Stiller
Players Grades -- 2001 Season
Foreword:
These grades are based on a player's play during the entire season, as I
personally watched and re-watched (via videotape), as well as took notes on,
each and every play of the season.�
(Coaches' grades will be issued next week.)�� Bear in mind that a player's grade is based not only on what he
did, but also his years of experience in the league, his salary, and any
expectations of him (to include the round he was drafted in, if applicable). In
other words, more is expected from a seasoned 6-year veteran making $4 million
per year, than of an undrafted rookie free agent making the league minimum.
Every year, I hear gripes and yelps about various grades, so to reiterate --
the grades are very dependent upon experience and the amount of money
the player is consuming relative to his teammates. Those not playing enough get
an incomplete grade ("Inc").��
R = regular season; P = playoffs
In
last-name alpha order, here are the final grades:
Brent
Alexander: Brent was supposed to be too slow for the Stiller coaching
staff; hence the signing of Mike Logan.�
But Brent had no problem winning the starting FS job at camp, and
started at FS the entire season.�� Brent
gave the Stillers steady, solid play at FS, and rarely ever made the grave free
safety blunders that can put 6 points on the board in a hurry.�� Brent was also sure-handed and tough in run
support.�� Perhaps Brent's largest boner
was jumping on LB Earl Holmes in the playoff game vs. Balt., which injured Earl's
good knee and forced him to miss the Pats game.�� R=B+. P=B.�
Rodney
Bailey: The 6th rounder from Ohio State was given a so-so chance of
making the team, but he played tough right from the get-go in preseason.�� Bailey caught my eye in preseason, based on
tough play and a good feel for playing in the trenches.�� Bailey chipped in throughout the season,
spelling Kimo and Aaron from time to time.��
All in all, Rodney probably had the best rookie campaign for a Stiller
DE in a decade.�� R=A-.� P=B.�
Kendrell
Bell: Not a lot needs to be said about this man.� He came to camp, he rocked, and then he
rocked the entire season.�� In addition,
he was the co-winner of the year-end Hard Hat Award.�� In the playoffs, he was the Stillers' best LB.�� R=A+.��
P=A.
Myron
Bell: Myron was brought back to the Stillers for insurance and
veteran depth.� He played ok, but this
probably was the last season in Pittsburgh for Boo Bell.� R=B.��
P=B-.�
Bettis: The
Doughboy was having an outstanding season, until he pulled a groin in the
Vikings game in early Dec.�� The Tubby
Tailback sat out the remaining 5 regular season games, and then had to sit out
the Ravens game when a painkiller shot struck a nerve.�� Bettis started against the Pats in the AFC
Title game, and was a complete flop.� He
moved with all the speed of a glacier, and showed little burst or plowing.�� It's a shame that Bettis failed to tell the
coaches the truth about his inability to run with gusto, as well as his total
inability to maintain his weight and conditioning during the layoff.�� R=A-.��
P=D-.�
Blackwell: After
spending most of last season on PUP, Worthless Will spent his 5th NFL season on
IR.�� Technically, according to the
rules of the registrar's office, I could give Jackwell an "Inc"
grade, but for a former 2nd round pick who has been wasting a roster spot for
over 3 years now while giving virtually nothing in return, I believe I'll issue
him a grade nonetheless.� D-.
Bowers: The young
RB from nearby Grove City College was signed when injuries forced Amos and
Bettis to sit out.� Bowers got some work
in the Cinci game, and then got even more against Cleveland, even scoring a
TD.�� Of course, the beleaguered
Cleveland defense wasn't the second coming of the '85 Bears, but it was nice to
see a local boy do well.�� Unfortunately
for RJ, unless he can bulk up and play FB, he probably won't make the '02 squad
if Bettis, AZ, and Fu return.��
R=B+.� P=Inc.�
K.
Brown:� After going 25-29
and 25-30 in his first two seasons, the bottom fell out for the former Nebraska
kicker.�� Brown had the hideous day in
the Ravens loss, and then went into a swoon thereafter.��� He ended up leading all kickers in missed
FGs.�� To his credit, he made his only
attempt in the AFC Title game.�� But
Brown's inconsistency -- both on FGs and kickoffs -- has to force the team to
bring in someone to compete with Brown for the job.�� R=C-.�� P=B+.�
Bruener: Often
referred to as the "19-catch per year wonderboy", the bootfooted,
brittle-fingered Bruener was on his way to yet another 19-catch season, when he
injured his shoulder against Jax and was lost for the last 7 games of the
season.��� Yes, he blocked well. La di
da. For a man who chews up millions in cap money, his production was woefully
unacceptable.� And let's not forget the horrific
failure to get even a pinkie on Rod Woodson, which caused an immensely-critical
FG block in the Raven loss.� R=C+,
P=Inc.
Plaxico
Burress:� Plex started off
the '01 campaign pretty slowly, but then caught fire in the Monday nite win
over the Titans, and rolled on from there to a 1,000 yard season.� Burress learned to use his size and
athleticism to go up and after balls, and he became more confident as the
season wore on.� On the minus side, Plex
dropped too many balls -- caused by his penchant of allowing balls to thump
into his chest -- and he committed far too may false start and pass
interference penalties.�� In all, Plex
had the kind of season that NFL scouts envisioned he'd have, and his future
looks extremely bright.�� R=A-.�� P=B.�
Clancy:� The 2nd-year NT began the season by sharing
the starting chores with rookie 1st-rounder Hampton.� Gradually, Hampton wrested the starting job, but Clancy still got
a fair amount of work, and was able to provide solid relief and
platooning.� Clancy showed that he could
be a starting DT if the team moves to a 4-3 scheme, and if not he'll be a solid
backup at NT behind Hampton.���
R=B+.�� P=B.
Chris
Combs: The 2nd year man from Duke (who the hell drafts football
players from Duke, except the Stillers, who also drafted QB Spence Fisher from
Duke a few years ago??) spent most of the time deactivated or waxing his bean
on the sidelines.� Hard to imagine that he
won't be sent packing before the '02 season begins.�� R=Inc.�� P=Inc.��
Cushing: Cushing
served as a third TE, and then was elevated to a lot more work when Bruener was
shelved.� Cushing blocked tough at the point
of attack and was fairly reliable when thrown the ball.� R=B.��
P=B.�
Duffy: The aged
veteran served as an insurance backup for center Jeff Hartings, just in case
Hartings struggled at his new position, or was injured.�� Luckily, neither happened, so other than
mop up work, Duffy rarely ever got playing time.� With youngsters like Okobi, Vincent, and Nkwenti waiting in the
wings, this surely was The Duffer's last season in Pittsburgh.�� R=Inc.���
P=Inc
Edwards: Eddie
began the season slowly, but came on immensely, most notably on special
teams.� Troy emerged as one of the best
-- if not the best -- cover men on the spec teams, and he also supplanted
Poteat in the punt/kickoff return chores, where he gave the team a significant
boost.�� Additionally, once Troy became
fully assimilated into the spec teams work, the increased involvement and PT
caused his pass-catching to improve to near flawless results.�� Troy didn't drop more than 1 or 2 passes
the final 8 or 9 games of the season.��
In the playoffs vs. NE, Troy committed the foolish boner of running OOB
while on punt coverage, which forced the re-punt that culminated in Troy
Brown's TD jaunt.� R=B.�� P=C.�
Faneca:� Big Al finished his 4th season and was
rewarded by being named to the all-pro team.��
Faneca's pass blocking was spotty on a few occasions, but overall was
decent, and his run blocking -- long his forte' -- was solid and tough.�� R=A.��
P=B.
Fiala: The
former Huskie had an adequate, but hardly spectacular season -- as the team's
special teams captain.� In fact, the
special teams that Fiala captained were easily the worst in the entire
NFL.�� Fiala didn't play much at
ILB.� He was forced to play some on
opening day in Jax, due to Bell's injury and Jones being deactivated, but Fiala
did little.�� Fiala was also the first
man who whiffed on Troy Brown on the TD-punt return vs. NE.��� R=B-.��
P=D.�
Flowers:� Lee had a solid season, although, unlike
last season, when he finished third in tackles on the team, he dropped down to
6th, even getting out-tackled by FS Brent Alex.�� Lee did lay the wood into many a ballcarrier and receiver, and
helped stuff the run.� But Lee was also
repetitively victimized for TDs and big gainers by opposing TEs and other
receivers he was assigned to cover.��
R=B.��� P=B-.�
Fuamatu-Ma'afala:� Chris finally had a fairly injury-free
season, and he contributed immensely when Bettis and Amoz were shelved.�� He ran the ball with good toughness and
authority, although at times he was a bit hasty and a bit "off" in
his reading of the play.�� His pass
catching and blocking were solid.���
R=A.�� Because Fu was only
allowed to play a few meager plays in the AFC Title game, his P grade is an
"Inc".�
Gandy: Wayne
responded with yet another solid, strong season.�� He held down Stew's blind side and also provided decent run
blocking.�� Well done.� R=A.��
P=B.�
Geason: Corey was
initially cut, but then brought back when Bruener was shelved, and played in 7
games.� He didn't get the PT that Tuman
and Cushing did, but he did chip in on some multiple TE sets.��� R=Inc���
P=Inc
Gildon:� Regular readers should have a very good feel
for Gildon's grade, what with the weekly and year-end Gildong Reports that
inherently serve as input for his final grade. Get past the Dong Sacks that Big
Jason accumulated (9 of his 12 sacks were Dong Sacks), and you have a player
who was pitifully soft against the run all year.� There were also numerous games where Jason all but disappeared
(Jax #1, Cinci #1, KC, Jax #2).�� As
shown in the GilDong Report, no team EVER "shifted their blocking" to
block The Dong; rather, the man simply disappeared and did nothing.��� Of course, Jason's biggest games were
against cream puffs like Detroit and Cleveland.� Jason's was so soft and feeble at tackling ballcarriers, in fact,
that he finished 46th among the 48 starting LBS in the AFC in tackles.�� Jason didn't do squat against Balt. in the
playoff game, but did have a couple adequate plays vs. NE.� But those plays were overshadowed by the
multitude of soft, feeble plays, including no less than 5 plays in which Jason
had a ballcarrier dead to rights, only to flop, flail, and whiff; as well as
Jason's outright and shameful quitting on the TD pass to David
Patten.� For the cap money Jason ate,
and for the Pittsburgh legacy of tough, hard-hitting linebacking, it was an
outright travesty.�� R= C-.�� P=D+.�
Clark
Haggans:� The 2nd-year LB
from CSU went through the same fate as Amoz Zereoue did in his sophmore season
-- a lot of splinters stuck in his pants from being forced to rot on the
bench.��� Haggans ended up being the
team's leading special teams tackler (on combined solos and assists), and given
the chance to play the whole 2nd half vs. Cleveland in the finale, he clearly
outplayed Jason GilDong.���� As I stated
ihn last year's grades, Haggans isn't nearly as explosive or speedy as Porter,
but he does seem to have a good nose for the ball and good football
instincts.�� OLB:�� R=Inc.��
P=Inc���� Spec teams:�� R=B.��
P=C.��
Hampton:�� The rookie 1st rounder from Texas had a solid
rookie campaign.� He gave the Stillers
some good run stuffing and clogging, and also gave an occasional pocket push
and burst through the seams of the opposing line.�� Hampton also showed good hustle.�� If he can keep the weight off -- he easily had bloated to a good
330 by season's end -- he can be a fixture for a number of years.�� R=B+.�
P=B+.��
Hartings: The
Savior was signed in free agency, and after over-coming his snapping problems
early in camp, settled into the center chores and had a fine season.�� There were several bobbled snaps in the AFC
Title game vs. NE, but it is unknown whether it was Harting's or Stew's
fault.�� R=B+.�� P=B-.�
Holmes: The Hit
Man had yet another studly season, once again leading the team in tackles for
the third season in a row, despite being nagged by a sore knee for most of the
latter half of the season.�� Hit Man
forced a critical fumble in the playoff game vs. Balt, but ironically injured
his "good" knee after the play when teammate Brent Alex jumped on him
in celebration.�� Holmes had to sit out
the Patriot game, which turned out to be a major loss.�� R=A.��
P=B+.�
Chris
Hoke: The rookie hokie from BYU waxed his carrot the entire
season, and was actually moved from the active roster to the practice
squad.�� In light of recent failures by
the likes of Chris Sullivan and Chris Combs, it might be wise for
the team to avoid acquiring DEs who have the first name of
"Chris".� R=Inc.�� P=Inc
Lenzie
Jackson: This young WR was signed late in the summer to fill the
role of 5th WR, plus help out on spec teams.��
He did an above-average job on spec teams coverage, and chipped in some
in the return game.��� R=B.�� P=B-.�
Mike
Jones: Jonesy was signed to basically start in place of the
departed Fat Levon Kirkland, and keep the spot warm for KenBell.� But Bell played well right from the opening
of camp, while Jonesy was mediocre.�� On
opening day, Jones was deactivated in favor of Justin Kurpeikis, a move that
backfired miserably when Bell was injured on the opening KO.�� Jones dressed the rest of the season, and
contributed decently as a LB in the nickel and dime packages, as well as being
one of the top tacklers on spec teams.��
Jones isn't particularly tough at the point of attack, but is a savvy
player and a crisp tackler.� ���R=B.��
P=B.���
Kreider: Big Dan
won the team's rookie of the year award last season, but then got hobbled at
camp, first with a freak injury to his calf muscle, and then to a busted
hand.�� In the meantime, longtime Cowher
favorite Jon Witman was basically handed the starting job on a silver platter,
relegating Kreider to meager work in the early part of the season.�� Fortunately for the team, Kreider was eased
into more and more work, usually playing over half the game after Witman would
start.�� Kreider received national
notoriety after the playoff game vs. Balt, when ESPN showed his pancake block
on Ravens' LB Ray Lewis.��� R=B+.�� P=B.��
J.
Kurpeikis: The rookie LB from PSU got to dress in the opener vs. Jax,
and was thrust into PT when KenBell was injured.� Justin was about as effective as a Ford Escort on the NASCAR
circuit and thereafter dressed sparingly.�����
R=Inc.�� P=Inc.�
Mike
Logan: The former Jaguar was signed to take over the starting FS
job from Brent Alex, but was unable to wrest the job from Alex.�� But to his credit, Logan did not mope.�� He gave the team stellar play in the
nickel/dime packages, as well as a cover-man on spec teams.�� What impressed me about Logan was his
hitting and tackling skills, which were far better than I'd previously been
aware.�� Logan might very well be the
team's next SS, if Flowers is released for sal cap purposes.��� R=A.�
P=B.�
Tommy
Maddox: The ex-Bruin played only sparingly in mop-up, because Stew
stayed healthy all year and the team didn't have many blowout wins.�� R=Inc.�
P=Inc.�
Tee
Martin:� For the 2nd year in
a row, Jerome Bettis threw 2 more passes (one) than Tee did all season. I don't
have really high hopes for this guy, and at some point in time the team has got
to see if he can QB at this level.�
Fortunately, the team finally got the idea to send Tee to NFL Europe
this spring.�� R=Inc.�� P=Inc.
Josh
Miller: Josh was rewarded with an extremely gratuitous contract in
the offseason.�� While he had a solid
season, it was far from spectacular, especially given his fat-laden
contract.�� In the AFC title game, Josh
sent the re-punt directly down the exact middle of the field, with less hang
time than it takes to toss a cigarette butt into a trash can.��� The result was Troy Brown having an acre
of room to shake and bake, which he did en route to a huge TD.�� R=B.��
P=C-.�
Matthias
Nkwenti: This young o-lineman has vast potential, but played only
sparingly.�� R=Inc.�� P=Inc.�
Chukky
Okobi:� This young
o-lineman has vast potential, but played only sparingly.�� R=Inc.��
P=Inc.�
Porter: Joey
picked up from his stellar play of last season, contributing a strong
season.�� Most fans forget that it was
Porter who spearheaded many of the early-season strong defensive efforts, to
include the monster game vs. Tampa in which Tampa clearly was not over
shifting to block the team's other OLB.��
Because Porter rarely ever came into the opponents backfield untouched,
and because every week he was facing the opponent's best tackle, and because --
as the team's best coverage outside LB -- he dropped into coverage far more
than he rushed, some fans think that Porter "went quiet" down the
stretch.�� That's preposterous, and
typical of the average fan's ability to evaluate defensive football, where
stats don't begin to tell the story of effectiveness and contributions.� R=A.��
P=B.�
Poteat: After a
sterling segment late in his rookie season, when Hank gave the Stillers some
strong punt return work, Hank went downhill in '02.�� Part of the problem may have been the overall rotten nature of
the spec teams early in the season, which caused Poteat to take a heavy
pummeling. After that, Hank seemed to be a bit gun-shy, and the result was a
host of tip-toe returns that gained a lot of yards -- but laterally, not
forward.�� Hank was eventually
supplanted by Troy Edwards, and soon became vulnerable for deactivation on game
day.�� Hank didn't play DB at all the
entire season.�� It's hard to recall the
last time a Stiller fell so far from grace after a solid rookie season.�� R=C-.�
�P=Inc.��
O.
Ross: The Big O served as the team's #1 backup offensive lineman,
filling in at both RT and RG.�� He
played fairly well at tackle, but struggled immensely at guard, due to his lack
of quickness and poor footwork.�� Ross
doesn't appear to be a starting caliber lineman, but it serviceable as a
backup.�� R=B.�� P=Inc.�
Schneck: The
trusty long-snapper had another solid, error-free season.�� He was probably the MVP on an otherwise
terrible special teams unit.���
R=A.�� P=A.�
C.
Scott:� Chad started out
the season in tremendous form, playing at a pro-bowl caliber level, to include
the huge INT and return for a TD in the tight win over KC.�� But Chad's play slipped down the stretch,
as teams began taking their shots at him, both deep and on underneath stuff
against some of his softee cushions.��
IN all, though, Chad had a solid season and a decent playoff.��� R=B.��
P=B.�
Shaw: Clay Shaw
had another strong season as the team's slot/number-3 receiver.� Hi finished 3rd with 24 grabs, and had a
very impressive 17 yards per catch -- tops on the team.�� Shaw will long be remembered for the
90-yard TD versus Balt. in the late-season win on ESPN.� R=A.��
P=B.�
Simmons: The
diminutive CB had a spotty season, marred by hamstring problems that forced him
to miss some games.� Logan and Townsend
got the lion's share of the work in the dime defense, leaving Simmons the odd
man out.�� R=B-.�� P=B-.�
A.
Smith: Smitty rotted as a rookie, but emerged last season when
Piss Sullivan was nagged by the bad back.�
This season, Smitter had the finest season for a Stiller DE since
perhaps Ray Seals in 1994.�� Smith was
stout against the run, and provided good heat and pocket push on pass
plays.�� R=A+.�� P=A.�
Marvel
Smith:� Marvel struggled at
camp, so much so that line coach Russ Grimm had him practice without a helmet
in order to eradicate the problem of awkwardly leading with the head.�� It worked for a short while, but then Smith
went into a long lull of sub par mediocrity mixed in with some overt shit and
bile.�� In both playoff games, Smith
stumbled about and continually was whipped and beaten.�� And to top it all off, Smith was literally
bulldozed back 3 yards and knocked on his ass while protecting a FG attempt in
the Pats game, which was then blocked and returned for a TD.��� I expected much more from this 2nd-year,
2nd round draft pick.��� R=C-.�� P=F.��
Stewart: The
Western Union Man started out slowly, but then snapped out of his 3-year funk
with a superb all-around season.��
Stew's passing accuracy and touch improved immensely, aided no less by
finally having a QB coach after having none for his first 6 seasons.�� His running was as fluid and tough as
ever.� Most impressively was his
leadership and maturity, which had previously been a huge question mark but was
really elevated in '01.� Stew did have
perhaps his worst game of the season in the playoff loss to New England, in
which his throws were chock full of lollipop and/or hideous inaccuracy.�� It's a shame that Stew had such an off
performance vs. NE, because his '01 season was otherwise sterling.�� R=A.��
P=C.��
Townsend: The
smallish CB from 'Bama had another solid season, contributing a good bit to the
nickel/dime defense. Deshea again showed that he has pretty good one-on-one
coverage skills.�� He'll be a UFA in
March, and will probably get offered a starting job somewhere.�� R=B+.��
P=B.
J.
Tuman:� Jerame (not
"Jermane") began the season spending most of his time resting on a
seat cushion, getting a little bit of work on spec teams and multiple TE
sets.�� But he came out of the woodwork
with his first NFL catch in 2-plus seasons, snaring a 24-yarder against the
Chefs in mid-October.�� A week later,
amidst a moderate amount of fanfare, Tuman threw his first NFL block.� From there, things seemed to take off a bit
for Tuman, and when Bruener was shelved for the season in November, Tuman
assumed the starting chores the last 7 games of the season.�� Tuman improved his blocking as the season
wore on, and chipped in with 7 grabs, which was good for a very respectable
13.7 YPC.�� R=B+.� P=B.�
Tylski: The
former Jaguar wallowed around in the midst of injury and mediocrity in
'01.� Without question, Tylski was the
weakest of the starting offensive linemen, and in the AFC Title game he was
marginally more useful than a bag of concrete on the space shuttle.�� R=C.��
P=C-.��
Keydrick
Vincent: This young o-lineman has vast potential, but played only
sparingly.�� R=Inc.�� P=Inc.�
Von
Oelhoffen: Kimo moved from NT to DE, and did a solid job, starting all
16 games and ably helping give the defense its best starting D-line in the past
7 seasons.� Kimo caused a fair amount of
disruption to other teams' schemes with his savvy play and ability to knife in
quickly off the snap.�� R=A-.�� P=B.�
Ward: Hines
started out a bit slow in terms of receiving production, but starting in the
9th game of the season, Ward caught fire and finished with a simply outstanding
season.�� Hines finished with a Stiller
record of 94 grabs, and also scored 4 TDs.��
His YPC average of 10.7 was fairly puny by NFL standards, but many of
his catches were in tough areas of the field where he took a boatload of
beatings.�� Ward also established
himself as the premier blocking WR in all of football, throwing numerous
bone-jarring blocks, a few of which put defenders out of the ballgame.�� Hines was also a co-recipient of the '01
Hard Hat Award.�� Back in the previous
offseason, I'd written that Ward was not a starting-caliber WR.�� 2001 proved me wrong.� R=A.��
P=B.�
Washington: DeWayne
had fairly solid season.� He got burned
for a big TD on opening day, but put that behind himself and went for a long
stretch with good, sound play.�� He took
some beatings toward seasons end against Cinci and Minnesota, but all in all
gave the team good coverage and reliable run support.�� R=B+.� P=B.�
Witman:� The Cowher-loving Witman was able to nudge
out the injured Kreider for the starting job, and despite a host of slop and
shoddy blocking, Witless got a fair amount of PT all season.�� On opening day, serving on the punt team,
Witman -- a 5-year NFL veteran -- absentmindedly allowed Donavan Darius to
burst right up the gut of the punt team, and Darius finished this play by
crashing into punter Josh Miller and knocking him from the ballgame.�� Hopefully 2001 will be the last season
Witman is ever allowed to wear a Stiller uniform.�� R=C.�� P=C-.
Zereoue: After two
seasons of rotting on Bill Cowher's bench, Amos was finally allowed to play on
fairly regular basis, and he responded with outstanding contributions.�� He toted the ball 85 times; gaining an
impressive 5.2 yards per rush, and also snagged 13 passes.�� Amoz added the element of speed that
was sorely lacking out of the Stiller backfield, and gave teams like the Ravens
fits with his quickness and shiftiness.�
AZ also had two big TDs in the playoff win over Balt.�� Amos should serve as a model of what can
happen when a player is finally allowed to participate during regular-season
games.�� R=A.�� P=A-.�