Stillers 38, New Orleans 31 ���. Nov. 12, 2006
����Game #9��
Stillers-Saints Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers jumped all over the Saints early on, grabbing a 14-0 lead.� But the Aints fought back and took a 24-14
lead into the locker room at halftime.�
The Stillers showed some rare resolve and moxy, and clawed back, thanks
to some big plays by Willie Parker and some rare turnovers created by the
defense.� When it was over, the Stillers
won their third game of the season, 38-31.�
Grades:
QB:�
Ben had a very solid game, going 17-28 for 264 yards and 3 TDs, all with
zero INTs.� He seemed in command the
entire game and directed the offense to several good marches.� He hit Wilson on the deep bomb, after a deft
play-fake, in the 3Q, and also made a huge 16-yard completion on a rifled out
to Ward on 3d & 8 late in the 4Q that allowed the offense another set of
downs to chew more clock.� One of his
few mistakes all day, was taking a 9-yard sack in the 3Q after having an eternity
in the pocket.� Overall, a job well
done.�� A.�
RB:�
Fast Willie Parker busted - literally and figuratively -- out of the
ground game doldrums with a spectacular game, keyed by long jaunts of 72 and 76
yards.� He also had several other
quality runs, such as the grinding 13-yarder in the 3Q and the 4Q TD run in
which he bounced it wide after seeing nothing open up the gut, and then
stiff-armed a hapless Saint DB en route for the short TD run.� Davenport had a couple carries and also
caught 1 pass.� This reception drew some
rage from me, as Daven had an acre to run and a chance to salt away the game
late in the 4Q, but was tripped up on a shoestring slap by Grant 2 yards short
of the 1D.�� Duce Staley, the multi-million
dollar ornament, was not permitted to dress.��
John Kuhn, however, did dress and played some on ST.���� A.
FB: It's no surprise that FWP had the
big game, because Kreider had a strong game as well.� He had a terrific lead block on Parker's 6-yard run in the
1Q.� Danny then had a good block on the
72-yard romp, as well as the 10-yard run 2 plays later.�� A.�
WR:�
Hines led the way with 5 grabs for 86 yards and 1 TD.� The 37-yard TD was vintage Hines Ward, as he
snared a deep crosser, and then scampered in the final 15-yards for the TD.� He also threw a good seal block on the
Parker TD run.��
���������� Holmes had 2 grabs, 1 for 46 yards
off a short completion when 2 Saint defenders smacked into each other.� Unbelievably, Holmes didn't fumble the ball
at all.�
���������� Wilson made a nice adjustment on his
long TD grab, and chipped in a block on Ward's TD.�� He drew my complete rage, however, when he totally pussed out
on a short slant pass in the 4Q, dropping a perfectly thrown pass in fear of
getting hit.�
���������� Nate had a long, horrible day.� 3 passes clanged off his hands, two of which
could have been TDs.� Late in the 2Q, he
simply dropped a high, but very catchable crosser from Ben in the EZ for what
should have been an easy TD.� He
actually over-jumped this ball and got stuck in an awkward catching position,
which is still no excuse.� On the last
play of the 1st half, Nate timed his jump nicely on the Hail Mary, and out
jumped everyone and had the ball clang off both hands.� This was a tough play, to be sure, but by no
means miraculous or impossible.� On the
1st series of the 3Q, Nathan dropped a deep crosser that was well thrown.� To add salt in the wound, he failed to turn
his head on an all-out Saint blitz on 3rd & 10 deep in NO territory, and
Ben's quick pass skipped by, forcing a FG try.�
As a WR, you've got to read big blitz and adjust your route
accordingly.�� Nate ain't a rookie any
more and this kind of slop is unacceptable.��
���������� Ward, Holmes:� A.����
Wilson, for his complete puss out:��
C+.��� �Nate:� D.�
TE:�
Miller caught 3 balls for 30 yards, including a big 22-yarder.�� His blocking was decent.�� A.�
OL: The much maligned O-line had a
solid game today.� Not great, but
solid.� Ben was given decent time and
room in the pocket.� Before the 2 long
jaunts, Parker wasn't running wild, but he did have some 4, 6, 10, and 13 yard
carries.�
���� There were some warts, though.� Okobi was pitifully poor on a 3d & 6
early in the 2Q, clumsily failing to pick up a looping rusher (Grant), which
forced Ben into a hasty pass that was incomplete.� If Okobi had simply moved his feet 5 inches laterally and
swiveled his head just 6 degrees, he'd have gotten just enough of a bump on
Grant that Ben would have been able to get off this pass relatively
unfettered.�
���� Faneca failed to kick out Grant -- whop was
standing right in the hole, unblocked -- on a shovel pass to Ward that was
snuffed for a 1-yard loss.� Fan
inexplicably bypassed the huge Grant and went to the 2nd level, looking for
what, I have no idea.�
���� Kendoll Simmons was literally wheeled all
the way back to Ben on a sack late in the 3Q.�
Sure, Ben should have scooted or tossed this ball away, but it was
sickening to see Simmons get wheeled back so casually.�
��� Marvel Smith missed a simple, CAKE easy
lateral shield block on Grant on the 3d & 6 screen pass to Daven late in
the 4Q, which allowed Grant to chug after Daven and make the shoestring nip
just 2 yards short of the sticks, thus forcing a punt.� If Fat Ass Smith exerts just 2 calories of effort
on this play, Davenport gains at least 15 yards on the play and the Stillers
would have had a new set of downs to salt away the clock.� As pissed as I was with Daven for being
tripped up, I was 3 times more pissed at Smith for being so lethargic and brain-dead
on this play.�� Hartings and Kemo did
not dress.���������� B.�
DL:�
The D-line had a spotty afternoon.�
They got gashed by Duce and Bush, who averaged 4 and 4.9
respectively.�� Keisel was terribly weak
on Duce's short TD run, and also failed to recover a fumbled ball that was
right within his grasp.� Brett had a
garbage sack off of pressure by Haggans.�
Keisel and Smith also did their best imitation of the Pitt defense,
allowing Brees to squeeze in between the 2 of them like Houdini on a 3d & 5
scramble in the 4Q that netted 6.��
Smith had the costly 15-yard roughing the passer penalty, although I
thought the penalty was unjust, primarily because he was pushed from behind at
the last second, which forced him to stumble low (and barely love-tap Brees
anyway).� Hampton chipped in a little and
also had a batted pass, but was flagged for an offsides.� The line won't enjoy film sessions on
Tuesday.��� C-.��
LB:�
As noted, the Saints running game was very successful, although they had
to play with a deficit most of the game and didn't get as many carries as I'm
sure they'd have liked.� And Brees
routinely had hours of time back in the pocket, including the deep ball to
Stecker in the 4Q in which Brees literally played traffic cop, motioning with
his hands 3 times to get Stecker to run deep, all the while totally unfettered
back in the pocket.� At that point, I
half expected Brees to motion to the water boy for some Gatorade and a towel,
as well as a mug of hot cocoa.�� Up and
down the LB corps, there were pockmarks galore.�
�
���������� Farrior and Haggans had the best
overall game from this crew.� Farrior
was fairly steady, including a FF, but he was shamefully weak on the Duce TD
run.�
���������� Haggans had a solid overall
game.� He forced a sack by whipping a FB
and applying heavy pressure on Brees.�
He also forced a fumble on a strip of Brees at the end of a scramble,
though NO recovered.� He had
surprisingly good coverage and a bust-up on a deep out to Colston in the
4Q.� Hagg was flagged for an offsides in
the 4Q.�
���������� Foote had a long day.� He dropped an INT in the 1Q that would have
been returned for an easy TD.� In the
2Q, he found himself hopelessly in pursuit of Colston on a crosser that
resulted in a 27-yard gain.� On Bush's
TD run, Foote took a poor angle and was too slow to nail Bush at the corner, which
allowed Bush to turn the corner and dash up the sideline for the TD.� In the 3Q, Foote came charging in on the
blitz, and like a complete dumbass left his feet, only to be juked by the
slowfooted Brees, who then completed a short dump to Bush for 13 yards.�
���������� Joey Porter at least gave a semblance
that he wasn't in a total stupor, although he was far, far from
dominating.� He was woefully weak on the
3rd & 4 out to Stecker in the 1Q, getting beaten on the pattern and then
flailing after the reception was made.�
On the Bush reverse for a TD, Mr. Suck n' Blow got sucked in,
once again, which allowed Bush easy access to the corner.� Two weeks in a row, opponents have run
misdirection plays RIGHT AT "the most feared man in the NFL", and
both times the opponent has celebrated with a TD score.�� Big Joey, aka Mr. Suck n' Blow, gets sucked
in, and then he blows !!��� What a
fearsome LB Big Joey is !!��� Joey did
get a fingernail on a deep crosser to Colston in the 3Q on 3d & 21, which
minutely altered the flight of the ball but was enough to cause Colston to miss
it.� He also had rare, but good,
presence to dash over to cover a dump to Duce on 3d & goal in the 2Q.�
���������� Chad Brown dressed but did not
play.�
���������� Farrior and Hagg:� B.�����
Foote and Porter:�� C-.�
DB:�
Facing a team missing its best all-around WR (Joe Horn), the secondary
nonetheless got scorched and abused all game.�
Both Troy Pola and Townsend got hurt in late in the 1Q/early 2Q
(respectively) and never returned.� The
patchwork secondary included the likes of rookie Anthony Madison.�
���������� Ike was beaten on a short TD pass to
Copper late in the 1Q, although this was a tough pass to defense.�
���������� McFadden had a piss poor game.� He was soft as butter on the 3d & 11 in
the 1Q, allowing Copper an easy catch and run for 22 yards.� On Bush's TD run, McFadden played this like
a complete puss, meekly backing up OOB as though he were Jason GilDong's first
cousin.� He did help bust up a seam pass
to Copper late in the 4Q.�
���������� Tony Smith had a rocky day.� On 3d & 10 in the 2Q, he was beaten
badly down the seam by Colston for 29 yards.��
There were also a few instance of flailing and whiffing.��
���������� Ryan Clark got totally tooled on a
pump fake and lob to Copper in the 3Q, good for 32 yards.�
���������� Ty Carter again showed horrific
tackling technique, with his head down and his arms nowhere in position to
wrap, but to his credit, he luckily forced 2 fumbles, both of which the
Stillers recovered.� He was hobbled after
the 2nd FF, but was able to walk off the field on his own power.� Still, with such foolish technique, he's a
walking time bomb for paralysis.�
���������� To be fair, although the secondary
sucked well water, the front 7 generated nothing in terms of pass pressure and
harassment on Brees the entire day.���
C+.�
Spec
teams:� A few good spots, but mostly subpar.� Unbelievably, Holmes didn't fumble the ball
at all.�� He even got a loud, warm round
of applause from the home fans when he successfully fielded a punt on the fair
catch without bobble or fumble.�
However, Sean Morey was tasked to return KOs (after
Davenport was doing an outstanding job earlier in the game), and voila
-- the first return by Morey resulted in a fumble.� Luckily, we recovered and avoided another fiasco.� Daven had 2 good KO returns in the 1H, but
apparently, with toting the ball twice and catching 1 pass, the coaching staff
thought he'd be too exhausted to do any KO return chores after midway thru the
2Q.� The KO coverage was spotty, with
Lewis returning one for 43 yards in the 2Q.�
Reed missed a 35-yard FG by about 3 feet to the left in the 3Q.� Gardocki punted like complete dogshit, and
it's more than apparent that a complete upgrade is urgently needed at this
position next season.��
���������� Logan had a good stick and stop in KO
coverage after Wilson's TD, and Tony Smith had a good stop in KO coverage early
in the 4Q.��� C-.�
�
OC:�
All week, we were inundated with talk about the Steelers wanting to
return to the ground game.� So on the
very first series, Parker carried on 1st down and gained 3.� Not super-duper, but not shabby,
either.� So on 2d & 7, what does
Cheezenhunt do ?�� He immediately goes
into the shotgun, and has Ben throwing the left-screen (which was run no less
than 5 times today).� If you're so set
on establishing the running game, and if you want to capitalize on the
play-action pass, then get the fuck out of the shotgun formation.��
���������� Give Cheezenhunt credit for going
with the play-action, pump fake, deep bomb to Wilson on the 1st play after the
Bush fumble.� Hooray !�� 9 weeks into the season, Cheezenhunt
finally calls a well designed, intelligent playcall that goes for the jugular
rather than the 4-yard gain !!��
Hopefully we'll see another before, say, Christmas.�� B+.�
DC:�
Facing an offense missing its best WR and down to really 1 go-to guy,
Dick still got shredded like provolone cheese at a pizza parlor.� Yes, Pola and Town were hurt, but injuries
happen every week all over the NFL.�� At
this point of the season, not many teams are playing with the same 11 that
started the season back in early Sep.��
The pass rush was embarrassingly feeble and the coverages were soft and
allowing of acres of open room.�� It's
almost as if Dick and Pitt DC Paul Rhoads are spending far too much time
together at the South Side complex.� We
already know Rhoads in a complete imbecile, and now it seems to be rubbing off
on Dick.�� C-.��
HC:� Cowhard once
again looked disinterested and unemotional on the sidelines.� At one point, they showed the dummy looking
down the sidelines -- at essentially nothing -- as the ball was being
snapped.� He does deserve some credit
for keeping the team's head in the game at halftime, when it appeared the team
was in for a total collapse.� B.�
Synopsis:�
The Stillers bought themselves another week of being in the playoff
hunt, with Cinci losing yet another game.�
Had Balt. lost, this could have been a huge day, but instead they are
now 7-2.�� The Stillers get 2 shots at
the PoeBirds, but have other games that they must take care of as well.� Next week, the Stillers travel to Cleveland,
which has, at times, been a house of horror.�
As Atlanta found out today in their home loss to Clev, there can be no
let up.�� The playoffs remain a faint
hope, but the team has to play with every ounce of desperation until
eliminated.�
���������� Note:� I'll be undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery
tomorrow (Monday, Nov. 13).� (I should
probably stop kicking the TV every time Cowhard pisses me off !)� I should be back on my feet in no time, but
bear with me this week.��
(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers,
no one else comes close�.)