Steelers' Foster: Ravens Are Our 'Number One' Rivals
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - The Pittsburgh Steelers, fresh off their fifth win in a row in a 24-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, go from one rivalry game to the next week.
It's Baltimore Ravens week and this one may determine the season for both teams. Baltimore comes in 8-6 on the year and a game back of the Steelers at 9-5. But, a Ravens win would mean a season series sweep of Pittsburgh and would win them the division, barring a setback against Cincinnati in Week 17.
With all the playoff implications heading into this week, Steelers guard Ramon Foster joined "The Fan Morning Show" on Tuesday in his weekly spot to recap last week's win and to look forward to the challenge ahead.
Foster sounded off on Vontaze Burfict for one last time, saying that if he hasn't been controlled by now, who knows who or what will.
"I just don't think he's going to get it, he's the guy that's just going to do it his way and he's so talented to where teams, or coaches and players they just feel like well eventually it's going to pay off for us and it hasn't for him. So, he's just got to deal with his own demons and the people around him have to deal with him, too," said Foster.
"If his own teammates aren't supporting him or telling him [not to behave inappropriately], I don't think the PA [NFL Players Association] can do that either," said Foster. "The president of the NFL Players' Union is on his team, [Bengals guard] Eric Winston. You know, that's a guy that he has a direct line so if Eric can't reach him, then I don't think nobody else can in the union."
Foster says that Baltimore, in fact, is the Steelers' "number one" rival, but the Bengals consider the Steelers their number one. Foster explained that playing the Bengals comes with an awareness of things that may go on that's away from the game like foul play, whereas with the Ravens, it's straightforward football.
"The Ravens game is all about football, the Cincinnati game is a little bit about the extra stuff, it's incentives with certain guys in the Cincinnati game, not so much in the Ravens game," said Foster. "The Ravens game is all about who's going to be the most physical team playing football and it's not the same thing in the Cincy game. The Baltimore game is purely football and that's what I appreciate about it. I think they would say the same thing about us."
Foster gave insight into the play of Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs as well and how he is successful in anticipating play calls.
"He interacts with us, man, by thinking he knows everything that we are doing," said Foster. "He is an interesting guy in a sense that he plays the game physical, but he also is a very smart guy. He's the guy that listens to everything we say on the line of scrimmage and just from my knowledge of what he calls out during the game, he's the guy that understands football, he's smart enough to know which way the ball is going to go at certain times and he plays to that. He's a very situational guy in a sense of how he plays, too. If he hears like 'L' words on the line of scrimmage he knows that the ball is coming toward his way or something like that, but if he sniffs something out, you get a different rush from him. He's the guy that really appreciates the game."
But, such anticipation can also make a guy look foolish.
"That's the good thing about playing with an offensive line that's been together as long as we have, you can throw out dummy calls all game long to keep him on his toes," said Foster. "Like I said, some of the time he's just going to be right about certain stuff, but that's the game of football, you just have to stop it. Well, he has to stop it and we gotta get him off the line of scrimmage."
You can hear Ramon Foster in his weekly spot on "The Fan Morning Show" on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. and you can listen to the entire interview below.
