Bell out for Steelers, will we see the Ravens?

[in 12 we trust]

Bell ruled out for this weekend

 

[bigballas]

nah. bens prob gonna rape ravens throwing the ball around.

ravens strong up front but that secondary is garbage. game plan prob would have been pass even with bell around (albeit more blaance)

 

[JMC00]

I'm not saying yes or no. But last time Steelers/Ravens played each other Bell had 10 carries for 23 yards and Roethlisburger threw 6 TD and they won 43-23

 

[Sicilian]

Not necessarily. Bell is definitely a nice piece for him, but it's not like the offense is built around him. The key for the Ravens will be containing those two outside receivers. If they can't do that it won't matter who's running the ball.

 

[BelizePats]

I think Baltimore on the road is a weak, vulnerable team. I don't see them beating the Steelers.
They got blown out by Houston with a playoff slot on the line and then barely beat Cleveland at home last week when Cleveland was playing a rookie QB making his first pro start. Baltimore is garbage.

 

[Oswlek]

it's not like the offense is built around him.

It pretty much has been lately, though the Ravens are the best possible match up in this situation.

 

[New England Pride]

Don't we already have a Ravens cry baby thread? This is borderline obsession.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Not necessarily. Bell is definitely a nice piece for him, but it's not like the offense is built around him. The key for the Ravens will be containing those two outside receivers. If they can't do that it won't matter who's running the ball.

Bell is pretty much their running at short passing game - which is a very big chunk of their offense.

 

[in 12 we trust]

I agree that Ben has proved he can win without him , crazy how letting Blount go is looming so large now.

 

[Deus Irae]

It pretty much has been lately, though the Ravens are the best possible match up in this situation.

This

The Steelers put up 43 against the Ravens in their second meeting, and they did it with just 55 yards rushing. Bell will be missed more for his pass blocking and receiving than for his running. If Dri Archer could block at all, this would almost be a non-issue.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I think there is a very good chance we see the Ravens

 

[Rob0729]

Two Sundays ago the Ravens couldn't beat the Texans with Case Keanum as their QB. Three Sundays ago, Keanum was deer hunting as a street free agent.

I still think the Steelers win this game fairly decisively.

 

[FourierSeries]

Every year everyone always underestimates the Ravens in the playoffs. it's like people never learn.

Baltimore will beat Pittsburgh. They will give us a tough game but we will be victorious over them this time around because we have a much better defense than when we've previously played them.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

I don't care who wins, let's just get this weekend over with so we can move on to the divisional round .

 

[Deus Irae]

Every year everyone always underestimates the Ravens in the playoffs. it's like people never learn.

Baltimore will beat Pittsburgh. They will give us a tough game but we will be victorious over them this time around because we have a much better defense than when we've previously played them.

There's a very good reason why people aren't as worried about this Ravens team as they've been about previous versions. Baltimore was 1-6 against teams with winning records this season (They split with the Steelers), and their defensive backfield has been devastated by injury.

 

[TBR]

Two Sundays ago the Ravens couldn't beat the Texans with Case Keanum as their QB. Three Sundays ago, Keanum was deer hunting as a street free agent.

I still think the Steelers win this game fairly decisively.

Also, they barely got by the almighty Conor Shaw for the Browns + the Blake Bortles lead Jaguars

 

[Sicilian]

Every year everyone always underestimates the Ravens in the playoffs. it's like people never learn.

Baltimore will beat Pittsburgh. They will give us a tough game but we will be victorious over them this time around because we have a much better defense than when we've previously played them.

This Ravens team isn't the same one that has made noise in the playoffs recently. Most notably, their two leaders on defense are gone (Lewis and Reed). We as Patriots fans should know exactly how hard it is to maintain consistent playoff success once your defensive leaders leave/retire at the same time. We're just now getting back to type of defensive performance we're used to, and even still we're not playoff proven yet. The Ravens still need to show they can win a playoff game without those two.

 

[Oswlek]

Every year everyone always underestimates the Ravens in the playoffs. it's like people never learn.

Explain. Other than 2012, when the Ravens gave everyone plenty of reason to underestimate them, when did they go further than it appeared they would be able to go?

 

[Efstratios]

There's a very good reason why people aren't as worried about this Ravens team as they've been about previous versions. Baltimore was 1-6 against teams with winning records this season (They split with the Steelers), and their defensive backfield has been devastated by injury.

This Pats team firing on all cylinders could beat either the Steelers or Ravens in my opinion (though "firing on all cylinders" presumes that our O-line returns to the Pre-Packers game form). That being said, I think a lot of us are hoping the Ravens are knocked off so that we get to play either the Bengals or the Colts, rather than Denver getting to play them.

But given the state of our O the past few weeks, it would probably be best to root for the team with the D-line that will give the Pats O-line the least amount of trouble.

 

[Deus Irae]

This Pats team firing on all cylinders could beat either the Steelers or Ravens in my opinion (though "firing on all cylinders" presumes that our O-line returns to the Pre-Packers game form). That being said, I think a lot of us are hoping the Ravens are knocked off so that we get to play either the Bengals or the Colts, rather than Denver getting to play them.

But given the state of our O the past few weeks, it would probably be best to root for the team with the D-line that will give the Pats the least amount of trouble.

I'm already on record as wanting the Colts. The Patriots match up advantages over that team are greater than against any other team in the playoffs, including the sub .500 Panthers, IMO.