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I have a feeling they may go down in this game....
The Baltimore D, for having such a bad year, may have a field day against Tommy....
Steelers take 11-game road streak into Baltimore
Saturday, November 19, 2005
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It all began last year, in the second week of the 2004 season, when the Steelers went to Baltimore, fell behind, 20-0, and lost their starting quarterback to injury. The moment was significant for more reasons than the beginning Ben Roethlisberger era with the Steelers.
It also was the previous time the Steelers lost a road game.
Fourteen months later, the Steelers (7-2) go back to Baltimore with the same starting quarterback as last season, Tommy Maddox, but looking to become only the second team in National Football League history to win 12 consecutive games on the road.
It is a streak that includes comeback victories in Dallas, Jacksonville and New York Giants, impressive wins in Buffalo, San Diego and Cincinnati and sloppy victories in Miami and Green Bay.
Add 'em up, though, and it's 11 in a row, tying the Steelers with the San Diego Chargers (1960-61) and San Francisco 49ers (1987-88) for the second longest streak in league history.
"We take it as a challenge to go out on the road and win in somebody else's stadium," safety Chris Hope said. "Sometimes it's easier to do in somebody else's stadium because they're booing you, the crowd is against you, so you're paying close attention to detail and you have more of a sense of focus."
"I think we got a lot of guys who understand the game, a lot of guys who, going into those games, understand what we have to do to get ready for those kind of games," cornerback Deshea Townsend said. "Just the team being together for a long time, loving to play with each other, allows us to go out and play well."
The 49ers have the longest road winning streak in history -- 18 games -- which occurred from 1988 to 1990. The Steelers will have the second-longest streak in history if they go to M&T Bank Stadium, site of last year's 30-13 loss in Week 2, and defeat the Ravens (2-7).
Winning on the road, though, isn't just a recent phenomenon for the Steelers. Since 1995, they are the winningest road team in the NFL (47-37), ahead of the Tennesse Titans (46-39).
This year, they are 4-0 on the road, a mark that includes victories at San Diego and Cincinnati. To show how difficult it is to win on the road in the NFL, only eight of the 32 teams have winning records away from home. The visiting teams are a combined 53-91 this season.
"It seems kind of normal around here for us," inside linebacker James Farrior said. "We might take it for granted because we know we're going to do that every time we go on the road."
The Steelers' success on the road is so impressive that some of the players have joked that maybe they would be better served if they played an AFC championship game on the road. The Steelers are 1-4 in AFC championship games at home under Bill Cowher.
Despite their road success during the regular season, the Steelers have never won a road playoff game under Bill Cowher (0-3).
"You look at this locker room, I've been in a lot of locker rooms and you don't see a lot that are this close and enjoy being around each other and enjoy playing together," said Maddox, who will have started three of his past five games in Baltimore when he replaces an injured Roethlisberger at 1 p.m. tomorrow. "When you go on the road, you kind of have that attitude anyway that it's us against the masses. You go in and play hard."
"I think we have been able to play with a degree of edge the last few years, recognizing we have no margin of error," Cowher said. "The challenge of playing on the road requires a greater focus. You have to match that energy because you're not going to draw it from the crowd. It's a challenge our players have been able to meet. There have been some very tough games."
Actually, the Steelers do draw some energy from the crowd at road games, primarily because the opposing stadiums are populated with Steelers fans. In San Diego, at least a quarter of the crowd of 68,537 was comprised of black-and-gold fans for a Monday night showdown. Same thing happened last year in Dallas, where games are traditionally sold out.
Even in Cincinnati, where the Bengals were 5-1 at the time, Steelers fans made up a significant portion of the crowd of 66,104.
"That's unreal to me," Farrior said.
"It truly is amazing -- the places we go and the crowds we get," Smith said.
"When I was at Florida State and we would go into an opposing stadium, it was always fun to see how by the middle of the second quarter, even at the end of the game, those same fans were cheering for you," Hope said. "It's like, 'Your stadium is sold out because they're coming to see us play.'
"With the Steelers it's the same way. We have a lot of fans all over the world and they come support us when we're in the area. Sooner or later, whether you like it or not, the fans somehow, some way, start to cheer for us. That's always one of the main attention getters when you're trying to go into a stadium and steal the crowd."
And steal a win.
The Baltimore D, for having such a bad year, may have a field day against Tommy....
Steelers take 11-game road streak into Baltimore
Saturday, November 19, 2005
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It all began last year, in the second week of the 2004 season, when the Steelers went to Baltimore, fell behind, 20-0, and lost their starting quarterback to injury. The moment was significant for more reasons than the beginning Ben Roethlisberger era with the Steelers.
It also was the previous time the Steelers lost a road game.
Fourteen months later, the Steelers (7-2) go back to Baltimore with the same starting quarterback as last season, Tommy Maddox, but looking to become only the second team in National Football League history to win 12 consecutive games on the road.
It is a streak that includes comeback victories in Dallas, Jacksonville and New York Giants, impressive wins in Buffalo, San Diego and Cincinnati and sloppy victories in Miami and Green Bay.
Add 'em up, though, and it's 11 in a row, tying the Steelers with the San Diego Chargers (1960-61) and San Francisco 49ers (1987-88) for the second longest streak in league history.
"We take it as a challenge to go out on the road and win in somebody else's stadium," safety Chris Hope said. "Sometimes it's easier to do in somebody else's stadium because they're booing you, the crowd is against you, so you're paying close attention to detail and you have more of a sense of focus."
"I think we got a lot of guys who understand the game, a lot of guys who, going into those games, understand what we have to do to get ready for those kind of games," cornerback Deshea Townsend said. "Just the team being together for a long time, loving to play with each other, allows us to go out and play well."
The 49ers have the longest road winning streak in history -- 18 games -- which occurred from 1988 to 1990. The Steelers will have the second-longest streak in history if they go to M&T Bank Stadium, site of last year's 30-13 loss in Week 2, and defeat the Ravens (2-7).
Winning on the road, though, isn't just a recent phenomenon for the Steelers. Since 1995, they are the winningest road team in the NFL (47-37), ahead of the Tennesse Titans (46-39).
This year, they are 4-0 on the road, a mark that includes victories at San Diego and Cincinnati. To show how difficult it is to win on the road in the NFL, only eight of the 32 teams have winning records away from home. The visiting teams are a combined 53-91 this season.
"It seems kind of normal around here for us," inside linebacker James Farrior said. "We might take it for granted because we know we're going to do that every time we go on the road."
The Steelers' success on the road is so impressive that some of the players have joked that maybe they would be better served if they played an AFC championship game on the road. The Steelers are 1-4 in AFC championship games at home under Bill Cowher.
Despite their road success during the regular season, the Steelers have never won a road playoff game under Bill Cowher (0-3).
"You look at this locker room, I've been in a lot of locker rooms and you don't see a lot that are this close and enjoy being around each other and enjoy playing together," said Maddox, who will have started three of his past five games in Baltimore when he replaces an injured Roethlisberger at 1 p.m. tomorrow. "When you go on the road, you kind of have that attitude anyway that it's us against the masses. You go in and play hard."
"I think we have been able to play with a degree of edge the last few years, recognizing we have no margin of error," Cowher said. "The challenge of playing on the road requires a greater focus. You have to match that energy because you're not going to draw it from the crowd. It's a challenge our players have been able to meet. There have been some very tough games."
Actually, the Steelers do draw some energy from the crowd at road games, primarily because the opposing stadiums are populated with Steelers fans. In San Diego, at least a quarter of the crowd of 68,537 was comprised of black-and-gold fans for a Monday night showdown. Same thing happened last year in Dallas, where games are traditionally sold out.
Even in Cincinnati, where the Bengals were 5-1 at the time, Steelers fans made up a significant portion of the crowd of 66,104.
"That's unreal to me," Farrior said.
"It truly is amazing -- the places we go and the crowds we get," Smith said.
"When I was at Florida State and we would go into an opposing stadium, it was always fun to see how by the middle of the second quarter, even at the end of the game, those same fans were cheering for you," Hope said. "It's like, 'Your stadium is sold out because they're coming to see us play.'
"With the Steelers it's the same way. We have a lot of fans all over the world and they come support us when we're in the area. Sooner or later, whether you like it or not, the fans somehow, some way, start to cheer for us. That's always one of the main attention getters when you're trying to go into a stadium and steal the crowd."
And steal a win.
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