NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

From Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Talk:

The Baltimore Ravens fired veteran offensive line coach John Matsko during a meeting Wednesday afternoon with coach John Harbaugh, an unexpected development.Matsko may not be out of work for long.

He's slated to interview with the Carolina Panthers today.

The Ravens will likely promote assistant offensive line coach Andy Moeller to replace Matsko.

Matsko, who has previously coached standout blockers Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Kyle Turley and Brian Waters, coached in Baltimore for the past three seasons. He has previous stints with the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams as well as USC.

Moeller has been with the Ravens for three seasons.

He was arrested for driving under the influence twice last year with one case dismissed in Carroll County. He's still facing a DUI case in Baltimore County and is scheduled to appear in Towson District Court on April 11.

His lawyer, Andrew Alperstein, has said that Moeeler will plead not guilty.

He has been charged with seven traffic offenses, including DUI, negligent driving and speeding.

The Ravens needed a scapegoat for their offensive woes and it looks like John Matsko is the guy.

The Offensive Line was an unexpected weak spot on the team this season yeilding 40 sacks during the regular season and 9 sacks in the playoffs.

The running game, once a Baltimore strength, fell to 14th in the league with only a 3.8 yards per carry average.

We don't know that much about his replacement other than he's another in house hire and that he's had legal problems. Another interesting note is that Moeller attended the same Ann Arbor high school as John Harbaugh.

The decision to let Matsko was unexpected and may also signal that Cam Cameron may indeed get at least another season to right the offense.

Leslie Frazier's coaching staff is beginning to take shape.

ESPN and Access Vikings are both reporting that the Vikings have hired Bill Musgrave as their new offensive coordinator. Musgrave was also being sought after by the Cleveland Browns for their offensive coordinator position.

Most recently the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons, Musgrave has received praise for how well he developed Matt Ryan in his first years as an NFL quarterback. It is expected that Musgrave is likely to be charged with a similar challenge with the Vikings whom many expect to draft a quarterback in the early rounds of this upcoming draft.

Musgrave has an array of experience in different offensive schemes, including the west coast offense, but it will be a while before we know for sure what scheme the Vikings will use moving forward. Frazier has made it clear that he wants his new coordinator to center the offense around running back Adrian Peterson.

It also seems possible that the Vikings will can their current zone blocking scheme and turn to more of a power based scheme which is believed to be a better fit for their current personnel. The Vikings are still without coaches on the offensive line and I would bet Frazier was waiting to make sure his new coordinator has some say in the matter.

The quarterbacks and running backs coaching positions still remain open. The Vikings have offered the running backs position to Gene Huey but he is considering retirement. Musgrave may also get a say in who is hired as the quarterbacks coach. One idea is that the Vikings most recent offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell might be allowed to stay as quarterbacks coach if he is willing to accept the demotion. Bevell interviewed for Seattle's offensive coordinator position today.

Additionally, the Vikings officially announced three other coaching hires, all of which were widely expected.

Fred Pagac has been promoted to defensive coordinator and Mike Singletary received the title of "Special Assistant to the Head Coach" in addition to being the linebackers coach.

Mike Priefer will serve as the special teams coordinator.

He’s seen them once before in 2010, and he’ll see them again Sunday with quite a bit more riding on the line.

Ben Roethlisberger knows what lies ahead for he and the Steelers offense Sunday evening. He’s played against Rex Ryan defenses before, seeing them just five weeks ago in a hard fought 22-17 home loss.

That day the Steelers did put up a lot of yards, 378 to be exact, but in the end, they scored just two TD’s and a field goal on a day that could best be described as missed opportunities and chances that slipped away.

"They're a really good defense, point blank," Roethlisberger said. "First time they came in here they put a hurtin on us here at home. They have a lot of great players from inside the line to the linebackers to the secondary. They try and confuse, that's the big thing they try to do."

Confusion is the thing that the Jets have done to both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, beating two QB’s who just about everyone agrees are the best at what they do. It’s a point that Roethlisberger harped on more than once Wednesday, and a point that he doesn’t take lightly heading into Sunday night.

"It starts with coach Ryan, he's a mastermind at what he does,” the QB said. “It's extra study, it's extra walk though, as much as you can do. The Jets beat the two best quarterbacks at their place, I don't know how I'm going to do it."

How he’s going to do it is the big question. The one thing he has going for him is his ability to extend plays. Unlike Manning and Brady who are more pocket passers, Roethlisberger can scramble with the best of them in the league, and making plays with his legs is something he very well may have to do in order to make plays against a tough Jets D.

The last time the teams played Roethlisberger went 23-for-44 for 264 yards. He was sacked three times and threw a 9-yard touchdown to Matt Spaeth in the game that tied it at 7. The final play of the game, an incomplete pass intended for Spaeth, was the one that sticks out, as it could have been a game winner in a game that slipped away.

"A lot of confusion, I think it's one of the things they pride themselves in," Roethlisberger said.

He will be counted on to make some plays Sunday, and with that, Roethlisberger knows that it will be a chess match between he and the Steeelers offense and Ryan and the Jets defense.

It’s a matchup he hopes will net even more points this time around, and a matchup he hopes by late Sunday night will favor the Steelers as they start making plans for Dallas for Super Bowl XLV. For now, the QB knows the challenge that lies ahead.

"I have a lot of respect for those guys, on defense, they are so good, I could just sit there and talk about them all day," Roethlisberger said. "They went into Indy and in New England and won both games, nuff said."