RealGM

A dusting of snow covers a thin layer of ice Friday morning on the backwaters of the Allegheny River at Washington's Landing. More snow is forecast.
This just in: It's going to snow today and during the Steelers game.

But the total accumulation will only amount to about an inch, maybe 2, so fans need not worry about getting to and from the big showdown with the Baltimore Ravens

Making of a rivalry

The Steelers have had other rivals, notably the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the 1970s. But neither rivalry lasted nearly as long as this one. With just 200 miles separating cities that share the same division and personas ("blue-collar" the most commonly used description), the rivalry accelerated after 2000, when Baltimore won its one and only Super Bowl during a 26-year championship drought for the Steelers. Before the teams met in September 2003, Lewis said, "For some reason we're beginning to like playing Pittsburgh because of the rivalry we had."

The teams established control of the division and developed similar identities built upon punishing, turnover-producing defenses. Leading them were glib, outspoken coaches, the Ravens' Brian Billick and the Steelers' Bill Cowher, who seemed to genuinely dislike each other and barely tried to hide it. Both now are TV analysts, but the mutual animosity they bred lives on.

The Steelers have been the better team since 2001, winning two Super Bowls to none for the Ravens, and leading the series, 13-9, including 2-0 in the postseason. Aside from an occasional blowout, most games have been close; five of the past six were decided by three points, the other by four.

To a larger extent, respect, not hatred, seems to fuel the rivalry. Ward, who memorably blasted Reed in '07, introduced the Ravens safety on video as a member of the 100 best NFL players of all time. Clark said he would "hate to wear that purple, but my personality could play for Baltimore."

3 REASONS WHY THE STEELERS WILL WIN

1) Ben Roethlisberger — Roethlisberger is 7-2 in playoff games and 2-1 in AFC championship games. He has lost only twice in his career to the Ravens.

2) Mike Wallace — Wallace averaged 21 yards per reception and had 26 catches of 20-yards or more. The Steelers are 12-1 when Wallace catches a touchdown pass.

3) Troy Polamalu — Polamalu was directly responsible for beating the Ravens last month in Baltimore. Just his presence in the lineup could propel the Steelers to a win.

3 REASONS WHY THE STEELERS WILL LOSE

1) Joe Flacco — Flacco is coming off a game in which he set four franchise playoff records, and could be the difference in a sure-to-be close game.

2) Terrell Suggs — The ability for him to move all around the line makes him difficult to contain. He has 68.5 sacks and 22 forced fumbles over his career.

3) Ed Reed — Despite missing six games to start the season, Reed led the NFL with eight interceptions.

el loco wrote:Damn, that goof hurt. If Big Ben ever firgures out that sometimes the best play is to just throw it away, he will step his game up a notch. He turns the ball over a lot when he hangs on to it so long.

14-7 Ravens

DEEP3CL wrote:

el loco wrote:Damn, that goof hurt. If Big Ben ever firgures out that sometimes the best play is to just throw it away, he will step his game up a notch. He turns the ball over a lot when he hangs on to it so long.

14-7 Ravens

Might as well just deal with it Loco, been doing it like that his whole career.

Anklebreaker702 wrote:Ziggy Hood came up big all day!

Mafu wrote:We simply outmuscled them when it counted!!!!! Bottom freaking line!

el loco wrote:

Anklebreaker702 wrote:Ziggy Hood came up big all day!

He had a good game, basically the defense did even though the final score doesn't indicate that they did. I guess this makes me a Jets fan tomorrow

Anklebreaker702 wrote:It would be sweeter if we beat New England though.