NYT Fifth Down Picks Steelers Over Ravens

[Atlanta Dan]

NYT Fifth Down site often gets snarky but writes a fairly strightforward analysis tin this week's picks column

Joe Flacco threw his 52nd and 53rd career touchdown passes last week, moving him past Vinny Testaverde to become the Ravens’ passing touchdown leader. The fact that a 25-year-old broke the Ravens’ career touchdown mark in his third season tells more about Ravens history than about Flacco. Testaverde left Baltimore in 1998, which means that the Ravens have been cycling through Trent Dilfer, Tony Banks, Elvis Grbac, Kyle Boller, the late-career Steve McNair and others for 13 seasons. Thanks to Ray Lewis and some great running backs, the Ravens have been good for much of that span, but 13 years is a long time to squeak out wins with rushing, defense and crossed fingers. Flacco is a cut above the quarterbacks who preceded him, but the Ravens’ offense still has problems. If you have seen their highlight reels, then you have seen their entire offense: once you get past the weekly bomb and Ray Rice’s shake-and-bake screens, there’s little else....

The Steelers look vulnerable after their close call against the Bills, and linebacker James Harrison (now earning a fine per week for increasingly dubious infractions) just hopes to break even financially every Sunday. But the Ravens haven’t beaten a good opponent with a healthy starting quarterback since the Jets in Week 1. Even with a record-setting quarterback, they are too one-dimensional to rank among the elite teams. Pick: Steelers

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2...ps/?ref=sports

[NYC_Steeler]

Yes, they usually provide a good analysis for a particular game. I forgot to check them this morning.

[MDSteel15]

Originally Posted by NYC_Steeler

Yes, they usually provide a good analysis for a particular game. I forgot to check them this morning.

So did Greeny on Mie and Mike this morning... And we all know how bad his picks are!