Stillers 26, Buffalo 3 ����. Sep 16, 2007 ����Game #2
Stillers-Bills Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The Stillers
hosted the injury-riddled Bills and celebrated the 75th Anniversary of
Pittsburgh pro football with a thorough beatdown of the Bills, 26-3.� The Stillers manhandled and dominated the
Bills in an almost boring, methodical manner.��
Grades:
QB:�
Benji had his share of struggles in the 1H, mixing in a host of simply
gawdawful footwork with timid �aiming the ball� on his delivery.�� The INT was on a deep ball that, although
given plenty of room and time, Ben lollipopped the throw with little air, and
the result was an underthrown deep ball that was easily picked.� He ended another promising drive, deep in
Buff territory, by throwing low in the flats to a wide open Kreider.� There was another drive killer -- actually,
a TD killer -- where Ben shortarmed a deep slant to Ward in the EZ that was ruled
a trap against the turf.� �A throw just 2 inches higher would have been
a conclusive TD grab.� Then there was
the hideously telegraphed pass deep in Buffalo territory, late in the 2Q, that
was nearly picked off and returned for 6.��
It wasn�t all shabby, however.��
Ben muscled in a clutch sidearm completion to Holmes for a key 1st down
on a 3d & 4 in the 2Q.� Later in the
2Q, he also hooked up nicely with Holmes on a 3rd & 10 for 17 yards.� �In
the 3Q, 3 pump fakes produced a short crosser to Holmes, who added a long RAC for
27 yards.� Under pressure, Ben hooked up
with Speath for a good TD pass, and he completed a nice flag to Miller in the
4Q.�� Overall, Ben hooked up with 9 different
receivers and is playing, oh, about 4 times better than he did at this time last
year when his idiot coach rabidly rushed him back into the lineup after the
appendectomy.�� B+.��
RB:�
Parker groused that he wasn�t pleased with his work in the Clev game, and
he responded with a stellar effort, gaining 126 yards on 23 carries for a healthy
5.5 YPC.� His best run may have been on
3rd & short in the 3Q, where he busted it for 16 yards.� He also had several nice gainers by turning
on the speed around end.� Daven drew my
ire in the 1Q, moving as slow as pond water on a screen that was thwarted.�� He did turn in some solid rushes.�� �A.
FB: Davis and Kreider each got some
work.� Davis had a nice block to spring
Parker on a 20-yard gainer in the 1Q, and another good block on a 24-yard dash
in the 2Q.� He also toted the ball once
for 4 yards.� ��A.�
WR:�
Nate led the way, yardage wise, with 3 grabs for 60 yards, including a
nice grab on 3d & 10 that netted 20 yards.�
He did have a weak drop late in the 2Q, but then caught the next pass
for a 30-yard gain.� Ward had 5 grabs
for 55 yards, and nearly had a TD grab.�
The pitiful coverage by CBS precluded us from seeing a decent replay as
to whether Ward caught the ball or trapped it.�
San Antonio had 3 grabs for 53, which included some terrific RAC
work.� Cedric had only 1 grab, but it
was a nice catch on 3d & 6 that gained 12 yards.� This 4-man unit, if it keeps fine-tuning its game, could be
without peer in the conference by December.��
A.�
TE:�
Miller and Speath had some solid blocking to help the ground assault, in
particular seal blocking on the edge.��
Miller had 2 grabs for 34, while Speath had 2 for 10, including a good
TD catch on a low throw.� �A+.�
OL: Facing a decent Buff pass rush, the
line gave Ben plenty of time and room to throw.� The run blocking was effective throughout the game.� KenDoll Simmons, a whipping boy here for years,
had perhaps his best game as a Stiller.�
He sprang Parker on the 24-yard jaunt in the 2Q, and drove his man into
the EZ on a 1st & goal at the 5 in the 3Q.�� He chipped in nicely with Mahan to pave the way for Parker�s 4Q TD
run.� Mahan was abused on a Parker plunge
in the 1Q that resulted in a 1-yard loss.�
Overall, this line continues to gel and it can be presumed that they�ve
not yet hit their peak.� A.�
DL:�
This crew swallowed up the Bills O-line.� Keisel had an active game.�
Hampton and Smith were solid, although Hampton was blown off the ball
early in the 3Q.�� Eason, Hoke and
Kirschke all saw PT.�� A.�
LB:�
Farrior had a superb day, leading all Stillers with 8 solos and around
the football on nearly every play.� Foote
slashed in for a stuff behind the LOS, and then had a strip in the 4Q.� Harrison, before getting injured on the last
play of then 1H, continually terrorized the Bills.�� He steamrolled a blocker and sacked PJ for a sack in the
1Q.� He beat the LT on an edge rush in
the 2Q and had a good pressure.� Later,
he provided harassment on a 3rd & 2.�
Haggans was disruptive as well.��
He helped stop a 2nd down play in the 1Q, and then on 3rd & 1,
stuffed the ballcarrier short of the sticks.�
In the 4Q, Haggans literally mauled the TE on a pass rush -- a play in
which the TE was flagged for holding -- and forced a trip of PJ.� Hagg did overpursue on Lynch screen pass in
the 4Q.� With Harrison sitting out the
2H, Woodley saw a lot of PT.� He was abused
in a mismatch with Peerless Price, resulting in a 22-yard gain. ��He dropped Lynch in the 4Q on a solid play,
and had a sack late in the game.� �A.�
DB:�
The secondary had its 2nd straight week of facing an inept, bumbling QB.� Town had nice, tight coverage on a 4th &
2 early in the game, which gave the Stillers the ball.� Pola roamed all over the field and gave the
Bills fits.�� He had a nice slash of a ground
play deep in Stiller territory in the 3Q.�
Clark had an INT that was over-ruled and ruled no catch.� McFadden showed horrible tackling technique in
the 4Q, getting juked after a short completion that gained 17 yards.� Tony Smith was inserted at FS in the 3Q.� Ideally, although only marginally likely, this
crew will get some serious work against SF before facing Leinart, Larry Fitz,
and Boldin.�� �B.� �
Spec
teams:� Another very solid day of ST work.� Rossum had 2 solid KO returns; a strong
14-yard punt return; zero bobbles; and zero gaffes.� The astute trade for Rossum is rapidly looking like pure
larceny.�� Reed was 4 for 4 on FGs, and
his Kos were solid.� He did try a couple
high, pooch-like KOs that weren�t terribly deep but had extra hang time.�� Sepulveda was called upon to punt just
once, and pinned the Bills on their own 7.�
The lone wart was the KO coverage, which was a bit raggedy.�� The long KO return in the 3Q was actually a
blown call by the refs, in which the returner clearly stepped OOB a good 5
inches at around the Buffalo 30 without being ruled OOB.� �A.�
OC:�
Arians seemed to have the Bills off balance and unable to tee off on
either the run or pass.�� I really liked
the PAP bootleg pass to Speath that netted 9 yards.� I want to see that play every single game from here on out
to either Miller or Matthew.� The PAP
flag to Miller was also a sight for sore eyes.�
On the downside, Arians� love affair with the screen pass is going to
cause a broken TV set or a broken piece of furniture in my house before the
season ends.� I believe that if permitted
by Tomlin, Arians would call no less than 17 screens a game.� The 3 wasted TOs in the 1st half were also a
concern, although I�m not sure if the seemingly fast playclock or Benji should
shoulder some of this blame.� �A-.�
DC:�
Dick feasted on another hapless QB and had to be chuckling to himself. �If not before, this defense will get a litmus
test on Oct 28th versus Cinci.��� A-.
HC:� Billy
who?� Tommy is 2-0 and has the team
focused and energetic.�� What a difference
it makes, going from a mailman (last year) to a leader (this year) to run this Stillers
team.�� The team committed only 2
penalties, those on 2 defensive offsides.��
The small downer is Tomlin�s bizarre inability to work with the �red
flag� CHALLENGES that the NFL graciously provides each team.�� 3 critical plays occurred that should have
been challenged, but weren�t:�
���������� - Ward snares
low pass in EZ for apparent TD; ruled inc.���
Ok, perhaps there were no decent camera angles.� Still, any time a challenge can put 6 points
on the board, you typically like to take the stab.�� This is much different from some meager 3-yard reception at
midfield on 2d down & 9.��
���������� - McGee clearly
steps OOB on the opening KO of the 2H, en route for a 63-yard return, and no
red flag is tossed. �Perhaps this is not
a challengable play.��
���������� - Clark
grabs an INT and is shoved OOB before getting 2 feet in.�� The play is briskly ruled an INT.�� 10 seconds later, a different ref moseys
over and rules the play an incomplete pass.��
Not entirely sure if this was reviewable, but if so, it was a travesty
to not challenge.��
Overall, though, Tomlin should be lauded for his work to
date.� ���A. �
Officiating Crew:� This crew was
a wretched pile of shit, similar to the crew that reffed Super Bowl 40.� Besides the aforementioned gaffes, there
were others.�� Holmes was shoved to the
ground on a 1H pass near the Buff goal line, with no flag thrown.� PJ Losman was being tugged at by 2 defenders
well inside the tackles, and threw the ball at the feet of an O-linemen,
yet no intentional grounding flag was thrown.�
Ike was shoved on a deep ball in the EZ, and a flag was thrown,
presumably for OPI.� Inexplicably, the flag
was picked up and no penalty was issued.�
Additionally, as noted, the playclock was running faster than Pitt tailback
Shady McCoy.�� 3 times in the 1st half,
when there didn�t appear to be any dawdling, Ben suddenly had to call a TO
because the playclock had so rapidly �plummeted
towards zero.� �The game itself ended at 3:55 PM EST, which
is nearly unheard of in the NFL, especially when there were a several stoppages
for injuries, 1st down measurements, and so on.� I don�t know who was screwing with the clock, and if I didn�t
know better, I�d blame it on Bill Bellychick.� ��D.�� �
Synopsis:�
A good, workmanlike win for the Stillers.� Nothing flashy, but there was a ton of good smashmouth football.�� The team is confident, healthy, and playing
with sound focus, teamwork, and intensity.��
We were fortunate that SF won their game so that they bring an undefeated
record to Heinz next week.� It may have
been tempting to overlook a solid SF team en route to the AZ game and then
Denver, but the 49ers unblemished record should keep the Stillers focused on
the task at hand.�
(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers,
no one else comes close�.)