cravnravn Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-GazetteDesperate times can bring desperate measures, and these days they bring halfback Ben Tate to the Steelers. Signing the veteran is more indication coach Mike Tomlin does not expect LeVeon Bell to play Saturday night in the playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field. Bells knee injury left two relatively inexperienced rookies at halfback: Undrafted Josh Harris, who has nine carries in the five games he has been on the roster; and third-round scatback Dri Archer, who has 10 carries all season.http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2014/12/30/Pittsburgh-Steelers-Mike-Tomlin-Le-Veon-Bell-not-ruled-out-vs-Ravens/stories/201412300158 Edited December 31, 2014 by cravnravn Quote
thesteelhurtin Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 Today Bell said the knee feels great and he is riding the stationary bike like he was getting ready for the tour de France. Officially listed as day to day. Tate listed third on the depth chart behind Bell and Harris. The only reason I think he has a chance this weekend is after dropping 15 pounds in the off season he is in phenomenal shape. If he was still 240 I would say no way does he go. I'm starting to think you are going to see him out there. Think about how quickly your body bounced back when you were 22. Quote
thesteelhurtin Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 Dr confirms Bell will do no further damage by playing. I really think he will take the shot and go. He said it comes down to confidence in it Quote
papasmurfbell Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/01/ravens-have-been-outstanding-playoff-underdogs-but-not-vs-steelers/ Ravens have been outstanding playoff underdogs, but not vs. SteelersThe Ravens are three-point underdogs at Pittsburgh on Saturday night, and there are Baltimore fans seeing this and smiling.In fact, there are some who might suggest the Ravens have the Steelers right where they want them.Time and again, and under two different coaches, the Ravens have proven strong playoff underdogs.Since 2000, the Ravens have been underdogs in 14 postseason games, per the Spreadapedia database.They have won eight of those games outright — eight.Moreover, all eight of the victories were away from Baltimore.In 2000, the Ravens — en route to winning Super Bowl XXXV — won at Tennessee in the divisional round and at Oakland in the AFC title game. They were six-point underdogs in both contests. (Bettors, to their credit, figured it out in the Super Bowl; the Ravens were three-point favorites over the Giants.)The next year, the Ravens (+2.5) won at Miami in the wild-card round, giving Baltimore its third and final playoff upset of Brian Billick’s tenure as head coach.But that wasn’t it for Ravens postseason surprises. Baltimore has pulled off five upsets in John Harbaugh’s tenure. First, the Ravens (+3) knocked off Tennessee in the 2008 divisional round. The following year, the Patriots (-4) were on the wrong end of a 33-14 Baltimore rout.Finally, the Ravens won three straight as underdogs in the 2012 postseason, stunning host Denver (-9) in the divisional round and routing New England (-8) in the AFC title game.The Ravens would cap their title run by defeating the 49ers — 4.5-point favorites — in Super Bowl XLVII.However, we pause here to note something Steelers fans surely know well.On three occasions, the Steelers have hosted the Ravens in the postseason.All three times, the Steelers were favored.All three times, the Steelers won.The 2001 Steelers (-5.5) knocked off Baltimore 27-10 in the divisional round. The 2008 Steelers (-6) grinded to a 23-14 win in the AFC title game vs. the Ravens. And the 2010 Steelers (-3.5) won a wild divisional playoff vs. Baltimore, with a big catch by Antonio Brown helping Pittsburgh secure a 31-24 triumph.On Saturday night, these teams meet again with the chips in the middle of the table. Once again, the Steelers will be favorites before the flop.No matter what happens, it will be a fun match to watch. Quote
thesteelhurtin Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Bell is out ITT will be Harris starting and Tate backing him up. I do like this Harris kid he just lacks vision. Quote
cravnravn Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Bell is out ITT will be Harris starting and Tate backing him up. I do like this Harris kid he just lacks vision.Is that official? Quote
thesteelhurtin Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Yeah it is. If the steelers can create the hole where it is supposed to be they should be fine. Bell only accounted for 78 yards last time we met. Is that official? Quote
tsylvester Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Monroe for the Ravens is out as well..... edge, Pitt, Marv, give me the Stillers by 17 for $500 Quote
cravnravn Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Yeah it is. If the steelers can create the hole where it is supposed to be they should be fine. Bell only accounted for 78 yards last time we met. 25 games since the ravens gave up 100 to a rusher, bell was lucky to get 78 Quote
cravnravn Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 Monroe for the Ravens is out as well..... edge, Pitt, Marv, give me the Stillers by 17 for $500I will take that bet... Quote
vmax Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 There are plenty of reasons to pick against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night, when they open the playoffs at the Pittsburgh Steelers.The Ravens have struggled on offense for the past month. The defense has holes in the secondary that was a matchup nightmare against Ben Roethlisberger earlier this year. And the Ravens have never beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers in the postseason.So, why will the Ravens beat the Steelers? It goes beyond the Ravens' 6-1 record in the wild-card round, which is the best in the NFL.The expected bad weather (80 percent chance of rain) and the injury to running back Le'Veon Bell all work in the Ravens' favor. The Ravens will be able to run the ball, and the Steelers will not.Four of the Steelers' five losses have come when they've given up 120 yards rushing. The Ravens have eclipsed that mark 10 times this season. http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/ Throw in a rain drenched, wet and cold crowd. They are in for a miserable night of hell. Quote
thesteelhurtin Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 Throw in a rain drenched, wet and cold crowd. They are in for a miserable night of hell.there is as huge misconception that the steelers still struggle to stop the run. They finished the year with the 6th best rush defense. They also just completely shut down Hill Your line is very beat up and the steelers have gotten 12 sacks in the past two games since Harrison returned. No Monroe out there on him and his tendincy to go off against the Ravens could spell a very long day for Flacco. The quick short passes the Steelers use work in bad weather hence why the Pats do the same thing. The combination of Brown, Wheaton, and Bryant is just going to be too much for the ravens secondary. All three of them can take a slant or a screen to the house in a matter of seconds. The steelers will be able to run because you have to respect our pass and Ben is the highest rated qb against the blitz and its by a lot. Quote
Tornado700 Posted January 3, 2015 Author Posted January 3, 2015 there is as huge misconception that the steelers still struggle to stop the run. They finished the year with the 6th best rush defense. They also just completely shut down Hill Your line is very beat up and the steelers have gotten 12 sacks in the past two games since Harrison returned. No Monroe out there on him and his tendincy to go off against the Ravens could spell a very long day for Flacco. The quick short passes the Steelers use work in bad weather hence why the Pats do the same thing. The combination of Brown, Wheaton, and Bryant is just going to be too much for the ravens secondary. All three of them can take a slant or a screen to the house in a matter of seconds. The steelers will be able to run because you have to respect our pass and Ben is the highest rated qb against the blitz and its by a lot.In other words, Steelers will win 73-0. Right? Quote
cravnravn Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 there is as huge misconception that the steelers still struggle to stop the run. They finished the year with the 6th best rush defense. They also just completely shut down Hill Your line is very beat up and the steelers have gotten 12 sacks in the past two games since Harrison returned. No Monroe out there on him and his tendincy to go off against the Ravens could spell a very long day for Flacco. The quick short passes the Steelers use work in bad weather hence why the Pats do the same thing. The combination of Brown, Wheaton, and Bryant is just going to be too much for the ravens secondary. All three of them can take a slant or a screen to the house in a matter of seconds. The steelers will be able to run because you have to respect our pass and Ben is the highest rated qb against the blitz and its by a lot.And as I pointed out in another thread the ravens have the #4 rush d, #2 in sacks and #2 in red zone d. Quote
tsylvester Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 Rain is advantage Steelers. The Ravens pass defense is predicated on sacks, qb pressures. A wet field takes away the power from the pass rush... This could be ugly............ Quote
cravnravn Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 Rain is advantage Steelers. The Ravens pass defense is predicated on sacks, qb pressures. A wet field takes away the power from the pass rush... This could be ugly............I think it will effect the passer as well, dink and dunk from Ben might just work in our favor. Quote
vmax Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 there is as huge misconception that the steelers still struggle to stop the run. They finished the year with the 6th best rush defense. They also just completely shut down Hill Your line is very beat up and the steelers have gotten 12 sacks in the past two games since Harrison returned. No Monroe out there on him and his tendincy to go off against the Ravens could spell a very long day for Flacco. The quick short passes the Steelers use work in bad weather hence why the Pats do the same thing. The combination of Brown, Wheaton, and Bryant is just going to be too much for the ravens secondary. All three of them can take a slant or a screen to the house in a matter of seconds. The steelers will be able to run because you have to respect our pass and Ben is the highest rated qb against the blitz and its by a lot. You are so right. What fools we are for thinking the Ravens have any chance.They will be murdered!I'm so depressed. Quote
vmax Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 The bigger and largely unspoken problem for the Steelers offense is that it’s just not terribly good right now, whether Bell plays or not.While we have been compelled to wait a full season for Dick LeBeau’s defense to catch up with Todd Haley’s offense, or at least claw to within the same zip code in terms of real competence, the offense has, in a sense, backtracked to meet the defenders.Still statistically robust at No. 2 in the NFL, Ben Roethlisberger’s outfit has quietly turned down the heat. Sure there were six touchdowns against Indianapolis, six more against the Ravens the next week, and five Dec. 7 at Cincinnati, but now the Steelers haven’t scored more than two offensive touchdowns in the same game in nearly a month.Worse, the guy who has scored half of those has a hyperextended knee.Much of this is traceable to weakness in the red zone. Never one of the top teams from the 20 on in (they rank 18th in the league in that category, scoring touchdowns only 53 percent of the time), their success rate is only 44 percent over the past three games. http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/gene-collier/2015/01/01/Gene-Collier-Dangerous-intersection-of-Steelers-and-Ravens/stories/201501010096 Quote
vmax Posted January 3, 2015 Posted January 3, 2015 A heavy, ice cold rain is also expected in Saturday night’s Ravens-Steelers matchup in Pittsburgh, which will be televised on NBC. An 84 percent chance of saturating rain is projected for Pittsburgh around kickoff at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, per the National Weather Service, with the probability of Steeler fans being saturated in the near freezing cold that will cause their penis's to shrink. Quote
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