By John Harris
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, December 25, 2006
They fooled us, these Steelers did.
Really, really, fooled us.
Turns out the "new-and-improved" Steelers showed their true colors when they weren't playing Tampa Bay, Cleveland or a watered-down Carolina football team.
The Steelers took it on the chin in Sunday's 31-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the home finale at Heinz Field.
They also took it in the gut, and right between the eyes.
Chalk it up to a good, old-fashioned butt-whipping for the Steelers, who showed everyone what they were made of against the last team to beat them during their late-season turnaround.
The Steelers had won three in a row and five of six games entering yesterday's contest and had been targeting the Baltimore rematch since a 27-0 loss to the Ravens on Nov. 26.
Instead, The Big Payback turned out to be The Big Letdown.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger still needed to have eyes in the back of his head to thwart Baltimore's lethal pass rush, and the defense still hasn't gotten close enough to Ravens quarterback Steve McNair to find out what he had for his pregame meal, much less sack him.
Baltimore was a better team than the Steelers four weeks ago, and nothing happened yesterday to change anyone's mind.
Oh, most of the Steelers did a good job of tap-dancing around the obvious, that the Ravens are a better team six days out of seven, and twice on Sunday.
They talked about squandering scoring opportunities, and about the defense failing to get off the field on third down.
The Steelers -- from coach Bill Cowher all the way down to the equipment manager -- talked a good game; so good they almost had even the most ardent skeptic believing that with a bounce here or there, the defending Super Bowl champions would still be in the thick of the playoff race.
That's what the Steelers want you to believe. But here are some cold, hard facts:
• Baltimore swept the season series for the first time against the Steelers, winning by a combined 58-7 score.
• The Ravens had 14 sacks in the two games; the Steelers had none.
• Roethlisberger threw one touchdown pass and four interceptions in the two games.
• Running back Willie Parker carried the ball 23 times for 51 yards in the two losses.
Both teams suffered injuries to their starting offensive tackles entering yesterday's game. Steelers rookie tackle Willie Colon replaced Max Starks, and the pass protection on the right side of the line careened into a ditch. Second-year Ravens left tackle Adam Terry did such a great job impersonating Pro Bowler Jonathan Ogden, you didn't even know Ogden was missing.
As good as the Steelers looked in clocking Tampa Bay (20-3), Carolina (37-3) and Cleveland twice by a combined 51-27 score, the Steelers were equally bad against the Ravens.
"The two times we played them, I don't think we played a good game," Steelers defensive tackle Aaron Smith said. "They're a good team. I give them a lot of credit. You don't come out and play a good game, a team like that is going to run away with the score."
The Steelers weren't ready to anoint Baltimore as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but the teams are mirror images of each other.
This year's Ravens are last year's Steelers.
The Steelers' late-season flirtation with the playoffs was fun while it lasted. It rekindled all the good memories from last year's Super Bowl run and how the Steelers played their best football when it mattered most.
This season's 7-8 record brings everything into perfect focus. At one game under .500, the Steelers lost some games they should have won, but yesterday's game wasn't one of them.
John Harris is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jharris@tribweb.com
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