Loose Slag from the Still Mill�.
- Said WR T. Mathis Plus, "You
can't help but catch it (Maddox�s passes). It has great rotation. If you watch
the game, he only threw one ball that had a flutter in it the whole
day."� I reviewed the tape, and
observed numerous fluttery passes by Maddox.�
Had duckhunters been allowed inside the SuperDome, shotguns would have
been blasting away throughout the game.�
As I stated before, this was Tommy's first start in a decade, so I'm
willing to give slack...but unlike the Pittsburgh media, I've still got to
assess and report on facts, not babble.
- This
was the first NFL game on turf we've seen from El, and frankly I was slightly
disappointed.� Not that El was slouchy
or clumsy, but on turf I expected to see more jitterbug-type moves.� His moves were minimal and so was his RAC
yardage.� Ditto for his KO & PR
work.� The nice punt return in the 4Q
was actually the result of north-south running, not any jukes or cuts.
- How
'bout that onsides kickoff attempt??�
One of the sorriest, worst schemed, worst executed onsides attempt
you'll see in today's NFL.� For
starters, the Stillers employ this absurd formation in which Tuman stands with
his back to the opponent, at the 30-yard line.�
His job is presumably to signal his mates in order to avoid offsides and
to ensure good "just in time" timing of the recovery team as they
rush downfield from the 30-yard line just as the ball is booted.� Of course, what this does is REMOVE a scarce
resource from having ANY chance to recover a loose ball.�� You've basically removed about 10% of your
available "recovery resources" just to have a "traffic cop"
to keep professional players from going offsides.� I might be able to live with the rationale of the utility of
Tuman serving as "traffic cop", in order to ensure good timing of the
rest of the KO team.� However, that is
clearly not the case.� When Pete's foot
struck the ball, the rest of the team was a good 2-1/2 yards BEHIND the
30-yard line. �Not good timing
whatsoever...and a good reason why the Saints' player made an easy, unfettered
grab without a Steeler player within 8 feet of him.�
- Perhaps the truly saddest stat
related to this club�s softee defense: with only five takeaways, the Stillers
are next-to-last in the league to the Bengals. �This is what happens when you play a flaccid, passive style of
defense that does nothing to disrupt an opponent�s decision cycle, mechanics,
or comfort zone.�� This is what happens
when you put zero harassment on opposing QBs.�
And this is what happens when you�re supposed �defensive captain� spends
the entire game doing nothing more than groping and pawing at opposing players,
and doing nothing to attack and LEAD BY EXAMPLE with physical play.� If the Stillers have any hope of getting
back to being a playoff caliber team, they absolutely must improve in this
takeaway area.
- Speaking of Jason The Gimcrack, The GilDong Report will be released later today.�� No surprise, but Jason had yet another pitiful game in which he sat fallow the entire day.
- Amusing
to me how many writers and fans are now, finally, realizing the value of
what Earl Holmes brought to the table.� Holmes
brought a brand of toughness, madness, mayhem, nastiness, and fierceness, and
the rest of the defense FED off it.��
Farrior has had some steady play, but not as much fire, although that
could gradually emerge.� The defensive
captain, Jason Gildon, has no fire or nastiness, and hence he does nothing to
promulgate and lead that sort of collective mentality.� As this writer, and this writer alone,
proposed this past spring, the Stillers could have very easily KEPT Holmes;
allowed Gildong to depart; and signed Farrior - a natural OLB -- to play
OLB.�� Farrior is, by far, a better
coverage LB and run-stuffer than Jason the Gimcrack, and as we�ve seen thus
far, Farrior can rush the passer just as well as the Titan of Tittyfighting,
Jason GilDong.�