Stillers 24, Chargers 22 ���. Oct. 10, 2005 ����Game
#4
Stillers-Chargers Postgame
Analysis and Grades
(Due to the
late nature of MNF, this will be a somewhat abbreviated version of my usual
postgame analysis.)� The Stillers roared
out to a 14-0 lead, then watched the Bolts whittle the lead away and then take
the lead in the 4Q.� But Benji and
company coolly marched down for the game-winning FG with 4 seconds remaining,
giving the Stillers a thrilling 24-22 victory.�
Grades:
QB:�
Roth had a pretty solid game.� He
showed good toughness by plowing into the EZ for the 1H TD.� He got away with a couple shoulda-been INTs,
with Jammer jamming the ball away at the goal line on what should have been an
easy pick in the 2Q, and Goddfrey unable to corral his own tip of a pass on the
1st play of the 3Q.� Both scoring drives
late in the 4Q were superbly led by Roth, who completed his final pass to El to
set up the easy FG.� However, Roth was
hit on the left knee on the play, and hobbled off the field.� Depending on the extent of the injury, this
might have been an incredibly expensive victory.�� A-.
RB:�
Parker got the start and had minimal success on the ground, though he
had a nice 14-yard burst and a 14 yard reception.� The Big Bellyback, Jerome Bettis, gradually got work in the 1H
and then got near-exclusive work in the 2H.�
As he is quite capable of in the regular season, he responded with a
very solid outing, continually bulling and plowing for extra yardage.� He also rumbled and leaped for 16 yards on a
screen pass.� Staley did not dress.� A.�
FB: Kreider ran a plunge for 2
yards.� More importantly, he pancaked a
defender on the final 3rd & 1 Bettis plunge late in the 4Q, enabling Bus to
gain an easy 4 yards.� A-.
WR:�
Ward, hobbled slightly by the hammy, warmed up as the game went on and
tortured the Bolt defense.� He finished
with 6 grabs for 83 yards, though he was jobbed out of a long TD when he
alertly got up after a diving catch and ran and rumbled into the EZ.�� (The Bolts challenged the play and it was
reversed.)� El chipped in with 3 for 50,
and Wilson had a terrific catch on a 22-yard seamer.� The down note was Quincy Morgan, who was wide open along the
sideline on an up route and dropped a perfectly thrown ball that hit him, in
stride, right in the bread basket.� Very
poor, and very disappointing.� A.�
TE:�
My bye week prayers were answered!��
Whisenhunt discovered that he has a skilled TE that, unlike Mark
Bruener, doesn't have lead in his shoes!�
Miller had 4 grabs for 36 yards, including a huge, 16-yard TD in the 4Q
and a nice pluck on an out in the 4Q.�
He did drop a short out in the 2Q, but 4 catches by a Stiller TD in 1
game hasn't happened since Bilbo Clinton was in his 1st term.� Jerame Tuman had a pitiful play late in the
1Q, foolishly helping Starks on an inside rusher while the outside man -- the
man lined up right in front of Tuman's face -- came in untouched and stripped
Ben of the ball for a key fumble.� Tuman
was also flagged for a hold.�� Miller =
A.�� Tuman = D.�
OL: After last week's stencharoo, the
line had nowhere to go but up.� The play
was improved somewhat, but still not up to championship caliber.� Simmons got abused by Williams on a Parker
run in the 1Q, resulting in a 3-yard loss.�
MaxiPad Starks looked like #78 Pis Conrad, twice getting abused in the
3Q, once on a 3rd & 9 and another time on a 3rd & 7, both resulting in
drive-stopping smacks on the QB.� San
Diego realized that you don't have to wrestle with Starks near the LOS; rather,
you merely use a speed rusher to rush upfield and turn the corner before the
bootfooted Starks can cut him off at the pass.�
Starks was also flagged for a FS.�
Ben Roth can thank Al Faneca -- the vaunted, he-man "All Pro"
-- for his knee injury, as it was Faneca that got shoved back onto his ass by rookie
Luis Castillo, who then crawled and lunged at Ben and unintentionally hit the
QB's knee as he was releasing the pass.�
Hartings was flagged for a hold that negated an 11-yard Bettis run.� C.�
DL:�
An ok evening.� Kimo actually created
the Porter sack early in the game, busting in and belting Brees, with Porter
picking up the garbage.� Hampton created
a 4-yard loss, blowing the center so badly off the ball that the center's feet
entangled with Brees, thereby ruining the QB's ability to make the handoff to
the RB.� Smith put a punishing hit on LT
on a 2H plunge.� LT was held to a meager
62 yards rushing, and the line deserves some accolades.� B+.��
LB:�
Leading the way was backup Jamie Harrison, who started in place of
injured Clark Haggans.� Harrison had a
good 2Q INT, and then showed great athleticism by vaulting over LT en route to
a 25-yard INT return.� Harrison also had
a nice stick and wrap of LT on the last play of the 1Q, snaring the dangerous
RB on a screen for a 1-yard loss.� Joey
Porter was a bit more active than his Casper the Ghost routine from 2 weeks
ago, but was hardly dominating.� He got
juked badly on a reverse boot by Brees, which allowed Brees to loft a 16-yard
completion to Gates.� On a couple pass
plays, he was close, but unable to break up passes that were completed for key
yardage.� Farrior had a much better game
than 2 weeks ago, though he whiffed weakly on a valve dump to Gates that netted
20 yards.� Larry Slow-a-Foote had
another quiet game, including a pitifully poor angle on the 3rd & 1 LT
plunge just before the late SD TD.�
Foote also flailed at LT on the 41-yard flare pass early in the 4Q.� Frazier saw some work at OLB.� B+.�
DB:�
A decent evening.� Ike had a near
INT in the 1Q, and had a big stop of Parker 1-yard shy of the 1st down on a 3d
& 9 late in the 4Q.� He was a bit
too soft and shy on the Gates TD, as he has got to make the read much quicker
and then bolt into position to either bust up the pass or jar the ball
loose.� Williams was tooled by Parker on
a wobbly, weak 3d & 9 pass, good for 18 yards.� He partially atoned soon thereafter, seemingly getting a paw in
on Gates on a deep slant in the EZ.�
Pola was incredibly active, supporting the run as well as chasing down
Gates.� He did take a foolish
unnecessary roughness flag in the 3Q.�
Hope was flagged for a 15-yard masking penalty on a RAC tackle.� B.�
Spec
teams:� A spotty evening.� The game started poorly enough, with Kriewaldt getting flagged on
the opening KO for holding.� Logie was
flagged for holding on a PR, and Frazier was whistled for an illegal formation
on a punt.� Iwuoma made a heady,
spectacular play to catch/recover a long bobble by Sproles on a fair catch
attempt, only to be flagged 15 yards for fair catch interference.� Gardocki punted well, and Reed, Mr. Money,
nailed the 40-yarder to win the game.�
The KOs by Reed were ok, though a couple of them were low liners that
had no hang time at all.� Sean Morey had
a strong effort and stop in coverage on the 2H kickoff.� Morgan and Wilson gave the Stillers good FP
with KO returns.� The KO coverage was a
bit shabby and must be fine tuned.�
B-.�
OC:�
As noted above, Whisenhunt -- a former TE, no less -- finally discovered
that he has a talented, capable, pass-catching TE on the roster. �I liked the 3rd & 5 SG draw from the SD
7, which resulted in the Ben TD run.�
What I hated was the 3d & 2 SG formation on the 2nd drive, which
ended with an inc pass to Wilson.� Here
you have a power running team that constantly harps about the bravado and macho
pride of running the football.� Why,
then, on 3rd & 2, do you line up in the shitgun formation??� If you want to throw on 3rd & 2, fine --
line up with the QB under center and force the defense to collapse on the line
plunge.� B+.
DC:�
LeBeau's defense did a good job of limiting the dangerous SD
offense.� He got burned by a Farrior
blitz early in the 4Q, which allowed LT to take a designed, quick flare and
dash 41 yards.� Before I forget, a quick
reminder to Ted "The Meathead" Bouchette, who prattled on and on in
the PG about the supposedly relative unimportance of a RB in the passing
game.� 3 or 4 of the quick flares to LT
were designed plays, not merely valve dumpoffs, and the guy finished with 7
grabs for 68 yards.� Any time you can get
the ball into a dangerous homerun hitter like LT, you do it, regardless of how
much psycho babble downplaying might be done by his own QB (Drew Brees).� B+.�
HC:� Typical of
the regular season climate, Bilbo made some adjustments during the bye week that
helped.� The team overcame some injuries
and responded with a hardnosed, tough, all-around team effort.� The Stillers matched the Diego intensity
throughout the game.� The downer was the
excessive number of penalties -- 13 in all -- which is far too many for an
experienced, veteran-laden team.�
B+.�
Synopsis:�
A real barnburner of a game and a big road win against a solid AFC
contender.� Next week, some home cookin'
against the Jaguars.� The Stillers
should be 4-1 before traveling to Cinci for a huge divisional game.�