Stillers vs. Packers Pregame Analysis (Game #8, @ Green Bay)
The 5-2 Stillers travel to Cheesetown to face the struggling
1-6 Packers at hallowed Lambeau Field.�
The Jackers are coming off another tough defeat, this time to Cinci,
while the Stillers escaped an embarrassing home loss to lowly Baltimore with a
late game-winning FG.�
* When the Packers have the ball, they'll be
led by legendary QB Brett Favre.� Favre
has had his share of struggles this season, such as the 5 picks last week and
the 3 in the loss to Tampa.� In the 4 or
5 Jacker games I've seen bits of, Favre has looked entirely beleaguered, as
though he's ready to throw the towel in.�
There's been an avalanche of sympathy for "Poor Brett", and
frankly, I'm about tired of it.� Danny
Marino, for example, played his final 5-6 seasons with jack-shit nothing for
offensive weapons, yet you never saw Marino mope and pout and sob and wallow in
self pity the way Brett Larvae has this season.� Favre is still dangerous, of course, and if he's given eons and
eons of time like Anthony Wright was given in the Stiller-Ravens game on Monday
nite, Larvae can and will pick apart the defense.
At RB, the Pack has been shredded by injury.� Top backs Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport
are both gone for the season.� Former
Golden Domer Tony Fisher has been promoted to the starting chores.� He's not overly big, nor overly fast, and
thus is a vanilla back that presents few problems for the Stiller defense.� He is an adequate back out of the backfield
on short dumps.� William Henderson
serves as a very trusty FB.�
The receiving corps has been crippled by injury as
well.� Rob Ferguson missed last week and
is doubtful Sunday with a knee.�
Youngster Javon Walker is out for the season.�� Donald Driver leads this crew, having already snared 36 passes
for 500+ yards.� The Driver isn't the
biggest or fastest WR around, but similar to Derrick Mason last week, the
former Alcorn Stater just gets it done.�
Opposite The Driver will be former Niner Antonio Chatman, a shrimpy lil'
receiver that was promoted in week 2 after Walker was shelved.� The cupboard is bare after the starters,
with The Taco, Taco Wallace, and presumably The Burrito, Andrae Thurman,
serving as undistinguished backups.�
TE is solidly filled by Bubba Franks.� Big Bubba is a load, and presents a mismatch
problem against virtually every DB and a good many LBs.�
The O-Line is average.�
Old Packer warhorse Mike Flanagan mans the center spot.� He missed 2 starts last month with a hernia,
but is relatively healthy.� Former
Patsie Adrian Klemm is the most capable starter, giving them a guard decent
enough to pull yet sturdy enough in pass pro.��
Chad Clifton is a decent LT.� The
right side of the line is atrocious.�
Will Whittaker is a massive RG, although he's terribly slow and plodding
in his lateral movement.� Mark Tauscher
is an exceptionally mediocre RT, which is what you typically get in the 7th
round of the draft.���
The Stillers had enormous problems last week, getting
shredded by pitiful journeyman Anthony Wright.�
Aside from backup safety Mike Logan being out, this defense is entirely
healthy, which is remarkable at this point of the season relative to the rest
of the league.� A primary concern is in
the LB corps, of which this entire defense is built around for big plays, yet
hasn't made a big play in weeks.��
The key matchup will be pressure by the front 7
against the Packer O-line.� This Jacker
rushing offense, ranked 30th in the NFL, just doesn't have the muscle power and
dash to run the ball effectively against the Stillers.� The Stillers have gotten some pass pressure
on occasion with SS Troy Pola and CBs D. Townsend and Ike Taylor, but Brett
Larvae ain't David Carr.� The Packer
O-line is ripe for some leakage, and as we've seen in 2005, once Larvae takes a
few pops in the mouth, he gets disgusted and starts to mope.�
* When the Stillers have the ball, they'll
be without their leader and starting QB, Benji Roethlisberger, who had arthro
surgery on his knee on Thursday and is out for this game.� In his place will be veteran Charlie Batch,
which is a sign of relief for Stillers fans, who are still seething over Mommy
Maddox's plethora of freebie giveaways in the loss to Jax 3 weeks ago.�
At RB, veteran doughboy Jerome Bettis is doubtful, which
means Duce Staley will finally be allowed to dress again.� There's no word yet as to if Staley will
finally get his first touch of the year, or if he'll simply stand on the
sideline like he did several weeks ago.�
The Packer defense is so-so; middle-o-the-pack.� The front 4 consists of Aaron Kampman and
the ever-dangerous KGB at the DE.�
Former Raider/Saint Grady Jackson anchors the middle, along with the
weak link of this front 4, Cullen Jenkins.�
KGB is a threat with his electric pass rushing skills, but he can be
bullied about in the running game.�
MLB Nick Barnett leads the LB corps.� The former 1st rounder from Oregon St. is
extremely active and can run sideline to sideline.� Nick The Quick is entirely undersized, however, for the rigors of
MLB, and can be worn down as a game goes on.�
Former Buckeye Na'il Diggs and former St. Lou Ram Bob Thomas flank
Barnett, and both are banged up and listed as questionable going into this
game.� Diggs and Tommy are also on the
smallish side and are susceptible to having the ball jammed down their
throats.�
The secondary is a hard-hitting crew, though they fall a
small bit below the median in passing defense.�
Last year's 1st rounder Ahmad Carroll mans a CB spot, with veteran and
secondary leader Al Harris working the opposite spot.� Harris has been hobbled, but is expected to play.� Carroll possesses all the tools that you
want from a CB, but his instincts are subpar and all too often he gets in
trouble with poor angles, lousy anticipation, &/or hasty decisions.� Former Bungal Mark Roman starts at SS, with
rookie 2nd rounder Nick Collins, who has started since game 1, starting at
FS.� Behind the starting DBs, the
Jackers are woefully thin and desperately short of talent.�
The key matchup will be the Stiller ground game
against the Packer defense.� With Batch
as rusty as an exposed nail on an old fishing dock, the Stillers will rely on
their veteran O-line to grind the ball and grind the clock.� There is softness on the Packer front 7, and
the Stillers must pound Parker and Staley and get some modicum of success on
the ground.� This doesn't mean the
Stillers need to go Neanderthal, as they will have to put the ball in the air,
much to Billy Cowher's chagrin.�
* Special Teams: �Veteran Ryan Longwell handles the kicking chores, with BJ Sander
handling the punting.� Chatman handles the
PR chores, with ReShard Lee handling the KO return work.�
Key Individual Matchups:
* LT Marvel Smith vs. DE KGB.� Smith should have his way with The KGB on running plays.� The concern is on passing downs, where Smith
is protecting Batch's blind side and a whipping by KGB could result in a costly
turnover.�
*� WR Hines Ward vs.
CB Al Harris.� I expect this to be a
physical matchup, both on running plays when Ward is blocking, as well as on
passing plays with Ward collecting some short curls and slants.�
* SS Troy Polamalu vs. CB Al Harris.�� Hopefully these 2 will get into a
hockey-style fight, resulting in each pulling the hair out of the other's
head.� Both are idiots for playing
football with hippie hairdos.�
* CB Ike Taylor or DeShea Townsend vs. WR Donald The
Driver.� The coverage last week versus
Balt. was soft and spotty.� Favre is a
gunslinger and considerably more dangerous a passer than Anthony Wright.��
* Synopsis: This could have been a trap game,
going to Labeau amidst the hard-core Green Bay fans and stumbling to a Packer
team that is easy to overlook.� However,
the Ravens gave the Stillers a rude wakeup call this past Monday night, and I
don't think Cowhard and this veteran group of players will allow this team to
take the Jackers too lightly.� The
Stillers will prevail after a stiff 1st half challenge, 23-15.�