25-year old back-up QB Troy Smith has requested a trade from the Ravens after their season ends.  Smith has played in 4 games this season for the Ravens and he has completed 5 of 9 passes (55.6%) for 24 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (21.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 31 yards (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Smith has now played in 14 games in his three years with the Ravens and he has completed 48 of 89 passes (53.9%) for 558 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (79.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 29 times for 109 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Smith means more to the Ravens than whatever they will get for him in a trade as back-up QBs don’t net anything more than late draft picks.

The Ravens will be sending five players to the Pro Bowl if they don’t make it to the Super Bowl.  22-year old RB Ray Rice will be going to his first Pro Bowl and he deserves it after turning in a monster season in 2009.  Rice has played in 15 games this season for the Ravens and he has carried the ball 240 times for 1,269 yards (5.3 ypc) with 7 TD runs and he has also caught 74 passes for 683 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  25-year old fullback Le’Ron McClain is also going to Miami.  He has played in 15 games this season for the Ravens and he has carried the ball 45 times for  175 yards (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has also caught 20 passes for 135 yards (6.8 avg).  McClain’s most important role has been opening up holes for Ray Rice and he has done a great job of that.  34-year old inside linebacker Ray Lewis is back in the Pro Bowl as usual this year.  He has played in 15 games for the Ravens this season and he has made 121 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and he has defensed 7 passes.  Lewis is still the best player on a really good defense that the Ravens still have.  25-year old NT Haloti Ngata’s main job is keeping blockers off of Ray Lewis and it has gotten him into the Pro Bowl.  Ngata has played in 13 games for the Ravens this season and he has made 34 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  31-year old safety Ed Reed is back in the Pro Bowl again.  He has played in 11 games for the Ravens this season and he has 45 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 5 passes defensed and 3 interceptions that he returned for 111 yards and a TD.  The Ravens really hope that their five Pro Bowlers will help them beat the Raiders this weekend in Oakland putting them in the playoffs.

29-year old Todd Heap has been a solid player for a long time for the Ravens and he is having a great season in 2009 for them.  Heap has played in 15 games this season for the Ravens and he has caught 51 passes for 553 yards (10.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He has now played in 119 games for the Ravens and he has caught 425 passes for 4,853 yards (11.4 avg) with 36 TD grabs.  Heap has a awesome set of hands and he is the Ravens #2 target behind WR Derrick Mason and that will likely continue next season as long as Mason doesn’t retire.

The Ravens should have won this game yesterday in Pittsburgh but the usually dependable Derrick Mason dropped a ball in the end zone that he probably would catch 99% of the time.  Joe Flacco was so-so as he completed 13 of 25 passes for 166 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT yesterday.  Ray Rice led the way on the ground for the Ravens yesterday with 141 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.7 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 14 yards.  Derrick Mason led the way in the passing game for the Ravens yesterday with 7 catches for 77 yards (11.0 avg).  TE Todd Heap had a solid game with 2 grabs for 37 yards (18.5 avg) and both catches went for TDs.  The Ravens finished up with 323 total yards on offense (175 rushing, 148 passing) in this game.

CB Chris Carr led a good effort by the Ravens’ D yesterday with 9 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1/2 a sack and 1 QB hit.  Ray Lewis (fumble recovery) and Domonique Foxworth (interception) also had big plays for the Ravens’ D yesterday.  The Ravens finished up with 286 total yards on offense (48 rushing, 238 passing) in this game.  The Ravens are now 8-7 on the season.

34-year old linebacker Ray Lewis is still the best player on the defense for the Ravens.  He has played in 14 games this season for the Ravens and he has 117 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 7 passes defensed and 3 sacks.  Lewis can still stop almost every running back who challenges him and he might will the Ravens to the playoffs this year.

The Ravens are so glad that 35-year old WR Derrick Mason put off retirement for at least the 2009 season as he is still the best receiver on the football team.  Mason has played in all 14 games for the Ravens this season and he has caught 65 passes for 928 yards (14.3 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  It might be hard to talk Mason out of retirement again this off-season but he still appears to have a fire in his belly.

The Ravens beat the Steelers 21-17 in OT last month when Ben Roethlisberger was out of action but they will have to now beat them with him if they want to make the playoffs.  If the Ravens were smart they would come out throwing the ball against the Steelers after watching how bad the secondary of theirs played last weekend against the Packers.  If the O-Line gives Flacco time to throw the ball he will have a lot of success which means that Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton and Todd Heap could be in line for big games.  Don’t think that the Ravens will abandon the run however as Ray Rice is the best player on the offense.

The Ravens must blitz as soon as they get out of the locker-room because Roethlisberger gets careless with the football after he gets punched in the mouth a few times.  Still, the Steelers have a impressive corps of WRs and Heath Miller at TE so they could cause some problems when they throw the ball.  Rashard Mendenhall has to be the Ravens’ focus when the Steelers run the ball and he will be the responsibility of middle linebacker Ray Lewis who is still at the top of his game.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 21, STEELERS 20

This was a smart move by the Ravens as Ivy knows the plays and he was also on the Steelers for one week which will help him provide a little insight on them.  Ivy played in all 16 games for the Ravens last season and he made 52 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 passes defensed.  Ivy has now played in 110 games in his NFL career and he has made 278 tackles, 5 forced 5 fumbles, 3 interceptions, 25 passes defensed and 9.5 sacks.

Chris Carr will now get back all of his jobs that he had before the injured Lardarius Webb took them from him earlier this year.  Carr has played in 14 games for the Ravens this season and he has 29 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sack, 2 passes defensed an 2 interceptions.  He will move back into the starting line-up just in time to deal with the Steelers and their flock of talented WRs.  Carr will also get back his job as the kickoff returner for the Ravens.  He has returned 13 kickoffs for 315 yards (24.2 avg) and 28 punts for 205 yards (7.3 avg) this season.  The Ravens need Carr to step up because it’s do or die time as far as the playoffs go.

The Ravens will be without rookie corner Lardarius Webb for the rest of the year due to a torn ACL.  Webb played in 14 games for the Ravens this season and he made 35 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, defensed 6 passes and he had 1 sack.  Webb also was the kickoff returner for the Ravens as of late.  He returned 35 kickoffs for 918 yards (26.2 avg) with a TD return this season.  Webb looks like he was another outstanding pick by Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome who selected him in the 3rd round last April out of tiny Nicholls State.