Cincinnatti 27
Baltimore 20
While I can honestly say I was surprised by the outcome of last night's early "thriller," it was indeed a pleasant one. Watching both teams flop and fly and look totally beatable last night reaffirmed my belief that the Steelers are the most talented team in the AFC North.
But it wasn't just the mediocre performances by both teams that had me pleased and entertained, ESPN did a great job giving us shots of both head coaches, and their reactions were great. Brian Billick looked like he was heading to a WHAM! concert following the game, and Marvin Lewis apparently broke his foot tripping over Chad Johnson's ego.
Billick's facial expressions looked like he had just ate a bad chalupa and Marvin Lewis as usual looked like he was sucking on a lemon most of the game. And their players did nothing to ease their anxiety and calm their faces.
The Baltimore Ravens
Defense: Baltimore's defense didn't look so bad, or so scary. They looked like a shell of their Steelers ass-stompin' selves of a year ago. Rex Ryan's defense looked more like a defense coordinated by former Star Trek actress Jeri Ryan.
I was gonna add a funny caption, but I don't read so I couldn't think of a funny literary quip.
Offense: Offensively Steve McNair seemed to have aged almost overnight (or more likely, over an offseason). Granted McNair was injured, but he's played injured before and played well. Last night...not so much. The Ravens WRs don't scare me, and Willis McGahee will be a nice weapon, but not against the Steelers. Todd Heap impressed me once again, and with the Steelers' inability to cover the TE, he will hurt Pittsburgh, but will it be enough to salvage the sinking ship that is the Ravens' offense?
Oh...I almost forgot, if McNair misses any time and Boller has to start. Well...let's just say...Bwaaahahahahahaha.
Kyle, I mean this in all sincerity...if you fuck this up, I'll shoot you.
The Cincinnatti Benjails
So...he was supposed to be Michael Jackson wearing a Hall of Fame coat?
So...he was supposed to be Michael Jackson wearing a Hall of Fame coat?
Offense: Last night the Bengals offense looked pretty good, in the first half. But in the second half they just seemed out of synch. Carson Palmer looked like he was on the verge of once again choking away an important game in the second half. And is it just me or did the Bengals offensive line look no better, if not worse, than the o-line the Steelers are fielding?
Defense: The lucky right-place-at-the-right-time interceptions continued, as did the Bengals inability to stop the run. Had Brian Billick not decided to air it out at the end of the game instead of running it down Cincy's throat there would've been a much different outcome. But a less favorable one as well.
Which brings me (finally) to the real point of this post. The result of Monday night's game was the best possible outcome for our Steelers.
The Ravens drop an early game against a divisional foe that WILL hurt their standing in the division. If it's a close race at the end, that loss could propel either the Bengals or the Steelers ahead of the Ravens. But let's face it, the Bengals won't be in a position to leap frog the Ravens.
Why? Because if there's one thing I know for sure about the Bengals, it's that they always fall apart late in the year, and come up short in big games late in the season. (See: 2005, 2006 seasons) This win will also give Cincinnatti a reason to be confident. They beat the big, bad defending division champs. But this Cincinnatti team won't be happy just being confident. Their egos won't allow it. Instead, I feel that this win will serve to make Cincinnatti overconfident, and we all know what happens when they get that way: they choke faster than Carson Palmer in a late season game against the Steelers.
Remember when we used to be good?
THE GAME IN PICTURES:
These guys just discovered football 3 years ago.
And these guys were dejected when they realized gay marriage wasn't legalized in Ohio.
Almost Kimo 2.0 --OR-- If That Was Keisel It Would've Been A Penalty.
Daunte Culpepper checks out the team he really wanted to play for. Did you know he's a fireman in his spare time?
Defense: The lucky right-place-at-the-right-time interceptions continued, as did the Bengals inability to stop the run. Had Brian Billick not decided to air it out at the end of the game instead of running it down Cincy's throat there would've been a much different outcome. But a less favorable one as well.
Which brings me (finally) to the real point of this post. The result of Monday night's game was the best possible outcome for our Steelers.
The Ravens drop an early game against a divisional foe that WILL hurt their standing in the division. If it's a close race at the end, that loss could propel either the Bengals or the Steelers ahead of the Ravens. But let's face it, the Bengals won't be in a position to leap frog the Ravens.
Why? Because if there's one thing I know for sure about the Bengals, it's that they always fall apart late in the year, and come up short in big games late in the season. (See: 2005, 2006 seasons) This win will also give Cincinnatti a reason to be confident. They beat the big, bad defending division champs. But this Cincinnatti team won't be happy just being confident. Their egos won't allow it. Instead, I feel that this win will serve to make Cincinnatti overconfident, and we all know what happens when they get that way: they choke faster than Carson Palmer in a late season game against the Steelers.
Remember when we used to be good?
THE GAME IN PICTURES:
These guys just discovered football 3 years ago.
And these guys were dejected when they realized gay marriage wasn't legalized in Ohio.
Almost Kimo 2.0 --OR-- If That Was Keisel It Would've Been A Penalty.
Daunte Culpepper checks out the team he really wanted to play for. Did you know he's a fireman in his spare time?
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