idea what you're talking about.  You have it backwards.  They didn't put pressure because we can't throw it ten yards.  We couldn't throw it ten yards because of the pressure.. AND, it's kinda hard to throw long when nobody is getting open.

Steelman36 wrote:

 

sandyw4broncos wrote:

Does this loss, our losing by 23 points mean that we aren't as good as we thought? Or was it just a really off day and a little rust from not playing for a couple of weeks? Sure hope for a bounce back from this.

I think you guys have a good team the thing that stuck out often yesterday was Orton.  He just can't make a throw beyond 10 yards and the Ravens exploited that yesterday by putting some  heavy pressure on him all day.  After they shut the pass down they stacked the line and took the run away making your offense useless.    I think if you get a decent QB on your team you guys will be good for years

 

You don't read to well do you??????  The Ravens pressured the pass forcing you to run which you couldn't do either.  Expect the same Monday night

Actually they brought constant pressure, run and pass...and they did a great job of covering everything short (hell and long).  Just a great defensive effort all the way around.  Orton isn't dynamic enought o escape the rush and make something happen.  I expect nothingdifferent from Pittsburgh on Monday, question is, what is McD goingt o come up with to combat it.

Orton probably would have thrown long if he'd had some open receivers. I guess it could've been worse. If he'd taken chances on long throws down the field, we might have been beaten worse by ints returned for scores. I can buy Baltimore being fired up, knowing they HAD to win the game (and coming off a bye week at home). Denver probably didn't have the same sense of urgency about this game. We'll be in a few more games though against opponents that have to win to stay in. The team will have to stay focused to avoid a bad situation, like competition with the Chargers for the division.

Steelman36 wrote:

 

frankinphoenix wrote:

No idea what you're talking about.  You have it backwards.  They didn't put pressure because we can't throw it ten yards.  We couldn't throw it ten yards because of the pressure.. AND, it's kinda hard to throw long when nobody is getting open.

Steelman36 wrote:

 

sandyw4broncos wrote:

Does this loss, our losing by 23 points mean that we aren't as good as we thought? Or was it just a really off day and a little rust from not playing for a couple of weeks? Sure hope for a bounce back from this.

I think you guys have a good team the thing that stuck out often yesterday was Orton.  He just can't make a throw beyond 10 yards and the Ravens exploited that yesterday by putting some  heavy pressure on him all day.  After they shut the pass down they stacked the line and took the run away making your offense useless.    I think if you get a decent QB on your team you guys will be good for years

 

You don't read to well do you??????  The Ravens pressured the pass forcing you to run which you couldn't do either.  Expect the same Monday night

You're right.  WE'RE DOOMED!  No way can we change a game plan in an entire week to shore up some problems we had!  OOOOHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Expect more of the same from Steeler fans all week.  Some of them are REALLY knowledgeable, but most of them are REALLY stupid, front-running, dip-**** know-nothings like this guy.

Teams never adjust. 

You realize that we haven't utilized the same game plan two weeks in a row, right?  And that we've already beaten some pretty decent teams?  Does ANY of that factor in?

TheRealMoose wrote:

 

Expect more of the same from Steeler fans all week.  Some of them are REALLY knowledgeable, but most of them are REALLY stupid, front-running, dip-**** know-nothings like this guy.

 

You got that right. Even worse theres a bunch of 'em on our board.

Ravens fans will probably be rooting more for the Broncos than Broncos fans .

Good luck to you guys, I think you beat Pittsburgh.

Kjunsaint put it in perspective. We had a bad game, guess you can't have great games EVERY week. The Ravens were in a MUST win situation and in their own house, so they were pretty motivated. The bye seemed to help them to recharge and refocus, and I have to wonder now if we might have just played our toughest game of the regular season. I'm sorry for being so negative. It's harder to be positive when your sick too. Anyway, I think I might crash out under the blankets on the sofa and watch the Saints game tonight. Haven't seen them play all year, and my day off is tomorrow (no up at 3:00 AM tomorrow). Yeah!!!

It's rare that the Steelers play well in Denver for whatever reason.

After watching the Ravens game I would think that the Steelers will force Denver to beat them deep.Just like the Ravens did.That and special teams will determin who wins the game.Should be a good game.

*cough*cough* 2005 AFC championship *cough*cough*

storm6200 wrote:

It's rare that the Steelers play well in Denver for whatever reason.

 

davidvanwinkle2010 wrote:

*cough*cough* 2005 AFC championship *cough*cough*

storm6200 wrote:

It's rare that the Steelers play well in Denver for whatever reason.

 

 

Well played sir..........Well played.

davidvanwinkle2010 wrote:

*cough*cough* 2005 AFC championship *cough*cough*

storm6200 wrote:

It's rare that the Steelers play well in Denver for whatever reason.

 

 

Psssssttttt!   Here's a little secret. . . come closer . . . . IT'S 2009!!!!

For the record I think the Steelers probably win this game, but I hate when ANYONE tries to base their arguments on history, and in the NFL  4 years is a lifetime ago.

My two cents.

1) The Ravens had much more on the line than the Broncos. And both teams played like it.

2.) I don't  know why, but the Broncos rarely play well when they have to play an early game in the Central or Eastern time zones.

davidvanwinkle2010 wrote:

*cough*cough* 2005 AFC championship *cough*cough*

storm6200 wrote:

It's rare that the Steelers play well in Denver for whatever reason.

 

 

He wasn't basing anything off 05.

He was making the very valid point that the Steelers can play well in Denver.

However, Baltimore did the remaing opponents on our schedule no favors by punking our O-line. They will show up next week, and for the remaining games on our schedule.

On our way to 11-5.

FlpDzl wrote: What up,

Steelers fan here I live in the D. I expect a good game like we had a few years ago. The main thing the Ravens did that no one else could was rattle Orton and it exposed him a bit. We will see if Pittsburgh can follow suit or the Bronco's make the corrections and move on. Right, now your 2nd in the AFC @ 6-1.

It should be a fun one to watch, it looks like we will have our starting FS Ryan Clark. Not sure if any of you know but the last two times he played here the altitude caused him some serious medical problems. He was cleared to play.

Any ways posts like these aren't too fun because there's no smack involved but, it's a non-divisin game. Should have a playoff atmosphere. It should be fun.

Im not sure if I agree with the idea that Orton was exposed...

Rattled for sure, but every QB ever struggles when the rush is that effective.

Tom Brady in the Superbowl a few years ago for example.

franchiseflacco wrote:

 

TheRealMoose wrote:

 

Expect more of the same from Steeler fans all week.  Some of them are REALLY knowledgeable, but most of them are REALLY stupid, front-running, dip-**** know-nothings like this guy.

 

You got that right. Even worse theres a bunch of 'em on our board.

 

Ravens fans will probably be rooting more for the Broncos than Broncos fans .

 

Good luck to you guys, I think you beat Pittsburgh.

 

 

This Ravens fan will be rooting for the Broncos. I generally root for four teams... the Ravens and whoever is playing the Clots, Squeelers or Deadskins.