Stillers/Lions Post Game Report

StillMill is busy traveling this week so he asked me to do the weekly 

post-game report.

New Year's Day 2006 put the nail in the coffin on what has been an 

unusual NFL season featuring several teams that were just plain horrible.

�        A 2004-05, Stiller team that went 15-1 in the regular season had to 

wait to the final game of the 2005-06 campaign to secure a playoff spot. 

�        The defending Super Bowl champs won their division, with a 10-6 record

and at times looked like the playoffs this season were would be nothing but a dream. 

�        The NFC Champs from Philly are out, finishing last in their Division. 

�        The entire NFC has proven top be a weak conference, particularly the 

NFC West.

�        KC wins 10 games and that does not make the AFC playoff cut.

With a San Diego loss to Denver on New Year's Eve, the Stillers found 

themselves in a must win situation hosting the Lions.  KC hosted Cinci 

and was having their way with them while the Stillers were playing JV 

style football against a 5-10 Lions squad under an interim head coach.  At points in this game I 

wondered if the coaching staff  had actulaly told the teams to lose.  The Stillers staggered to a 35-21

victory and secured the AFC's #6 seed.  The Stillers were favored by 13 points and on

paper this game should have been a massacre and should have seen Charlie Batch 

start the second half among several other backups.  The Stillers covered the spread but kept many fans on 

the edge of their seats or wanting to throw a brick through the TV set.

QB:  Big Ben.  If you did not watch this game and just looked at his 

stats, you would have easily deduced that Ben had a horrible game.  

Roethlisberger was 7-16 for 135 yards and rushed three times for five 

yards.  He tossed two picks; one at the end of the first half in the Red Zone after a nice play by Troy P. 

resulted in a Lions fumble that we recovered and one slightly high rocket that was deflected by Randle El. 

Ben's passer rating dropped below 100 and he finished the 2005 regular season at 98.6 
(Ben finished last season at 98.1).  Ben did not play as horrible as his stats portray.  

He was the victim of many dropped balls, to Hines, ARE, and Wilson that were decent 

passes and certainly catchable.  Ben's injuries don't seem to be affecting him as much and 

that is a good thing for next Sunday.  

GRADE: B-

RB:  Fast Will Parker ran for his 6th 100 yard game (career) gaining 135

yards (same as Ben passed) on 26 carries.  He looked solid and was 

running with authority.  The day belonged to Jerome Bettis though.  In 

what may have been his final home game, Bettis received a special 

introduction and plowed his way for 41 yards and three touchdowns, his 

last giving him career TD #91.  Last week I wrote an article on the Bus 

and his value to the Stiller organization:http://www.stillers.com/articles/1631.aspx  

Danny Kreider played a solid game and demonstrated why he is one of the 

top blocking full backs in the league.  He blocked very well, particularly on 

the Bus's TD plunges.  

GRADE: A

TE:  Rookie Heath Miller caught his 39th pass yesterday giving him the 

most receptions by a Stiller Tight End since Eric Green in 1994.  It 

befuddles me why Heath was not utilized more.   I had the opportunity to

watch Heath play at  Virginia and he is an incredible player.  He can 

block, catch and get the valued yards after catch by bulldozing 

defenders.  If the Stillers would have used Miller to his full capacity, there

is no doubt the Stillers would have had the Rookie of the Year for the second year in a row.  

GRADE: B+

OL:  I was impressed by this group.  Decent run blocking and pass 

protection by this group.  They officially allowed only one sack but 

this demonstrates how meaningless the sack stat is.  On 2-10 with 4:11 

left in the 2nd Quarter, Max Starks got demolished by Cory Redding.  Ben

tripped over the abortion and Defensive End James Hall was the last to 

touch Ben as he hit the turf and was awarded the sack.  The sack was 

caused by the 627 pounds of human meat laying on the ground, not

by the heroics of Hall.  Starks stood straight up, which is a no-no in 

pass protection and he was consequently officially owned. 

GRADE: B

WRs:  It was the Bus's day but Hines Ward had an opportunity to go over 

1,000 yards receiving for the season and did not.  He came up 25 yards 

short of that mark but could have easily surpassed it had he hauled some

easy passes including a perfectly thrown one in the red zone.  Ward, El

and Wilson did not help Ben out at all yesterday.  When any WR Corps 

has 135 yards receiving, it is not a good game.  Add into the equation 

that we were playing the Lions and it is worse.  Take out Heath Miller's

62 yards and the WR Corps pulled in a paltry 73 yards against a Lion�s defense 

that is 20th in the NFL in yards per game. They did do some some effective run blocking.

GRADE: C- 

Defense:  The Stiller defense came into this game after allowing only 12

points in its last three games.  Ironically the 12 points were all from two teams in the lowly NFC North.  To be 

frank, the Stiller D has not been impressive all season.  However, the past three games seemed to indicate a 

resurgence of smash mouth D by shutting out a Division rival and only allowing one TD and two field goals.

The defense yesterday was scattershot and at times made Joey Harrington look like Danny Marino.  Harrington 

was 17-33 for 212 yards (including 10 third down conversions on 17 attempts) 

and zero picks.  What infuriated me the most was the lack of football basics displayed by our D.  

Tackling was poor. The tackling was just bad technique.  Troy P. and Porter whifed on several tackles

and we gave up far too much yardage defending the run allowing Detroit to rush for 105 yards and

Jones to pick up 78 yards.  Most notably was Hope�s grabass play.  The Stillers blew at least four chances 

to intercept Harrington by not converting easy picks.  Last season, I though Dick L. had his defense peak to early.  

This year I thought he was starting to peak the D at the right time, until yesterday. We will not go far 

in the playoffs without our D soundly tackling and converting gimmees into interceptions.  While

 I mentioned how foolish the sack stat can be, we only got to Harrington once, and Farrior was 

credited with the sack. No real pressure otherwise?  Our lack of pass rush and our often questionable 

coverage will burn us in the playoffs even against the limping Bungals.  If we can generate some sort of rush 

by our base 3-4 that will take some pressure off the secondary.  Our secondary can hit, but coverage 

against a decent QB with a capable WR Corps is what I question. 

GRADE: D

Special Teams:  My favorite for the Hard Hat.  A unit that has been the 

Achilles heel of the Stillers played a great game.  Anytime this unit 

scores a TD, it is a good thing.  ARE had an 81 yard punt return for a 

TD and Colclough had a return that set up another Stiller TD.  A great hit by Chidi caused a fumble 

that Keisel pounced on. Kreiwaldt had some good tackles and a pancake on ARE�s TD. All in all, a great effort by 

this unit.  

GRADE: A-

Coaching: A passive game plan in a do or die game.  Perhaps 

the staff was overlooking the Lions.  I did as well.  This staff needs 

to have a "Come to Jesus" session and get back to the basics.  Heath 

needs to be employed more as a receiver, hitting must improve 

and we need to mix the run and the pass better.  Protecting a lead won�t win many playoff games.  

We are on the road the entire post-season, which may be a

blessing in disguise.  At times yesterday, I though we were in a playoff game.  Heavily favored 

on our own turf and almost crapped out the Christmas goose. 

GRADE: D

See below for the complete game stats:

Playoffs:  Another post-season for the Black and Gold, a feat that has 

made many Stillers fans spoiled.  We secured the #6 seed and if you 

understand "bracketology" you'll know that our chances, historically, 

aren't that good.  In fact, a #6 seed from the AFC has not won a playoff

game since 1999 and is 1-12 since 1990.  The lowest seed must 

play the tougher teams, period.  We will be on the road for the duration

and begin at  rival Cinci next week.   A Stiller win at Cinci will 

place us in Indy's dome the following week.   I actually feel confident 

against Cinci.  I give the Bungals very little respect, and their past 

few games demonstrate why.  We beat the Bungles in Cinci this season and

but we have not  played well in Cinci with our all time record there at

18-17. Even with that record at Cinci I prefer to play on the road.  

Heinz Field has proven not to be advantageous for us this season and 

every year in the playoffs.   The Stiller following will make next week seem like a home game. 

Our fans seem to make more noise on the road and are sure to be well represented 

in Bungals land next Sunday.

An advertisement:  Next Saturday at 1:00 PM (EST) features the All American Bowl.  

This game, sponsored by the US Army, features many of the top High School football players in the country. 

This game features a combine event that the blue chippers can compete in.

Players are divided into East and West teams and they go at it.  Previous games

featured Reggie Bush and Vince Young.  This game will be aired by NBC.  

For more details, here is the official website:  http://usarmy.scout.com/

Be sure to keep tuned into www.stillers.com for playoff analysis by Mill and Phantom.

Mill will also post an article at the end of the season with his final report card for the players.