This Thursday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will be a big momentum swinger for both teams as they make it their mission to win the rivalry over each other twice every season. This makes for a physical battle in the making.
With the Ravens running game struggling and the Steelers looking to improve its pass defense, it’s a fact that the Ravens wide receivers vs the Steelers cornerbacks will be a crucial battle to determine who wins the game. Ravens starting wide receivers Torrey Smith and Steve Smith are known for their deep speed and physical play, along with having a knack for making clutch plays. Both of these players have big game experience and have both played in a Super Bowl, so no game is too big for them. Steve Smith is very much motivated to prove to the NFL that he is still a elite receiver.
The Steelers starting corners, Ike Taylor and Cortez Allen, are both tall, lanky defenders who are very physical as well. Taylor, over the past decade, has covered the best wide receivers in the game, including Torrey Smith and Steve Smith. The biggest positive for Taylor is his ability to cover a wide receiver without much safety help. That will be needed this Thursday as he covers speedster Torrey Smith. Allen possesses more playmaker ability than Talyor with his willingness to jump routes and go for interceptions. Allen’s mental toughness will be tested by Steve Smith as he is known for getting inside players’ heads.
With the Ravens running game taking a serious hit with the Ray Rice situation, they will rely more on their receivers to create offense. If Taylor and Allen are up to the challenge, it will be win number two for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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DrGeorge
September 11, 2014 at 1:10 pm
The Steelers have had only four days to figure out how to defend the no-huddle in hurry-up mode and to stop the run.
The team narrowly escaped Cleveland, after blowing a 24 point lead in the second half, and the Ravens have the tape. Even without Ray Rice, the Ravens have potent weapons in Pierce and Taliaferro on the ground and an excellent receiving corps. However, Flacco looked dreadful throwing the ball, in part because his receivers ran the wrong routes and dropped passes. The Ravens defense uncharacteristically allowed the Bengals a huge 77 yard TD run by Green with the game on the line.
Neither the Steelers nor the Ravens can count on the other team being so inept as they appeared at times last weekend, but four days is not an adequate period of time for either team to improve much. The Ravens desperately need a win to avoid an 0-2 start and to get the Ray Rice debacle behind them. The Steelers need a win to vindicate themselves and restore their confidence. Win or lose, this one shapes up as a very ugly contest between two equally-talented and highly-inconsistent teams. Look for another sloppy game tonight between two teams in transition, with the edge going to the Ravens because of home field advantage.