Steelers Win, But How?

The Steelers faced off against their division rival the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and somehow prevailed 18-16. Here are some key stats from the game:

The goal in football is to score more points than your opponents. To do this, you usually need to score touchdowns. The Steelers scored the same amount of touchdowns as me on Sunday with 0.

Wide receivers Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin, and Mike Williams combined for 1 catch for -1 yards. Again, that's one less than my cat Lucy.

Baltimore rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries for 6.5 yards per carry. With that type of success, many are asking why the Ravens didn't run the ball more. Derrick Henry, arguably the best running back in the NFL, only had 13 carries.

The Steelers were 4 for 16 on 3rd down conversions. That's a lot of failed 3rd down conversions. 

The Ravens scored two touchdowns in their two red zone attempts, while the Steelers went 0-4 in their trips to the red zone.

Based on these stats, you would definitely think the Steelers lost. Again, they scored no touchdowns against the highest scoring team in the league! However, the Steelers forced three turnovers and kicker Chris Boswell went 6 for 6 on field goals and that was the difference in the game.

8-2 is nice. Go Steelers!

Finally, I need to give credit to Taco Bell for using Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta in one of its newer commercials. Love this song. 

Much better than Davante Adams looking miserable that he has a Taco Bell in his house. (Just ignore everything other than the commercial in the video.)

Shana Tova From NFL Teams: Part III

Welcome to my third annual post of NFL teams sharing Happy New Year messages on their social media sites for Rosh Hashanah. Here we go:

While I don't like to give the Ravens any credit, I appreciate that the organization posted a nice new year's message. Same with the Jets, Bears, and Vikings. This is a significant decrease from the 9 teams last year. Four teams posted messages in 2022. The Jets and Ravens are the only two teams that posted greetings all three years.

Shana Tova From NFL Teams Part II

Welcome to my second annual post where I see what National Football League teams use their social media accounts (specifically Twitter) to share a Shana Tova, or Happy New Year, messages for Rosh Hashanah. Last year, 4 NFL teams (the Lions, Jets, Ravens, and Buccaneers) posted a message. With Rosh Hashanah being on a Sunday, I gave the teams a little bit of a pass since the teams' social media departments were probably busy with games. This year, Rosh Hashanah started on Friday evening. Plenty of opportunities for teams to post a message on Friday or Saturday. Let's see the results:

9 this year which is a nice improvement from last year. I really like Chicago having a bear getting honey from a beehive. Well done! I also want to give partial credit to the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills. I mean, if you're celebrating Rosh Hashanah without Bojangles or a wing-eating contest, you're doing it wrong!

L'Shana Tova to those who are celebrating!

Shana Tova From National Football League Teams

Happy New Year! Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began on Sunday night with many Jews around the world attending services or celebrating with friends and/or family on Monday. Inspired by @soccer_rabbi’s search for new year’s greetings by soccer/football clubs in the US and England, I was curious to see which NFL teams posted Rosh Hashanah messages on their social media pages. Here are the results:

That’s it. Of the 32 NFL teams, only 4 posted any type of Rosh Hashanah message on Twitter. While team sites were extremely busy posting information before, during, and after games on Sunday and then post-game interviews, pictures, etc. on Monday, I expected more than four. (At least one for the thumb!) Rosh Hashanah is a really big deal for Jews, significantly more important than Hanukkah which often gets lumped together with Christmas in America. I’m now a little curious how many teams post some type of Hanukkah message in December. My guess is that it will be more than 4.

Steelers-Ravens Live Blog

Remember when live blogs were the greatest thing ever? Twitter wasn't really big yet, so you would have a group of friends discuss a game (while using more than 140 characters) and others could see what you were writing and share their own thoughts. Well, we're getting the band back together! Steelers-Ravens live blog tonight at 8:15ish. I'll be a little late since I'm going to attempt to get two kids to sleep before kickoff by myself. I might need Tom Cruise's help since this is going to be an impossible mission.

Live Blog Steelers-Ravens Live Blog Like It's 2008

 

If the game isn't going well, you can always see previous live blogs from over the years just for fun.

Schadenfreude Again

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens on their AFC Championship win according to NBC station WBAL in Baltimore!



Wait, the Ravens lost Sunday? In that case, let's share this wonderful picture taken by The Washington Post's Jonathan Newton on January 13, 2007:



I have used this picture of a distraught Baltimore Ravens fan being consoled by his son after his entire section cleared out as the Sean's Ramblings profile picture/avatar for 5 years now. This picture seems appropriate and relevant again after yesterday’s New England Patriots victory over the Ravens. Yes, this picture still makes me smile, and yes, I am still a terrible person.

I just don’t like the Baltimore Ravens, and I really don’t want to get into the psychological reasons behind my dislike of Ravens today. I'm just happy with the result of yesterday's game.

Now, time to root against the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

h/t Nick for the WBAL screen grab.

Steelers-Raves Recap (Every Little Thing Gonna Be All Right)

51-0. That was the final score of the Steelers-Browns game on September 10, 1989, the first game of the season. The Steelers followed that dreadful performance at home by losing at Cincinnati 41-10. The Steelers team managed to fight back during the 1989 season to reach the playoffs, defeat the Houston Oilers in the wild card round and narrowly lose to John Elway and the Denver Broncos during the next round.

31-0. On September 7, 2003, the Buffalo Bills defeated the New England Patriots by that score at home. The Patriots bounced back from the loss by going 14-2 and winning the Super Bowl.

Although the Steelers played one of their worst games in recent years by losing 35-7 to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the world is not ending. The season is not over. Mike Tomlin and Dick LeBeau didn’t become terrible coaches overnight. Ben Roethlisberger didn't turn into Cliff Stoudt. It was a terrible game against the hated rival, but again, it’s one game (the first game!) of the NFL season. I expect the team to rebound nicely next week against the Seattle Seahawks



Just a few notes about the game:

Did any member of the Steelers play well on Sunday? I’d give a gold star to Mike Wallace with 8 catches for 107 yards.

The Ravens ran 31 times for 170 yards or 5.5 yards per carry. That’s amazing against last season’s top-ranked rushing defense.

Ravens TE Ed Dickson caught 5 passes for 59 yards and a touchdown. He also had another long catch negated by a penalty. Dickson looked better today than Todd Heap did over the past three years.

Ed Reed is a very good safety. Not as good as Troy in my book (can you prove that I don’t have a book?), but the second best safety in the league. However, his two interceptions couldn’t have been easier. Roethlisberger threw both passes directly to Reed. I could have caught them.

Finally, I’m sure that you noticed this fight. Yes, Ike Taylor started it and deserved the personal foul penalty. My question is how was there only one penalty when it appeared that referee was knocked unconscious or possibly died? (Look at the top right of the screen around the :30 second mark.)

Steelers-Ravens Live Blog II

Our live blog of the first Steelers-Ravens game this season didn't go very well. Actually, the live blog went great; the result of the game did not. Join me, the guys from White Nerdy Wonks and others (maybe even you!) for Sunday's game. Unlike the previous Steelers-Ravens live blog, topics of conversation will not include Dennis Dixon, my mustache, and the fact that both Joe Flacco and Tyler Palko attended Pitt.

Monday Morning Thoughts

While I must mention yesterday's Steelers game, I also have some thoughts on other topics below.

After seeing every road team win during this playoff weekend, the Steelers looked really good Sunday afternoon in comparison. Willie Parker had his best game of the season running for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 181 yards and a touchdown, but more importantly, had no interceptions or fumbles and was only sacked once. Santonio Holmes had a huge punt return for a touchdown, and the Steelers defense did a great job shutting down Darren Sproles who was held to 15 yards rushing and 91 yards receiving, 62 of which came on a late touchdown when the game was out of reach.

Next up is the Baltimore Ravens: Round 3. Remember how Baltimore Ravens fans complained after Santonio Holmes’ catch was ruled a touchdown on December 14? Well, they’re still bitter. Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun wrote the following after Saturday's Ravens win, "These Ravens won with some help from the officials. In a season in which it seemed as if they never got a break from the officiating crew, the Ravens got a big one yesterday: no penalty when the play clock expired before Flacco's 23-yard pass to Heap on the game-winning drive." I really hate the Ravens and Ravens fans.

I highly recommend Slumdog Millionaire, which I saw this weekend. Just a great story based around a game show, a scary childhood and a bit of a love story.

I watched part of the Golden Globes last night and felt bad when they introduced the star of Hotel for Dogs, Don Cheadle. Cheadle is an amazing actor from Hotel Rwanda, the Ocean 11 films, and Crash but because Hotel for Dogs comes out soon, he has to be attached to that film when presented?

The high in Montreal on Thursday is going to be -4 and then -3 on Friday. That’s the high! I can’t wait!

Based on this forecast, I’m not sure if my Louis Lipps jersey will make the hockey road trip as I may need to the room in my suitcase for multiple parkas.

Oh, I'm still looking for recommendations of things to do on my Canadian road trip, but I'm now looking primarily for indoor activities. Thanks.

Steelers Win AFC North

As a Steelers fan, it feels great seeing Pittsburgh win the AFC North and earn a first-round playoff bye at the expense of the Ravens, especially in Baltimore. Sunday’s game proves what I have been saying for years: contrary to what many Steelers fans believe, Pittsburgh’s biggest rival is clearly the Baltimore Ravens and not the Cleveland Browns. While it may be mean and a bit of schadenfreude, just looking at the picture below makes me, and I’m sure other Steelers fans, smile.



The game itself lived up to the hype as both defenses dominated. Through the first 57 minutes, the Ravens outplayed the Steelers, particularly on special teams and in the defense’s ability to create turnovers. However, when the game was in question, the Steelers led by Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Nate Washington made big plays and the Ravens defense could not respond.

Congratulations to the Steelers for winning the AFC North!



The photo is from Jonathan Newton of The Washington Post after Baltimore lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 playoffs.

Ladies Love the Black and Gold

Maybe you saw the story that Pittsburgh has “more football-loving women than any other city in the country.” If you’re one of these female Steeler fans, check out the following information about the 2007 Ladies Night Out Event:

For $95, ladies can pamper themselves as their evening will include a Prime Rib dinner in the spectacular East Club Lounge overlooking the skyline of the city of Pittsburgh with two current Steelers players as special guests giving insight on their weekly lives. Everyone will also receive a tour of Heinz Field as well as having an opportunity to be part of the audience in a live taping of the PNC Hines Ward Show in the Coca-Cola Great Hall. Finally, everyone will receive a commemorative 75th Season long sleeve ladies t-shirt, 2007 Steelers Yearbook, 2007 Steelers Value Book and a 2007 Team Photo signed by the two current players appearing at the East Club Lounge. The even is scheduled at Heinz Field on Wednesday, October 24 from 4:00 – 10:00 pm.

This sounds like a much better offer than “Purple: Just for Women” perfume for female Baltimore Ravens fans.

P.S. The picture is from Cites & Bytes @ Bailey, a library newsletter, a compendium of interesting tidbits, a communication tool....from Bailey Library @ Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

P.P.S. I expect to be back live on Sunday night for a live journal of the Emmy awards.