Steelers @ Ravens – SNF Semi-Live Blog
Hark! The Dennis Dixon era is upon us!
OK, there may never be an actual Dennis Dixon era, but at the very least, tonight's game against the Ravens presents an opportunity for Dixon to audition for the Steelers backup QB job next year.
As for the expectations this evening, well, they're not exactly stratospheric. Injuries happen, and no excuses will be made, but playing without your best player on both sides of the ball isn't usually a recipe for success in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Tomlin had to do some extra lab work this week.
But in some strange way, the unknown curiosity at QB has me more excited than usual.
(The Steelers are going to get killed, aren't they?)
Anyway, here's my semi-live blog for the game. I'm going to write it during the game, but I won't post it until later.
I've never done this before, and I'm usually too nervous during games to even attempt such a thing, but I've always wanted to try it. Tonight? Why not?
First Quarter
8:30 p.m.: Steelers receive the kick, so the first play of the game won't net a touchdown.
8:32 p.m.: 3-and-out. Dixon's first pass is almost picked. Get those jitters out early.
8:35 p.m.: Tyrone Carter's too late to read a Flacco pass. First down. No surprises so far.
8:39 p.m.: If the Steelers want to make this a game, the defense has to be top-notch. Not the case so far. A 3rd-and-goal run by McGahee is too easy, as Harrison is buried and the D-line is MIA. 7-0 Ravens.
8:45 p.m.: Mendenhall picks up a first down, after a Dixon completed pass. Take a breath.
8:48 p.m.: Dixon breaks off a big run, but we've got holding. Drat.
8:54 p.m.: The teams trade punts. Jay Leno is getting applause in a commercial. NBC is trying too hard.
8:58 p.m.: Parker picks up a first down on a 3rd-and-short. I'd like to see some read option with Dixon at some point. We'll see if Arians works any of that in. A short pass to Holmes ends the first quarter.
Second Quarter
9:02 p.m.: Dixon completes a pass of moderate distance to Ward. He follows that up with a rollout and a nice toss to a wide-open Holmes, who gets to the pylon. Eric Mangini is trying to figure out how to trade for Double D. 7-7. The Baltimore crowd is very quiet.
9:07 p.m.: A refreshingly uneventful kickoff return, buoyed by a Ravens holding call. NBC points out this week's changes on the kickoff coverage unit. Nice touch.
9:08 p.m.: Sorry, Best Buy. I'm not spending $299 on headphones.
9:13 p.m.: Ravens punt. Dixon time.
9:15 p.m.: But first, a Ray Lewis-Phil Collins montage. I know Ray-Ray loves "In the Air Tonight," but "I Can't Dance" by Genesis would have been much funnier.
9:19 p.m.: Haloti Ngata is a beast. Timeout, Stillers.
9:23 p.m.: Haloti Ngata gets called for defensive holding. Always a strange call, but it's gone against the Steelers more than a few times each year. First down.
9:25 p.m.: The Steelers do some holding, too. The crowd is getting amped. A two-yard screen pass does little to quell this. Another Steeler timeout. Arians saw something he didn't like.
9:27 p.m.: An amazing catch and run by Holmes is negated by a desperate hold, courtesy of Mewelde Moore on Ray Lewis. Punt.
9:32 p.m.: More talk about "The Blind Side." I haven't seen the movie, but I would recommend the book. I know that one critic called Sandra Bullock's performance the "best of her career," but what is that saying, really?
9:36 p.m.: All kinds of formation problems are followed by a bomb to Mark Clayton. William Gay isn't there, and Ryan Clark is, but he doesn't make the play. The Ravens are in the red zone. Oh dear. You can't let that big play happen so late in the half.
9:40 p.m.: Ike Taylor is late to react on a fade to Derrick Mason. He usually defends that pattern fairly well. Not this time. 14-7 Ravens. We're told that's Derrick Mason's first career touchdown against the Steelers. That seems odd.
9:43 p.m.: The read option appears, sort of. It looked like Dixon had his mind made up to hand the ball to Moore before the snap, but it's hard to tell. Another run. Another one gets a first down. Yep, that's Carey Davis. Any notions that the Steelers wouldn't play this as conservatively as possible are swept away, as the final timeout is left on the board. Why not take your final timeout and run that read option again, at least one more time? Half time.
Third Quarter
10:02 p.m.: William Gay makes a play! He punches the ball out of Clayton's hand, and Tyrone Carter gets the fumble recovery. Exactly what this team needed.
10:04 p.m.: 3-and-out. Never mind. Now we're going to play "In the Air Tonight" when Ray Lewis bats down a pass? A bit of a stretch.
10:07 p.m.: Jeep owners don't watch TV! They're too busy off-roading in their unreliable vehicles! Does that make Jeep owners elitist?
10:08 p.m.: Woodley collapses the pocket and it's a sacco on Flacco. Ironically, since Oher is playing RT and Flacco is right-handed, Oher no longer protects the blind side. Since Flacco is looking at the rusher, we should call it "The Brow Side."
10:10 p.m.: Stefan Logan with a somewhat nifty return to midfield. Big drive here.
10:12 p.m.: Mendenhall breaks a tackle and picks up 20 on a screen. Beastly.
10:13 p.m.: Mike Wallace can't reel in a nice Dixon throw to the back of the end zone. After a run, Dixon throws a bit high. Reed FG. 14-10 Ravens.
10:21 p.m.: Lawrence Timmons comes clean on for one of the most beautiful Steeler sacks I've seen all year. Woodley follows that up by splitting a double team for another sacco of Flacco. Can you feel it?
10:25 p.m.: Hines Ward catches the ball and pushes Ed Reed down the field. A 22-yard gain.
10:27 p.m.: A 3rd-and-10. At some point, Dixon has to make a play with his legs. Not here. A punt forthcoming.
10:32 p.m.: Notice how often the Ravens are running right? (And with a fair amount of success?) We miss you, Aaron Smith.
10:36 p.m.: The Steelers miss two or three tackles and Ray Rice picks up 19 yards. Unacceptable, and something that didn't happen very often last season. Hold up four fingers to show everyone that you know how many quarters there are in a football game.
Fourth Quarter
10:40 p.m.: Ike Taylor looks confused before the snap and Mason beats him down the sideline. Ike grabs his arm as the ball drifts past Mason. Defensive PI isn't called. 4th down. If that pass is a yard or two closer to Mason, I think the Ravens get the call.
10:46 p.m.: Collinsworth makes a good point about Foster not pulling quickly enough to make a block for Mendenhall. Kemoeatu, you are also missed.
10:47 p.m.: Big punt return for the Ravens. What can you say?
10:50 p.m.: Lawrence Timmons, also missed. Wait, he's here! And he gets to Flacco for a fumble. C'mon, offense.
10:58 p.m.: And there it is. What I've been waiting for. Dixon gets some running room and he's gone. First true spring-off-the-sofa moment of the game. 17-14 Steelers.
11:08 p.m.: Did John Harbaugh just let the crowd sway him? He looked pretty set on calling for a punt, but shortly after he heard the boos, he called timeout to think it over. He probably won't say the crowd swayed him, but here they go...
11:09 p.m.: Not only that, Ray Rice breaks a million tackles. 1st and goal. Another late defensive breakdown. Rice is good at breaking tackles, granted, but come on. Polamalu, you are missed. And Farrior can't cover Rice. Father Time and all.
11:14 p.m.: 3rd and goal. We should have expected another close game. Fade for Heap...incomplete. The D gave up a big play, but give 'em credit for making a big stop. Field goal. 17-17.
11:17 p.m.: Jeff Reed said his FG range is 55 yards here?
11:18 p.m.: A near INT. Bad, late pass. 3rd down...
11:19 p.m.: They run a draw. I don't care if Dixon looked shaky. I don't like that call. Run a read option, a bootleg, something that gives you a chance.
11:20 p.m.: There has to be a block in the back, right? I swear I saw it. Holy moly.
11:21 p.m.: Cover Ray Rice.
11:23 p.m.: Ike Taylor gets his PI call. Not his best game, needless to say.
11:24 p.m.: A clear pick play gets called on Mark Clayton. Helpful.
11:26 p.m.: Fumble! No timeouts! They've got to run out and kick it...short! My word.
Overtime
11:31 p.m.: Steelers get the ball, but as we saw last week, that guarantees nothing.
11:32 p.m.: Great pickup by Al Michaels. Flacco's forward fumble should have been spotted near the 44 or so, not the 38.
11:34 p.m.: First down on a QB sneak.
11:35 p.m.: Dixon's bomb to Wallace is too far out of bounds. 3rd down.
11:36 p.m.: High throw. Punt.
11:37 p.m.: Need one more big defensive play.
11:39 p.m.: Flacco almost throws one to Townsend. Punt. Steelers on their own 45. How many yards needed here? 20?
11:42 p.m.: Sigh. INT. Dixon stares down his man and Paul Kruger, a DE, gets the pick. The Ravens are already in FG range. Should be game over.
11:44 p.m.: FG is good. 20-17 Ravens win. Tomlin chooses not to ice the kicker, but it shouldn't matter from that distance, anyway. I'm not a big ice-the-kicker guy myself.
Another brutal, close loss. But the season still isn't over, because of the wild card mess in the AFC. Call me crazy, but I think the AFC North could get three teams in this year. We'll see.
As for now? The Steelers need a win. Any win will do.