Stillers 34, Titans 7 ���. Sep 11, 2005 ����Game #1
Stillers-Titans Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers gave up a TD march after the opening kickoff, but then roared back with
6 consecutive scoring drives, giving the Titans a rude 34-7 thrashing at Heinz
Field.�
Grades:
QB:�
Benji shook off his preseason doldrums and responded with his best game
since last December, completing a near-flawless 9 of 11 for 218 yards and 2 TDs.� He was quite adroit back in the pocket,
eluding pressure and completing a few passes with great accuracy while on the
run.� He also completed a 63-yard TD
bomb to Randle El.� Ironically enough,
this was one of his worst passes of the day, thrown entirely off his back foot
and woefully short, but El adjust well and Tank Williams stumbled onto the
ground, enabling the easy score.� It's
easy to play QB when your ground game is churning out yards at will and when the
opposing offense is bumbling about, but Roth had a very good day and showed
considerable maturity, presence, and composure.� A.�
RB:�
Willie Parker got the start, and Bilbo Cowher and a vast majority of
Steeler fans trembled in fear at the thought of a starting RB that weighed in
at less than 230 pounds.� All Parker did
was run like a thoroughbred racehorse, giving the offense the speed and dash
not seen in 10 years.� Parker ran for
161 yards on just 22 carries, and also chipped in with 1 catch for 48
yards.� Parker did everything you want
in a RB -- reading, cutting, twisting, churning, bulling, and sprinting for
yardage.� His 48-yard reception was a
beauty, as he caught a short screen and then sped like a demon past the Titan
defense.� His 11-yard TD was on a superb
effort in which he pinballed off 2 defenders and into the EZ.� It's almost laughable to think that, had
Doughboy Bettis been healthy, Parker would have had 2-3 token carries for 10-12
yards.� Haynes got a fair amount of
work, mostly in mop-up relief. To his credit, he actually ran the ball better
than his sluggish preseason, and he did an absolutely outstanding job picking
up the blitz on the TD pass to Miller.�
Herron got some carries in garbage time.� Bettis stood on the sidelines in street clothes, wearing this
ridiculous, enormous 4X t-shirt that would have fit Roseanne Barr or Tony
Siragusa.� Thousands of people in New
Orleans have been seeking shelter, and here they could have simply borrowed Big
Jerome's t-shirt and huddled underneath it.��
A+.�
FB: Kreider led the way for several
good gainers by Parker.� He also
pancaked a defender (with some slight help from a Stiller O-lineman) on the
Haynes TD run.� A.�
WR:�
Ward helped get the tempo going early with 2 grabs on the 1st drive, and
then Wilson came on with a couple grabs.�
Wilson made a terrific grab on an early 3d & 8, grabbing the slant
despite smothering coverage from the DB.�
Randle El made a nice adjustment on the deep ball for the TD, and
finished with 2 grabs for 89 yards, plus 1 carry for 6.� Newly acquired Q. Morgan got into the game
for a few plays, but had no balls thrown his way.� A.�
TE:�
Heath Miller had just 1 ball thrown his way, but he made the most of it
by securing the 3-yard TD pass on the Stillers' opening drive.� Tuman helped get things going late in the
2Q, gaining 27 yards on a catch & run.�
The blocking was solid.� A.�
OL: The O-line had a good day.� The pass protection was very good, and the
run blocking gashed open some nice holes in the Titan front 7.� Even Kendall Simmons had a decent day, holding
his blocks on several occasions in a surprisingly good manner.� The worst single play was probably made by
Al Faneca in the 1Q, in which he got brutally whipped by Claus on a 3d & 6
QB draw, which resulted in an easy stop (for a loss) by the Titties.� Smith was also flagged for a leg whip.� Smith tweaked his leg during the game but
apparently is fine and won't have any problems playing next week.� Willie Parker should enjoy the notoriety of
his big game today, but he owes his line a lunch or supper for their fine
work.� A-.�
DL:�
The Titans marched down the field with ease on the opening drive, aided
by some nice holes for the ground game and zero pressure on the QB.� The D-line shored up its ship thereafter.� Smith led the way with a good effort.� Kimo was ok.� Hampton gave way to Hoke quite a bit, and Hoke made a nice stuff
for a loss in the 2H.�� B+.�
LB:�
The LB corps also awoke for the early-game slumber to help shut down the
Titans.� Farrior snapped the slumber,
smacking Travis Henry so hard that Henry buckled and coughed up the ball for a
huge turnover moments into the 2Q.��
Farrior did whiff badly on Kinney after a reception on the 1st drive,
but overall had a good game.� Porter got
it going more and more as the game wore on, and had a great strip of McNair in
the 4Q for a turnover.� Haggans was
somewhat quiet, though no one was more quiet than Larry Foote, who stood around
and did nothing the entire game.�� Frazier
got some work in garbage time and forced a fumble by McNair.� Overall, the tackling left a lil' to be
desired.� A-.��
DB:�
lke Taylor had a very active game, coming up in run support and
short-reception support with several good, sure-handed tackles.� Townsend had good coverage on a bomb to
Calico in the 2Q that was incomplete, and also had some good tackles in the
1Q.� Colclough made a nice read and play
on a deep seamer in the 4Q, and plucked a nice INT.� Pola grabbed an INT off the Bennett drop, and had some good
hits.� Hope was pretty active as
well.� The downer for this crew was the
pitiful angle taken by Logan on the bomb to Bennett, which netted 53
yards.� Perhaps the key to the
secondary's good day was the fact that Wee Willie Williams was scratched due to
injury, which turned into a classic case of addition by subtraction.� A-.�
Spec
teams:� Reed was 2-2 on FGs.� His KO work was acceptable; the coverage was
not.� Gardocki punted adequately.� Randle El had a nice punt return, but it was
wiped out by a hold by Harrison.�
B.�
OC:�
Some nice work by Wise Hunt, keeping the Titans off balance by spreading
the ball to numerous receivers.� Getting
Parker involved in the passing game was great, although it'd be advisable to
use Parker a bit more, especially on running downs on short flips that are like
long handoffs.� Wise Hunt has a real,
all-around weapon out of the backfield, one that needs to be exploited.� Wise Hunt was the recipient of some awfully
soft coverage by the Titans, and whether it's next week in Houston or the
following week versus NE, you can be assured that a defense is going to jam and
press the Stiller receiving corps much, much more than the young Tenn secondary
did today.� A.�
DC:�
After the early TD, LeBeau got more away from the vanilla and started to
attack the Titans, instead of merely sitting back and getting dissected.� He was helped by a plethora of drops by the
Titans, but on the other hand the defense wasn't overwhelmed by the Titans.� The tackling was a bit sloppy and shoddy,
and I'd consider working on that before the visit to TX.� The TE coverage was also poor, particularly
in the 1H.� A-.�
HC:� Bilbo Cowher
has to be pleased after getting beaten and abused, over and over again, by Jeff
Fisher all these years.� It must be a
huge relief for The Cow Hard.� The team
snapped out of its summer long funk and responded well after the opening Titans
TD.�� As it turned out, the injury bug
really helped Billy today.� Instead of a
feeble, lethargic starting lineup that would have included Big Jerome Bettis
and Wee Willie Williams, the injuries, and only the injuries, allowed Parker
and Taylor to not only start, but contribute enormously to the win.� The one downer was the pitiful turtling by
The Turtle, Billy Cowher, at the end of the 1H.� Facing a 1st & goal at the Tenn 10 with 2:00 remaining in the
half, Cowher and WiseHunt ordered a Parker plunge, for no yardage.� The score was 17-7, and at this point, if
you want a TD, you must pass twice before any field goal attempt, due to
time constraints and yardage needed from the 10.� Instead, on 2nd down, a piddly draw play was engulfed.�� Ben had to throw away under pressure on 3rd
down, and the Stillers, in full Turtle Mode�, settled for Billy's favorite
play, the field goal.� A.�
Synopsis:�
After years and years of opening day slop n' slather, it was a welcome
site to see the Stillers stomp on, and then bury, an opening-day opponent.� Of course, the win must be kept in some kind
of perspective.� After their salary cap
purge from spring 2004 and 2005, the Titans start the most rookies &
2nd-year players in the NFL, so it's not quite like beating the '85 Bears.� The one sign I saw that I liked was the
crispness and tempo in the execution.�
Only 3 penalties were committed by the Stillers, and in lieu of
befuddlement and confusion came cohesion, tempo, and crispness.� Let's hope the Stillers can continue this
next week in Houston, as Tank and I will be in attendance and we fully intend
to show the Houston bumpkins what smashmouth football is all about.�