Stillers 37, 49ers 16�� ���. Sep 23, 2007 ����Game #3��
Stillers-49ers Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers overcame a sluggish start and methodically ground down the outmanned
69ers, en route to a thorough 37-16 beatdown of the visiting 69ers.�
Grades:
QB:�
Benji didn�t have the flashy stats (13 of 20, 160) of a Favre, but he
was very solid, consistent, and savvy in his performance after a rocky
start.�� He was a bit careless in
protecting the ball on the Navies strip, which gave the ball to SF deep in
Stiller territory.� On the next
possession, he misfired poorly on a 3rd & 4 to Nate.� After that, however, Roth settled down and
played mistake-free ball.�� He had some
nice touch on a lofted out to Miller early in the 2Q for 16 yards. The TD pass to
Tuman was squeezed in just beyond the fingertips of a lunging LB.�� His nimbleness and awareness in the pocket
was instrumental in the 2H.� He deftly
scrambled f8 yards.� Then, on a 3rd
& 10, he eluded pocket pressure and, while moving to his left, hit Miller
for a huge 29-yard gainer.� Then, later
in the 3Q, on successive plays, he scrambled from pressure and hit Holmes for
key completions.�� A key for Benji is
that he isn�t making the hasty, foolish decisions that led to poor INTs last
season.�� A-
RB:�
Parker had another stellar effort, toting the ball 24 times for 133
yards.� He consistently found just a
crease of daylight and then darted through for key yardage.�� In the 2Q, he spun off a backfield tackle
attempt and then dashed around end for a 23-yard gain.� At 10:30 of the 4Q, he may have topped the
23-yard run.� Willie stuttered, and then
hit a small hole like greased lightning, and simply exploded for a 15-yard
gain.�� Daven added a nice 39-yard TD
run late in the game while merely trying to chew the clock.�� Russell did not dress.� A+.�
FB:�
Davis got the bulk of the FB chores, blocking on about 6 running plays
and grabbing 3 passes for 9 yards.�
Davis had a good block on Wilson�s end around.� Kreider played just one play at FB before getting some reps in
garbage time.� B+.
WR:�
Holmes led the way with 3 grabs for 49 yards.� He spent much of the day tangling with former Buckeye teammate
Nathan Clements.� Ward had perhaps the
quietest day of his career, grabbing 1 pass for 2 yards and carrying a direct
snap for 7.� He had 2 semi-drops on
plays where he was drilled as soon as the ball arrived, and he missed a good
bit of the 2H hobbled with injury.��
Neither Wilson nor Nate caught a pass, which is slightly
concerning.� Reid again did not
dress.� �B+
TE:�
The TE corps continues to play a major role in the offense as well as
find the end zone.� Miller had 1 of the
best games of his career, grabbing 4 balls for 82 yards, and nearly getting
credit for a spectacular catch above a defender along the sideline that was
ruled incomplete on replay because the 2nd foot did not get down in
bounds.� The lone negative was the
botched block by Miler in the 1Q that resulted in Parker getting dropped for a
2-yard loss.� Tuman grabbed a key TD
pass.� Speath did not dress due to
injury.��� A.�
OL: The line had a decent overall
game.� The line push and hole opening
for Parker was generally good.� Ben was
given decent time and room to throw.��
Smith did have a shameful whiff of Douglas in the 2Q, resulting in a
3-yard loss by Parker.� Simmons was
beaten by Navies for the sack n� strip on the 1st series, but this was an extremely
oddball blocking scheme in which Colon blocked straight ahead and Simmons was
tasked to scoop block waaay to his right to pick up a rushing OLB, which is
akin to asking an NHL goalie to stop a slapshot while standing 6 feet to the
side of the goal.�� It initially
appeared the Simmons was the culprit on the sack at 5:00 2Q, but it was not
Simmons� man or fault, as Lewis came in untouched off the edge.� Mahan had a good block on Parker�s 17-yard
draw play in the 2Q.�� B+
DL:�
The D-line rose to the challenge of Gore with a smothering effort,
holding Gore to a mere 39 yards.�� There
simply were very few holes for Gore to run through during this tilt.� Hampton had a stellar game, including a
punishing hit on Gore on a 2d & goal plunge in the 1Q that was stopped
stone cold. Smitty had a strong game and seemed to be in nearly every scrum.� The �backup 3� of Hoke, Eason, and Kirschke
saw a lot of PT on this hot day and chipped in nicely.� Keisel had some decent pressures, but then
had a weak 1-armed grab n� flail at Smith which allowed Smith to complete the
late, meaningless TD pass.�� The depth
of this D-line will be severely tested next week in the brutal heat of
Arizona.�� A.�
LB:�
A somewhat quiet day for the LB corps.�
They weren�t hideous, but there wasn�t the impact playmaking that you�d
expect from the 3-4.� Farrior helped jam
the run, although he took an overly poor angle on the bubble screen to Davis
that netted 31 yards on the opening drive.�
Foote was on the butt end of a shove by Allen that landed The Footster
10 yards off the LOS, where he caught Gore at the end of an 11-yard run.�� Not really where ya want your ILB on a dive
play.�� Harrison seemed fully recovered
from last week�s stinger injury, and played solidly.� Haggans had an afternoon that he�d sooner forget, although the
film session with the coaching staff will be grisly.� On the game�s opening drive, Haggans was sucked in badly on a PA
boot keeper that Smith easily kept for 1st down yardage.� Showing the learning disabilities of his
predecessor, Haggans was again sucked in on a PAP boot in the 3Q that resulted
in an easy 13-yard grab by Walker.� On
the very next play, Haggans was fooled badly, not once, but twice, on the
double reverse that Battle ended up running around left end for 8 yards.� On the next play -- a 2d & 2 -- Haggans
aimlessly took himself out of the play by rushing blindly upfield, all the
while failing to recognize the simply handoff to Gore up tackle for easy 1D
yardage.� Haggans came up the gut
untouched for an easy Dong Sack in the 4Q, but flailed in pitiful fashion.�� Woodley got some decent PT and had a Dong
Sack in the 3Q.�� Clearly, this crew
will need to play better against the better O�s out there.�� C.�
DB:�
Pola had his most active game of the season, which showed on the stat
sheet as he led all Stillers in tackles.�
He gave Davis a good stick on the 2d series of the game, and then forced
the bizarre fumble/INT that was absurdly ruled incomplete in the 3Q.� Town had a nice drop of Gore in the 1Q for a
2-yard loss.� McFadd had a Dong INT
while standing around like Larry Brown in Sup Bowl 30.� To his credit, he had a nice runback for a
TD that sealed the win.� Ike was a bit
soft in coverage in the 4Q, although he had a key block on the McFadden INT
return for a TD.� Clark had a good hit,
and Smith delivered 2 punishing hits after catches.� Dicardo did not dress.�
It�s been a nice 3-game run by this secondary, but they�ll really earn
their keep next week trying to cover Bolquin, Fitz, and company.�� B.��
Spec
teams:� Rossum got the �ol� mo� going by taking the
KO to the house after the early 69er FG.��
He also had a nice stop in KO coverage in the 2Q.� It�s a good thing Ted Douchette isn�t
running the Stillers, as he was vociferously opposed to the Rossum trade.�� Woodley and Jerame Two-woman threw key
blocks on this TD return.� Harrison and
Tonio Smith teamed up to make a nice stop in KO coverage.� Reed was flawless, booting 3 of 3 FG tries
(including a 49-yarder) and also getting 1 TB on a KO.�� Danny Sepul had a nice punt that pinned SF
deep, and also replaced Ward on the onsides KO recovery team and cleanly
fielded the onsides attempt.� McFadden
had a superb �save� on the Sepulveda punt late in the 1Q, making an acrobatic
play at the GL to slap the ball back before it landed in the EZ.����� A+
OC:�
Unlike the previous 5 OCs, Arians has kept true to his word about
getting the TEs involved.� And I was pleased
that we weren�t inundated with the homo screen play that Arians has previously
run about 10 times per game.� In fact,
Arians didn�t run the screen at all today.�
I would like to see more involvement with the #3 and #4 WRs, because
eventually the Stillers will either have to come from behind or get in a
shoot-out, and they�ll need Nate and Cedric to contribute.�� B+
DC:�
Dick seemed to be out-foxed early on by SF OC and Bethel Park (Class of
�85 !!) native Jim Hostler, but Dick soon got with it and had his defense
smothering the Niner attack.�� Dick has
had the incredible luxury of facing 3 of the most inept offenses in pro
football.�� He�ll have his hands full
with the high-octane offense of the Cardinals this week.�� B+.��
HC:� Uh, Billy
who ?�� Who was that lethargic, sad sack
loser that lost 8 games last year with essentially the exact same talent??��� Give Tomlin continued credit for keeping
this team grounded, focused, workmanlike, and efficient.�� Give Tomlin further props for his
insistence on the Rossum trade, as well as having the foresight to recognize
Sepulveda�s talents and to PLAN AHEAD for his use on onsides recovery in case
of injury.�� Already, Tomlin is proving
to be, oh, about 12 times smarter than his predecessor.��� B+.��
Synopsis:�
A solid, methodical win against a foe that had come in with confidence
and departed with its tail hanging between its legs.� The entire team is playing crisp, focused football, with very few
penalties, few boners, and few turnovers, all of which translates into winning
football.� Next up, a difficult trip out
to Arizona -- where the Stillers have rarely played well -- to face a Cards
team that Coach Ken Cheezenhunt will have fired up and ready to hunt bear.�� This will obviously be the Stillers� first
stern test of the season.�
(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers,
no one else comes close�.)