So the Titans are coming to town tomorrow evening to kickoff the 2009 NFL season against our Pittsburgh Steelers and Lendale White says he's going to stomp on the Terrible Towel like he did last year? You remember what happened in 2005 when the Cincinnati Bengals came into Heinz Field and won a crucial late season game to all but wrap up the AFC North Division? TJ Who'syourmama taunted the Steelers faithful by using the Towel to shine his shoes. Well, the Bengals did win the division that year (congratulations, again) but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to those very same Pittsburgh Steelers who went on to make history, baby! OK, this never gets old. Say it with me: "Who Dey? We Dey!"
Last season, after the Titans defeated the Steelers in a late season battle to clinch home field advantage in the AFC playoffs, LenDale White found a knock-off of the Towel and stomped on it. Big deal. Who did LenDale White ever beat? He looks like comedian Paul Mooney only he's not nearly as funny. Anyway, Tennessee's home field advantage in the postseason lasted about three hours as they lost to the Ravens on their home-turf, just like Cincinnati did to Pittsburgh. You just don't mess with the Towel. Bad things happen. I mean, the Towel even somehow got a decent game out of Joe Flacco. If the Towel can make Flacco look good, no telling what it can do.
Tomorrow when the Steelers get through whipping the Titans all up and down Heinz Field, LenDale can use any towel of his liking to dry his tears.
The Titans are paper-champions. Kerry freakin Collins is their quarterback. How far can they possibly go?
Enough about those Titans (9-7 this season.) Let's move on to the those Ravens.
Every time I hear a prediction on the AFC North for 2009, some cool "expert" has them winning the AFC North. Every year, no matter what Baltimore's talent-level is, the Ravens get lots of love. This has been going on since 2000 when, thanks to Ray Lewis and the rest of their dominating defense, Baltimore won the Super Bowl despite having Trent Dilfer for a quarterback.. The Ravens have basically used the same recipe ever since: Average quarterback, average offensive weapons and win with defense and special teams play. Well, kudos to them for wining one championship that way, but it's not going to happen again until they get an offense to balance-out that defense. Maybe Flacco can help with that. Then again, maybe he's the next Trent Dilfer.
And how much longer can that defense remain dominant? The Ravens defense wasn't even ranked number one last year. The Steelers were! And the Titans and Steelers passed and ran up and down the field on them in the playoffs. The only reason they won one game is because Kerry Collins played like Kerry Collins. Well, boys, that crap might have worked in Tennessee against those paper-champions, but as you found out a week later, Big Ben was a different story. He was one bs replay-reversal and a couple of drops away from having three or four touchdowns on you. And let's not forget what he did to clinch the division late in the year.
Seriously, what is it about the Ravens? They've done nothing special in nine seasons and yet they're everyone's darlings in the preseason polls year-after-year.
Was 2000 a really good year for a lot of football experts or something? Did they all find love that year and are just being nostalgic and wishing for its return like Olivia Newton John and John Travolta in Grease?
Or maybe everyone is just so afraid of Ray Lewis that they feel compelled to pick the Ravens.
Every time I watch a football preview show and they start talking about the Ravens, it's like watching an old Soviet Union newscast.
"The Ravens, led by Joe Flacco's incredible 42.5 passer rating, are going to have another great season. They will win the Super Bowl for the 10th year in a row. All hail Ray Lewis! He is our glorious leader and Mother Raven is the greatest team in the world!"
Please, the Steelers are the class of the AFC North, and who has those two Super Bowls over the last four seasons? Oh right, the Steelers.
Maybe I'm just crazy, but I look for the Steelers to indeed Eat, Sleep and Repeat this year.
The Steelers will win 11 games and a 7th Super Bowl.
Steelers 23 Cowboys 10 in Super Bowl XLIV.
yet again, T, excellent blog, and I agree with everything you said. and nice reference to Grease, i might add! (after all, "Grease is the word!".....okay, anyways, moving on.....) that is so true about the Ravens, everyone always goes on and on about them, and yet, they are nothing special. at least the Patriots have done something to earn the cred they get (yep, you heard it here and Hell just froze over......I said something nice about the Patriots, haha). but it's true, though, as much as i hate the Pats, they are DAMN good. Brady is a damn good quarterback, the offense is OFF THE HOOK and the defense is pretty up to par from what I've seen. they are so good it makes me sick, seriously, lol. but the Ravens are only intimidating because of exactly what you said......because of Ray Lewis and all of the other players that are out to take out Steeler Nation. HOWEVER, we've got players such as Heath Miller, James Harrison and James Farrior, who are just as intimidating. I say "bring it, bitches!" to them in that respect. also, i think that they raise such a hype about them because they are one of our most notorious rivals. just like the Pats and the Browns, whenever they is a crazy matchup between them and us, there is always a big to-do about it. but yeah, i see the Steelers winning again, or definitely at least making it to the playoffs. i say it'll come down to them and the Ravens for the AFC North, and us and the Pats for the Super Bowl. "who dey? WE DEY!!!" GO STEELERS!!!!
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