Stillers 37, Carolina 3 ���. Dec. 17, 2006 ����Game #14
Stillers-Panthers Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers visited Carolina and gave the Panthers an old fashioned asswhipping, en route to a 37-3 drubbing of the toothless Panthers.
Grades:
QB: Ben had a fairly quiet afternoon, and with the large lead and the ground game clicking well, he wasn't asked to do all that much. He started slowly and the whole offense bogged down early on. On the 1st series, his indecisiveness with plenty of time caused a cover sack on a delayed blitz by Gamble. Soon later, he threw a bizarre, risky, off-balance flutter-ball that was nearly picked off. He had Holmes wide open on a flag late in the 1Q, but threw the pass too high and long. Ben settled down, though, and got the ball moving in the 2Q and beyond. His best play was a 3rd & 4 in the 3Q, where he eluded Peppers and then stepped up and hit Miller for a huge 20-yard gain. Batch came in during the 4Q and performed mop-up work. B-
RB: Parker picked up where he left off last week, dashing through and around the vaunted Carolina defense for 132 yards on 23 carries. He had nice runs of 9 and 21 yards in the 1H, and then ripped off a 41-yard TD late in the 3Q. Davenport provided some nice work as a pass-catcher. He grabbed a screen on 3d & 12 and weaved and grinded for 18 yards in the 1Q. In the 2Q, he took another screen and had a nice read & cut, en route to a 13-yard TD play. Daven enraged me with his upright running -- long a problem of his -- on the 3rd & 1 plunge in the 2Q. Running upright is stupid enough, but doing it when you need only 1 yard and that yard can be gained by simply burrowing down low, is maddening. Kuhn got some work in garbage time and had a grab for 15 yards and a plunge for 2. A+
FB: Kreider didn't see a plethora of work, despite the ample number of ground plays. He dropped a flare pass on the game's 1st play. Inc.
WR: Ward returned for his short knee-surgery layoff and had a solid game, grabbing 4 passes for 59 yards. He made an outstanding grab on 3rd & 4 in the 1Q, snaring a tough ball and getting both feet in on a 9-yard out. Ward had a semi-drop on a deep ball in the 3Q, on a pass that was a wee bit long and just off his fingertips.
Holmes continued his assumption of starting chores and the feel for the game. He had 3 grabs for only 25 yards, but the stats are deceptive. He dropped no passes, which is progress. More importantly, his RAC work, which has been getting better as the season move on, was impressive. He nearly had a TD on a 3d & goal slant in the 2Q, bouncing off a hard hit by a LB and then lunging for the GL. He had another near TD in the 4Q, again lunging for the GL but running out of room by the sideline. On 3d & 9 in the 3Q, he grabbed a short slant and then literally dragged Lucas 3 yards for a key 10-yard gain.
Cedric Wilson returned to limited action and had an odd stat line: He caught no passes, but did complete a pass to Ward for 21 yards on a nice, rifled pass off an end around. Nate had just 1 pass thrown to him, good for 14 yards. A-
TE: Miller had 2 grabs for 25 yards, including the big 20-yarder that spurred a 3Q drive. He threw a key block on the long Parker TD run. A
OL: The line held off the ferocious pass rush of Carolina pretty well. Benji was given decent time in the pocket and the run blocking was strong. Starks more than held his own against Peppers. Marvel Smith got totally abused by Rucker on 3rd & 2 in the 1Q, causing a brutal blindside sack. Faneca got whipped on the 1st Stiller play of the 3Q, causing a 1-yard Parker loss. A few plays later, he got thoroughly whipped by Peppers, and fortunately Ben was able to elude The Pepper and hit Miller for the big gainer. Faneca did redeem himself later in the 3Q, pulling slightly to his left and sealing off the hole that sprung Parker for the 41-yard TD jaunt. A
DL: The D-line simply ravaged and pillaged the Carolina O-line the entire day. Smith and Keisel seemed to have twin brothers out there on every snap, as they constantly were jamming runs or harassing the QB. Hampton was stout in the middle. Bailey and Kirschke provided some relief. A+
LB: The LB corps had a solid game. Much of their work was made easy by the stellar play of the line, as well as the comfy lead.
Farrior led the way with 7 solos. Foote was active and made 2 critical 3rd down stops in the 1Q to set the tone. He stopped Foster on a dumpoff on 3rd & 2. Then, he stopped Hoover on 3d & 9 a yard short of the sticks. Haggans had a strong effort to surge after Weinke and drop him with Keisel's help.
At the bottom of the stat sheet was none other than Joey Porter, who did jack shit nothing the entire afternoon. Supposedly "the most feared man in the NFL," PorterPotty a complete zero, doing nothing at all. He had 1 solo the entire day, that on a Foster plunge in the 1Q in which Tony Smith attacked the backfield and delivered a lick to Foster, who spun off and stumbled forward. Big Joey was there to collect the slop on a weak-assed "solo tackle". That was it. There was no harassment, no hitting, no tenacity, no nothing. The most hilarious play of the game was in the game's 1st series, in which Foster was tossed a 1-man screen (only 1 blocker). With the play right in FRONT of him, Big Joey could have made the play, but instead, the PorterPotty meekly knelt down and waved at Foster like a complete puss. Foster got 8 yards while PorterPotty knelt like a terrified monk in prayer. Late in the 2Q, Weinke released a pitiful pass that hit Big Joey directly in the chest, between the two 5's on his jersey, but The PottyBoy dropped the INT like a complete fag. Will the NFL fine Big Joey if he correctly refers to himself as a fag ? The Big 3: A-. Joey PorterPotty: F
DB: With the comfy lead and the atrocious QBing of Weinke, this crew wasn't tested that much. Yes, they shut down Smith, limiting him to 5 grabs for 56 yards. But, this was made possible by a weak Carolina WR corps that allowed the Stillers to either double Smith or shade coverage his way. McFadd provided some decent coverage on Smith, and if nothing else, it was a good acid test and experience for him to work against such a capable WR. Towsend had some solid plays, although he was stiff-armed after Tony Smith got trucked by Foster, resulting in a 29-yard gain. Carter started at SS and was quiet.
Tony Smith chipped in some, although he got trucked, as noted above, on the long Foster run. He made a sterling, 1-handed INT in the 4Q. On the INT return, Smith inexplicably started doing this asinine, Deion-like high step, as well as holding the ball to his "ear" as though it were a transistor radio. Worse, he could have gained far more yardage, but was content to high step out of bounds. Smith was immediately greeted by an outraged Dick LeBeau, who, I'm sure, couldn't believe his very eyes. Even Billy Cowher got into the act and came over to scold the rookie.
Ike had a solid INT on a lob in the EZ in the 4Q. B+
Spec teams: A rare, decent day by the spec teams. The coverage was decent. The return teams didn't give the ball back to Carolina, although Holmes initially did fumble a punt away, only to have a Troy Edwards-like penalty by Carolina for running OOB nullify the fumble. On the ensuing punt, Holmes calmly took the ball up the middle and then sauntered by the Carolina coverage for a 65-yard TD. Jamie Harrison bolted in to block a punt late in the 2Q, the first Stiller punt block since the whipping at the hands of Oakland in week 2 of the 2002 season. Daven and Harrison combined on a solid stop at the 17 on KO coverage in the 3Q. Chidi had a nice stop on punt coverage. Reed was 3 for 3 on FGs. Scoring a TD; blocking a punt; and not committing any turnovers or penalties; has to be a Stiller special teams accomplishment that hasn't occurred in at least 15 years. A+
OC: Whisenhunt had a solid game plan and kept at it despite a woeful 1Q. A
DC: Dick lives a charmed life. After successive weeks of facing greenhorns like rookie Gradkowski and 2nd year man Anderson that didn't throw a single pass as a rookie, Dick got to face Chris Steinke, who stinks worse than just about any other veteran QB in the league. Hell, the fortuitous streak may continue next week if Boller starts for Balt. I wasn't that pleased with the Softee Defense at the end of the 1H, which allowed Carolina -- which hadn't dick jack dick the entire half -- to easily march down the field for a chippie FG. Dick's asschewing of Tony Smith was a sight to see and incredibly enjoyable to watch. B.
HC: Cowhard held on for another day with a win over the slumping Panthers. Being the Carolina boy and Carolina lover that he is, he probably enjoyed being there in Charlotte. It would've been hilarious if the team charter had left him there. B
Synopsis: A solid whipping on the road against a half-decent opponent, which is something the Stillers had not done this season. Of course, with how far Carolina has sagged, it's not as though the Stillers knocked off the Bears or Chargers. Still, they kept their faint playoff hopes alive, although Denver and the NY Jest both won, which makes the odds even longer for a playoff spot. The Stillers host the hated RatBirds next week in what should be a punishing, hard-hitting affair and is obviously a must-win for the Stillers to have any hopes of making the playoffs.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close�.)