Ed Dickson

Ravens 13, Steelers 10 Strategy: Cam Cameron tried a rock 'em sock 'em approach to keep the Steelers honest and make them respect play-action, but Ray Rice was stonewalled by an aggressive, top-ranked defense. The Ravens didn't try to run in short-yardage situations because stocky nose guard Casey Hampton is practically immovable inside. The Ravens utilized bunch formations and didn't lack for deep shots, albeit errant ones. Ball security was huge with no turnovers committed despite some near interceptions by Joe Flacco.

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday. That way he'll have an excuse to do the same to start his workday, too. RUNNING IT BACK Now that the Oakland Raiders are behind them, the Ravens can look ahead to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the tough stretch of games that will follow . … Mike Preston says the Steelers can exploit the Ravens secondary . … Coach John Harbaugh praised defensive coordinator Dean Pees for making tweaks to his scheme . … Safety Ed Reed apologized for his bad day . … The Ravens were pleased with all their batted passes . RAVENS STUFF, BUT NOT FROM US Steelers week is Harbaugh's favorite time of the year . … The entire season has been building to this point . … Quarterback Joe Flacco spread the ball around against the Raiders . … Tight end Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson helped him snap out of a funk . … Jah Reid stepped up for the Ravens at left guard . BEHIND ENEMY LINES The Steelers needed overtime to beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

Ed Dickson couldn't argue with a point made by Ravens coach John Harbaugh, recently. When it came to the tight ends, the group needed to be more productive. The tight ends answered the challenge, contributing heavily in the first half of the Ravens' 55-20 demolition of the Oakland Raiders at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. Dennis Pitta led the team with five receptions and finished in a tie with wide receiver Torrey Smith for the team lead in receiving yards with 67. He also caught a 5-yard touchdown from quarterback Joe Flacco in the second quarter.

Baltimore Sun staffers analyze the Ravens ' 55-20 win over the Oakland Raiders. Jeff Zrebiec, reporter: I'm not sure the fake field goal was necessary, but the Ravens did exactly what they should have done -- and needed to do -- against an overmatched opponent. The offense got its swagger back and several players who have been quiet recently, like Dennis Pitta, Ed Dickson and Jacoby Jones, made their presence felt. The defense caused some turnovers and was generally solid.

Ravens 25, Browns 15 Strategy: Embracing their old smash-mouth roots, the Ravens eschewed no-huddle and shotgun schemes in favor of physical I-formation plays with bruising fullback Vonta Leach running interference for Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice. There were just five no-huddle plays, including Rice's eight-yard touchdown run, and 13 shotgun plays, including quarterback Joe Flacco's game-winning touchdown pass, out of 62 plays. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron broke character and was stubborn with the run even when Rice was corralled by extra defenders.

Now that the Ravens have officially finished up the first half of their schedule, let's take a look at the snap counts for their players over the first eight games of the season -- and since we last checked on these totals a month ago -- to see which new trends are developing. These official snap counts come courtesy of the NFL. --- Two weeks after he played 44 snaps in his early return from a torn Achilles tendon, Ravens rush linebacker Terrell Suggs was on the field for 54 defensive snaps -- 77 percent of them -- in Sunday's 25-15 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Years before Dennis Pitta emerged as a clutch tight end for the Ravens routinely delivering acrobatic catches, he was an admittedly skinny high school wide receiver and cornerback. Growing up in Moorpark, Calif., Pitta was a 6-foot-4, 185-pound Eagle Scout. He was also the proud owner of ambitious plans that outweighed his developing build. "Everybody aspires to play in the NFL, and I wasn't any different," Pitta said. "I felt like I was a talented player in high school, but I was tall and skinny.