It's RATBIRD Week again !!

[Psycho Ward 86]

Man...tell you what. This game was gonna be brutal even if we were 100% healthy. But now with Farrior out, Harrison and Woodley almost assuredly out, everybody has to step up their game. At least this time the secondary and passing offense is playing like a revamped machine

[7SteelGal43]

HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO ! !

[steelerdiva]

Hey squeeler fans. Don't worry KC was the perfect game to have right before we face the pittstsins.Dont worry they will get it together. Best of luck I predict ben gets sacked 6 times fumbles 2 . You have no answer for Ngata and T sizze!

Boy...go do your homework and stop botherin' grown folks!

[O'Malley]

Ratbird fans sure are confident their going to come in to Heinz Field and go home with a win...

[suitanim]

Hey squeeler fans. Don't worry KC was the perfect game to have right before we face the pittstsins.Dont worry they will get it together. Best of luck I predict ben gets sacked 6 times fumbles 2 . You have no answer for Ngata and T sizze!

Uncle Leo?

[Count Steeler]

Hey squeeler fans. Don't worry KC was the perfect game to have right before we face the pittstsins.Dont worry they will get it together. Best of luck I predict ben gets sacked 6 times fumbles 2 . You have no answer for Ngata and T sizze!

Welcome to the board.

I thought you played Arizona last game.

[Gabefergy]

Hola Steelers Nation. First I just want to say I am a HUGE Ravens fan, but I am an objective fan of football and like some good discussion. I like this board a lot as you guys all seem to be pretty level-headed too.

So its Ravens - Steelers again. I wish this game was later in the season, but hey this game is too awesome to complain about. A couple of thoughts going into the match-up. A lot of talk about possibly missing Woodley and Harrison. This would obviously effect the Steelers pass-rush, but I think it might have a larger impact in your run defense and ability to cover our TEs and Rice out of the backfield. Our O-line has been really porous recently so you will probably be able to pressure Flacco with anyone you put out there. I think Ravens may try to use a lot of 2 TE sets in this game to help with protection and still have the ability to run and pass.

Your Offense has looked great recently. Man I love your WRs! Sanders was making NE DBs look silly out there LOL. (just an aside, my deepest condolences to him and his family. Losing a loved one is a terrible thing to go through) Antonio Brown has looked great as well, and we all know how good Wallace is. I think our DBs match up pretty well against them though. We have some good cover guys with Webb and Williams and Carr in the slot. Jimmy Smith is getting into the mix too, and has looked good in his limited snaps. Just curious, how do you guys feel about Hines? Your offense seems a lot scarier with him on the sidelines.

Anyways, heres to hoping for a good clean game. No more injuries please and lets hope the officials let these guys go at it. Of course I gotta pick my Ravens in a close on, maybe 20-17, but it could easily go either way.

[X-Terminator]

Hola Gabefergy and welcome to the Universe! It's nice to have another cool Ravens fan here, even though we don't like your team very much There are 2 other Ravens fans here who are very well-respected, so you're not alone! Personally, I believe having both Woodley and Harrison out of the lineup is going to really hurt our defense, more than some of our fans realize. Yeah, they got the job done Sunday with some backups, but I'm not real comfortable about how they will do against Ray Rice, who let's face it IS the Ravens' offense. They were able to contain Welker, Gronkowski and Hernandez on Sunday, so I'm sure they can handle Boldin and Dickson, but again that could hurt their rush defense. The Steelers' offense may have to win this one this week, and with the way they've been playing, I think they can. Just got to convert more red zone possessions into TDs rather than FGs. That's one area where we really miss Hines, because he is still money in the red zone despite his age.

Here's to a classic Steelers/Ravens slugfest, with of course the Steelers coming out on top - I'm thinking 23-20. And again, welcome!

[suitanim]

You know.....one thing about having all these "old guys" injured? It means our defense will be young and spry.

I'm going with the average score over the last 15 years, Steelers 24, Ratbirds 17

[ALLD]

Polamalu comes up with a pick6 and the Steelers win 31 - 21.

[Hindes204]

Hola Steelers Nation. First I just want to say I am a HUGE Ravens fan, but I am an objective fan of football and like some good discussion. I like this board a lot as you guys all seem to be pretty level-headed too.

So its Ravens - Steelers again. I wish this game was later in the season, but hey this game is too awesome to complain about. A couple of thoughts going into the match-up. A lot of talk about possibly missing Woodley and Harrison. This would obviously effect the Steelers pass-rush, but I think it might have a larger impact in your run defense and ability to cover our TEs and Rice out of the backfield. Our O-line has been really porous recently so you will probably be able to pressure Flacco with anyone you put out there. I think Ravens may try to use a lot of 2 TE sets in this game to help with protection and still have the ability to run and pass.

Your Offense has looked great recently. Man I love your WRs! Sanders was making NE DBs look silly out there LOL. (just an aside, my deepest condolences to him and his family. Losing a loved one is a terrible thing to go through) Antonio Brown has looked great as well, and we all know how good Wallace is. I think our DBs match up pretty well against them though. We have some good cover guys with Webb and Williams and Carr in the slot. Jimmy Smith is getting into the mix too, and has looked good in his limited snaps. Just curious, how do you guys feel about Hines? Your offense seems a lot scarier with him on the sidelines.

Anyways, heres to hoping for a good clean game. No more injuries please and lets hope the officials let these guys go at it. Of course I gotta pick my Ravens in a close on, maybe 20-17, but it could easily go either way.

Welcome to the board!!! Its nice to see a classy and informed fan of the game.

Woodley will be missed, some folks on here dont think he is worth the money we spent on him, well, they are about to see just how valuable of a piece he is. Ray Rice scares me, he is ridiculously good. Im hoping we can contain him and force Flacco to throw. I dont think Flacco will have much success with the way our pass defense is playing. Our young recievers are so quick its scary. Im hoping Ben has a big game. I for one think missing Hines is huge and the main reason our redzone offense has struggled.

It will be interesting to see Lebeau's game plan with a lot of our main defensive weapons missing.

Of course Im going to pick the Steelers to win...I say 28-10. Im hoping the Steelers come out pissed off and swinging (not literally of course) because of the ass whooping they took in week one.

[Dino 6 Rings]

This game makes me giggle. Why? Because all the pressure is on the Ravens to win it. Explain? Why sure.

First off, the Steelers are 6-2 while the Ravens are 5-2. Play it out, Steelers win, 7-2 vs 5-3. At 5-3 The Ravens are on the outside of the playoffs looking for and praying for a wild card spot. It will also start the "Ravens can't win when it matters" chatter all over again. It will start the "Steelers once again prove they are elite" Talk all over again. The Pressure is all on the Ravens, if they lose this, they pretty much can forget making the season matter and it just shows that weak 1 was a huge fluke. Can you imagine if the Ravens can't get more then say, 16 points against a Steelers Defense that doesn't have 1/3 of its starters on the field? Seriously? If the Steelers win this game, the Ravens are going to implode completely. Its all right there.

Should the Steelers lose, oh well, we'll still make the playoffs, and will most likely beat the Ravens when it matters most in an elimination game, but if the Ravens lose...ha! Complete team implosion. Probably lose to the Bengals or Browns or even Colts after they quit on each other because they realize they can't ever beat the Steelers.

Free Rent in their heads.

[Gabefergy]

This game makes me giggle. Why? Because all the pressure is on the Ravens to win it. Explain? Why sure.

First off, the Steelers are 6-2 while the Ravens are 5-2. Play it out, Steelers win, 7-2 vs 5-3. At 5-3 The Ravens are on the outside of the playoffs looking for and praying for a wild card spot. It will also start the "Ravens can't win when it matters" chatter all over again. It will start the "Steelers once again prove they are elite" Talk all over again. The Pressure is all on the Ravens, if they lose this, they pretty much can forget making the season matter and it just shows that weak 1 was a huge fluke. Can you imagine if the Ravens can't get more then say, 16 points against a Steelers Defense that doesn't have 1/3 of its starters on the field? Seriously? If the Steelers win this game, the Ravens are going to implode completely. Its all right there.

Should the Steelers lose, oh well, we'll still make the playoffs, and will most likely beat the Ravens when it matters most in an elimination game, but if the Ravens lose...ha! Complete team implosion. Probably lose to the Bengals or Browns or even Colts after they quit on each other because they realize they can't ever beat the Steelers.

Free Rent in their heads.

I would just like to point out that, you could flip that argument to the other side as well. If the Ravens win it in Pittsburgh they will be in the driver's seat to take control of the AFC North. Yeah, the Bengals are playing better than expected, but they have played a very easy schedule so far. Frankly if Pittsburgh was to lose, they would be in just as bad a position as if the Ravens lose. I could even argue that they would be in a worse position with a 0-2 Divisional record as opposed to a 1-1 record for the Ravens if they lose. Can you imagine the fallout if Pitt were to get sweeped by the Ravens? That impressive win against NE suddenly doesnt mean nearly as much if they cant win the division. Either way this game is huge for both teams, and frankly I think both teams play a great game.

Now, I'm not saying that the Ravens will win, I would like them to but we will have to wait and see. I am expecting a defensive struggle, and it will probably come down to who can make a big play on O or force a TO on D. Its going to be a great game, Sunday cant get here fast enough!

Also just like to say thanks for the welcome to your board. Some of the other Steelers sites, are umm, less than friendly.

[fansince'76]

I would just like to point out that, you could flip that argument to the other side as well. If the Ravens win it in Pittsburgh they will be in the driver's seat to take control of the AFC North. Yeah, the Bengals are playing better than expected, but they have played a very easy schedule so far. Frankly if Pittsburgh was to lose, they would be in just as bad a position as if the Ravens lose. I could even argue that they would be in a worse position with a 0-2 Divisional record as opposed to a 1-1 record for the Ravens if they lose. Can you imagine the fallout if Pitt were to get sweeped by the Ravens? That impressive win against NE suddenly doesnt mean nearly as much if they cant win the division. Either way this game is huge for both teams, and frankly I think both teams play a great game.

Now, I'm not saying that the Ravens will win, I would like them to but we will have to wait and see. I am expecting a defensive struggle, and it will probably come down to who can make a big play on O or force a TO on D. Its going to be a great game, Sunday cant get here fast enough!

Also just like to say thanks for the welcome to your board. Some of the other Steelers sites, are umm, less than friendly.

First off, welcome to the board!

If the Steelers lose this game, the win over the Patriots definitely becomes much less significant. I sincerely hope that they can keep the same fire that they had in that game and carry it over into Sunday night's game. They've had problems keeping momentum from big wins going in the past.

Either way, I expect things to return to "normal" in this game - a low scoring, down to the wire slugfest these two teams usually provide. Really looking forward to Sunday night! Best rivalry in the NFL and it's about damn time there was a prime time game worth watching this year.

[Bluecoat96]

Hey squeeler fans. Don't worry KC was the perfect game to have right before we face the pittstsins.Dont worry they will get it together. Best of luck I predict ben gets sacked 6 times fumbles 2 . You have no answer for Ngata and T sizze!

and....we have no answer for your incredible command of the English language, troll. We should all bow down to your obvious superior intellect. I can't believe your school lets you troll message boards during recess time.

[Dino 6 Rings]

I would just like to point out that, you could flip that argument to the other side as well. If the Ravens win it in Pittsburgh they will be in the driver's seat to take control of the AFC North. Yeah, the Bengals are playing better than expected, but they have played a very easy schedule so far. Frankly if Pittsburgh was to lose, they would be in just as bad a position as if the Ravens lose. I could even argue that they would be in a worse position with a 0-2 Divisional record as opposed to a 1-1 record for the Ravens if they lose. Can you imagine the fallout if Pitt were to get sweeped by the Ravens? That impressive win against NE suddenly doesnt mean nearly as much if they cant win the division. Either way this game is huge for both teams, and frankly I think both teams play a great game.

Now, I'm not saying that the Ravens will win, I would like them to but we will have to wait and see. I am expecting a defensive struggle, and it will probably come down to who can make a big play on O or force a TO on D. Its going to be a great game, Sunday cant get here fast enough!

Also just like to say thanks for the welcome to your board. Some of the other Steelers sites, are umm, less than friendly.

Actually no, not at all the same. See, the Steelers have in fact Beaten the Baltimore Ravens in the Playoffs when it matters. Have in fact beaten the Ravens in every single Elimination Game they have ever played against one another. For the Steelers dropping to 6-3 with the Browns, Bengals, Cheifs and Rams still ahead on the schedule means not that much, It'll suck, sure thing, but it won't add to an already existing Label of Choking against the Steelers, which is what Exists for the Ravens. See, so all the pressure is on the Ravens to win. If the Steelers lose, our Locker Room won't implode...same thing can't be said for the Ravens...in fact...it will be hysterical when that happens.

[suitanim]

That's a very good point...Steelers at 7-2 projects out to 13 wins (and the second half of our schedule is lighter), and they would have the homefield tie-breaker with the Pats. The Ratfilths at 5-3 projects out 10-6, which may or may not get them in on a wild card.

[Crow-Magnon]

It is an important game for both teams. Baltimore doesn't want to leave Heinz Field 5-3 with Pittsburgh at 7-2, nor does Pittsburgh want the Ravens to be 7-2 and having completed the sweep and setting themselves up for playing at home in the playoffs.

Trust me, as fans you may be thinking it's a bigger deal foe the Ravens to win, but Tomlin and the Steelers certainly aren't thinking that way.

[Gabefergy]

That's a very good point...Steelers at 7-2 projects out to 13 wins (and the second half of our schedule is lighter), and they would have the homefield tie-breaker with the Pats. The Ratfilths at 5-3 projects out 10-6, which may or may not get them in on a wild card.

The only significant difference between the second half of our respective schedules is we play at SD while you play at KC. Its hard to argue that SD is playing much better than KC right now. I would also think playing at home against SF would be an advantage for the Ravens as opposed to playing them away. We also get to play a cupcake game at home against Indy.

[suitanim]

After Sunday, I stop caring about the Rats, so it's irrelevant what their schedule is like. Considering that they lost to JAX, there are no cake games for Baltimore anymore as long as unibrow is on the trigger...

[Count Steeler]

Every game is important and the Steelers need to rise up this week and get some payback on the Rats. It will be interesting to see if the chop blocks continue. Wonder if the refs are going to be more keen in watching for it. We have to win the battle of the trenches. Pure and simple.

This game is more important to the Steelers. We need to square our record with the Rats and carry on to the division title. Home field throughout the playoffs is in our hands to lose. Let's play Steelers football for 60 solid minutes and we will check the scoreboard at the end of it.

Here we go Steelers! Here we go!

[Dino 6 Rings]

After Sunday, I stop caring about the Rats, so it's irrelevant what their schedule is like. Considering that they lost to JAX, there are no cake games for Baltimore anymore as long as unibrow is on the trigger...

I agree, they are too inconsistent to really impress me at all. They cause me zero fear. They cowardly cried about not wanting to open up at our house week 1, and cried about now wanting to open up against us in a Night Game. So the NFL handed them a Home 1pm Game, in which they cowardly put us in our Dark Jersies so we'd be slowed by the burden of the heat, and it worked, clap clap clap. The stars were aligned and the Ravens got 7 turnovers and beat us by 4 scores. How nice for them.

Now this Sunday, they come to our house, we are Leading the AFC North and just got a huge monkey off our back beating one of the best offenses in the NFL at their own game. Lets see what they bring besides Bullshiiit Can't Win when it Counts Talk.

[suitanim]

I agree, they are too inconsistent to really impress me at all. They cause me zero fear. They cowardly cried about not wanting to open up at our house week 1, and cried about now wanting to open up against us in a Night Game. So the NFL handed them a Home 1pm Game, in which they cowardly put us in our Dark Jersies so we'd be slowed by the burden of the heat, and it worked, clap clap clap. The stars were aligned and the Ravens got 7 turnovers and beat us by 4 scores. How nice for them.

Now this Sunday, they come to our house, we are Leading the AFC North and just got a huge monkey off our back beating one of the best offenses in the NFL at their own game. Lets see what they bring besides Bullshiiit Can't Win when it Counts Talk.

If the ratfilth make the playoffs and we face them again, that will be the next time I worry about them. Personally, I think they are overrated, but maybe we are too...

[Dino 6 Rings]

If the ratfilth make the playoffs and we face them again, that will be the next time I worry about them. Personally, I think they are overrated, but maybe we are too...

now now now...the Pittsburgh Steelers are NEVER over rated...they just sometimes fail to meet Dino 6 Rings extremely high expectations.

[katmandu]

Man...tell you what. This game was gonna be brutal even if we were 100% healthy. But now with Farrior out, Harrison and Woodley almost assuredly out, everybody has to step up their game. At least this time the secondary and passing offense is playing like a revamped machine

It appears now James, Farrior and Hines very well might play!!!

[86WARD]

Just to get you into the right frame of mind for Sunday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeZ73iYm6ds

[SteelerEmpire]

Here ya go Ward...

[SteelerEmpire]

I like this one as well...