Without a doubt, the
Stillers� best performance of the preseason. Here are some comments on the
first half of last night�s game against the Panthers.
The o-line performance has
to be tempered somewhat by d-line injuries to two of the Panthers� starters. Still,
Maddox had a QB rating of 118 and Batch, 132. Tommy Gun was 4 of 5 for 65 yards
and Batch was 8 of 11 for 104 yards and a touchdown. Maddox was sharp for the
second game in a row but missed a possible TD to an open Antwan Randle El in
the opening drive. Maddox got it going with 20 plus completions to Riem and
Ward on the second drive and generally looked good. Batch finally had the
benefit of playing behind the first team o-line and made the most of it. He
engineered a 99-yard drive against what was mostly the Panthers� starting �D�.
Batch was on target and moved well in the pocket to avoid the rush. This was
highlighted by his play on 2nd and goal from the 3 on the 99-yard
drive. Batch moved around and bought himself a little extra time and found Matt
Cushing in the back of the end zone for the score.
The offensive line had their
best performance of the preseason. I keyed in on Todd Fordham and he played
very well against Julius Peppers. Fordham suffered a mild, ankle sprain in the
2nd quarter but should be back for the opener. Based on his play
last night Fordham should definitely get the nod at RT. The rest of the o-line
played well and the QB�s had plenty of time to throw until Josh Burr came in
after Fordham�s injury. The o-line also did a stand up job run blocking as the
running backs had holes to run through most of the 1st half.
Amos Zereoue and Verron
Haynes looked good running behind the 1st team o-line. Amos Zereoue
rushed 5 times for 33 yards and had a nice 19 yard touchdown drive that capped
off possession 2. Zereoue has a tendency to dance through the holes a bit and
only get 2 yards where 3 or 4 may have been possible. However, his ability to
break long runs and catch out of the backfield more than make up. The 19 yard
touchdown run illustrated Zereoue�s ability to get the corner and take it to
the house. On the second touchdown drive, Haynes added 36 yards on 4 carries
and seems to have solidified his position as the #3 RB.
The first team d-line looked
good although Carolina�s front did get good push on a couple of runs by Stephen
Davis. On Carolina�s first possession they seemed to march to the Stiller forty
and then the defense tightened up. On third down Rodney Peete pump faked and
Gildon got their to break up the pass and force the punt. Carolina�s second
possession was ended when Kendrell Bell sacked Chris Weinke. The sack came on 3rd
down on a delayed blitz by Kendrell Bell. Bell�s sack came off the nickel on a
nicely designed blitz. Porter blitzed and the LG went to block him, then came
Bell to clean up.
The first team secondary
seemed to tighten up a little bit and played more press coverage. Alexander had
a nice open field tackle but still was too slow to defend the pass in the first
place. Chad Scott played off the line but also came on a blitz and got good
pressure. I would like to see the Stillers take more chances and do things like
blitz the corners. The offense this year is good enough to overcome a couple of
d-side mistakes that result in big plays. Making the opponent�s offense adjust
to what the Stillers are doing is much better than playing not to lose with
soft coverages and big cushions by the CB�s. If the Stillers can pressure the
QB more effectively this year, turnovers will come. As I have previously
stated, playing soft will result in long scoring drives by opposing offenses
with a TOP slanted toward the opposition.
Well, there is your overview
of the meaningful portion of the first half. (when the starters are actually
in) Look this upcoming week for my season preview and preview of opening day
against the Ravens!!