All of the pundits, prognosticators, instigators, alligators and anyone with tongue and teeth; gushed and rushed to judgment concerning the meeting between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The lowly Ravens would have no chance against the high flying, gravity defying aerial shooting wide receivers out of a cannon act of the mighty, wild card bound Steelers.
The Steelers began their day at an “oasis” of hope, loading their pack animals with enough supplies and water to get them to the promised land of Lombardi to capture the Holy Grail of Super Bowl 50. They ended their day gulping down mouthfuls of sand, kicked in their faces with glee by those that they thought they could bully.
The Steelers journey to paradise ended up in the middle of the “desert of selfishness.”
Pittsburgh was trapped by the predators who just hours before were themselves on the way to the slaughterhouse. In less than three hours the Baltimore Ravens transformed themselves from being the prime entrée listed on the menu to scrapping the original house specials by offering new food choices and by rewriting the menu itself; afterward basking by the pool, stomachs full slurping down “victory margaritas” reserved only for the victors.
You never miss your water till your well runs dry. There was an air of selfishness and ego that may have cost the Steelers their ticket to ride on the 2015 playoff train. During the prior week, everyone knew that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was going to target his All-Pro stable-mate All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown, everyone shuddered at the possibility of that matchup, wellexcept the Baltimore Ravens.
It appears as if the Ravens burned the candle a both ends figuring out how to put the Steelers dynamic duo on ice and Baltimore’s defensive strategy succeeded overwhelmingly. Roethlisberger targeted Brown 11 times but only completed 7 passes to his “buddy” for a paltry 61 yards.
Roethlisberger had a total of 24 completions out of 33 attempts with two interceptions. You do the math. Early on if Brown would have used a decoy to open up the Ravens defense there may have been a distinct possibility that the Steelers dined on a postgame meal of “Ravens under glass” as opposed to a horribly seasoned portions of “crows on a fence.”
There is no excuse for forcing the ball into coverage. “I never felt in a rhythm all day,” Roethlisberger tried to explain. You can explain horrible, throws, dropped balls and incompletions but it is very difficult to rationalize terrible decisions. If the coverage is too tight, throw the ball away.
For God’s sake, this game represented a chance to go to the playoffs. Did you think that Bill “Bellicheat” oops I meant Belichick was going to help the Steelers get to the NFL postseason dance. It would not surprise me if “Sir Belicheat” gave the wrong instructions to his captains to defer before the Patriots and the Jets began their first overtime period.
I have never seen any team refuse the ball to begin an overtime period. Are you telling me that there was no discussion on the Patriots sideline before the Patriots captains went to midfield for the overtime coin toss?
After the game Rachel G. Bowers a Boston Globe Staff writer wrote that; “The Patriots’ decision to kick off to the Jets in overtime, rather than receive the ball, was not a mistake, coach Bill Belichick said.” Why would you not put the ball in the hands of Tom Brady if you really wanted to win and especially if your defense had been suspect almost all day?
C’mon man! I didn’t think the Patriots/Jets game would be that close. Smells like a little bit of WWE/Vince McMahon cologne is now on sale, do you agree? The only chance that the Steelers have to reach the postseason is the disdain that ex-Jets Head Coach and current Buffalo Bills headmaster Rex Ryan has for his former employer and the fact that a Buffalo Bills victory over the NY Jets would possibly knock the Jets out of the playoffs.
How sweet that would be for “Tyrannosaurus Rex” and the Bills General Manager Doug Whaley. A few folks talked about the Cincinnati Bengals choking when they reach the playoffs. Well it looks to me like the Steelers may have choked in Baltimore in a game that may have prevented them from reaching the playoffs.
Aubrey Bruce may be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412.583.6741
Follow him on Twitter@ultrascribe
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