Baltimore Ravens: No Super Bowl For Not Using The Heisman Winner

The Baltimore Ravens were so close to getting to their second Super Bowl in a decade. At one point it seemed like just one good play away from being Baltimore's ball game. But they lacked one big thing in their offense, explosive plays. They needed to dust off some of the plays they used earlier this year with the Heisman trophy winner.

I think Troy Smith could have been the X-factor in the game. His dual-threat would have made the Steelers worry about him running and they would have had to stay at home. A couple times in the game you saw Flacco just stand there. He's not fast enough to run for the sidelines, so he took sacks instead.

Troy Smith is a back-up so he's not worried about staying in for the next play. He's going to give it his all when he's on the field. If things were covered down field he would roll out to see if something opens up. When nothing would be there he would be in position to throw the ball away or try and make something happen with his legs.

Troy Smith may not have scored on every drive, but the reason to put him in there is to keep the drive alive and confuse the defense. One big problem Sunday was Baltimore's defense had no time to rest. When you have been playing smash mouth football without a break against the Steelers, who only had to play one playoff game before you, you need to keep defense rested. The Steelers have the best defense because their offense doesn't always score, but keeps drives alive long enough to keep them well-rested.

The Ravens lost against the Steelers three times this year. Last year they didn't have a good season but the last game they had against the Steelers they won 27-21. Troy Smith was starting under center for that game.

Smith is a winner—he's shown that in college and he can prove it right now. The Ravens' biggest mistake Sunday was not putting him in.