Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens Preview

Okay so I'm playing off the blockbuster opening of the second installment of the Twilight series. It being called the New Moon. I am told by the teenagers that this movie has a sub plot of the Werewolves vs the Vampires. I did not realize the Long and storied rivalry of the 2. Ironically it seemed like an analogy for the upcoming Steelers vs the Ravens battle this Sunday. (Nov 29)

On one hand you have the immortals, the vampires. They have a long rich history of being the dominant mainstay. Much like our Steelers. Both wear black and always are in the hunt. You like the one? In the hunt. I was going to go for the "always after the juggler vein" line. I thought that might be a little graphic for the kids who follow my every word.

On the other side you have the werewolf who occasionally becomes dominant and a force to be reckoned with. Every four weeks if you follow the folklore. But you get the point. The Ravens are a formidable foe at times and always give the Steelers(vampires) a run for their money.

Ironically the werewolves have the ability to kill vampires, which kind of contradicts the whole immortal concept. But we all know there the rules of fantasy world. Like garlic and wooden stakes and all that stuff. So evidently the whole mystical werewolf thing gives them some kind of vampire killing mojo. Hey I don't make this stuff up.

Anyhow, the Count, or as we know him Ben is coming off a blow to his cranium that was called a concussion. Old Dracula says he his okay and he has practiced this week. Just to be safe Dr Frankenstein, Mike Tomlin, has been using the Mummy, Dennis Dixon, also in practice just in case the Count is counted out. Of course the Mummy Dixon is on alert because the Zombie, Charlie Batch, found a way to get hurt, again.

Okay sticking with the QB theme here I just want to send a shout out message to the Bride of Frankenstein, Bruce Arians, who seems to despise the notion of having an aggressive running game week to week. Hey Bruce this is another reason you have your O - Line become rush blocking beasts. Godzillas of the trenches! Because your free flinging QB might get hurt and you may need to run!

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Yes, Mendenhall is likely up to the task and you have had success running. But practice makes perfect, it can make a killer monster! Again I am not one of those anti pass purists screaming "the Steelers run" . No my mantra is all NFL teams need to run. Whether you are pass first or run first. The 2 need each other and help each other.

Okay so when the Vampires are on offense:

• Baltimore is still a physical and quality defense. Even more a reason to mix pass/run. Be unpredictable. Throw in some runs on the shot gun.

• I think the Ravens can be beat with speed deep. CAUTION: they have some ball hawks.

• No Pick 6 or INT's concussion Boy! I mean Count Dracula.

• Mendenhall has not been overused thus far. I'd like to see another 20 carry day for him.

• Give Parker some work. 5- 10 carries.

• Is Frank Summers ready for some short yardage yet. He is still listed on reserve. Davis has been banged up.

• Ben needs to mix length of passes up against Baltimore. Like I said try some deep balls on the edge. But you need some work in the middle hashmarks and some hitch routes. A few screens and some sideline outs. Often times you hear the old "we took what they gave us" cliche. And yes that is sound football. But some defense don't give you anything. Baltimore is one of them. You need to create match ups and dictate some of the tempo and locations of the field you wish to attack. Even great defenses have some soft spots.

• Use some no huddle. The Ravens D is not getting younger. Right out of the gate use the no huddle, but use the play clock. Don't allow them substitutions.

• Ideally you want to build a lead then take long time consuming drives. The old early '90's Cowboys strategy.

• Get physical at the line of scrimmage.

• Count Ben should be in the 30 - 35 attempts.

• The werewolves.. I mean Ravens are stingy with points, that needs to change on Sunday. TD's not field goals!

• No turnovers! The werewolves feed on that, they know that is like the stench of garlic to the vampires

On defense:

• The Ravens/werewolves are quite an energetic bunch on offense. They act like it's a full moon every week. They forget they are just the Ravens who never seem to get to the finish line. They ignore that the vampires rule the monster kingdom. They believe they are better. You must bite them at the neck. That means stop Rice and the rushing attack in the backfield and bury Flacco. Funny if Flacco was a Steeler he would be Count Flaccula in this article. But he is not so eat him alive and suck the blood out of him. Okay maybe I should back off a little.

• The Ravens have come a long way on offense but they are still middle of the pack in stats. ut you must be the aggressor against them.

• You cannot afford blown coverages or poor tackling. The Ravens/werewolves are like a power baseball team that waits for the pitcher to make a mistake and then they make you pay! Hey there werewolves and every Sunday it's a full or New Moon.

• Ray Rice has turned into the Ravens stronger/bigger Brian Westbrook. And McClain and McGahee are solid.

Overall:

• I think 28 points will do it.

• Hold Ravens to 16 points. 2 less the average you allow.

• No freakin' kick returns! If you have to kick the ball into the end zone every time. Although if I was playing the Steelers I would tell my return men to return everything!

Injuries:

STEELERS -

Batch Mummy - is toast, the Mummy is headed back to the tomb

Polamalu the Predator - out

Kemoeatu Kong- Probable

Kirschke Krueger - Likely

Count Rothcula - He was seen out of the coffin!

This is kind of a must win!

By: Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent