JonnyBaltimore

When 12 of 15 games were decided by less than 1 possession, I am not surprised that our record is around .500. The difference between 10-6 and 8-8 is just a few plays. We loss today because Antonio Brown made an amazing play at the end of the game. At the end of the day, in order to be a consistent winner, we have to put teams away early and often. This year we had way too many ups and downs. When our defence was rolling, our offence was not. And when our offence was rolling our defence couldn't get the stops.

I'll say that if Joe can play 2 "lights out games" to end the year and we win the AFC North at 10-6, he'll be considered ELITE. Right now, he has set it up as it can go either way. If he plays lights out, he'll have a career year. If he doesn't, then he'll have an average year. He's generally pretty clutch, so here's hoping he can lead the team down the stretch.

I think the Steelers being at home for Christmas will be a distraction and we have the advantage being away for this weekend. It will be tough but I expect to jump on them early. Can we stop them when they make their run? It will be a good matchup in late December!

With Flacco taking so much of the cap, it is difficult to pay for the O-line as well. I think we use the draft to replenish the O-line and get a comp pick for Wagner. It is really about value; if we can draft a starter in the 3-6 rounds and then get a comp pick for that player after their first deal, that is a winning recipe on how to build a team. I agree that Pierce is playing well, but Williams is more a known commodity. The only reason why we are still in the race for the AFC North is because of our defence. With a top 10 defence, we always have a chance, so I say go defence for stability and look to improve on offence via the draft and collect some comp picks. If Lewis can make the adjustment to RT, we save 6-7 million in cap space for the next 3 years. We need great players on the cheap, and let other teams overpay for them when their first contract expires.

I think we sign Williams and let Wagner go. Move Lewis to RT. I figure we will cut Dumervil to create cap space. Why tinker with a top 10 defence when our offence is not very good. If it is status quo, I would pick the defence. I think Brett Urban takes over for Guy, Dumervil gets cut, Wagner signs elsewhere and we get a comp pick. The Front Office has always kept ascending players but can't pay them all. I like Wagner but he is replaceable. Williams is getting better every year and is a foundational piece on defence.

-More WR screens w/ Steve Smith, Mike Wallace. -Wallace/Perriman on drag route in stride and get some easy YAC. Looks like Perriman has a fifth gear, so need to catch him in stride and see if he can make a play. - Flacco on a bootleg -Kyle Jus on a 9 route covered by LB. -Flea flicker to Perriman -more double moves on aggressive DBs/LB's We have a lot playmakers but we are failing to get the ball in their hands and in stride.

It's possible that we win the AFC North with a 10-6 record and Pitts finishes 10-6 and captures the last Wild Card spot. Then it would be Pitt @ BAL for the playoffs.

Steelers are a different beast at Heinz Field. They have played 4 of their last 5 games on the road (4-0). Bell is playing lights out and the Pittsburgh D is starting to heat up as well. Their LB's are getting healthy, especially Shazier. Remember Ben in the second half of our first meeting? He picked our defence apart. I think we're going to have to put up some big points to have a chance at Heinz field. If we played like we did on Sunday, it will not be close. Pittsburgh is the 4th best Rushing Defence in the league. Just look at their last 4 games, they are probably the best against the run: CIN Jeremy Hill 43 yards BUF Le'shawn McCoy 27 yards NYG 57 Yards IND Frank Gore 28 yards We will not be able to run the ball unless we use a lot of misdirection and gadget plays (like the jet sweep to campanaro). Flacco will have to air it out to win the ball game.

Flacco needs to step it up. I give him credit for bouncing back from a torn ACL and playing decent but if we want to win the AFC and move into the playoffs with a hope of getting to the Super Bowl, he's got to be better from a cerebral standpoint. We will have to put up at least 30 points to beat Pittsburgh.

-Flacco got strip sacked on the 7 yard line, which resulted in a TD. -Flacco got sacked at the Eagle 35 yard line and got knocked out of field go range. -Flacco threw an absolutely terrible interception at the Eagle 10 yard line. Although his stats look ok, these are ridiculous mistakes

Our secondary is small (with the exception of Jimmy Smith) and slow. This causes a lot of mismatches with big WR's, or fast WR's. Playing against good QBs, they have exploited this. It also doesn't help that the Defence is always on the field because the offence can't sustain drives.

Flacco has not shown any signs of progress since the Super Bowl run. His lack of cerebral development is apparent when you compare him to other QB's in the league. He openly breaks down plays and gives away strategic insights in his interviews with media, not even aware of all the info he is giving to his opponents. Everything is so predictable "we take what the defence gives us blah blah". A truly dominant offence will go out there and do whatever it wants. This offence is so predictable. Get the ball in the playmaker's hands! i.e. reverses, jet sweeps, wr screens, misdirections. We have Steve Smith, Perriman, Wallace who can make plays after the catch.