PDA

View Full Version : Ravens Insider gets it, gives props to Heinz Field crowd



Akagi
01-16-2011, 02:48 PM
From an article titled


Five Things We Learned in the Ravens 31-24 loss (http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/blog/2011/01/five_things_we_learned_in_the_ravens_3124_loss.htm l)


5. As admirable as it is that the Ravens can win playoff games on the road, if they want to take the next step toward the Super Bowl, they need to take care of business and get a bye and a home playoff game in 2011.
At one point in the third quarter when the Ravens were melting down, the press box at Heinz Field was literally bouncing. It was a little like being in a tiny earthquake, except with a bad pop music soundtrack. Some 68,000 people were whipping those yellow towels around, snarling like bloodthirsty Romans at the Colosseum.
I'll never, ever be one of those people who buy into this idea that the referees are screwing the Ravens. In fact, I hate that attitude. It reflects one of my least favorite things about Baltimore, this whiny belief that no one wants to see the city succeed, and that the failures of its sports teams are always someone else's fault. The Ravens lost this game because they had an epic meltdown on offense in the third quarter, not because of any one call made by the officials. But I do believe emotion and atmosphere play a factor in the way games are officiated, and when the crowd starts going nuts, the officials get caught up that tidal wave of emotion. Studies show it's just a fact. You get more calls at home. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403112044.htm)That's one reason why you want home playoff games.
Does Marcus Smith get flagged for that holding penalty on Webb's punt return if it occurs at M&T Bank Stadium? Probably not. It was a really close call. Both guys were grabbing jerseys on that play, and the Steeler defender, Will Allen, flopped when he realized Webb was going to score. (Smart play by him. Christiano Renaldo would have been proud at that dive Allen took.) And maybe in a home game, the officials might take notice of the fact that Jarret Johnson was getting dragged to the ground and blatantly held there on the play before Mendenhall's touchdown run, a play where Terrence Cody was flagged for defensive holding on a run play, of all things.
But that's why home-field advantage is so important, and why the Ravens' loss to the Bengals early in the year truly did end up mattering, no matter how many times the Ravens said it didn't matter. That was the one truly bad loss of the season, a loss to an inferior team. If you want to make a Super Bowl run, you need to win as many games as possible to position yourself to play at home in the playoffs. That stuff matters.

tube517
01-16-2011, 03:39 PM
#3 is really what has killed the Ravens over this decade. Yeah, Heinz field is always a big advantage but the core group of Steelers vets have won on the road and at home in the playoffs so it didn't really matter. They were supposed to have the receivers to take them to the next level. In all honesty, the pick up of Doucehmanzillayomama was a cheap stopgap for this year. Boldin was a great pickup. Stallworth was is and will be a non-factor but coming in to the season was fine for depth. Now, Mason is old, Douche is a whiny girl and they would be really really dumb to re-sign him and Stallworth, who hasn't been as good as he was at New Orleans. And Boldin is injury prone now and was shut out yesterday.

Akagi
01-16-2011, 06:04 PM
All of it is pretty spot on, but since this is a Steelers forum I only considered the part pertaining to us to be worth repeating...

CPanther95
01-16-2011, 06:10 PM
Pretty spot on. Especially when he slams Baltimore fans for whining about refs being against them, then proceeds to finish up by whining about missed calls. lol.

Dino 6 Rings
01-16-2011, 07:07 PM
Its a pretty good read...and really, he is right...being at Home does help in big games.

Count Steeler
01-16-2011, 07:12 PM
Its a pretty good read...and really, he is right...being at Home does help in big games.

Sure the Pats* think so. Hehehe

43Hitman
01-16-2011, 07:13 PM
Pretty spot on. Especially when he slams Baltimore fans for whining about refs being against them, then proceeds to finish up by whining about missed calls. lol.


lol, you noticed that too huh?

VTsteel
01-16-2011, 07:24 PM
Another good point from that article was in the comments afterward:

"Paul Kruger and Sergio Kindle were misses..." I'll give Ozzie a pass on Kindle since his "narcolepsy" causes him to drive drunk at 4 am. But Ozzie has had a BUNCH of huge misses in the last 5 or 6 years while the Steelers have quietly added SOLID players that contribute immediately (Pouncey, Wallace, Mendenhall, Hood.) This is a big problem, and we all keep saying what a great GM Ozzie is. (Marcus Smith, ONiel Cousins, Pitta, Cody, Kruger, against those names above just doesn't cut it.)"

And that is true - our front office is superior!! :tt02:

Merchant
01-16-2011, 07:40 PM
Amazing how one play (Troy's strip of Flacco) can change an entire season. If that didn't happen, we lose that game, we're IN baltimore for the playoffs and likely getting the short end of the stick.

Stlrs4Life
01-16-2011, 08:11 PM
He's also wrong, Allen didn't flop on that play, as a matter of fact, Allen was injured on that play.

fansince'76
01-16-2011, 08:18 PM
But I do believe emotion and atmosphere play a factor in the way games are officiated, and when the crowd starts going nuts, the officials get caught up that tidal wave of emotion. Studies show it's just a fact. You get more calls at home.Really? Let's review:

Steelers: 9 penalties for 93 yards.

Ravens: 6 penalties for 74 yards.

Whatever. Tell it to the hand. :hand:

tube517
01-16-2011, 08:28 PM
:rofl2:


Really? Let's review:

Steelers: 9 penalties for 93 yards.

Ravens: 6 penalties for 74 yards.

Whatever. Tell it to the hand. :hand:

Akagi
01-16-2011, 08:39 PM
The officiating was atrocious in that game, and both teams deserved better.

But the point the guy is trying to make isn't that the refs blew the game our way; it's that the Ravens need to win the little games during the year to earn the home field advantage, and they don't. And the compliment is that the fans in Heinz Field gave a HUGE advantage to the Steelers. Damn right we did. And we EARNED it.

I think his point about home field teams getting the calls is valid; witness Polamalu's non-int in Indianapolis in '05. If there is any better proof available of home field intimidation, I haven't seen it. We live with it, and overcome it. But it's easier when it's the other team that has to overcome it. Because sometimes they don't (and sometimes we don't). Facts of life.