oldno82

I would bet the house that Tomlin was the one most responsible for 'staying with Ben too long'. Tomlin has said that he 'hates' the idea of working with a drafted quarterback. He prefers veterans. Tomlin is a good in-game coach but hasn't done much to improve his roster. He is a strong personality who's been around the Steelers for a long long time. He has the most power of any of the management staff to build a team. The current state of the Steelers is on his shoulders as much as anyone else's.

Lamar has a talent for making incredible plays. Yesterday he had an INT and a fumble. He also had a season that thrilled many, many fans. I think, and he has said this himself, he gets too pumped up for the playoff games or 'antsy' as he called it. But other than those 2 miscues he had a very good day. Mark Andrews, another regular season hero, became the goat yesterday with his fumble and dropped pass in the endzone. That is also unfair after all the many times he has bailed out the team before. The Bills played a zero turnover game in a season where I think they were +34 in takeaways vs giveaways. That is an amazing stat! I gotta be honest though. If you were to ask me which team I would rather watch or be a fan of, I would without hesitation say the Ravens. The Bills were plain dull yesterday. Just my 2 cents.

That would be great for my confidence in him too. He plays sticky coverage well but just can't seem to make the break-up.

I agree. Perennial bad management.

Time for the Ravens to pony up a nice package for Todd.

Here they go again! The City of Cleveland is suing the Browns for the latter's intention of moving out of the city to the burbs to build a new domed stadium. The Browns are seeking to invalidate the 'Model Law' that forbids a team from leaving the city proper.

The Browns (with props to Dee).

Wandering problem child...different teams, same issues.

True, Dee. We handled them pretty well down here. I hope the same holds true for a trip to Buffalo.

Does sound like they have issues, as we do too, with pass defense. Lamar should be able to have success. I think Henry and Hill will keep the Bills honest on D as well. Our biggest problem is our own pass defense. This might be a higher scoring game than we're used to seeing.

So then we're liable to see more passes than with the Steelers...or will the Bills' under-sized backers be hard pressed to stop Henry? Or is it another 'pick your poison dilemma for them?

BTW...what happened to TJ Watt on Saturday night? Looked like he just disappeared. Is Rosengarten that good now or was it Monken's schemes? Or a little of both?

I agree but is Howard Stephens enough to hold down Shakir?

That was a riot!

It'll be a nail-biter. Stevens allowing so many passes to be completed against him really scares me. He just won't turn around and locate the ball. Allen could easily chew him up as Wilson did, only more often. Our offense will be OK with Lamar and Henry carrying the ball, and with Andrews, Bateman, and Likely catching. Be nice if Flowers could make it back, but I don't think he'll be available. We'll have to run the ball and control time of possession to keep Allen off the field because when he's on it, he could rip our cornerbacks, Humphrey excepted. I have a hunch we'll pull it out, but I don't feel confident enough to make a prediction.

Well, well, well, the Ravens dominate Pitts whose defense was overwhelmed in the first half of a playoff game. That's 5 straight losses for Tomlin's team at the end of the season. Their off-season should be quite interesting. Meanwhile, the Ravens chug along. Henry running like he's 23 years old and Lamar doing all the rest. We did miss Flowers though. I'm rooting for the Broncos tomorrow and another home playoff game here.

I might as well ask for it all: a win over Pitts and no more injuries. The Steelers' Defense will be the defining unit on the field. Watt, Heyward, and company must not be allowed to set the tempo in this game and that's a hard thing to stop. If Jackson can keep from being bottled up, we win. He's got both running and receiving weapons to choose from. He's got to keep focused and then we'll be alright. Looking forward to this one big time. Still wishing we had Flowers available.

I could be wrong but I think Wilson plays until the third quarter or later depending on how game is going. If, somehow, we get up by 2 scores I wouldn't be surprised to see Fields in the second half. A big 'if'.

Yeah I heard that too. We'll miss him. Might even be a difference maker, though we still have other weapons. I'm still thinking we win this one. BTW, story on Flowers that I read indicated he could very well be out of the next playoff game too.

Buffalo didn't bother to show up it looks like.

Last time we played em they didn’t have their best receiver. This time, situation will probably be the opposite.

I think the only way for Lamar to get papa off his back is to win the AFC Championship round and advance to the Super Bowl.

Justice Hill has been ruled out, primarily due to illness.

John Harbaugh has been the Ravens’ coach since 2008, so, understandably, he is the focus of angry fans after each loss. They send emails to reporters asking if he has lost the locker room. They call into radio talk shows questioning his gameday decisions, wondering if the team lacks leadership, asking loudly if he will be fired if they don’t go deep into the playoffs. But Harbaugh, now 62, has done well. The Ravens can clinch the AFC North for the second straight year with a win Saturday at home against the Browns. They have some questionable losses to Las Vegas, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, but Baltimore is still among the favorites in the AFC to deny the Kansas City Chiefs a chance at becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. Of course, you can question Harbaugh’s gameday decisions — his challenges, or when he called two timeouts to draw a penalty. You can question his desire to go for a fourth-and-1 deep in Ravens territory in the first half of the Los Angeles Chargers in late November. But here is a fact: The Ravens are going to the playoffs for the third straight year with a fairly balanced team. Here are more facts: Since becoming coach, Harbaugh’s Ravens have failed to make the playoffs only five times and he has an 183-114 record with a Super Bowl title in 2012. That’s not to say things can’t fall apart, especially if the Ravens falter early or get blown out in the postseason. But overall, his managing skills have been impressive. There were the deaths of former wide receiver Jacoby Jones, one of the team’s most popular figures of the previous decade, and Joe D’ Alessandris, the Ravens’ beloved offensive line coach, in late August. There were also the private meetings he had with his offensive assistants shortly after last season’s 17-10 loss to Kansas City in the AFC championship game to retool the offense, not to mention having first-year coordinator Zach Orr, 32, run what was the NFL’s best defense a year ago but is without three top assistants as teams plundered Baltimore in the offseason. There was also an unfavorable schedule that was ranked the fourth toughest by Sharp Football Analysts before the season started and included two stretches of games in which the Ravens played three games in 15 days and another three in 11. Whew, it’s been a whirlwind of a season. Coach John Harbaugh has led the Ravens over some significant hurdles this year. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) At least the Ravens had the foresight to reshape the offense around quarterback Lamar Jackson’s needs, but the death of D’Alessandris was devastating. It’s hard to replace a friend and a fellow coach most of the other assistants confided in. His memories and expressions and plays are tough to forget. The Ravens brought in George Warhop as D’Alessandris’ replacement, and many questions about the line have disappeared despite having rookie Roger Rosengarten starting at right tackle, third-year player Daniel Faalele starting at right guard and Patrick Mekari moving from a swing tackle to starting left guard. The Ravens still struggle in pass protection, especially when trailing and in obvious passing situations, but they are No. 2 in the NFL in rushing yards behind the never-aging Derrick Henry, who has rushed for 1,783 yards this season. As for Orr, it’s all about perspective. The Ravens lost coordinator Mike Macdonald (Seattle’s coach) and defensive assistants Anthony Weaver (Miami’s defensive coordinator) and Dennard Wilson (Tennessee’s defensive coordinator). Because of the influx of new assistants and changing personnel, it was always going to take time to get the defense to perform at a high level. There are still questions about this group, particularly defending passes over the middle. The Ravens haven’t faced a strong passing team in a month and won’t on Saturday versus Cleveland.

I would think they don’t have much of a chance without Winston, erratic as he is, he’s the best they have.