STEELERS BLACK -N- GOLD POST
A Pittsburgh Steelers Blog from the heart of Steelers Nation.

by Ramona Dye

Our Steelers will host the Baltimore Ravens this weekend in their second match-up of the season. It will be a bone crushing, jaw rattling smash mouth game per usual in this game of rivalry.

This game not only has huge implications for play-off berths but as well will be a game of revenge for our Steelers. Our last game against the Ravens came as a loss, one that has Steeler fans and players foaming at the mouth. Last game the Ravens faced a rookie back-up in Dennis Dixon, who did not do a bad job but threw for an interception in OT to give the Ravens a 20-17 win.

This game should be a little different because our veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be playing. Things to watch for in this game will be the amount of turnovers, and which team has the least amount of mistakes..

Big Bens' record against the Ravens is 6-2 and after this weekend I expect another win for him.

This game should be all that as fans we can ask for, with two teams whose hatred for one another is epic. Stats mean nothing because the players on both teams do not like each other. This game gives the Ravens the opportunity to own the trash talking until 2010, yet getting passed our Steelers will not be easy. Our Steelers will be ready to fight back and take out their aggressions of recent losses against a much heated rival.

As always, Here We Go!!!

by Ramona Dye

Roethlisberger ended the game the way he started it by throwing a 19 yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace that gave Pittsburgh a 37-36 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday that ended the Packers' five-game winning streak and the Steelers' five-game losing streak.

"The way the game ended was incredible, especially that last play," center Justin Hartwig said, comparing the last play of the game to Roethlisberger's 6-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes that beat Arizona for the NFL title last season. "It was obviously pretty reminiscent of the Super Bowl."

Roethlisberger was 29/46 with three TDs and 503 yards passing while becoming the first Steelers quarterback to throw for 500 yards in a game.

One the final drive of the game Big Ben kept our Steelers on the move with an 86 yard drive.

Down to the last play, Big Ben found Wallace open in the left front corner of the end zone with Josh Bell in coverage. Wallace managed to keep both feet in on the play and Jeff Reed added the extra point to go ahead of the Packers 37-36.

Roethlisberger broke a team record of 473 yards set by Tommy Maddox during a 34-34 tie against Atlanta in 2002.

Bens 503 yard game is a NFL league season high.

"The guys were coming back to the huddle worn out, linemen, receivers, everybody," Roethlisberger said. "We didn't quit. Everybody believed we could do it."

Wallace had to get stitches due to a gash in his knee just prior to the last play of the game.

"It was kind of hard to run," Wallace said. "But that's just Ben. That's all I can say. That's just Ben."

Wallace also caught a 60 yard touchdown pass on Pittsburgh's first play of the game.

Our Steelers join five other AFC teams tied at 7-7 in the chase for the AFC's last playoff spot.

"Not dead yet," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We've got a little pulse here."

This game featured nearly 900 yards passing. Roethlisberger was 29/46, 503 yards passing, 3 TDs and Rodgers was 26/48, 383 yards passing, 3 TDs.

There is still some hope for our Steelers to make the play-offs, first of which means our Steelers must win out against a division rival Baltimore Ravens next Sunday and the Miami Dolphins week 17.

There is more we need to happen for our play-off hopes to stay alive, we need the Jets and Jaguars to drop at least one of their last two games. We need the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the Denver Broncos this coming weekend and possibly the Oakland Raiders to beat the Ravens.

As always, Here We Go!!!

by Ramona Dye

After losing five in a row, our Steelers need a miracle to reach the playoffs one season after winning the Super Bowl. They have shown a true inability to beat bad teams, losing to the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns.

Defeating the Green Bay Packers could help to give them a shot at still making the play-offs.

There has been a lack of passion in their play, the intensity you normally see with our Steelers has vanished.

This game will be a game of pride, a game to hopefully regain some self-respect.

"The emphasis for me and my guys is not to ‘Hang in there,' " coach Mike Tomlin said. "Adversity is as much a part of this game as blocking and tackling. It's important that we keep that in perspective, and the perspective is we haven't played much winning football."

Steelers safety Ryan Clark says  "fans are too critical of a team that won a Super Bowl only 10 months ago."

What does he expect? Fans are use to a winning team and not the poor display of football they have seen thus far this season.

Depending on what kind of game the Steelers play on Sunday will determine the response this team will likely receieve from Steeler's Nation.

"I know there's a certain level of anger and frustration and disappointment with where we are," Tomlin said. "The big thing is that we use that as fuel and we mold that into a winning-caliber performance."

Let's hope coach Tomlin is correct in his comments. We as fans could sure use a victory as could our guys on the field.

As always, Here We Go!!!

by Ramona Dye

After a loss to the Raiders this past Sunday at home, our Steelers have lost four in a row and now stand at 6-6 with our hopes for a wild-card spot on shaky ground.

With seven teams in the wild-card mix, our Steelers will likely need to win out to have even a chance at securing a playoff spot.

Traveling to Cleveland on Thursday, this is a must win game for our Steelers but I am starting to think that our Steelers team does not have what it takes. They seem to lack the will and the drive to get them to the post season this year.

Some fans will use the term Super Bowl hangover, or injuries or a numerous other excuses. But I see it as a lack of will, no fire in their guts and yes, I am ashamed of their play thus far.

Look, I will always be a Pittsburgh Steeler fan but I will always be honest in what I see happening on the field and off.

I see a lack of preparations for the teams we have lost to during this season. I see issues with our coaching staff, communication problems between coaching staff and team players, bad play calls, poor team play, and injuries.

I can only hope coach Tomlin can get this team prepared to finish our last four games, starting with the Cleveland Browns.

As always, Here We go!!!

by Ramona Dye

This match-up is almost a "must win" for our Steelers. Going into this game with a 6-5 record this season, our Steelers really need to win out to keep the playoff hopes alive.

A little history on our match-ups against the Raiders.

Pittsburgh has an 8-9 record all-time against the Oakland Raiders in the regular season, including a 4-4 mark at home and a 4-5 record on the road.

This will be Oakland’s first trip to Pittsburgh since our Steelers defeated the Raiders, 24-21, on September 12, 2004, in the season opener.

That win, along with a 27-7 victory over Oakland on December 7, 2003 at Heinz Field, gives our Steelers a two-game home winning streak over the Raiders.

Pittsburgh has won three of the past four games over Oakland in Pittsburgh. Oakland defeated our Steelers, 20-13, on Oct. 29, 2006 in the most recent match-up between our teams.

Ben Roethlisberger passed for 301 yards in that game, but also threw a career-high four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

Our Steelers have a 5-2 record against the Raiders since the start of the Free Agency Era in 1993.

With 46 tackles in eight career games against the Raiders, LB James Farrior has averaged 5.75 tackles per game against Oakland, including two performances with ten or more tackles in 2006 and 2001.

Hines Ward has caught 30 career passes against the Raiders for 375 yards with two touchdowns in five games.

Our Steelers look to improve to 9-9 all-time versus the Oakland Raiders in the regular season

and 5-4 all-time versus the Raiders at home.

Steelers look to improve to 3-1 against the Raiders at Heinz Field and 5-1 at home this year.

Hopefully our Steelers can snap a current three-game losing streak with a win over the Raiders this Sunday.

until then....

As always, Here We Go!!!

by Ramona Dye

The Steelers vs Ravens match-up could be a big role in deciding what team will reach the 2009 post season. The AFC North rivals will meet Sunday night in Baltimore with neither team in first place and searching for answers.

Our Steelers have lost back-to-back games for the second time this season and are 2-3 on the road. They won all three meetings with the Ravens last season, including the AFC championship game that sent the Steelers to Super Bowl XL III.

However, their victory in M&T Bank Stadium ended a five-game losing streak there. The Ravens have lost five of their past seven games after a 3-0 start, but four of their losses have been by a combined 13 points.

What must our Steelers do to beat the Ravens?

Watch our for Ed Reed. Reed has three interceptions, including a 52-yard scoring return this season, but hasn't had an INT in the past six games vs. our Steelers.

We must contain Joe Flacco who had five interceptions and a QB rating of 17.6 in his last two games against the Steelers in 2008.

Ray Rice has become the Ravens' featured back, but also has a team-high 17 catches on third down and tends to break tackles after short catches. So our number 2 ranked run defense must contain him.

Hopefully Ben Roethlisberger will be cleared to play against the Ravens but if not Dennis Dixon will get his first NFL start. Not to reassuring considering the rivalry we have with the Ravens.  Hopefully Dixon will be able to maintain a simple offense and hold up against the Ravens defense.

As always, Here We go!!!

by Ramona Dye

Things went from bad to worse for our Steelers in this match-up, starting with a 97 yard touchdown on the opening kickoff from the Kansas City Chiefs, Jamaal Charles and ending with a Chiefs Ryan Succop game winning field goal in OT.

What went wrong in this game?

In my opinion the defense. In another game where they just could not seem to stop their opponents from scoring and allowed for a Steelers fourth quarter lead to slip by the way-side. Sound familiar?

Ben Roethlisberger was 33/43, 398 yards passing, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions before suffering a knee to the head in OT. Our running game was not nearly as effective as it should have been against a Kansas City 28Th ranked run Defense. Our Steelers only totaled 114 yards on the ground.

I continue to have doubts about our offensive play calling and wonder if Bruce Arians will find himself in the hot-seat. But it's our special teams and our defense that let us down in this game.

Even with five sacks Matt Cassel was able to complete 15/30 passes, with 248 yards passing and 2 touchdowns against our number two ranked run defense. There were some close would-be interceptions for our secondary. Yet, it seems our corners and safeties cannot hold on to the ball.

Special teams have allowed four kick-offs returned for touchdowns in our last 5 games. This immediately puts pressure on the offense and keeps us playing keep-up from the beginning of the game.

What are the answers to our Steelers problems? Is it injuries that are holding us back?, Bad play calls form our coaching staff? A lack of team readiness against our opponents? Special team breakdowns? A defense that seems to lack the ability to make their opponents turn over the ball?

I am not sure what the problems are, I have my guesses but I am not paid the big bucks to figure out what our problems are on the field. Just seems to me like there is a huge lack of communication going around our franchise, coaches and players that must come to an end. Starting with our coaching staff.

We have a big rivalry game coming up next weekend against a tough opponent, The Baltimore Ravens. Hopefully Big Ben's concussion-oriented injury will be OK considering the fact we lost back-up quarterback, Charlie batch to a broken wrist in OT as well.

As always, Here We Go!!!