Three Keys to Success for a Steelers Win

From: ESPN

1. Confuse and hurry Flacco: Although he is a rookie, this will not be an easy chore, but the Steelers’ blitz packages are a lot for any signal-caller to handle mentally. The strength of the Ravens’ offensive line is on the interior, and the Steelers’ fantastic pair of 3-4 outside linebackers surely will give Baltimore’s edge protection all it can handle. The Steelers had five sacks in the last meeting, including two-and-a-half by ROLB James Harrison, who is playing like a future defensive player of the year. Baltimore will often have to give the edge protectors help against Harrison and LOLB LaMarr Woodley. That might open up blitz possibilities up the middle, which will force Flacco to respond very quickly in finding his hot receivers. Flacco is more comfortable in the shotgun and running the no-huddle, which could buy him time to figure out what Pittsburgh throws at him. Flacco is mobile for such a tall quarterback, and Cameron will get him on the move at times with waggles and designed rollouts to help the Ravens protect. A new wrinkle for Pittsburgh has been lining Woodley and Harrison up on the same side. Harrison had a sack and created yet another fumble out of this formation last week. Baltimore’s running backs are also adept pass protectors but will still be tested heavily this week. Baltimore did not allow a sack last week, but the Steelers’ defense has a league-best 45 sacks on the season. It will be a big challenge for a quarterback who has started only 14 NFL games, none as big as this one.

2. Account for and limit Haloti Ngata: As it is for most 3-4 nose tackles, the work Ngata does isn’t always visible on the stat sheet. He occupies the middle of the field tremendously well, though, and makes the life of his colleagues, especially LBs Ray Lewis and Bart Scott, much easier. However, Ngata is far more than just a two-gap nose tackle. Ryan asks a lot of him, and Ngata responds. He can line up at any interior line position and use a two-gap technique to occupy space or use his tremendous quickness to abruptly penetrate the A or B gaps. None of the Steelers’ interior offensive linemen is a good match for him in one-on-one situations. Ngata actually lined up at linebacker some last week and comes in on offense as a tight end in Baltimore’s short-yardage situations. He is truly an amazing specimen, and the Ravens are wisely creating more ways to use his tremendous talent because he can change a game.

3. Win the running game: Running room is going to be sparse for both offenses. Baltimore usually gets yards from the quantity rather than the quality of carries, while the Steelers too often drift away from their rushing attack when it isn’t initially thriving. Like Baltimore, Pittsburgh will have to use more than one runner to accomplish this goal. Willie Parker has been tough to count on, but he also has looked powerful and explosive at times recently. Mewelde Moore runs with good vision but isn’t able to push the pile or consistently break long runs. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians must stay dedicated to this portion of his offense, lest he risk making Roethlisberger easy prey for a ferocious Baltimore pass rush. Pittsburgh had just 66 yards rushing last week (Parker was able to muster only 25 yards on 12 carries), but Arians also clearly got away from this portion of the Steelers’ attack against the Cowboys. It should also be noted that the Steelers’ short-yardage ineffectiveness is as glaring a weakness as ever.