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Stillers-Browns Postgame Analysis and Grades

January 06, 2002 by Still Mill

Stillers 28, Browns 7 ���. Jan 6th, 2002 ����Game #16

Stillers-Browns Postgame Analysis and Grades

The Stillers finished their 2nd-most most successful regular season ever with a sound 28-7 tarwhipping of the Cleveland Brownies in a cold snowstorm in the �Burgh. Most of the starters stayed on the sidelines after halftime, so grading and analysis will, for most positions, be somewhat scaled back from the usual report.

Big Plays:

1. Burress allows a perfectly thrown pass to clang off his hands, turning an easy reception into a Clev INT that led to their only score.

2. Fu dashes 17 yards for the tying TD.

3. Lenzi Jackson forces a fumble on the 2nd half kickoff, and Troy Edwards recovers it and races into the EZ for the go-ahead score.

4. Bobby Shaw takes a short crosser, and then jukes a nearby DB and then races to the end zone for a 40-yard TD play.

5. RJ Bowers cuts back through a nice hole up LG and dashes 21 yards for his first NFL TD.

Grades:

QB: Stewart played only the first half, and played decently. On paper, he threw 2 INTs, but the first was a perfectly thrown pass that simply clanged of Burress� hands, and the 2nd was deflected by a DE at the LOS. My beef with the 2nd INT, was the fact that Stewart was trying to force a ball to a receiver who was nearly triple covered. Even if the ball had no been deflected at the LOS, it would have likely been defended, or perhaps INT�d by the swarm around the receiver. Stewart did complete some good, clutch passes to his receivers, and despite the horrendous weather conditions, was exceptional in running away from pressure in the pocket. On 3 occasions, Stewart appeared to be nearly sacked, only to pull a Houdini each time and escape from pressure. Stew�s best play may have been near the end of the 1st half, when he eluded 2 pass rushers, ran to his left, and while on the run completed a pass to Ward. Maddox was pretty crisp in the 2nd half, which enabled both Plex and Ward to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark. Maddox did throw one INT on a forced slant to Plex. Give Maddox credit for doing well against what was mostly the starting Cleveland defense, despite working with a host of backup lineman and skill players. B+.

RB: Fu started and ran with good authority and excellent plowing at the point of attack. Fu also did a sound job of reading his blocking and his holes today. Fu got hit in the nuts at the end of a 3rd quarter run, and sat out after that, but as painful as it was at the time, he�ll be ok. RJ Bowers got a lot of work after that, and responded with some good running, which included his first NFL TD. Kudos to the youngster from nearby Grove City College for hitting paydirt. A.

FB: Witman and Kreider split the chores. The blocking was adequate. Each man ran a plunge for 1 yard. B+.

WR: Ward and Plex became the first Stiller tandem ever to each eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Ward had 4 grabs, mostly on short stuff, though he did drop one pass. Plex had 3 receptions, but Durress caused the one INT when he allowed a well thrown pass to clang off his hands. Shaw contributed with a clutch, diving 3rd down grab on a low slant early in the game, and then had a superb RAC that led to his 40-yard TD. Troy had one grab for 21 yards. Jackson contributed a nice block on Shaw�s TD. B.

TE: Tuman and Cushing did the TE chores. Cushing caught the obligatory 4-yard out, which was all Bruener was good for in the passing game, and gained 5 yards. Tuman had an unexpectedly good seal block on Fu�s TD run, but he later got thoroughly lambasted by a defender on a running play, who then engulfed the RB for a loss. B.

OL: The starting line opened up some nice holes today for the ground game. But the pass blocking was far too porous. Too many times, Stewart was scrambling for his life, and only by his sheer athleticism did he escape some sacks. Ross continued with his wallowing and slop, which caused the one sack of Stewart. Smith also had problems at times in pass protection. With Faneca deactivated, Vincent started at LG. In the 2nd half, the Stillers cleared off the bench and got Okobi, Duffy, and Tylski some work. B.

DL: Granted, the DL faced a very sub-par O-line, but this crew really roughed up the Brownies in the trenches. Smith had a sterling game, continually wreaking havoc and mauling many a blocker. His half sack was a truly outstanding play in which he bull-rushed and plowed the guard all the way back into the QB, with such impact that it knocked Couch to the ground for the sack. Kimo was also very active and aggressive. Clancy and Bailey got a lot of work in the 2nd half. A.

LB: Kendrell Bell, probably miffed about being left off the pro bowl roster while a far inferior LB is attending, had a monster game. KenBell led the team with 7 solos, and had 2 sacks of Couch, including a highlight film sack in which he "Superman vaulted" through the air and pounced on Couch like a hungry lion onto a zebra. Holmes and Gildon played only the first half. Cleveland picked on Gilong unmercifully, running easy sweeps around his end and fooling him badly on a 23-yard reverse. Haggans started at ROLB and played tough against the run. Twice he helped string out sweeps to his side. Justin Kurpeikis played LOLB in the 2nd half and gave good run support on sweeps. Fiala and Jones got a lot of work at ILB in the 2nd half. B+.

DB: After last week�s nightmare, this crew came back with a good effort against a decent WR corps. Couch completed mostly short stuff, and the longest completion was 19 yards. Townsend had 2 nice picks -- one on a nice read-and-react deep in Stiller territory, and the other on nice coverage and good "get up and get it" work on a long lob down the sideline. Myron Bell had a couple nice hits. A.

Spec teams: At last, a game where the good outweighed the bad. Jackson forced the fumble on the 2nd half KO, which Troy scooped up and returned for a score. Josh punted well despite the weather. The kickoffs were mostly short, and the coverage was a bit spotty. I also wasn�t overly pleased when Troy Edwards ran down to cover a rolling punt, and ran into the EZ and waited for the ball to arrive. This is akin to a WR jumping out of bounds before a pass arrives. There�s no point to it, so why do it? B+.

OC: Mularkey didn�t want to show too much to opposing playoff teams, so he kept it fairly basic. Mularkey worked the ball around pretty well, which enabled every offensive player to get a touch or participate in a meaningful way before the playoffs begin. A.

DC: Lewis seemed to have his defense far better prepared for the Browns than in the first meeting. After a sluggish start, Lewis also turned up the heat on Couch and made the day miserable for the young QB. A.

HC: Cowher was able to settle the team down after last week�s debacle, and get them refocused for this game. With the bad weather and with home field already clinched, the team could have slopped their way through this one, but to their credit they played with a good amount of spirit, fire, and energy. My biggest beef with Cowher today was his decision to punt from the Cleveland 36 with a minute left in a 28-7 blowout. Kris Brown needs all the work he get, and a 53 yarder would have been a good FG for Kris to attempt. If he misses it, it�s not a killer because the game was over, and at that distance, he�s not "expected" to make it anyway, unlike the 30-yard chip-shots that he�s been shanking. If he makes it, he gets some re-found confidence at Heinz Field going into the playoffs. It�s a classic win-win situation. To pass up such a great opportunity for development and progress makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, but it comes as no surprise from Mr. Myopia, Bill Cowher. A-.

Synopsis: Any win over Cleveland is as refreshing as an ice-cold Iron City. I was pleased with the vigor and hustle out there today. At the same time, I myself am not going to rush out to my travel agent tomorrow and book flights and hotel rooms for New Orleans. Whipping Cleveland was nice, but this team needs to keep things in perspective. Whoever we face in the playoffs will be considerably better the Brownies. We don�t know exactly who we�ll play, but the next 12 days need to be spent preparing as though our team were facing a reincarnated �67 Packers team. No dance-video practices. No talking smack. No playing grab ass. Any team we face in our first playoff game will be capable of beating us, and this bye week should be used to ensure that our preparation is thorough and comprehensive, to include, of course, some practice outdoors in cold, miserable weather. Special thanks to Phil, Jeff, Tony, Jason & Jeanine, Big Ed, Jason, and the rest of the gang at Barley�s Brewhaus�.had a great time, fellas!

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