Stillers vs. Chargers Pregame Analysis (Game #4, @ SD)
The 2-1 Stillers travel to the left coast to face the 2-2 SD
Chargers, owners of a 2-game winning streak.�
Each team is coming off a meeting against the world-champ Patriots; the Stillers
lost their tilt to the Pats while the Chargers gave the Pats a full-scale
beatdown up in Beantown last week.� For
an extremely thorough, astute pregame analysis, be sure to examine Steel Phantom's pregame
preview.�
�
* When the Bolts have the ball, they'll bring
an offense that is brimming with confidence and efficiency.� Drew Brees runs the show at QB, while Phil
Rivers sit and learns.� Brees, of
course, is much more than a worthless caretaker in the, say, Mike Tomczak
mode.� He's had a sterling season thus
far -- the SD offense was 6th in the NFL going into this weekend -- and seemed
very confident in leading his team in the win over NE.��
At RB, the Bolts possess the guy who may be the best all
around back in the NFL, LT.� He is, by
far, the most dangerous, capable all-around back the Stillers have faced this
year.� LT can both tote the ball as well
as catch it with equal aplomb.� Mike
Turner and Darren Sproles serve as backups to the great LT.� Zo Neal serves as a very capable FB.���
At WR, the Bolts start former Niner Eric Parker and the ageless Keenan
McCardell.� At 35, McCardell is still
going strong.� Never a burner, he's as
wily and clever as they come, and he's faced the Stiller umpteen times over the
years.�� Reche Caldwell adds some danger
to the passing attack as the third receiver.�
At TE, of course, is the incomparable Antonio Gates, who has
very few peers in the TE business.� The
former Kent Stater is having a dominating season, with a huge game last week
against NE.� Many a folk look at the
Chargers as a .500 team, but remember, the Chargers, in a fit of cutting off
their noses to spite their face, forced Gates to sit out in week 1 as a result
of the preseason contract squabble.� So
Gates, who routinely snares 6 passes for 90-100 yards, sat, while his backup,
Justin Peelle, had a phenomenal day, grabbing 2 passes for minus-4 yards.� Thus, it's safe to say that Gates could have
easily been a difference in the 4-point loss to the Cryboys that day.
The SD O-line is a motley collection of castoffs and
low-profilers, but collectively they get the job done in a solid manner.� Former Buc Roman Oben and former Bungal Mike
Goff lead the crew.� Former Boilermaker
Nick Hardwick mans the center spot, and last year's 7th round pick Shane Olivea
mans the RT spot.�
The key matchup will be Antonio Gates versus James
Farrior or Troy Pola.� Gates gave the
Pats fits last week, and his size and athleticism gives any defender a headache.� The Stillers have enjoyed using Pola as a
freestyle bandit, freelancing all over the field to either harass, disrupt, or
disguise.� Now, however, LeBeau faces
the dilemma of slowing down Gates, which might mean more vanilla for Pola.�� James Farrior has been and is regarded as
the "Winged God of LB coverage", although he's given only marginal
evidence of such and is coming off what was his worst performance ever as a
Pittsburgh Stiller.�
LT is another concern, especially in the passing game.� Drew Brees put on a brave face and
downplayed LT's 100 receptions from a couple years ago, but that's just pure
bullshit.� LT gives Brees and the Bolts
an awesome weapon out of the backfield, scorching the Pats last week at 11 yards
per grab and snaring 6 passes the week prior against the NYG.� The Stillers took extreme abuse 2 weeks ago
from short dumpoffs to Dillon, Faulk, and even Pass, none of whom is even
remotely the receiver and RAC runner that LT is.�
* When the Stillers have the ball, Benji
Roethlisberger assumes the helm after 1 of his shoddiest games in his short NFL
career.� Both Staley and Bettis are
presumably healthy, although there have been rumblings that perhaps Staley will
sit this contest out, which is odd considering he was healthy enough to play versus
NE.�
The Bolts run the 3-4 as their base, with mammoth Jamal
Williams manning the NT spot.� He's
similar to Fat Casey Hampton; pudgy, highly capable, and difficult to
move.� SD's D-line is rounded out with a
rich international flavor, with Igor Olshansky and Jacques Cesaire flanking Fat
Jamal, and rookie first rounder Luis Castillo, not to be confused with the MLB
Marlins 2B-man, serving as a capable backup and platooner who is being groomed
for more work.�
The LB corps is experienced and capable.� Veterans acquired from other teams comprise
most of this unit, with Steve Foley, Donnie Edwards, and Randall Godfrey
starting for the Bolts.� Former Kansas
Stater Ben Leber is the lone homegrown starter, serving as the LOLB.� Rookie 1st rounder Shawne Merriman has been
a quiet non-factor thus far for the Bolts.�
SD has invested heavily in the draft on its secondary, with
mixed results.� Jammer, Keil, and
Florence were all day 1 picks, although none is to be confused with Ronnie Lott
or Rod Woodson.� Bhawoh Jue, a Packer
castoff, starts at FS, and we've all seen enough comedy of errors over the past
6-7 years from the GB secondary to burst out with laughter over a Packer DB
finding meaningful work in the NFL.�
Injury plagued Sammy Davis, as well as Clinton Hart, gets some work on
passing downs.�
�
The key matchup will be the Stiller ground game
against the Bolt front 7.� The Stillers
O-line smelled out Heinz Field last week with a horrific, embarrassing effort
that imitated the Sieve of Eratosthenes.�
The Chargers did a sound job of shutting down Dillon last week, though
the Bolts were able to collectively force the Pats to abandon the ground
game.� The Bolts have shown some
malleability to the run, and the best way to contain Brees, Gates, and LT is to
chew the clock and keep them sitting impatiently on the bench.�� Related to this is, of course, the use of
RBs on RUNNING downs as pass catcher on quick, short flips in the flat or in
the soft middle of the field.�
Whisenhunt and Cowhard have had 2 weeks to extract head from ass and see
the obvious mismatch of Willie Parker against a 1st down defense that is
expecting the line plunge.�
* Special Teams: �Sproles handles the bulk of the PR and KOR chores.� He's not shabby, either.� Nate Keading does the PK work, while Mike
Scifres does the punting chores.�
Overall, this is one of those rare contests where the Stillers have a
nice advantage on spec teams over their opponent.��
Key Individual Matchups:
* OLB Joey Porter vs. LT Roman Oben.� The Roman isn't a Boselli at LT, but he's
solid.� Porter hasn't done jack shit
this season, at all.� He needs to limit
LT's running to the left side, as well as provide heat and harassment on Brees'
blind side.
* C Jeff Hartings vs. Jamal Williams.� This will be Hartings sternest test to
date.� He'd better come to this tilt
with a game face on.�
* Marty Sr. against his son, Billy Cowher.� It's always strange and interesting in
sports, any time a son goes up against his father.� And so here we get this unique matchup -- Shittenhimer versus
Cowhard, two of the very biggest playoff chokers and floppers in NFL
history.� Were this a playoff game, the
NFL would have to dictate that each sideline be manned by a fully equipped EMT
team, lest 1 or even both of these coaches gags, chokes, or self-asphyxiates during
the game.� �
* Synopsis: An incredibly interesting game
with a dozen subplots and a variety of momentum and beneficial factors.� The Bolts are sky high after the whipping in
Boston, and playing their first MNF game at home in eons, they and their fans
will be fired up and intense.� The
Stillers smarted some from the loss to NE, but the bye week gave them time to
nurse some injuries, adjust some schemes, and pent up their frustration and
anger for this Chargers tilt.� This is
an out-of-the-box idea, but I'm banking on the time created by the bye week
gave the Stillers coaching staff the requisite time to make adjustments on both
sides of the ball; notably, getting the RBs and TE involved in the passing
game, and shutting down the opponents' RBs in the passing game and getting pass
pressure from the front 7.� The
adjustments, assuming they happen, will help the Stillers, always fired up and
motivated on MNF, prevail in a barnburner of a game, 27-23.�