Opening day is a wonderful time of year for each of the 30 teams in the N.F.L.
Each team starts off tied for first place, and hope abounds that this could be a year of fulfilled dreams. Last year is nothing but a faded memory.
This was especially true for the Baltimore Ravens. They had a new stadium to christen, as well as an unbeaten preseason to build on.
It seemed the only thing standing in their way, was a Pittsburgh Steeler team that they felt could be beaten. It was a perfect opening day scenario.
There was only one problem. They left their hands in the locker room.
On a day when the Steelers had a less than stellar performance, the Ravens were victims of their own mistakes. There were dropped passes, missed interceptions, false starts, terrible snaps, missed field goals, and a lost opportunity.
The Steelers will take this notch in the win column, and try to build from it. It was an all around brutal day for the offense. The Bus was limited to 41 yards. Give some credit to the Ravens defense, but the Pittsburgh offensive line failed miserably at run blocking.
Kordell started off poorly, but seemed to rebound in the second half. How many times have you heard that?
Josh Miller was his normal, erratic self. He also iced the game with a booming 68 yard punt that was downed at the 4 yard line.
The defense played admirably. Our secondary seems to work well together. Their only blemish was the Jermaine Lewis 64 yard touchdown reception. Other than that, this unit seems to be in for a monster year.
Even though the Steelers did not play a very fundamentally sound game, this was a very good beginning to the season. Any time you can beat a division opponent on the road, it is a huge win.
And now, hope abounds for the rest of the season.
