Sunday January 18th. 6:30 pm.

I know that I'll catch lots of shit for writing this, but I'm feeling that a realistic commentary on this weekend's match-up is in order.

I really hope my Ravens can pull it out on Sunday. But honestly, there's really no football-related reason why they should win. They haven't proven themselves capable of beating the Steelers by any stretch of the imagination, at this point, from a technical standpoint. I love them with all my heart and I'll root for them til the end, whatever the end may be, but they have GOT to step it up. We have beaten Miami and Tennessee because their defenses could not rival ours, and though our offense has been touch-and-go, our defense was able to make up for it. I'm thrilled to have a new quarterback who is brave and has a great arm and impressive accuracy, but the coaching staff still isn't confident enough to let him work, and it's been killing us offensively. So anyway, we've been able to get by with the points we could muster on offense because we were playing against average defenses, our defense didn't allow many points, and our defense scored some for us. The Steelers, however, have a defense that at least matches ours, and surpasses ours by the numbers. This WILL present a serious obstacle. Our already timid offense (strategically speaking) will be up against a defense that has the potential to give them a VERY hard time. They will throw at us the same things our defense throws at other teams, and the Steelers are the only other team in the NFL that is capable of doing that. We've proven twice that such a defensive opponent is incredibly tough for our offense to handle.

That is my biggest worry. I know that our defense will come through. They always do. They will produce some turnovers, they will give us good field position, and they may even score us some points. However, our offense has proven over and over that it is often unable to capitalize on those opportunities, and if there's any team that it will be difficult to capitalize against, it's the Steelers. We had 4 turnovers against Miami and only scored off of ONE of them, and it was because Ed Reed was able to return his interception for a touch down. Our defense can only do so much, and then it's up to our offense to make the magic happen. I want to see our our offense show up in a way that they haven't yet shown up, in my opinion, this season. They're going to HAVE to. And I don't just mean the players, I mean the coaching staff, too. I love Joe just as much as the next guy, but he's been playing behind a tremendous defense that has handed a lot to him, in terms of points and momentum and field position. When we play against a team with those same advantages PLUS a veteran quarterback ("veteran" as compared to Flacco), Joe starts to look like a rookie again. Which is ok, because he IS a rookie. Part of what makes him look like a rookie, though, is the lack of trust that our coaching staff has placed in him. When he gets into a rhythm and is attempting passes regularly, he does very well. He has a GREAT overall QB rating, particularly for a rookie. But take last week for example. Joe attempted 22 passes for 161 yards. Now, does 22 pass plays in an entire game sound like the play calling of an offensive coordinator who's confident in his QB? We rushed for 50 yards - that's right, FIFTY - in the entire game. FIFTY. Clearly, the running game wasn't working for us. Yet they STILL only allowed him 22 pass plays in the entire game.

We have GOT to let Flacco do his job this weekend. He has proven that when he throws, he does a great job. We have nothing to lose by letting him throw the ball, because if we thought our running game got smashed by the Titans, we'll be in for a BIG surprise when we come up against the playoff Steelers. If he doesn't throw the ball more than he did last week, we'll end up with less than 150 yards of total offense in the entire game, and that means we'll have to place the entire game on our defense's shoulders. We joke about the Steelers being a bunch of bitches, and of course THEY ARE, but they are a DAMN strong team, and particularly in the playoffs with the Super Bowl just a game away. When you look at this match-up and then consider what's going on in the NFC, it's hard not to laugh. Seriously - Philly and Arizona? This game may as well be the Super Bowl, because whoever wins on Sunday at 6:30 will win it all.

All that being said, I have faith in my Ravens not because I believe that they've proven that they're a techincally better team. They haven't. The commentators will probably be justified in favoring the Steelers. I have faith in them because they have a serious passion that I think no other team in the NFL has. I honestly believe that the business history of football in Baltimore has made much of the country very hostile to Baltimore, and our team has dealt with it from day one. They've dealt with the accusations and the run-ins with the law and the put-downs and the generally hostility all this time, and it pisses us all off. Baltimore has a stadium that other teams don't want to play in because it has an enflamed, passionate, pissed-off fan base. We love our Ravens because so much of the time it feels like it's us against the football world, and they know how much we love them. They know how loyal we are and how hard we root for them and how hard we defend them. Football may be a business, but I think it's personal around here. Top off all that passionate energy with a match-up against our most bitter rivals, and you have a recipe for some FIRED UP Ravens. The Steelers haven't had to work through such adversity. They have fans all over the place because Baltimore lost a team, everyone hated the Skins, and the next closest team was a few states away, so they've enjoyed a gravy fan base all along. They have a long team history to fall back on, too. They don't have nearly as much to prove, and I really don't believe that they want it as bad. I think that THEY believe they do, but they have no idea.

I think my Ravens will find it in themselves to show up like they've never shown up before, not only because they want the Super Bowl, but because they have something to prove, and because I think they truly appreciate us as much as we love them. They rely on us, because we're the only ones who have their backs - they don't have commentators who kiss their asses or refs that want their babies - they just have us. And they don't want to let us OR themselves down. And behind all that passion is Ray Lewis, who I will be forever thankful for no matter how old he gets and how many steps he loses as his career comes to a close. Other players are making bigger plays these days, but here in Baltimore, we all know that Ray is behind it all. I believe that we work best when the chips are down and the odds are against us, so my own amateur technical analysis is almost comforting. I'd rather we be the underdogs, because we have a knack for proving people wrong ;)

GO RAVENS!!! #20