Bleacher Report - Dennis Dixon

Ravens-Steelers: Dennis Dixon Asked To Work Overtime, but Clocks Out Early

TJ Jenkins — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:30:11 -0500

Wow.

What a game.

Let me start this off by saying congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens and their fans. Well-played game, as games in this series always are. Both teams played their hearts out and really dug deep within themselves to put forth their best efforts.

Moving on from that, let's take a look at how the Pittsburgh Steelers played.

Might as well start with Dennis Dixon, right?

Now, if you had the opportunity to join me and some friends of mine in the Live NFL Game-Thread at Sports Jabber, then you may have seen my frantic dismantling of Dixon's play directly after the interception he threw to Paul Kruger in overtime that set up the winning field goal.

Let me chalk that up as a heat-of-the-moment rant that was full of both Tommy Maddox comparisons and expletives.

To put it lightly, I was mad that we had lost a very winnable game and perhaps even more mad that the game had to be placed in the hands of a quarterback making his first NFL start.

To be honest with you, prior to that interception, Dixon played fantastically. He made plays with both his feet and his arm and truly shocked most, if not all, of Steeler Nation.

He was only called upon to throw the ball 26 times and responded well, tossing one touchdown on a perfect pass that saw Santonio Holmes sprint to the end zone.

He also rushed three times for 27 yards and a touchdown that was greatly aided by Mewelde Moore's vicious block to seal the edge for his quarterback.

The biggest issue with Dixon isn't really an issue with Dixon himself. It's with Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians. (I know what you're thinking: another Arians rant.) He absolutely refused to roll the speedy quarterback out of the pocket, even though Dixon's release point is a prime target to get knocked down at the line of scrimmage.

Think back to Dixon's college days. He played at Oregon, a team renowned for their speed and their execution of the spread offense.

Arians' excuse for not running him more? He was wary of injuring the young starter due to the lack of depth at the position.

The sad thing is that as paper-thin as the excuse is, it's passable and won't make a lot of people think twice.

While on the subject of running the ball, the Pittsburgh ground game looked good again. Rashard Mendenhall put up a 95-yard performance, spinning all the while.

In fact, I'm not sure that he knows that he's allowed to make a move besides spinning, which adds to his tendency to fumble the ball. Not to say that I have a problem with his running style per say, he's just not what I expected him to be. He's still an upgrade over Willie Parker though.

The Pittsburgh defense is what concerned me the most, however. Including an uncharacteristic mistake by Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau.

There is absolutely no excuse to have James Farrior playing man-to-man coverage on Ray Rice, Baltimore's leading receiver. It was an absolute disaster as Rice finished with 155 total yards from scrimmage against the generally tenacious defense.

Tackling is becoming a concern for our cornerbacks as well.

Ray Rice shook the check off of the entire defense's Nike's on fourth down that would set up the field goal to send the game into overtime. William Gay absolutely must improve his tackling.

Ike Taylor having no ball skills is really starting to irritate me as well. The man is an excellent cover corner, but even shadowing Holmes last year before training camp didn't help him increase his interceptions. He currently has a grand total of zero this season.

Ryan Clark and DeShea Townsend both also could have had an interception, but couldn't make a play on the ball.

That being said, the defense did pretty well and I'm just magnifying mistakes.

They got to Joe Flacco five times, forcing three fumbles.

Lawrence Timmons is showing us all why the coaching staff was confident enough to allow Larry Foote to walk to Detroit. He's a special player that is going to continue making an impact in the middle of the Steelers defense.

Timmons is surprisingly fast for a linebacker and there's always the option of moving him outside once James Harrison calls it quits.

The Steelers came into this game with viewers expecting an easy Baltimore victory. Many were expecting to be watching something else come halftime, but Dixon and company made it a game, and perhaps we found something special in the former Duck.

As I've said, great game on both sides.

Time for the defending champions to look ahead to the Oakland Raiders, grit their teeth, and push on, in the true fashion of Pittsburgh Steelers football.

As always, TJ Jenkins' work can also be found at both the Pittsburgh Pigskin Blog and the Sports Jabber Forums.

Read more Dennis Dixon news on BleacherReport.com

Steelers Report Card/Week 12: Headaches Extend Beyond Final Score

Paul Ladewski — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:59:07 -0500

Here’s my take on the Steelers’ 20-17 overtime defeat against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night:

1. In terms of chemistry and leadership, this team isn’t in the same zip code as the one of a year ago. But who would have thunk that team captain Hines Ward would be part of the problem?

In an NBC television interview, Ward claimed that the locker room was divided about whether Ben Roethlisberger should play one week after the quarterback had suffered the third known concussion of his career. According to the report, Roethlisberger wanted to play despite exercise-induced headaches late in the week, but on the recommendation of medical personnel, head coach Mike Tomlin wisely decided against it. The inference was that Roethlisberger should have kept his mouth shut and played the game, which Ward likened to a playoff encounter.

Look, I admire Ward and his competitive spirit, but if I made a list of players in the league most likely to turtle in a big game, Roethlisberger might be the last one on it. That Ward of all people would throw the QB under the team bus kind of makes me wonder if he has taken too many blows to the head himself.

2. No head coach talks a better game than Tomlin, who promised that his team would “unleash hell in December” after the game.

What Steelers World wants to know is, why didn’t the defending champions unleash hell in October and November? Even purgatory would have been nice.

3. Linebackers Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley combined for 12 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble, but one monster game doesn’t atone for so many forgettable ones at the start of the season. It only makes them worse, in fact.

4. The inability of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians to make the necessary adjustments reared its ugly head again. Emergency fill-in Dennis Dixon played a solid first half, but the Ravens defense read him like a book in the final two-plus periods.

Dixon is not a drop-back passer, so why make him into one? His legs are his greatest asset at this point, but he wasn’t allowed to use them on draws, bootlegs and the like. Dixon and feature back Rashard Mendenhall excelled at the option play in college and the Ravens would have been hard-pressed to defend against it.

5. Because there was no proven back-up available, it was important to keep Dixon in one piece. But given the choice between a healthy back-up quarterback or a 7-4 record, I’ll take the 7-4 record and worry about who plays quarterback later.

6. Before the season, there was a concern that the d-line had grown a bit long in the tooth. Sure enough, the Ravens ran the ball down its throat for 132 yards on only 29 carries. That’s 4.6 yard per attempt.

Nosetackle Casey Hampton and ends Brent Keisel and Travis Kirschke played like they were 30-something years old, probably because they were 30-something years old.

7. Farrior and nickelback Deshea Townsend have been frequent targets on third-and-medium situations this season, so it came as no surprise that the Ravens would pick on one of them on the biggest play of the game. Required to cover Ravens feature back Ray Rice by himself on fourth-and-5 late in the fourth quarter, Farrior was toasted for 44 big ones.

James Farrior versus Ray Rice? I’ll be the last guy to tell defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau what to do, but he may want to rethink that one.

8. Want another bad matchup? How about cornerback William Gay versus wide receiver Mark Clayton? Clayton caught so many balls (a dozen for 129 yards), I thought Lenny Moore had made a comeback.

9. Halfback Willie Parker was born 40 years too late. If he had played at a time when guards weren’t the size of tackles, his 4.3 speed would have been hell on sweeps and pitchouts, which have been phased out of professional football practically.

10. Oh, to be a fly in the mind of Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt when he looks at the standings and sees his former team in third place with a lousy 6-5 record.

You know, the guy who was the most qualified candidate to become Steelers head coach three years ago.

The grades:

Offense regulars

WR Hines Ward: C

Weekly grades: B/B/C/B/A/A/D/A/C/B/C

Season average: B

LT Max Starks: B

Weekly grades: B/F/C/B/C/C/C/A/C/D/B

Season average: C

LG Chris Komoeatu: DNP

Weekly grades: D/C/B/A/B/B/B/C/D/B/DNP

Season average: C+

C Justin Hartwig: B

Weekly grades: F/C/B/A/B/B/B/A/D/B/C

Season average: C+

RG Trai Essex: C

Weekly grades: C/B/C/B/D/D/C/C/F/C/C

Season average: C

RT Willie Colon: B

Weekly grades: D/B/C/A/C/C/A/A/F/D/B

Season average: C+

TE Heath Miller: C

Weekly grades: A/B/B/A/A/A/A/C/C/D/C

Season average: B

WR Santonio Holmes: A

Weekly grades: A/D/F/C/B/A/C/A/B/B/A

Season average: C+

WR Mike Wallace: D

Weekly grades: B/C/A/B/B/B/A/A/D/D/D

Season average: C+

QB Ben Roethlisberger: DNP

Weekly grades: A/B/A/A/B/B/B/B/D/A/DNP

Season average: B

RB Rashard Mendenhall: B

Weekly grades: C/B/INC/A/A/D/D/A/C/A/B

Season average: B

RB Mewelde Moore: D

Weekly grades: B/C/C/A/B/B/B/B/B/C/D

Season average: C+

RB Willie Parker: C

Weekly grades: D/C/B/DNP/DNP/D/INC/INC/INC/B/C

Season average: C

Defense regulars

LE Travis Kirschke: B

Weekly grades: C/B/C/C/B/B/B/DNP/DNP/DNP/B

Season average: C+

NT Casey Hampton: D

Weekly grades: B/B/B/C/B/A/C/A/B/A/D

Season average: B

RE Brett Keisel: C

Weekly grades: A/B/C/B/B/A/A/A/B/B/C

Season average: B

LOLB LaMarr Woodley: A

Weekly grades: D/D/D/D/C/B/B/B/B/A/A

Season average: C+

LILB James Farrior: B

Weekly grades: B/A/C/B/C/A/A/B/B/B/B

Season average: B

LILB Keyaron Fox: B

Weekly grades: A/A/C/C/B/D/A/A/F/C/B

Season average: C+

RILB Lawrence Timmons: A

Weekly grades: DNP/B/B/D/B/A/B/DNP/B/A/A

Season average: B

ROLB James Harrison: B

Weekly grades: A/B/A/A/A/B/A/A/C/A/B

Season average: B+

LCB William Gay: F

Weekly grades: C/C/B/B/B/C/D/C/B/D/F

Season average: C

RCB Ike Taylor: C

Weekly grades: C/B/A/A/B/D/B/C/A/A/C

Season average: B

SS Troy Polamalu: INC

Weekly grades: A/DNP/DNP/DNP/DNP/A/A/A/INC/DNP/DNP

Season average: A

FS Ryan Clark: C

Weekly grades: B/B/A/B/A/B/B/DNP/A/D/C

Season average: B

Special teams regulars

PK Jeff Reed: A

Weekly grades: B/F/C/A/B/B/D/B/C/B/A

Season average: C+

P Daniel Sepulveda: B

Weekly grades: A/A/A/A/B/B/B/A/A/B/B

Season average: B+

KR Stefan Logan: C

Weekly grades: B/D/A/C/B/B/B/C/C/B/C

Season average: C+

PR Stefan Logan: B

Weekly grades: C/C/C/F/C/INC/C/B/B/B

Season average: C

Coaches

HC Mike Tomlin: C

Weekly grades: B/C/D/A/C/B/B/A/D/F/C

Season average: C+

OC Bruce Arians: C

Weekly grades: C/D/C/A/B/A/C/B/F/C/C

Season average: C+

DC Dick LeBeau: B

Weekly grades: A/B/C/B/B/A/B/A/A/A/B

Season average: B+

Read more Dennis Dixon news on BleacherReport.com

2009 Steelers: The Non-Closers Lose a Tough One To Ravens

Chris Staaf — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:52:46 -0500

If the season ended today, the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers could sum up their season in three words: failure to close.

In Glengarry Glen Ross , Alec Baldwin's character says, "ABC: Always Be Closing." These Steelers failed to close once again, losing a tough one to the Baltimore Ravens 20-17 in overtime.

For the fourth time this season, the Steelers blew a fourth quarter lead and lost the game. The Steelers, now at 6-5, are pretty much just fighting for a wild card spot which they still could not earn even if they win out and finish 11-5 a la the New England Patriots last season. It is a possibility that the Steelers and Steeler Nation needs to come to grips with quickly.

Some observations from tonight's game:

The Good

1. Dennis Dixon played OK given the situation. Yes he did throw the back-breaking interception to Paul Kruger in overtime and just looked lost in OT period, but you have to give the second-year QB his due. He played within himself. He did not take any sacks, and got rid of the ball quickly whenever he could. He also flashed his quickness and foot speed which made him a Heisman candidate in 2007, scoring on a 24-yard run.

Dixon has shown to be a capable backup, but Steeler Nation will obviously want their franchise QB Ben Roethlisberger to come back as soon as possible, likely next week at home against Oakland. It is good to know what the Steelers have in Dixon. So expect Charlie Batch to be put on injured reserve within few days.

2. Bruce Arians called the best game of the season. Yes, even in a loss, Arians did his job well and should not face too much criticism this week. His play-calling protected Dixon and had 38 run plays to 26 pass plays, a great combination for an inexperienced QB.

Rashard Mendenhall got 24 carries for 95 yards against a tough Ravens defense, and the Steelers as a team rushed for 153, which is admirable even in a loss. Arians should definitely stick with this philosophy even when Roethlisberger comes back. It will protect Roethlisberger from unnecessary contact and help the team control the clock more efficiently.

3. The kickoff coverage was much better Sunday night because, well, they did not give up any returns for touchdowns. All sarcasm aside, the Steeler coverage unit held Ravens return man Ladarius Webb to 21.3 yards per return, which for them is phenomenal. Chris Carr got loose on a punt return once for 34 yards but other than that, the Steelers also did their job efficiently.

The Bad

1. The defense was not great tonight. Let's get one thing clear. This Steelers defense is not the 2008 Steelers defense. Tonight they gave up two long touchdown drives in the first half before finally clamping down on Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense in the third quarter and part of the fourth quarter. The tying FG drive by the Ravens? 10 plays for 84 yards, something that has become usual for these Steelers defenders this year.

This Steelers defense played their hearts out tonight, but let's give credit where credit is due. Ray Rice is a star running back and he made the Steelers look silly in the game-tying drive, easily beating James Farrior on the gutsy 4th down catch with 3:31 to go in the game.

In OT, Rice drove the ball all the way down inside the 12 yard line after Kruger's interception return was stopped at the Steelers' own 28 yard line. The Steelers knew who was getting the ball but it did not matter. They came into tonight's game as the best run defense in the league. Tonight that number meant nothing. 132 yards rushing against the No. 1 ranked rush defense is inexcusable no matter who is not playing or who is playing.

2. Cornerbacks Ike Taylor and William Gay were not good tonight. Gay has been picked on by opponents all season and tonight was no different. The real surprise was Taylor, who is usually a very good cover man, getting beaten consistently by Derrick Mason. Tonight Taylor was beaten for a touchdown and was flagged for a pass interference.

Gay, a free agent at the end of this season, will likely just play out his contract with the Steelers and will not be asked to come back for 2010. With Deshea Townsend at age 34, the Steelers will need to draft another cornerback, or groom 2009 draft picks Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett to eventually take over. Given how little Lewis and Burnett have played this season, it remains to be seen if they are the long-term future or if they are just in Steel City for another year.

The Verdict

Was this loss a sign of things to come? Now with three losses in a row, the Steelers are in a deep hole in the AFC playoff picture. They might as well forget about playing at Heinz Field in January, because barring a Denver Broncos -like collapse by the the Cincinnati Bengals, the division is lost.

Like 2005, the Steelers need to win out to ensure a playoff berth. The best things about the Steelers right now are these things: One, they have made playoff runs before. Two, wins against the now surging Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, and even the San Diego Chargers will loom large if it comes down to tie-breakers.

But enough of that.

While this Steeler team is no doubt talented, they don't look like a team trying to attain a common goal like last season. There seems to be no real fire inside this team, almost like they are content with last season and just want to play out the string this season.

I think that the month of December will show how important Mike Tomlin is to this team. For the first time in his three seasons in Pittsburgh, Tomlin is facing the reality of not making the playoffs. Some Steeler fans have questioned Tomlin's leadership and coaching calls this season.

Bill Cowher cemented his legend in Pittsburgh in December 2005 and January 2006 by leading the Steelers to nine consecutive wins, including four straight wins in the playoffs. Before 2005, Cowher was just a good coach. After 2005, he was a great coach who could go to the Hall of Fame when he officially retires.

While last season Tomlin was the toast of the town, but the NFL is a fickle business. Tomlin can shut up the remaining naysayers if he can lead the Steelers to wins and a deep playoff push this year, especially in the first real moment of crisis in his coaching career.

The Steelers need to take care of their own business and not worry about what the Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, or anyone else is doing. Troy Polamalu will likely not be back this Sunday against the Raiders or next Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns. While he makes the Steelers a better team, one man should not make an entire defense.

The remaining schedule sets up favorably for the Steelers, but this is the same team that could not close out a 10 point lead against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bottom line, the Steelers need to close out games. If they don't, they will be watching football during the playoffs, not playing in them.

Next game: December 6 vs. Oakland Raiders @ 1 pm Eastern

Read more Dennis Dixon news on BleacherReport.com

Steelers-Ravens: Arians Tries To Fit Square Peg Into Round Hole

Lee Heisler — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:49:36 -0500

Well, the Steelers gave the Ravens a better game than most people thought they would.

The defense made a few big plays, yet gave up a few big plays. The worst part was, once again, Bruce Arians and his play-calling. Several calls puzzled me, but what else would you expect from Arians?

The thing that upset me the most was that Arians tried to make Dennis Dixon into a pocket-passer. The Ravens are a tough enough defense to go up against, but even tougher when your offensive coordinator tries to make you into something that you're not.

Why didn't Arians use some more moving pockets and bootlegs to give Dixon a pass/run option, enabling him to use his athletic ability? The one time that they did it, it resulted in a big play touchdown.

Arians makes the players fit into his system, instead of forming his offense around the strengths of the players. That is a sign of a poor coach. All Arians had to do was take a look at how the Titans changed their offense while transitioning from Kerry Collins to Vince Young.

Granted the Steelers didn't have a whole week knowing that Dixon was going to be the QB, but "good" coaches should always be prepared and have their teams prepared.

There should have been an offensive package put in to utilize Dixon's strengths "just in case," but the Steelers didn't.

Thus far this season Arians has stuck with the empty backfield set that has failed much, much more than it has succeeded. It's really done nothing but hurt the Steelers and their franchise QB.

Arians has made the Steelers a one-dimensional team numerous times this season by becoming pass happy. He's made poor play-calls in the redzone or short yardage situations all season, which takes points off the board.

He's become enamored with calling the long pass, even when that's what teams are protecting against. He refuses to max protect when needed, see the games against the Bengals this year and the game against the Eagles last season.

And tonight he refused to maximize Dixon's talents by using rollouts, moving pockets, or any plays with pass/run options.

It's to the point now where I'm losing respect for Mike Tomlin. He has to step in and do what's best for the team, even if it means stepping on peoples toes.

If Tomlin continues to stand by and do nothing but talk and cut fringe players on the roster I've got one word for you...spineless !

Read more Dennis Dixon news on BleacherReport.com

Chris J. Nelson's Week 12 NFL Game Predictions

Chris J. Nelson — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:53:01 -0500

Man, I knew I should have picked Denver at home on a short week. Oh well. At least I had a good week last week.

Last week's record: 12-4
Season record: 108-52 (67.5%)

Falcons over Buccaneers — Tampa Bay appears to be a long way off right now and Atlanta at home should have no problem handling their division rival, regardless of whether or not Michael Turner plays.

Dolphins over Bills — Buffalo's offensive line and secondary has been hit hard with injuries recently, swinging the advantage even farther toward the Dolphins. I like Miami on the road in this one.

Bengals over Browns — Brady Quinn had a fantastic day against the league's worst pass defense in Detroit last week, but he won't have that luxury again. Cincinnati is the much better team from top to bottom and I can't envision them losing.

Seahawks over Rams — In a battle between two dismal NFC West franchises, the difference could come down to the presence of Rams running back Steven Jackson. The Pro Bowler missed every practice this week with a back injury and is considered a game-time decision. Considering the Rams promoted rookie running back Chris Ogbonnaya from the practice squad today, I'm going to guess Jackson won't play and that the Seahawks will take advantage.

Jets over Panthers — Mark Sanchez has really come back down to earth lately and is just giving games away right now. Still, Carolina's pretty unimpressive and isn't as committed to the run as they should be, so I'm taking the Jets' strong defense at home.

Eagles over Redskins — Washington gave Dallas a game last week and could do the same against another division rival tomorrow. Still, Philadelphia is a much more talented squad and they have to be the pick.

Colts over Texans — Far less-talented Houston teams have beaten far more-talented Indianapolis teams in the past, but I can't justify picking against the Colts with the way Peyton Manning is playing right now.

Chargers over Chiefs — Kansas City pulled off the surprise upset against a much better Steelers team last week, but I don't see it happening two weeks in a row. San Diego is better and should win this one.

Jaguars over 49ers — It's never easy flying to the west coast, and Jacksonville arrives in San Francisco with some very unimpressive play lately despite some wins. Still, I just don't like much about the Niners except for a handful of players and I'm going to predict Maurice Jones-Drew leads the Jaguars to victory.

Cardinals over Titans — Tennessee has reeled off some wins recently with their quarterback change, but all the credit is due to running back Chris Johnson. However, I'm predicting they get taken down a peg and upset by Arizona this week.

Vikings over Bears — Chicago's offensive line is woeful, while Minnesota's gives Brett Favre all the time in the world to throw. I can't justify picking the Bears in this one.

Ravens over Steelers — Pittsburgh is certainly a talented squad and maybe even better than Baltimore at full strength, but I can't pick Dennis Dixon to win this one on his first start on the road against a very good Ravens team.

Patriots over Saints — New England is getting hot and they present one of the best challenges remaining for the Saints this season. I say Tom Brady wins a big one on the road.

Chris J. Nelson is a journalism major at Georgia State University. He operates his own Miami Dolphins web site, The Miami Dolphins Spotlight, and can be followed on Twitter here.

Read more Dennis Dixon news on BleacherReport.com

Steelers Must Go Old School Against Ravens: Win It With Defense

Nick Signorelli — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:41:29 -0500

I have said numerous times this year, that this is not your parent's Pittsburgh Steelers football team. No longer is this unit forced to run the ball on first and second down, then hope for a decent pass on third.

The 2009 Steelers can win in the air. Ben Roethlisberger is one of the NFL elite, and they normally rely on him to take the game over, when it is on the line. When the Steelers travel to Baltimore on Sunday, Roethlisberger won't be able to save them, he will be inactive.

Dennis Dixon will make his first career start due to the concussion like symptoms Roethlisberger suffered when he took a knee to the head in overtime against the Chiefs last week.

For the Steelers to come out of Baltimore with the victory, they are going to have to do it old school. The defense is going to have to shut the Ravens down, keep them out of the end zone, and possibly put some points on the board themselves.

The Steelers defense will be without Troy Polamalu yet again this week, but they will have to play at their highest level of the year.

The Ravens strength at the beginning of the season was Joe Flacco putting the ball in the air. Lately, Ray Rice has been the gear that turns the wheel in Baltimore. The Steelers defense is the best in the league against the run, allowing 139 yards less than the second place Bengals, and under 70 yards per game.

The key to success for the Steelers will be keeping Rice in check and forcing Joe Flacco to beat them through the air. Ike Taylor is going to have to lock down Derrick Mason, and keep him under 100 yards receiving.

The other key for a Steelers victory will be running the ball, which against Baltimore, is easier said than done. Haloti Ngata returns to the Ravens line up for the first time in a month.

There are some injury issues that the Ravens defense is concerned with as well. Both Ray Lewis (foot) and Ed Reed (undisclosed illness / foot) are questionable, while Terrell Suggs has been ruled doubtful, meaning he likely will not play.

Brendon Ayanbadejo and Fabian Washington have both been placed on IR, while Samari Rolle is on the PUP list, so none of them will be playing the rest of this year.

Dennis Dixon is going to have to play mistake free football for the Steelers to be successful. He needs to not try to be Roethlisberger, and when his receivers are not open, do what you did best in college, take off running. Dixon will have to go through his progressions, check the check down, then take off running if no one is open.

On offense, the Steelers are going to have to limit mistakes and run the football to exploit the injuries the Ravens have, and to give the defense as much rest as they possibly can.

For the Steelers to win, they are going to have to do it with defense. They will have to play old school football, like only the Steelers can.

Read more Dennis Dixon news on BleacherReport.com

Dennis Dixon Supplants Ben Roethlisberger at QB | NFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Fantasy-Info .com — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:27:42 -0500

Last week, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion in an overtime loss to the Chiefs . Once Roethlisberger left the game, the team turned the reigns over to steady veteran Charlie Batch to finish the game.

Unfortunately, for the Steelers, Batch suffered a wrist injury and will be out for the rest of the regular season. Because of this key injury, the team is now left with inexperienced but talented young quarterback Dennis Dixon to backup Roethlisberger.

Likely In, Likely Out

For most of the week, it looked like the Steelers would have their star quarterback under center for an all-important game on Sunday night against the Ravens. Roethlisberger passed all medical tests and was given a clear bill of health to play but in spite of all that on Friday Big Ben told his coach that he might not play.

Roethlisberger needed to sleep on his decision to play and on Saturday mourning Fox Sports' Jay Glazer broke the news that the Steelers would be without their star quarterback for this week's game.

Now Pittsburgh is faced with starting second year quarterback Dixon, who has thrown one completion (last year) in his short NFL career.

In the Heat of the Night

While Dixon had a fabulous career with the Oregon Ducks , he will now be tested against one of the best defenses the NFL has to offer in his first career start. The Ravens thrive on playing offenses that have problems stretching the field with the deep passing game.

If the Steelers are not able to make the Ravens' respect the passing game down the field then Ed Reed and the secondary players will sit on the Steelers short passing routes.

Not only that but when the Ravens are able to play that kind of game you can forget about running the football with regular effectiveness.

One of Dixon's weapons that should give the Ravens problems is his ability to move out of the pocket and pick up first downs with his legs.

The main question for Dixon is will he be able to handle playing at the NFL speed?

Fantasy Outlook

Unless you don't have good options on your bench, I would suggest you bench your Steeler fantasy players for this contest. We don't know what Dixon will be able to do, but in a game like this, on the road, the odds are that it won't be good.

That is not to say that Dixon can't be a good quarterback in the future but in this game, I'm not sure he can sustain drives down the field to give fantasy owners the stats they need for success.

Next week the Steelers will face the Raiders in Pittsburgh and in that game if Dixon is in you should definitely get your main players in.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

Read more Dennis Dixon news on BleacherReport.com

Steelers-Ravens: Ben Roethlisberger Out, Dennis Dixon In

Brian Carson — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:54:46 -0500

In a stunning turn of events, it appears Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not play Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Roethlisberger complained of headaches after practice on Wednesday and Thursday, despite passing all neurological tests this week and pronouncing himself fit to play.

Team doctors will test him today and tomorrow to see how he feels and if he'll be able to go, but all signs point to Big Ben not playing.

Dennis Dixon, who started the season as the No. 3 man, will be making the first NFL start of his career.

The Steelers plan to sign quarterback Tyler Palko from the practice squad today to their 53-man roster and he will back up Dixon tomorrow in Baltimore provided Roethlisberger does not suit up.

Palko's first practice with the Steelers came Thursday after he cleared CFL waivers and was signed to their practice squad. Veteran receiver Shaun McDonald will be released.

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Breaking News: Ben Roethlisberger Will Not Play Vs. Ravens Due To Concussion

Matt Miselis — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:51:28 -0500

In the disappointing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, Pittsburgh held their breath when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down with a "concussion-like injury."

The entire Steelers staff, lead by head coach Mike Tomlin, wanted to observe Roethlisberger's progress, and would make a decision as to whether or not No. 7 would play.

Earlier this week, Roethlisberger was rumored to start against the Baltimore Ravens, their division rivals, on Sunday.

Many tests were taken throughout the week, making sure Roethlisberger could hold his own in a match up like this.

As of Friday, he was determined a game-time decision. But that did not last long, according to Fox Sports .

According to FOX.com, Roethlisberger will not play against their rival Sunday, in what could be the biggest game of the year.

Both the Steelers and Ravens are fighting for playoff spots, and with the blow already to Troy Polamalu, they are taking it safe by resting their quarterback this week.

Due to Charlie Batch requiring season-ending surgery earlier this week, former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon will make his first career start.

The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers will square off in one of the NFL's more heated rivalries Sunday Night.

Matt Miselis is an NFL writer for BleacherReport.com.

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