Cheers and Jeers for Ravens/Steelers

Ravens 9          Steelers 13

Never in all my years as a Ravens fan have I felt so physically sick after a football game.  Not only did the Steelers sweep the Ravens for the first time since 2002, but once again, the Steelers walked out with another lucky win, thanks in large part to the incompetent officiating crew in Baltimore.

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Steelers not only walked out with a tainted victory in Baltimore, but they walked out clinching a bye in the playoffs and the AFC North Division Championship.  The Baltimore Ravens, now 9-5 on the season, still hold on to the final wildcard spot, but will need to win out to clinch the final wildcard spot in the AFC Playoffs.

Never have I seen a more one sided officiated contest in my entire life, not even Super Bowl XL.  Two plays come to mind that were reviewed by the officiating staff at yesterday’s game:

1. The “first down” where the Ravens stuffed the run which would have led to 4th down and would have nullified the field goal.

2. The Santiono Holmes “touchdown”.  A blind man could see on the replay there was no conclusive evidence to overturn that call.  If the call would’ve stood, it would’ve been 4th and one on the one yard line and the Ravens could have put the game away with the goal line stand.

This game is a travesty and showcases everything that is wrong with incompetent officiating in not just the NFL, but sports in general.  Anyway, here are my cheers and jeers for this sorry excuse for a fairly officiated game:

Cheers:

Special Teams: An outstanding job by perennial Pro Bowler Sam Koch pinning the Steelers back three times inside the 20 yard line.  Jim Leonhard did a fine job setting up the Ravens in good field position.  Ravens future Hall of Famer Matt Stover booted three field goals, despite his hurt ankle.

Le’Ron McClain: Rushing for 85 yards against the Steelers run defense is not an easy task.  Great job all around by the Freight Train!

The Defense: To not give up a single touchdown early on, after the Steelers had some great field position, is a testament to the will and determination of the Ravens defense.  The Ravens defense forced two Steelers turnover, one fumble recovered by Ed Reed and forced by Samari Rolle and an interception by Brandon McKinney.  The Ravens sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger three times in this game, all by Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs.  The Ravens defense allowed only 47 yards rushing from Willie Parker as well.

Jeers:

Conservative Play Calling: The ball needs to be aired out more.  Le’Ron McClain did an outstanding job running the ball, but that will only get you so far.  Air the ball out there and don’t be afraid of the Steelers defense.

Joe Flacco: He played like a rookie today and that was his biggest downfall.  Joe Flacco threw for only 115 yards and threw two interceptions against the number one defense in the NFL.  Flacco only completed 11 passes as well in this game.

The Defense: They get it twice for allowing one of the worst offenses in the NFL to march down the field 92 yards to the one yard line in the 4th quarter.

The Officials: Enough has been said on that one.

The Baltimore Ravens will now travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys this Saturday night.  It will be the last game played at Texas Stadium and the Ravens will look to ruin this special evening for Big D.

Steelers fans, I will not concern myself with you when you tell me to stop complaining and accept this fact the Ravens lost. Yes, they lost. Yes, the Steelers marched 92 yards down the field on us.  Yes, Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward take group showers together and wash each others backs, but that’s not the point, it’s another big win tarnshed by a referees decision, just like Super Bowl XL.  Be proud of your tainted win and division title, seriously, go out and drink some Iron City piss water and dance the night away with your 300 lb. girlfriends and wives in the Squeel City.  We are moving on to Dallas and we’ll see you again the the playoffs this year.