Stillers
25, Jags 23���.Dec 1st, 2002 ����Game #12
Stillers-Jaguars
Postgame Analysis and Grades
Facing the lowly 5-6 Jags,
the Stillers -- presumably angry about last week's slopfest -- figured to take
out their frustrations and have their way with the Jagoffs.� Instead, they squandered one golden
opportunity after another, allowing the Jags to hang in the game.� Sure enough, the Stillers gave up some huge
4Q plays, and put everyone into nail-biting mode late in the game.� Only a 50-yard FG by Reed and a busted-up
2-point try by DeWayne allowed the Stillers to escape Jagville with a thin,
flimsy 25-23 win.�
Grades:
QB: Stewart started in place of Maddox
and had a fairly solid all-around afternoon.�
He completed 16 of 26 for a modest 202 yards.� With his feet, he was the Stew of old, bedeviling the Jaguars
throughout the game, especially on the sterling 28-yard TD run.� A couple good pass plays stand out: the
early 54-yard lob bomb to Plex, and the 27-yarder to Tuman that was perfectly
thrown.�� The downside is that, aside
from his own TD jaunt, Stew failed to get the ball into the EZ, which forced
the 6 FG tries.� Partly from coaching
conservatism and partly from what appears to be Stew's hesitancy to take the
stab in the EZ, the Stillers mostly settled for overly conservative dinks in
the ketchup zone.� Stew threw one INT,
which was partially caused by the ball being a smidgen behind Plex.� Had the Stillers found the EZ a couple more
times, this grade would have been higher.�
B.�
RB:�
Bettis had a solid game against the softee Jax front 7.� He carried 20 times for 86 yards.� He showed good 2nd effort and, had he not lost
PT to stop a bloody nose caused by a broken nose, he would have easily topped
100 yards.� Amoz played a little bit
and, unlike last week, was allowed to carry the football a few times, due to
the Bettis injury.� A-.
FB: Kreider was awfully tough, acting
like a bull in the china shop.� If Fat John
Madden fawned all over this guy the way he did with the likes of Moose Johnson,
Kreider would get a free trip to Hawaii.��
A.�
WR:�
Ward led the way with 8 grabs, although most were shorty stuff that
amounted to a puny 6.4 yard/catch.� Plex
hauled in the early bomb and had a few other grabs.� The INT was partially Plex's fault, as he allowed the ball to
carom off his skillets and pop into the air for the easy INT. A trend --
perhaps attributable to Stewart -- that bothers me is that the Stillers got
absolutely nothing from their #3 and #4 WRs.�
It's almost unfathomable that a team can get to the big show in this day
in age with production from only 2 WRs.�
B.�
TE:�
Bruener once again showed his enormous waste of salary, with another
goose egg in the passing game.� He
blocked ok, and then hurt his knee.�
Jerame Tuman, who usually isn't worth a tinker's damn, caught the
perfectly thrown Stewart pass down the seam for 27 yards.�� B.�
OL: The O-line opened up a good bit of
running room for The Bus.� There were a
few leaks in protection, but overall they gave the QB time, although this was a
shabby front 7 they faced in terms of pass-rushing ability.� Vincent faired well against some good DT
competition.� Okobi is doing ok but is
making me eager for the return of Jeff Hartings.� B+.�
DL:�
The d-line played a solid game.�
Hampton was very, very active throughout the game.� The one thing I like about Casey is that
he's not content to merely squat down and �clog� like Fat Joel Steed; rather,
when he sees a play going wide, he pursues it with a vengeance.� Despite the ridiculous horsebleep from some
folks that "Aaron Smith is having a down season", Smitter once again
had a strong game.� No, he didn't have
any sacks, but the most overrated stat in the NFL doesn't tell the story of
what this guy is doing.� Kimo and Bailey
chipped in adequately.� B+.�
LB:�
A so-so overall game from this crew.�
Bell still looks a bit "off", due to perhaps a combination of
bulking up; his ankle still bothering him a bit; scraping off the rust; and/or
still trying to grasp and get used to his reduced role.� To his credit, Bell did knock the tar out of
Brunell on one sack, showing us the "Bell of old".� Farrior had an above average game, although
he played the Taylor TD run poorly.�
Porter spent a good bit of time in coverage.� Jason GilDong, the $23M Fraud, stood around and got bullied the
entire game.� He helped stuff a screen
pass but otherwise did nothing the entire afternoon.� Luckily for the Stillers, the Jaguars didn't
start to really exploit GilDong in the running game until the 4th quarter, when
Brady and company had their way with the Gilded Dong.� The Big 3: B.�
GilDong:� F.�
DB:�
The secondary played 3 decent quarters of football, and then laid an egg
in the most critical period, the fourth.�
Scott had a strong game, but then received a beating in the 4Q on the
TD, and also committed a critical ticky tack illegal contact penalty in the
4Q.� Flowers supported the run and had
some good QB pressure, but got totally fooled on the long Brady TD.� DeWayne, along with Chad, had a strong game,
punctuated by the busted-up 2-pointer that could have tied the game.� Chris Dope was given the most work he's had
all year and had his best game of the season, leading the team with 6
solos.� Overall, this wasn't a
mega-dangerous passing attack, but the DBs had a sound, strong game.� A.
Spec teams:�
Cowher might claim the KO coverage is fine, but it stunk some more,
allowing good starting position for Jax.�
Elvis Joseph almost busted one KO return for six.� Josh punted just once, so that spared the
coverage teams from further embarrassment.�
The ST star continues to be Jeff Reed, who was unbelievably clutch in
going 6 for 6 on FGs, including boots of 46 and 50.� Reed may have gotten away with a "scuff" on the 46, but
crushed the 50 yarder with a few to spare.�
He also saved a TD by making a tackle on a KO return.� Verron Haynes had a big 16-yard gain out of
a 4th down punt formation, on a run led, unbelievably, by Hank Poteat.� KO Coverage: C-.� Jeff Reed: A+.�
OC:�
Mularkey had an easy time -- at least between the 20�s -- against a cap
& injury riddled Jax defense.� The
TOP dominance of 38:41 to 21:19 was impressive.� On the other hand, scoring just 1 TD -- on a fortuitous bit of
improvised athleticism by Stewart -- and settling for 6 FGs is thoroughly
abysmal.� The continually conservative,
predictable shovels, draws, and rinky dink crap on 3rd down is enough to make
any serious fan want to gack.� B-.�
DC:�
Tiny Tim faced an average offense and was given most of the day off, due
to the enormous TOP advantage.�
Nonetheless, giving up big plays and TDs in the 4Q remains Lewis'
trademark.� B-.
HC:�
This was the kind of game that Billy Cowher absolutely loved.� His favorite QB of all time runs for a
TD.� His team dominates TOP and settles
for Cowher's favorite scoring play, the field goal.� Confusion and softness allows two 4Q TDs by the opposition.� Question to ponder: if Jax converts the
2-pointer (thus tying the game) and the Stillers start after the ensuing KO at
around their 25 yard line, does Cowshit take a knee and head to OT, or does he
try to embark on a winning FG drive with about 1:06 remaining?� My bet is that Cowher turtles and heads to
OT.� This refusal to get six points and stomp
the hell out of a downed opponent is precisely the kind of Cowshit football
that leads to playoff losses like the one to San Diego in Jan. '95.� With Reed emerging as a clutch FG kicker,
Cowher might very well be content to keep Stewart as the starter and settle for
7 or 8 FGs per game.� And, lest I
forget, the ST coverage still blows chow.�
C-.�
Synopsis:
�We'll gladly take the win, which, coupled
with Cleve's loss to Carolina, gives the Stillers a comfortable division lead
with only 4 games remaining.� Still,
like last week's win, this win doesn't inspire me to visions of grandeur.� Instead of making progress and working out
the kinks for a playoff run, this team seems content to slop around and keep an
inferior opponent in the game.� Next up
is the expansion Texans, who should be easy fodder for a playoff hopeful that
is playing at home, but nothing can be taken for granted when it comes to Team
Turtle.�