Linebacker U.
The Ravens had a great trio of linebackers in 2000 with Jamie Sharper and Peter Boulware on the outside and Ray Lewis in the middle. But I have not seen linebackers hit as hard as the present group of Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs, Lewis and Johnson.
Highlight reel
Early in the third quarter, Flacco took a snap and sidestepped the pass rush. He scrambled to his left with three Steelers chasing him, then drifted to his right and threw a 26-yard pass to Derrick Mason. Wow.
Reed's OK
It took us three games to find out whether safety Ed Reed can take a hard hit to his neck and shoulder area, and, yes, he can.
Pittsburgh receiver Hines Ward leveled Reed on a run by Rashard Mendenhall in the first quarter. Reed was looking the other way, but it was a clean hit.
Not so special
The Ravens had better fix their kickoff return coverage before one of their return specialists gets hurt. The Steelers kept finding holes in the wedge, and Yamon Figurs was getting hit before he even got to the wall.
Route runner
Are there many receivers in the league that run out patterns better than Mason? Everybody knows he is going to run them, yet he has made a living off them in Baltimore.
Getting better
The only defensive player who might be playing better than the linebackers is tackle Haloti Ngata. Nobody can block him, and he's starting to run down running backs and quarterbacks. That's scary.
Listen to Mike Preston on Monday's from 4 to 6 p.m. on Fox Sports (1370 AM).
