Monday, December 25, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
There have to be even more ridiculous mismatches somewhere in this National Football League, but you'd have a hard time persuading anyone who has watched eight quarters of Steelers-Ravens in the past month to search for one.
No, we think we've found it.
The Steelers' third-down offense against Baltimore's third-down defense.
Few are the angles from which football looks easy, but the Ravens' big sack of smackdown schemes certainly makes it look that way when they bring it down on the now officially dethroned Super Bowl champions.
Unless you think the 3 for 26 on third down the Steelers managed in two games was just some random occurrence.
"No, it's not easy," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs insisted in the minutes after Baltimore kicked the Steelers into next season with a 31-7 pasting. "Ben knows us. Hines knows us. Ben was just a little off. He missed Santonio in the flat one time that would have been a big play. I think the football gods just blessed us. The ball just bounced our way."
In two meetings, Baltimore outscored the Steelers, 58-7. That's a lot of fortuitous bouncing.
If the distance between the Steelers and the AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals last year was X, what do you suppose is the difference between the Steelers and the 2006 division champion Ravens, 5X? 10X? Here's a tool for that guestimate: On a day when the Ravens committed 12 penalties for 89 yards and had three turnovers, they still beat the Steelers by 24 points.
"We made a few more plays than they did," said Ravens safety Ed Reed.
Yeah, about 50.
Rex Ryan's brilliant defense came up with five more sacks yesterday -- that's 14 in eight quarters against the Steelers -- and that was the primary factor in the first season sweep of the Steelers in Ravens' history. Baltimore hadn't won at Heinz Field since 2001, but this club is going to win consistently in most venues if it maintains the kind of pressure that has Ben Roethlisberger completely spooked.
"I think he probably just had in the back of his head from last game," said Reed, who accounted for two of Baltimore's takeaways with a pick and a fumble recovery near the Ravens' goal line. "He probably remembers those hits from last time."
There was nothing yesterday on the order of the tattoo-you Bart Scott put on Big Ben in Baltimore, but the threat was palpable enough that the Steelers went three-and-out four times on their first six possessions. The Steelers didn't convert a third-down situation until Roethlisberger got flushed from the alleged pocket and fled 20 yards to the 11 with 14:06 left in the game.
"They're well-schemed, well-coached, and they're great players," said Ravens coach Brian Billick, attempting to explain Baltimore's third-down dominance in no more than two sentences. "They've got good confidence in their package."
That's what you get for rushing it, Brian.
I didn't time it, but Billick's formal postgame news conference might not have lasted a full minute. The Baltimore media probably doesn't complain about this because, even at that, it's about a minute too long.
The other schematic aspect of this particular third-down dominance is that the Steelers apparently have no interest in even trying to run. Willie Parker, named All-Pro Tuesday, was an afterthought by Sunday.
"I thought they'd run the ball more," Reed said.
Well, that's tens of millions of us.
Baltimore wasn't the least bit conflicted as to its own intentions. It wanted to torture the Steelers' secondary, particularly on first down. Steve McNair completed passes of 14, 14 and 20 yards on the Ravens' first four first-down calls, convincing him that he had identified the necessary weakness. Shockingly enough, it was All-Pro Troy Polamalu. McNair scalded him twice with pristine touchdown throws of 35 yards to Mark Clayton and 25 to Demetrius Williams.
McNair went 21 for 31 for 256 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 98.3, more than doubling Roethlisberger's. Clayton caught seven balls for 108 yards by the time the Ravens completed the first possession of the second half.
Yesterday's upset of the Indianapolis Colts by Houston means that the Ravens can still acquire home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win Sunday against the Bills. Winners eight times in their past nine games, there might not be a team out there hot enough or good enough to keep the Ravens out of the Super Bowl. Too bad their third-down defense isn't going to work against anyone as overmatched as these Steelers.
(Gene Collier can be reached at gcollier@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1283. )
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