This game had all the makings of a street brawl and lived up to the hype. On the opening kickoff two Ravens players had to be helped to the sidelines. Along with big time blocks, Willis McGahee's head flew into the third row. The hitter himself, Ryan Clark, even went down. Was it the hit of the year? No doubt, but was it legal? Debatable. Pittsburgh surprisingly dominated both sides of the ball. Defensively, they kept Joe Flacco and an above average rushing attack in check. Offensively, they were able to control the clock, move the chains when they had to and keep Big Ben upright for the most part. I had picked Baltimore because I felt they would be the aggressor and hold down the Steelers rushing game. Willie Parker was effective and Pittsburgh was the one laying wood. The Steelers won a tough game against a great defense and now head to their NFL leading 7th Super Bowl.
Big Ben is a very underrated QB. He has proven time and time again he can win the close games and win them ugly. I rarely see him kill his team in the postseason. Statistically, his worst postseason game was in the Super Bowl; Pittsburgh won anyways. He is the best at extending plays by escaping the pocket and blitzers from the secondary have a real tough time bringing him down.
Speaking of QB's, Joe Flacco finally had the game we all thought he would as a rookie QB in the playoffs. The play not to lose mentality was not going to be enough to win in Pittsburgh. However, he is the real deal. By going out on a limb and drafting Flacco, Baltimore won't have to worry about the QB position for years, a position that has plagued them for seasons. Expect Baltimore to be back next season.
One quick award/record of note. The Guiness Book of World Records sent the following to Steelers punter Mitch Berger: First NFL punter to successfully punt a football with his knee cap.
Finally, I can't say enough about the coaching abilities of Mike Tomlin. When rookie WR Limas Sweed went Braylon Edwards and dropped a sure touchdown he was greeted at the sidelines by Coach Tomlin. Ordinarily you would think a tongue lashing was in order. later that drive Sweed delivered a monster block, and all but sealed the game on a crucial 3rd down catch late in the game. When other coaches might have buried the rookie, Tomlin kept it cool. Being as young as he is, his attitude with handling things speaks loudly on a veteran football team. The respect the have for him is one large reason the Steelers didn't taper off after Bill Cowher's departure.
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