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Who I like, Ravens part I
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Oh the story lines for this game.
The Steelers will be playing without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger once again against the Ravens. It will mark the seventh time they’ve faced the Steelers without Roethlisberger since he became the starter in 2004. Baltimore has won five of the previous six matchups.
I think the Steelers will be OK in the long term with Vick at quarterback – and it will be long-term as Roethlisberger is expected to miss closer to six weeks than he is four – but this is a tough spot for the Steelers to get Vick prepared.
They had one “regular” practice on Tuesday and it was more of a glorified walk through. Considering Vick’s talents do not mimic those of Roethlisberger, it’s a lot to expect to have him be a finished product at this point.
But the Ravens have some issues of their own. In addition to having defensive star Terrell Suggs out for the season, Baltimore will be without tight end Crockett Gillmore, left tackle Eugene Monroe and defensive end Chris Canty.
Monroe is overrated in my opinion, but he is the starter, so anytime you get the backup out there, that’s not a good thing.
The big loss is Gillmore, who has emerged as a secondary target behind Steve Smith. Justin Forsett is second on the team with 12 catches, but is averaging four yards a catch.
Does that even things out?
A bit. But not enough in my mind for the Steelers to win this one on a short week.
The Ravens are in circle-the-wagons mode right now at 0-3. I’m not surprised they are struggling. I thought they would be the team in the AFC that would take a step back this year to, say, 8-8. But I didn’t expect them to be 0-3 at this point.
If the Steelers can exploit Baltimore’s horrid pass defense – you think Pittsburgh’s pass defense is bad, wait ’til you get a load of these guys – they can win this game. But I just don’t think that Vick, on a short week, will be able to completely do that.
The Steelers will have more than a full week of practices before playing against in two Mondays against San Diego and I expect Vick to be better prepared for that one.
The Ravens are 2 1/2-point favorites for this game and I expect them to cover that line and win, 23-17.
* A housekeeping note: The Steelers waived defensive end Caushaud Lyons Wednesday and elevated linebacker Anthony Chickillo to their 53-man roster.