Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Pre-Ravens Observations

Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil vs. Marcus Gilbert and Kelvin Beachum: What could possibly go wrong?  

Everything should be fine.  Then there's Haoti Ngata, Chris Canty and Co., but so what?

The Ravens are an unimpressive 3-3 and showing symptoms of a Super Bowl hangover.

They must be looking forward to taking on an even less-impressive 1-4 Steelers squad on Sunday, but this is a winnable game for the Steelers. Did we really just say that?

What Rivalry?
Yes. On the other hand, as much as we'd like to assume this will be another classic Steelers-Ravens slugfest ... we don't know what to expect.

The impulse is to say the Ravens and Steelers know each other so-o-o well, but they don't.

Both teams have many new faces. The Steelers now have -- we've lost count -- but the Steelers now have something like 25 players who weren't even on the roster at the beginning of last season.

Many of the players apparently have no idea what it means to be a Steeler, and some no doubt have zero comprehension of the longtime, built-up virulent enmity between the Ravens and Steelers.

Do you think Felix Jones has any idea?  Vince Williams?  Le'Veon Bell?

Speaking of whom, the somersault antics of clueless Emmanuel Sanders last Sunday bring to mind the backflip into the end zone Bell executed on his first NFL touchdown a few weeks ago in London.

After the game, Bell said he "tweaked" his foot (Lisfranc injury) during the game. That little comment went overlooked, but Joey Porter's Pit Bulls' ears perked up when he said it because, if you look at the video of his backflip, he came up on his foot hard and seemed to jam it.  He hasn't shown much burst since.

Just an observation.