Stillers 34, Patriots 20 ���. Oct. 31, 2004 ����Game
#7
Stillers-Pats Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers hosted the NE Pats, owners of an NFL-record 21-straight wins, and it was
the Stillers who treated the Patsies to a devilish Halloween evening, handing
the Pats a thorough 34-20 beating.���
Grades:
QB:�
Ben Roth played the best defense he'd seen thus far, and passed the test
with flying colors.� He was a wee bit
shaky the first couple of drives, but then caught fire.� He stood in the face of a blitz and tossed a
perfect bomb to Plex for a 47-yard TD.�
Soon thereafter, he hit Plex in the EZ on a perfect timing lob for
another TD.� Roth again committed no
TOs, which, contrasted with Brady's hideous 3 turnovers, really made the
difference in the game.� Roth even had
the presence on a botched play in the 4Q to put his head down and bull for the
1st down yardage.� Roth did miss 2 very
makeable TD passes.� His short lob in
the 2Q to a wide open Riem was too high, and missed an open Plex on crosser in
the EZ in the 4Q.� In all, just another
splendid outing by Roth.� A.�
RB:�
Duce Staley gashed the Patsie defense for 125 yards on 25 carries.� Staley's ability to read blocking and read
holes, and then cut on a dime, is simply remarkable.� The Tubby Tailback, Jerome Bettis, got a lot of work in the 4Q,
and chipped in 65 yards on 15 carries.�
He also burrowed for a TD.�
Haynes had a few carries and 2 catches.�
A+
FB: Dan Kreider was simply magnificent
today.� He crushed many a Patriot
defender, most of whom will spend quite a bit of time in the hot tub tonight
and Monday.� He also had a clutch
13-yard reception to help seal the game in the 4Q.� A+.
WR:�
Ward led the way with 6 grabs, but it was Plex Burress who torched the
Patsies for 2 huge TDs in the 1H.� Plex
hauled in the 47-yard bomb on a somewhat difficult over-the-head catch, and
then made a sterling grab on the EZ timing fade and managed to get his knee
down in bounds.� Plex also had a nice
hand catch on a slant for 12 yards to the NE 2, which set up Bettis' TD
plunge.� This was a nice hand
catch, and these new gloves Burress has been wearing for a couple weeks seem to
be giving him the confidence to use his hands, not his chest plate or
stomach.� Ward had a nice effort on a
catch of a low pass in the 1Q, and got up and ran for more, good for 21
yards.� El had 6 grabs -- perhaps a
career high -- mostly on smallish grabs, but he did have a nice 20-yard
gainer.� A.�
TE:�
Riem was open for the TD, but was overthrown.� The blocking by Tuman and Riem was very effective.� A.�
OL: The O-line simply dominated the
Patriot front 7 in this tilt.� This game
was fairly close going into the 2H, but the O-line took the game over and ground
down the Pats' front 7.� When you have
TOP of nearly 43 minutes (42:57), you have imposed your will on the opponent
and whipped them at the point of attack.�
The FG drive in the 3Q chewed up 8:29 of clock, on a 13 play drive that
had 12 consecutive runs.� The next drive
ended in a punt, but not before the offense ran 8 plays and chewed 5:35 of
clock.� The final drive of the game
started at 6:33, and ended only because the final gun sounded.� That, my friends, is smashmouth football,
and the O-line deserves tremendous accolades for this beatdown of the
Pats.� The line allowed no sacks, and
gave Roth enough time despite some big blitzes by NE.� Much of the yardage in that 2nd half came right behind RG
Keydrick Vincent, a man that spent the past few years rotting on the pine.� Hartings handled the rookie NT, Willfork,
with relative ease.� There were only 2
penalties -- a false start on Ross and an incredibly cheesy holding call on
Hartings.� Smith was wheeled all the way
back to the QB on 3d & 10 on the 2nd drive, which resulted in a flush.� Max Starks got a few plays of PT.� All in all, facing such a strong defense,
this was an effort that should go into modern Stiller history as one of the
best by an O-line.� A+.
DL:�
The D-line was missing Casey Hampton, but responded with a very stellar
effort.� Kimo was disruptive all day,
including heat on the play that resulted in Townsend's INT.� Smith applied pressure throughout.� Chris Hoke, making his first-ever start, had
a solid day.� He helped jam the run, and
applied some heat now and then, including pressure on a deep out to Graham in
the 2Q that was off-target due to the harassment.� Kirschke provide some solid backup work.� Kendick Clancy did not dress.� A.
LB:�
Joey Porter had a brilliant all-around game, harassing the QB, bottling
the run, and defending the pass.� He
finished with 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a pass defensed.� His pressure also flushed Brady into the
arms of Aaron Smitty.� With that, he's a
likely shoe-in for the AFC defensive player of the week.� Farrior was solid, although he whiffed badly
on a short dump to Faulk, which allowed a large RAC and a 17-yard gain.� Foote also missed Faulk 4 plays prior on a
very similar play.� Haggans applied some
solid pressure, including a forced throw-away on 2d & goal at the 7 in the
3Q.� Ken Bell and Zo Jackson did not
dress.� Their task was made far easier
when Dillon was ruled out for the game, but this was still a good day at the
office.� A.�
DB:�
Townsend broke the game open with the INT return for a TD late in the
1Q.� Keep in mind, as you consider how
well Town has played this season and the latter half of 2003, that this man
rotted on the bench for years behind such luminaries as DeWayne and Charred
Scott.� Speaking of rot, the rash of
injuries meant Ike Taylor was allowed to play, and all he did was come across
the field in deep coverage and make a spectacular, leaping INT.� You simply cannot teach this kind of
athleticism and you cannot rot this kind of talent; the man needs PT to see if
he can sink or swim.� Today, he
swam.� Pola was active in run
support.� Pola and Hope each committed a
boneheaded 15-yard masking penalty.�
Colclough chipped in ok with a good amount of PT.� Wee Willie Williams got abused on the late
Givens TD, and also committed an illegal contact penalty that was
declined.� Williams has no business
starting on a team that has visions of doing some damage in the playoffs.� A-.�
Spec
teams:� Overall, the ST play was good.� Reed kicked 2 chipshot FGs, and his KOs were
decent, although he booted one KO OOB.�
Gardocki's punting was decent.�
El had a nice 37-yard KO return, as well as a couple decent returns that
were shorter.� The coverage teams were
mostly ok, but they allowed some leakge.�
The 41-yard KOR late in the 2Q was the longest the Stillers had allowed
this season, and it helped set up the NE TD late in the 1H.� Colclough flashed his speed by hauling down
the returner on a 3Q KO.� The Stillers were
flagged 3 times on spec teams, which, in a closer game, could have been huge.� B.�
OC:�
Whisenhunt deserves kudos on many fronts.� He had his offense well prepared for the multiple looks that the
Patriots love to show.� When Law got
injured, Whisenhunt attacked his replacement, Gay, 2 plays later on the 47-yard
TD bomb.� That is what an OC is supposed
to do, and it's exactly what we hadn't seen in years.�� Speaking of events not seen in years, the
timing fade to Plex for the TD was the very first that Plex has EVER been
thrown, in over 4 seasons in the NFL.� I
liked the PAP dump to Kreider on 3d & 4 in the 4Q, which was wide open for
a 13-yard gain.� In all, this was Wise's
best outing thus far as the OC.� A.�
DC:�
LeBeau did a good job of applying pressure, while minimizing the window
of leaving his DBs naked for the beating.�
Facing an offense this good, he did a good job of hiding Wee Willie
Williams.� It should be considered, of
course, that LeBeau had the luxury of facing a team missing both of its
starting OTs by game's end, as well as their star RB for the entire game.� A.�
HC:� Billy Cowher
loves these situations, in which his team is the 'dog and he's playing on his
home field with a crowd that is whipped in a frenzy with the excitement and the
late start that allows for excessive boozing and beer guzzling.� 1 negative note on Cowhard -- the man
challenged a short completion to Patten in the 3Q, which he won, but all it did
was earn the Stiller defense 1 (one) yard of real estate.� (The masking penalty on Hope stood
regardless of the catch.)� Really, a
dimbulbed challenge that had no upside, and as such, shouldn't have been
frittered away.� A-.
Synopsis:�
Happy Halloween, Boston!�� Trick
'r Treat!�� How 'bout a can o' whipass
and a jar of smashmouth football�?!�� Of
course, like most regular season wins, this must be kept in perspective.� By the 2nd half, the Pats were missing both
starting CBs, both starting OTs, and their star RB (Dillon, who missed the
entire game).� That's enough to cripple
any team, no matter how good they are or how gaudy their win steak might be. �Couple the rash of injury with a TO
differential of 4, and well, winning the game was little more than a
formality.� Hats off to the ghouls and
goblins of the Stillers, which haunted the Pats all game long.� Now the Stillers brace for another
undefeated opponent, the Philly Iggles.�