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The Ravens now join the club of teams that play in Maryland that have lost to annoying teams from the North.

By the end of the first half last night, Ben Roethlisberger had thrown five touchdowns and officially made the Ravens secondary his b1tch.  The Ravens mustered zero offense on the night, with Steve McNair looking old, out of gas, and slow, and Kyle Boller looking like Kyle Boller. 

But the most interesting story of the night wasn't how the Ravens got their teeth kicked in by the Steelers, or that Roethlisberger tied a franchise record by throwing for 5 touchdowns in the first half.   The real story came after the game, during the Ravens postgame interviews, when Ray Lewis spoke to reporters.  Having heard the whole thing on the radio last night, I was excited to see if someone would air footage of his rantings and ravings on TV.  Now, I don't mean to make accusations with no proof, but I just have to say it: Ray Lewis looked like he was coked out last night after the game.  I'm not saying he was on coke, maybe he was just pumped on adrenaline (although I can't imagine being pumped up after that butt-whuppin'), a high-strung d0uchbag, or just tired and frustrated; he just looked like he was coked out.  He was agitated, licking his lips, twitching, eyes darting about from side to side all shifty like...you know what I'm talking about.  I'm not talking about the sweating, either; he had just played a football game, I can imagine he would be sweaty.  It was his demeanor that made me think he was wired.

Ray, for his part, didn't hold back in his comments.  He blamed the offense for the loss, saying "Don't turn the ball over 4 times.  Simple as that."  Here's a novel idea for ya, Ray...stop the opposition.  Remember when teams couldn't move more than a yard against that unit?  Now Roethlisberger is passing on them at will?  Please.  Lewis needs to remember that those who live in glass houses should refrain from throwing stones.  Lewis is right, turning the ball over 4 times is a problem, but he's wrong to say that because the Ravens stopped the run, the defense did a good job.  No, that is not the case.  Yes, the DBs got burned a few times, but stop the offense on third down and those big plays are negated.  Roethlisberger eluded the rush all night; he scrambled all over the Ravens, and embarrassed them.

Those Steelers look pretty good.  They might have a shot to beat the Patriots, maybe.  Then again, the Patriots have a way of making good teams look average.  The Steelers did win the Super Bowl two years ago, and the only reason they stunk last year is because Roethlisberger had his brains scrambled and had a horrible year.  They're a different team and he's a different quarterback this year.  Then again, the Patriots are a different team this year as well. 

Speaking of the Patriots, I think that it is a little premature and immature of Don Shula to already be playing the "asterisk" card.  Shula, I hate dedicating time to talking about you, but maybe you should a)wait until the Patriots actually do go undefeated to say that, and b)shut the f*ck up.  I, for one, am rooting for the Patriots to go undefeated just so I never have to hear about the '72 Dolphins popping the bubbly again.

Next week, the Redskins play the Eagles at FedEx.  The Redskins are, once again, the team you can't possibly ever bet on, because they're just too unpredictable, but I think that the Redskins will pull out a knucklebiter against the Eagles at home.  All the offense has to do is score, but they have a problem with that, currently.  If Portis can get going on the ground, then the only question is can Campbell improve his accuracy.  He has now overthrown Santana Moss for clinching touchdowns one too many times, most recently in overtime against the Jets.  However, even though I think the 'Skins defense is pretty good, they seem to have a problem with scramblers, and McNabb is a dangerous runner.  Though he doesn't seem to be 100% this year.  I think the Skins will win.

That's it for today.  Check out www.spedrex.com for more news, insights, and opinions!