Some believe that the Ravens will be better off this week featuring Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain instead of Ray Rice. The thinking there is that Cam Cameron’s unit could benefit from a power running game. Many seem to forget that Rice had 310 yards from scrimmage last season in two games versus their bitter rivals (229 rushing, 81 receiving).

The Ravens actually moved the ball decently against the top ranked ’09 Steelers’ defense racking up 716 yards of offense versus the Steelers’ 584 yards. John Harbaugh’s gang however, too often beat themselves with 193 penalty yards (v. 79 for Pittsburgh) and they turned the ball over 5 times in the two contests while the Steelers gave it away just 3 times.

The Steelers will be starting All Pro safety Troy Polamalu on Sunday, a luxury they did not have during either of the home and away games in 2009 against the Ravens. Polamalu can be moved off his landmark with play action but in order for it to be effective the Ravens will need to win their fair share of battles on first down. With the Steelers imposing pass rush repeated failures on first down could play right into the hands of defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. He can unleash James Harrison and Lamar Woodley and if Joe Flacco continues to lock in on receivers when under pressure, Polamalu will take notice and make a big play.

Cory Redding and Trevor Pryce were ineffective against the Browns. Even prior to his concussion, Redding struggled and Pryce could be falling prey to Father Time. Look for relief in the form of Terrence Cody this week and probably Paul Kruger. The Ravens need to do something with their pass rush to disrupt veteran signal caller Charlie Batch.

The Ravens’ special teams shined against the Browns, a team known for its special teams acumen. The bright spots for the Ravens were Billy Cundiff, Sam Koch and gunners Marcus Smith, Cary Williams and David Reed. Big time props to those guys for neutralizing the dangerous Josh Cribbs. Now, if the Ravens could only say the same for RB Peyton Hillis.

Hillis played in the shadows of Darren McFadden at Arkansas but during his days as a Razorback, Hillis showed his versatility as a runner, blocker and pass catcher. The Browns acquired Hillis in the trade that sent Brady Quinn to Denver who drafted Hillis in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. The Ravens scouting staff gave Hillis third round grades but with selections of Ray Rice in ’08 and Le'Ron McClain in '07 coupled with the presence of Willis McGahee, Hillis was not viewed as a need pick despite the value he delivered in the seventh round.

Where have you gone Demetrius, Justin, Dwan, Antwan and Mark? Demetrius Williams got a little sniff from the Vikings but is still looking for a new employer; Justin Bannan has 3 tackles in 3 games for the Broncos while Dwan Edwards has 15 over the same time frame for the Bills; Antwan Barnes had 3 tackles for the Eagles in the opener against Green Bay but has not played since; Mark Clayton has 17 catches and 228 yards with 2 TD’s in three games with the Rams. That’s about double his production over his first three games with the Ravens in 2009.

Back to Edwards for a second, we’ll get to welcome the Montana native back to B'more on October 24 when the Ravens host Buffalo. And you can bet that he’ll be reminded of this juicy little sour grapes nugget he fired off at Baltimore:

"People are very friendly out in Buffalo. I've noticed that more than anything. It kind of reminds me of [Billings, MT]."He continued, "It's definitely not like Baltimore. People are very friendly. They have diehard fans out there [in Buffalo]. They're ready for a winner and I hope we can deliver."