Stillers
23, Browns 20���. Nov. 3 2002 ����Game #8
Stillers-Browns
Postgame Analysis and Grades
Games in Cleveland have
long been an adventure, and this one was no different.� The Stillers dominated every statistic possible,
yet had to hang on for dear life for a 23-20 win.�
Big Plays:
1. Northcutt takes Josh's
first punt and dashes untouched for an 87-yard TD return.�
2.� Couch hits Morgan for a 63-yard post,
setting up��
3.� On a 4th & goal at the 1, Couch hits Heiden
for a TD and a 14-3 lead.
4.� Maddox hits Ward with a laser for a 21-yard
TD pass, cutting the Clev. lead to 14-3.
5.� Late in the 2Q, Maddox aims a weak pass that
is INT'd at around the Clev. 1.�
6.� INT by Brent on 1st series of the 3Q, off a
tip by KenBell in sound coverage�.�
7.� �But Peterson misses 41-yard FG.�
8.� D.W. INTs Couch early in the 4Q, setting up
Peterson's FG.�
9.� Stillers call gutless shorty curl on late
4th & 9, and El is stopped short of the sticks.�
10.� Morgan hauls in 31-yard TD pass late in
4Q.��
Grades:
QB: Maddox was spotty all day.� He did fire the laser TD pass to Ward, plus
a nice deep crosser to Plex for 31 yards.�
But on the whole, Maddox spent most of the day aiming the ball,
rather than throwing it.� This ultimately
led to a mediocre 23 of 42 and the horrific INT late in the 1st half with the
Stillers knocking on the door for another score.� Maddox had Plex for an easy six on a deep flag, but overthrew him
badly.� Tommy also dropped a SG snap,
and was stripped (but recovered) on one sack.�
Adding to that, Maddox accomplished the near-impossible feat of running
from the pocket slower than Neil O'Donnell.�
C+.�
RB:�
The Tubby Tailback and Fu sat this one out, so Amoz got the bulk of the
work.� AZ had a career high of 111 yards
on 29 carries, including a 27-yard scamper.�
He also chipped in 5 grabs for 62 yards, including a 25 yard gain.� On a down note, Amoz clumsily stumbled and
tripped -- while untouched -- after receiving the trick-play pass in the
1Q.� Haynes also some light duty as
RB.�� A-.
FB: Kreider led many a run with some
hard-nosed blocking.� In a somewhat
surprising development, Kreider was a key cog in the passing game, gaining two
1st downs on grabs of 15 and 8.� Haynes
got some work at FB and RB.� He drew my
rage when he dropped a screen pass on 3d & 13 early in the 2Q.� A.�
WR:�
Ward led the way with 9 grabs and the clutch TD.� Along with the TD (and a dropped pass earl y
in the 2Q and 2 penalties in the 3Q), Ward may have been at his best when he grabbed
a short pass on 3 & 7 late in the 3Q, and then weaved and slashed his way
for the first down.� Plex, despite
abusing whomever was assigned to cover, was ignored virtually the entire game.� He did have 4 grabs, but could have had 14
if the Stillers had decided to throw to him.�
In fact, despite numerous chances inside the "official" red
zone, as well as just outside the red zone, Burress was thrown to just once,
which resulted in a completion to the one-yard line that set up the short TD to
Breuner. �Matter of fact, in 3 career
games in this particular stadium, Burress seen a grand total of zero passes
thrown to him in the EZ.� El completed 2
passes and caught 3.� Mathis had 1 grab
for 13 yards and a clutch first down.�
A-.�
TE:�
The so-called God of Blocking was flagged for a hold on the
trick-play pass by Ward that was completed to Burress for 32 yards.� Breuner had the 1-yard TD grab.� John Aldred, who has spent more time in the
hot tub than Nolan Harrison, had a chance to contribute, but instead fought off
a well thrown Maddox pass as though he were fighting off a rabid rattlesnake,
resulting in a horrible drop.� Very
piss-poor.� B.�
OL: The O-line was whipped and
outplayed by the Clev. DL for a good bit of this game.� Sure, the line opened the occasional hole
for AZ to dash through for nice yardage, but far too often, Fat O. Roye,
Courtney Brown, and others spent most of the day in the Stiller backfield.� Marvel Smith received numerous whippings,
allowing loads of pressure on his QB.�
He also enraged me in the 4Q on a 2d & 13, when, on a designed
0-step hitch to Ward, Smith failed to ENGAGE C. Brown and instead backpedaled
as ferociously as Jason Gildon facing a running play, thus allowing C. Brown to
get totally unfettered directly in the lane of Maddox's throw, and then stick a
paw up and bat the ball away.� A vet OT
has absolutely got to engage and tussle with the DE on this kind of play, not
backpedal like a complete jackass.� All
in all, a rather disappointing effort from this gang, given the opponent.� C.�
DL:�
The D-line was pretty stout and active all day.� They shut down the running room for what is
admittedly a sub-par Clev. rushing attack.�
They also provided good heat on the QB.�
Smith was as tough as nails and was a man among boys all day.� Bailey, who has stepped up his play after a
somewhat slow start, was active as well.�
Hampton did a superb job of clogging the middle during the Clev. goal
line plunges that got nowhere.� A.
LB:�
Porter, Bell, Farrior, and Haggans were active throughout the game.� Haggans demonized Couch, stripping him late
in the game and also getting several plays with good heat &
harassment.� Watch the long completion
to Morgan in the 2Q, in which Bell simply devastates the living piss out of the
Clev. LG.� Bell also caused an INT by
breaking up a pass with good coverage and good reaction on the ball.� Farrior did a nice job to jam up the run on
the unsuccessful goal-line plunge attempts in the 2Q, and was pretty active and
tough.� Sitting fallow nearly the entire
game was none other than "defensive captain" Jason Gildon, who did
little more than take up space and steal oxygen.� The Big 4:� A.� Gildon: C.��
DB:�
The secondary had an overall decent game, but gave up some big
plays.� DeWayne had a long
afternoon.� He was beaten on the long
63-yard post, although he got absolutely no help at all from either
safety.� He was also beaten on the late
TD to Morgan, in which he had good coverage, but, as is his penchant, failed to
"pick up" the ball and react accordingly.� DW did have a decent INT.�
Brent had a Dong INT off a nice break-up by KenBell.� Townsend had a good stop of Davis on an
early 3 & 10, to hold Davis to just 9, thus forcing the punt.� Hank had a weak-assed tackle attempt on a
dumpoff to White in the 3Q.� Chad was
flagged for a bizarre, poorly thrown PI flag in the EZ.� B.
Spec teams:�
Once again, the Stiller special teams fall flat on their collective
ass.� On the game's first punt,
Northcutt runs untouched 87 yards for the TD, while 8 (eight) Stillers are leveled
on this play.� Absolutely
sickening.� But there was more.� The KO coverage was soft all day.� Poteat failed to haul in the late punt, thus
allowing the ball to roll into the EZ.�
Adding insult to injury, John Feel-all-a dove alongside Poteat for no good
reason, other than to hug and snuggle with the prone Poteat, and the ball was
never "downed".� Peterson
badly shanked a 41-yard FG, but did make 3 of 4 FGs.� Still, the lack of confidence in Peterson by a coach that loves
nothing more than to kick FGs speaks volumes about the confidence this team has
in Pete.� Mayes provided on a nice spark
on the final KO return.� D+.
OC:�
Mularkey, although perhaps handcuffed by Cowher, was overly dull and
conservative aside from the gadget plays.�
I'll go back and count up the pure numbers, but the ratio of pass to run
on 1st down was abominable.� Here's a
defense that has been DECIMATED by injury in the secondary, and Mr. Vanilla,
Mike Mularkey, is playing right into Cleveland's hands by calling run after
run after run after run on 1st down. �(Admittedly, a lot of this may have been ordered by Cowher.)� Ignoring and literally freezing out Plex in
the red zone was stone stupid and inexcusable.�
And that little piss-ant 4-yard curl to El on the late 4th & 9 was
Tampax playcalling at its worst.� On a
positive note, the pitch to El and the follow-on shovel pass to AZ was a very
nice wrinkle that built upon the pitch play that opponents have seen for ages,
and a few of the other gadget plays were good as well.� C.
DC:�
Lewis actually ignored the softee vanilla that he has a rampant fetish
for.� He hounded and harassed Couch
nearly the entire game, and the result was, just as I'd predicted on the
message board, a case where Couch was thoroughly unable to cope.� A-.
HC:�
Judging from the way this team slopped and slathered in the 1Q,
especially in the trenches, it's rather apparent that Cowher allowed this team
to get soft and complacent after the recent whippings over Balt. and Indy.� Why the team wasted a TO on the late 4th
down at the Clev. 45 -- when a 5-yard penalty would actually help punter
Josh Miller -- is typical of the dimbulb management by the NFL's most
intellectually-challenged coach.� To his
credit, the team responded after a sluggish start with some decent football,
but all in all, the slop and carelessness allowed a badly out manned Clev. team
to stay in the hunt.� B.
Synopsis:
�Against a hated, divisional foe like
Cleveland, you relish any win that you can get your hands on, no matter how
ugly or dysfunctional it may have been.�
So it is with this particular game.�
Having said that, I wasn't overly pleased with the slop.� The O-line did too much swimming and
flailing.� The spec teams allowed yet
another long TD.� At least 4 easy passes
were dropped.� Maddox, for no apparent
reason, spent most of the game aiming the ball, rather than zinging it.� The 5-3 Falcons await, and although the
Falcs are hardly worldbeaters, I have vast concerns about a letdown against an
opponent that strikes no fear or hatred from the Black n' Gold.� But, while the Stillers are hopefully
cracking heads and gearing up for the Falcs, we Stiller fans can sit back and
relish the TWO WINS over the Brownies this season!!� Cleveland still sucks, and Pittsburgh stands heads and shoulders
above the rest of the AFC North.���