Stillers 24, Cinci 10 ����. Dec 2, 2007 ����Game # 12
Stillers-Bungals Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers survived a rather meek test from the Bengals, en route to a ho-hum
24-10 win. ��The Stillers did their best
to try to give this game away, with 2 INTs, a plethora of fumbles, and even a
4Q safety that luckily was negated by a ticky-tack penalty.��
Grades:
QB:�
Benji, as usual, started off the game slowly and poorly, misfiring high
on a host of flutterballs, including one that glanced off Ward�s outstretched hand
and into a Bengal DB for the INT.� �He finally snapped out of his fun kin the 2Q,
aided by hit feet.� He3 scrambled and
then hit Miller for 9 yards, and then had a gutty scramble and dive for a TD.� He then hit some clutch passes late in the 2Q
to engineer a TD march, culminating in a TD pass to Ward on a rollout.� I felt Ben was a bit gun-shy, as has been
his nature, on this rollout, as Speath was open on this boot and Ben was too
tentative, instead waiting and then throwing a riskier pass against the grain
that Ward made a nice snare of just a millimeter above the grass for the TD.�
Benji
overthrew an open Ward in the EZ in the 3Q, but 2 plays later hit Ward for the
TD.� He threw a poor INT in the 4Q,
although a horrific, weak-assed blocking flail by Faneca led to pressure in his
face.� ��Overall, Ben played adequately, but you cannot throw 2 shabby
INTs and beat the Patriots.���� B-. ��
RB:�
Parker had a nightmare of an evening, putting the ball on the ground
more often than a bowler on the PBA tour.��
Officially, he coughed the ball up only twice, but luckily, by the
thinnest of margins, 2 other fumbles were either overturned by challenge (a
play that Cinci scooped up and returned for a TD) or ruled down a millisecond
before the ball �officially� became loose.��
All of these fumbles/near fumbles occurred in the 2H, when the 17-7
halftime lead could have easily been erased.��
The fumble in the 4Q, after 3 prior cough-ups and on a fairly needless
2nd effort attempt, simply enraged me.��
Parker finished the remainder of the game carrying the ball like Bronco
Nagurski.� Russell had a plunge in
garbage time.� Davenport did not dress,
due to some mysterious foot injury that was disclosed in pre-game warm-ups.� There was no confirmation of the rumor that
someone had taken a crap in Davenport�s shoe, thus causing the foot
ailment.�� ��As for Parker, you cannot put the ball on the ground 4 times in
the NFL and hope to win many ballgames.�
�D.�
FB: With Kreider on IR, Davis got the start.� He wasn�t a total buffoon, but clearly he is
not the punishing blocker that Kreider is.�
Of course, Davis was regaled by Arians this summer due to his pass
catching and running ability.� Of course,
tonight he was thrown the ball zero times and given the ball zero times.� He was blistered back brutally and badly in
pass pro on the 4Q safety, which was very poor.� ���B-.
WR:�
Ward led the way with a simply brilliant, gutty effort, leading all receivers
on each team with 11 grabs and 2 TDs.� He
had a nice pluck on a high pass in the game�s first series, gaining 19
yards.� He made the sterling grab on the
low pass in the EZ for the TD late in the 2Q.�
In the 3Q, Hines almost single-handedly put the Stillers on the
scoreboard.� He had a clutch 14-yard
grab on 3d & 4, getting punished immediately after the catch.� He then made a superb catch on a low pass on
3rd & 9, and on the following play, he caught a short slant and then bulled
his way into the EZ for the TD. �Wilson
was flawless in his 3 attempts, snaring 3 balls for 34 yards.� Nate had a semi-rough evening.� He dropped a tough opportunity on 3rd down
in the 1Q on a deep in.� Then, late in
the 2Q, with time running down, Nate caught a bubble screen on 2d & 1 at
the Cinci 18.�� With a blocker in front
of him, Nate had ample opportunity to scoot upfield a few yards
and then get OOB.� Instead, like a
complete jackass, he cut it inside, gained an extra 7 feet, and the offense
then had to burn a timeout.� For a veteran
player, this was a stupid as it gets.�� Reid
dressed and played, but was not thrown a pass.�
Holmes did not dress. ����Ward: A+.��
��All others:� B.
TE:�
Miler was on fire in the 1H, grabbing 4 passes and helping to move the
chains.� Of course, with the �block
checked�, Miller was totally ignored in the 2H.� His blocking was okay; Speath�s was worse.� This guy is the most limp-dicked TE in the
entire league.� I�m convinced that
Parker, Ward, and even Ty Carter can out bench-press Matthew as easy as
pie.� �B.�
OL: The line redeemed itself, at least
in pass blocking, with a solid game.� Of
course, the Bungals hardly have a ferocious pass rush, so you can�t fawn too
much over holding off a softee front 7 like Cinci�s.� The run blocking was a bit spotty.�� Parker had a few gashes, but there were a plethora of runs
stuffed for little or no gain.� I was
miffed in the 4Q, with the Stiller trying to salt some time off from their own
6, and 2 runs each gained zero yards.� Kendoll
Simmons was a wretched piece of shit on the safety that followed those 2 runs, doing
a textbook �turnstile block� where he barely got a fingernail on Geathers.�� Luckily, the safety was overturned by a
ticky-tack holding penalty on Cinci, but that shouldn�t minimize the ridicule
and derision that KenDoll deserves after this joke of an effort.� In the 4Q, not to be outdone, Alan Faneca,
whom Fat Madden fawned over the entire game as though he were the greatest OG
of all time, was beaten badly on a simple, vanilla rush, which forced Ben to
hurry a pass that was picked off.� Take
your big free agent payday and stick it in yer ear, Alan you homo !! �This was as poor as poor can be.� Faneca also committed a false start, and KenDoll
committed a thoroughly stupid roughness penalty after the whistle in the 1Q.� Smith sat out, and Starks filled in
adequately at LT.� Colon wasn�t overly
shabby at RT, although he is still a work in progress.� We�ll see exactly how much this line has
improved next Sunday afternoon.��� B.
DL:�
The D-line had some struggles against an average O-line that was missing
Willie Anderson for the game and the starting C and LG for a chunk of the
1H.� Watson and Dorsey gashed the defense
for some nice chunks of yardage.� The
rush and pocket push was fairly feeble.�
Eason is really getting to the point that a drum of oil would be just
about as effective.� Hoke and Hampton
were both caved in badly on Rudi�s TD plunge.�
Fat Casey continues to under whelm me with his play, doing a lot of standing
around and watching.� Not that I expect
The Fat Boy to be a stat machine, but Cinci ran 68 plays, with 23 rushes, and
The Fat Lard didn�t record a single tackle or assist, and his impact on this game
was as miniscule as a gnat�s ass.�� There
actually was a Rudi plunge on the game�s 1st series, just 10 inches to the left
of Fat Casey, and The Fatass literally STOOD there and watched as other
defenders jumped into the scrum.� He
also had a foolish encroachment penalty. �Keisel had some pressures, and batted a flare pass in the 4Q.� He committed a moronic encroachment penalty
in the 4Q.� Aaron Smith had a quiet game
and did little.� �This crew has to play much better next week if
the team has any chance of winning.�� B.�
LB:�
A rather humdrum game from this gang.�
There was no impact playmaking and very little above pedestrian.� Haggans whiffed poorly on PJ Housemanad
on the 1st series, allowing 2-3 extra yards.�
On a 3rd & 7 in the 2Q, Harrison had a partial whiff on Kelly, allowing
enough yardage for the 1D.� Foote and
Harrison failed to sandwich PJ on a 3rd & 10 in the 4Q, allowing 12
yards.�
� There were a few adequate plays.� Foote came in untouched in the 2Q and
stripped LipBalmer of the ball, though Cinci recovered.� Farrior had a good bust-up bat of a seamer
to FB Jeremy Johnson on the 1st play of the 4Q. �Harrison had a good middle-rush on 3d & 6 in the 4Q, hitting
Palmer as he threw.� Harrison had a good
hustle-play on the 15-yard jaunt by Dorsey that occurred on the side, opposite
from Harrison.� Farrior had a solid,
adroit hole-fill on the Rudi run from the Pit 5-yard line late in the game,
filling in what could have been a cavernous hole and bottling the play for the
defense.� �Giving Brady this kind of unfettered time next week will be a
recipe for disaster.�� B-.
DB:�
The DBs had their hands full with the Big 3 of Cinci, but survived with
a decent game.� Ike had good coverage on
the deep ball to Chad in the 1st series, although it was foolishly thrown on
2D, rather than on 1D when Ike is prone to peeking and cheating.� Carter, playing in place of injured Troy Pola,
flashed up and had a good, crisp tackle of Rudi early in the 4Q.� Townsend was moderately effective throughout
the game.��
�� There were some misplays.� Tony Smith clumsily got turn3ed around on a
deep ball to Chad in the 4Q; luckily the pass was overthrown.� Henry split double coverage late in the 4Q;
again, luckily the pass was overthrown.�
Ike Taylor, as is his penchant, once again QUIT on a lob in the EZ.� This 4Q lob to Henry could have made this game
incredibly suspenseful, and although I don�t think Henry had possession, we
were fortunate that Marv Lewis refused to challenge this play.�� This lazy, lethargic effort by Ike wasn�t much
different from the one 3 weeks ago against Cleveland; in both instances, Ike
simply GAVE UP because he idiotically assumed that the pass was
uncatchable.� Ike needs to learn that �assume�
makes and ass of you and me, and soon enough Coach Tomlin isn�t going to want
to be embarrassed by a defender quitting on a very playable ball.� Tony Smith committed a totally foolish 15-yard
masking penalty as the ballcarrier was heading OOB in the 1Q.�
��� This was a decent effort.�� But make no mistake -- there were a
plethora of OPEN receivers tonite, and only the scattershot passing of Carson
LipBalmer and the dropsies by the Cinci WRs to include an easy TD catch by PJ
late in the 4Q) prevented at least 200 more yards in passing.� This crew will need to play 3 times better
next Sunday.���� B.�
Spec
teams:� Surprisingly, a game free of backbreaking
blunders and mishaps.� The worst boner
was the shoddy, shanked 27-yard punt by Sepulveda in the 1Q.� This guy is regressing as the season goes on.� Gay had a foolish hold on a punt return in
the 4Q that backed up the offense to the 6-yard line.� Speath had a por block on the opening KO of the 2H.� There were 4 missed tackles in punt coverage
in the 3Q, although the return was fairly short.�
�� On
the plus side, Frazier had a nice stop on the opening KO, and chipped in with
Timmons in punt coverage late in the 4Q.�
Gay had a solid stop in punt coverage in the 1Q.� Grant Mason had a FF in KO coverage in the
2Q (Cinci recovered).� Timmons had a good
stop in KO coverage in the 3Q.� ���B.�
OC:�
Arians had a better nite than he�s had in quite a while.�� He went to the no-huddle 3-4 times, which
was a stunning surprise, given his previous refusal to use it. ��I liked the fake pitch bootleg that produced
the 1st Ward TD.� Getting Miller heavily
involved in the 1H was nice.� Of course,
why was the guy written out of the offense in the 2H ?�
�� You had to enjoy the scheme behind the 4Q
INT.� Wilson and Ward ran their patterns�..and
ended up 6 feet from one another.� Hey,
that�s clever!!�� ONE man was able to
cover both men, and then made the pick. ��The concern going into
next week is that Bellichick is not going to let Ward single-handedly dominate
him the way Lewis did tonight.�� Someone
else (plural) is going to have to be integrated into this passing game to beat
the Gaytriots.�� �B.�
DC:�
Dick was once again carved up like a thanksgiving turkey on the opponent�s
opening drive.� �Sure, the defense clamped down a bit
afterwards, but you cannot hope to win a road playoff game -- or even a home
playoff game -- by giving up a FREEBIE touchdown on the game�s first series.�� I also don�t want to fawn too much over
this defensive effort, as Cinci contributed to it with a massive plethora of unforced
misfires and dropped passes.� I highly
doubt Tom Brady, with zero pressure in his face, is going to misfire the way Choker
Palmer did tonight, and I have a hard time envisioning Moss and Welker feebly
dropping ball after ball after ball.�� Dick
will need to generate heat, coverage, and malicious hitting next week.��� B.�
HC:� Tomlin had
the team fairly focused, although the long, game-opening 12-play march by Cinci
was a bit alarming.� The team showed
some good moxie and discipline after the rocky 1st quarter.�� Much work needs to be done to sharpen the
sword.� �B.�
Synopsis: �It�s always nice to beat up on the Bungals and their garish uniforms.�� Hopefully, of course, this team doesn�t
gloat, strut, and preen after this win the way they have after most victories
this season.� Cinci helped enormously with
a rash of unforced errors, and the cool, precise, veteran Patriot team isn�t
likely to fold next week the way this Cinci team did today. �Next week�s game -- as will the following
game against Jax -- will be a genuine litmus test for this team and it should
be interesting indeed to see how this Stillers team responds.�
(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers,
no one else comes close�.)