Next?

Bummer. Damn - that's the last time I root for the Ravens. And they played so well, too. Two games in a row now where the team just couldn't finish. And now ESPN is really going into overdrive with its rhetoric about how the Steelers are the last team that can beat the Patriots.

And on Mike and Mike in the Morning, they're blathering on about how the Eagles and Ravens have figured something out. How the blueprint has been made on how to play the Patriots. Sure there is game film to watch to see what Philly and Baltimore did. But Belichik has that same film. And he's a genius, right????

Let's back up a bit. The Eagles came within an AJ Feely interception of beating the unbeatable. They got greedy. I am thinking they must have been picturing themselves with the go ahead touchdown within their reach, and nothing was going to stop them. There was no reason to go for the touchdown when all they needed was to keep going along with the short gains. It had been working for them pretty well. Then they had to go for it all on one play.

Then along comes the Ravens. Or should I say "the hated Ravens" ? If there is one thing that Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati fans agree on...it's that we all hate the Ravens. I dislike the Browns and Bengals a lot, but it's different with them. I would clearly prefer that the Steelers kick the snot out of Cleveland and Cincy, but if the Steelers lose, I don't mind nearly as much as when they lost to Baltimore.

All that said, I was rooting for the Ravens. And they were doing so well. The defense was playing well....Brady even looked a little confused and frustrated. The Ravens were scoring and gaining good yardage on the ground. But what the heck was up with the timeouts? Billick used two in the first quarter. It seemed like every time I blinked, they were calling another time out.

Well, I was kinda hoping for an upset. Perhaps a less focused Patriot team. Now the Steelers may be facing a very good team that feels it has something to prove. After all, it's now been two games since they were able to post a 30+ point win.

Wouldn't it be great, Steeler Nation, if Pittsburgh was able to play the sort of game that the Eagles and Ravens played? But then be the team that managed to play that way for all four quarters?