According to NFL Network’s Jason La Confora, the Steelers never planned on extending Holmes past the 2010 season.  I don’t know if I believe that the Steelers had no intentions of retaining Holmes, but perhaps this impending suspension was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The more I think about it the less I feel the Steelers made a completely terrible decision.  They were in a no-win situation and I think they might have made the best decision for the team in the long run.  Sure, they gave up a legit number one for a low-round draft pick, but now they have 11 total draft picks, eight of which in the first five rounds.  Savvy teams regularly find starters and/or significant contributors in rounds three through five.  The question is, do they use the 18^th overall pick on Oklahoma State wideout Dez Bryant, or address their offensive line, or cornerback concerns?  There’s no doubt that this move hurts the Steelers in the short run, but if they truly weren’t going to retain Holmes then they had to deal him.   

On the other side of the coin you have the Jets adding another big name to their roster.  The Jets seem to be in full Dan Snyder mode, trying to expedite the development of a Super Bowl contender.  Braylon Edwards, Antonio Cromartie, and now Santonio Holmes complete the list of recent Jet acquisitions with questionable moral fiber.  Throw in LaDainiam Tomlinson and perhaps Jason Taylor and you have a much different looking Jets roster than you had 12 months ago.  I’m guessing the Jets will extend Holmes and get a top-end receiver this offseason despite being restricted by the “Final Eight” rule. 

On a related note: Fred Bright, the DA in Milledgeville, Georgia, announced on Monday that no charges will be filed against Ben Roethlisberger in his latest sexual assault case. Bright pulled no punches in his statement, alluding to his belief that Roethlisberger acted immorally. “We do not prosecute morals,” Bright stated, “We prosecute crimes.” Reading between the lines, it’s obvious that DA Bright thought Big Ben was guilty of wrong doing, but didn’t have enough evidence to bring him to trial.

Roethlisberger has escaped criminal trial, but will he escape the long arm of Commissioner Goodell? Goodell has suspended players prior to, or without conviction, but in those cases players were arrested. Roethlisberger has never been arrested or charged with a crime. Off the top of my head I can’t think of a time when Goodell suspended a player on perceptions of immoral behavior alone.

Should Roethlisberger be suspended? If Roethlisberger isn’t suspended will his offseason turbulence affect his 2010 play?

~Pat Cary

If you told me that the Ravens were going to outrush the Steelers by 127 yards; win the turnover and time of possession battles; and hold Big Ben to under 260 passing yards I would venture to say that they would be 9-6 and assured a playoff berth.  Good teams don’t lose in that scenario. 

Yesterday’s game was a microcosm of the Ravens’ 2009 season…a talented team that doesn’t play like a cohesive unit.  Undisciplined is another word you could use to describe this bunch that continually produces double digit penalty flags.  It’s hard enough to win in the NFL and this team isn’t good enough to give their opponents 100 plus penalty yards on a regular basis.  The Ravens’ dominant third quarter performance gave a glimpse of how good this team could be, but their fourth quarter self-imposed meltdown was more indicative of their true identity. 

My biggest concern going into the game was the ability of the Ravens makeshift secondary to stop Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh aerial attack.  The absence of Ed Reed for the fourth straight week didn’t help to ease my mind, but I have to say that the DB’s held their own.  I realize that Frank Walker’s late pass interference call negated Tom Zbikowski’s INT and effectively ended the game, but that’s not why the Ravens lost this one.  The DB’s and the defense as a whole played well and put the Ravens in a position to win on the road. 

I think the biggest help to the secondary was the pressure that the defense was able to apply.  Pittsburgh’s offensive line is not the strong suit of the team, but the same could be said for the Ravens’ defensive line.  The four sacks registered by the Ravens on Sunday was a lofty total compared to their normal output and helped keep the Steelers passing attack in check.  That being said, there were times that Roethlisberger had all day to sit in the pocket and surprisingly the coverage was able to hold up fairly well. 

To be honest I gave the Ravens little chance of coming out of Western PA with a victory, so I guess I can take some solace in the fact that they outplayed the Steelers.  If the Ravens had to lose that game I’d rather them lose it the way they did rather than be completely outmatched. 

As disheartening as the Ravens’ latest performance was they still manage to find themselves in the driver’s seat needing only a win over the 5-10 Oakland Raiders to assure them a wildcard spot.  The Ravens need to soundly beat the Charlie Frye or JaMarcus Russell led Raiders, so they can have some momentum going into the playoffs.  No one will call the Ravens a Super Bowl contender, but I assure you that they are a scary team to face when playing well. 

~ Pat Cary

Another scattered cloud on an otherwise sunny weekend for the Ravens was the season ending injury suffered by rookie standout Lardarius Webb.  Webb is thought to have torn his right ACL during a punt return block.  As the injury list grows by the week for the Ravens the area where they can least afford to lose personnel is in the defensive backfield.  Webb has been the Ravens’ primary option opposite Domonique Foxworth ever since Fabien Washington went down for the season with his own ACL tear in the week nine loss to Cincinnati.  With cornerback Samari Rolle done for the foreseeable future the Ravens turn to the rotation of Chris Carr and Frank Walker to replace Webb.  The Ravens also acquired second year DB Marcus Paschal, who appeared in three games for the Eagles last season and played sparingly against the Bears.  I don’t know about you, but those options make me very nervous, especially when I think about the talented Steeler receivers.  I shutter when I imagine Frank Walker matching up against Hines Ward or Mike Wallace in the fourth quarter with the Ravens clinging onto a three point lead. 

Chris McAlister was recently cut by the Saints and could provide some much needed depth for the Ravens, but the odds of Harbaugh welcoming CMac back to Baltimore are slim.  I don’t think that CMac is the answer as a starter, but could definitely help the Ravens in their nickel and dime packages. 

As previously stated, the return of Chris McAlister is unlikely, so the Ravens will need to do a lot of little things better to effectively defend the pass.  They’ll need to mix their coverage and their pre-snap looks in order to cause confusion.  They’ll also need to find a way to consistently pressure the QB.  After recording just two sacks in their previous four games, the Ravens sacked Jay Cutler twice on Sunday and pressured him fairly regularly throughout the game.  The Ravens’ pressured better against the Bears, but their efforts will need to continue to improve against the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger is so good, because he extends plays and makes plays in the fourth quarter.  If the Ravens can’t pressure Roethlisberger better than they’ve pressure any other QB this season those corners could be in for a long day. 

A couple open-ended, quick fire questions for you:

• Will Webb’s injury hurt the Ravens’ defense or special teams worse?
• With over 850 receptions and nearly 11,000 yards is Derrick Mason a Hall of Famer?
• Could Michael Oher surpass Jared Gaither as the left tackle of the future?
• Will the Ravens beat the Steelers?

This Ravens team has fought through a lot of adversity this season, but they find themselves in a good position…win the next two and you’re in the playoffs.  All you have to do is get into the playoffs and anything can happen. 

~ Pat Cary

The Ravens beat their hated rivals, but with three key starters for the Steelers out the 20-17 OT final just isn’t the resounding outcome the Ravens’ faithful expected.  Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, and starting left guard Chris Kemoeatu were all scratches for Sunday night’s primetime game.  Outside of James Harrison I can’t think of three other Steeler starters who would be more crucial no-shows.

So with all the advantages going into the game what was the reason for the too-close-for-comfort final?  Perhaps it was due to the Ravens losing the turnover battle, converting third downs at a 38% success rate, and losing the time of possession battle to a Dennis Dixon led offense.

Despite all of the injuries we knew this wouldn’t be a cakewalk, it never is with the Steelers.  I remember back in 2005 when the Ray and Ed-less Ravens went into Pittsburgh on a Monday night and lost by just one point.  Later in that ’05 season the Ravens would beat the Steelers in overtime in another slugfest.   If the Ravens and Steelers played all 16 regular season games against each other three things would be certain, every game would be physical, low scoring, and ugly. 

Sunday’s win was definitely ugly, but it was strangely satisfying and certainly exciting in a must win scenario.  The offense struggled at times against a very good Dick LeBeau defense, but ultimately got the job done.  The Ravens finally scored a first half touchdown (two of them) and converted the vital fourth and five, which set up the game tying field goal and sent the game into overtime.  It was disappointing that the Ravens couldn’t punch-in a redzone TD to end the game in regulation, but they did showed resolve when it counted.  The offense gained 17 yards in overtime, after a Paul Kruger INT, to set up a very makeable 29 yard field goal for Billy Cundiff.  

Part of the reason for the Ravens’ improved offensive showing was due to their improved run blocking.  Marshal Yanda got the start at right guard over Chris Chester most likely, because he is the more physical player.  The result was not overwhelming as the Ravens rushed for just 132 yards, but it was effective as the team rushed for 4.6 yards per carry and scored a redzone TD on the ground. 

As of now the Ravens are the first team out of the AFC playoff picture, as they look up at the Broncos and Jags.  The Jaguars fell to the 49ers this past Sunday and don’t seem like legitimate playoff contenders.  The Broncos still have games against Indianapolis and Philadelphia, but they also have two games against KC and one against Oakland.  The beauty of the NFL is that anything can happen, so the Ravens simply need to focus on their next opponent.  Next up for the Ravens is a MNF showdown at Lambeau field against a schizophrenic Packers team.  The Ravens need to follow Mike Tomlin’s post game promise and “unleash hell here in December” if they want to keep their playoff aspirations alive. 

~ Pat Cary