Stillers 41, Browns 0 ���. Dec. 24, 2005 ����Game #15�
Stillers-Browns Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers went up to the famed Dawg Pound and stomped the Brownies from
beginning to end, en route to a 41-0 assbeating that was total domination on
both sides of the football.��
Grades:
QB:�
Benji had been struggling a bit the past coupla weeks -- perhaps ailed
by the thumb -- throwing enough quail that duck hunters were homing in on his
passes for easy target practice.� Whatever
it was, Ben shook it off and had perhaps his best game of the season in terms
of accuracy, awareness, reading, and downfield passing.� He was crisp right from the get-go,
completing passes of 20, 18, and 21 on the opening scoring march, and then
coming back with passes of 19 and 32 on the 2nd scoring drive.� He had a nice pass down the seam to El on
the 1st drive, good for 20, and then a great PAP fake and a 32-yard flag to
Ward on the 2nd drive.� He capped off the
2nd drive with a brilliant in-seam pass to Ward for a 7-yard score.� This pass was just sick, in a good way, as
Ben had to have just enough mustard, yet just enough touch, to get this ball
into Ward, in tight coverage no less, without rocketing the pass and without
forcing Ward over the end line.� Ben
also had a nice throwback pass to Ward in the 2Q for 21 yards.� Perhaps the pass I liked the best from Roth
all day, was the deep ball to El early in the 2Q, which was actually overthrown
on a good, tight, nicely-arching spiral.�
This is the type of pass that Roth had struggled with recently, but he
showed no signs of injury or weakness on that deep ball.� Batch took over in the 4Q and hit Morgan
with a good deep lob for a 31-yard score.�
Overall, very impressive.�
A+.�
RB:�
Fast Willie got the start, and had some good chunks of yards off nice
cuts and hole-hits.� In the 3Q, on the
1st play after a Clev punt, Willie bolted through a hole and 80 yards later,
hit paydirt on an electrifying TD run that made the score 27-0 and basically
pounded the nail into the coffin.� Dougboy
Bettis 7 carries for 24 yards, including a 2-yard TD run in which he simply ran
roughshod over Clev ILB Ben Taylor.� Hayesie
got a lot of work in mop up, and had an impressive 15-yard TD run in which he
showed great toughness and determination.�
Haynes also had a 13-yard catch.�
Duce Staley, the best all-around RB on the roster, was fully healthy but
not permitted to dress, which must be horribly embarrassing to this veteran,
in-his-prime player.� A+.�
FB: Kreider had an impressive day.� He led the way on Bettis' TD, and then
punished ILB Andra Davis on Haynes' TD run.�
He grabbed 1 pass for 4 yards.�
A.�
WR:�
Hines Ward must absolutely love playing the Brownies.� He abused them once again, grabbing 7 balls
for 105 and 1 TD.� The TD catch was a
superb pluck in tight coverage to make the score 14-0.� Ward had a great effort on a 3d & 6 curl
pass in the 2Q, fighting through 2 tacklers for the 1st down yardage.� He had a similar gutty effort on a 3d &
8 in the 3Q, making the catch on his knees, then popping up and fighting for 10
yards and the 1D.� El had just 1 grab,
though it was for 20 yards on the opening drive, which helped set the
tone.� He was dropped for a 2-yard loss
on a 3d & 2 SG pitchout, in which he chose to run wide rather than cutting
it up and fighting for the 1D yardage.� Wilson
had 2 grabs for 63 yards, although he could have tacked onto that yardage in
the 3Q on a wide open flag route had he not allowed the ball to slither out has
he hit and tumbled.� Morgan made a nice
play on the ball for a 31-yard TD on a deep sideline lob.� He was also flagged for a foolish 15-yard
masking penalty in the 4Q.� A-.�
TE:�
Miller was thrown just 1 pass, but made the most of it on the 1st drive but
catching a seamer and rumbling for a 21-yard gain.� He was frequently tasked to help block on passing plays.� He had a nice blitz pickup on the 3d & 2
1Q play, in which Ben hit Wilson for 18 yards.�
His run blocking was decent.� I'd
really like to see Miller in the pass pattern on 90% of all pass plays,
because, quite frankly, this guy has emerged as the 2nd most reliable,
dangerous receiving threat on the team.�
A.�
OL: The O-line made mincemeat out of
the Brownie front 7.� Roth had plenty of
time to pass, and they opened up nice holes in the ground game.� Marvel Smith started at LT and looked just fine.� Essex relieved him in garbage time.� Smitty had a good seal to the left, and
Fancea/Hartings a good seal to the right, on Parker's 80-yard TD jaunt.� Esses had the only penalty from the O-line,
on a false start late in the game.�
Overall, not shabby at all. ��A.�
DL:�
The D-line feasted on a depleted Clev O-line and mauled them the entire
game.� Kimo seemed to knife through on
at least every other play.� Hampton shoved
center Mike Pucillo around so badly that he might very well get a letter from
the NFL, scolding him for bullying the poor, hapless center so badly throughout
the afternoon.� In fact, Casey forced a fumbled
HO in the 2Q, when he blew the blocker back so rapidly that he stepped on QB C.
Frye's foot, causing the botched HO.�� Smith
was not credited with anything on the stat sheet, but helped close the holes
for Droughns in the running game.� Brett
Keisel saw a lot of work, esp. on pass rushing chores, and had a strong
game.� He had a sack n' strip in the 2Q,
and then had a good burst through 2 blockers to drop Frye in the 4Q.� Hoke and Kirschke also saw work in garbage
time.� An inspired effort by this
crew.� A.�
LB:�
The LBers picked up where they left off last week, playing with passion
and ferocity not seen at all the first 13 weeks of the season.� Farrior set the tone early, making a good
stick 'n stop of Droughns on the 2d play from scrimmage for a meager 1-yard
gain. �Overall, JF had a solid
game.� Joey Porter showed what can
happen when a good NFL LB is left unblocked against a helpless QB.� He came in untouched for a 2Q Dong Sack, and
in the 3Q, looped on a delayed blitz around the Stiller left end (ie, the Clev
right side) for another untouched Dong Sack.�
He also beat backup RB Lee Suggs 1-on-1 for a sack in the 1Q.� To his credit, Porter played with 5 times
more intensity and energy than he had shown the first 3 months of the
season.� On the down side, Porter came
in unblocked on the 4Q 4th & 3 toss sweep by Droughns, and had both arms
wrapped around Reuben for an easy 3-yard loss.�
Instead, Porter failed to close the deal, and Reuben easily busted out
of The Porter's grasp and raced back to the right for a 9-yard pickup.� Porter also was flagged for an
offsides.� Clark Haggans had a good game
in run support, and forced a fumble on a hit on Frye late in the 3Q.� Foote played ok.� He closed the game on an appropriate note, flattening TE Aaron
Shea on the game's final play after a near pass reception with a brutal
hit.� If only he could hit opposing RBs
with such ferocity.� On Droughn's
21-yard gallop in the 4Q, Foote bonered twice, first over-pursuing to his left
far too much, and then reacting clumsily and failing to make any sort of play
on Droughns, who ran right by for the big gainer.� Harrison saw some work in garbage time and had a strong effort.� Kreiwaldt also got some work.� A.
DB:�
The secondary had a strong day in preserving the shutout.� There were plenty of hits on receivers as,
or soon after, the ball arrived, and there were few softee cushions.� Ike had a good bustup of an out �pass to Jackson on 3d & 8 in the 2Q .� McFadden played strong and had 2 bustups, including
a good bustup of a curl pass to Northcutt on 3d & 10 in the 1Q.� McFadd was overly timid and meek on the 2Q screen
play to Droughns, in which McFadd shadowed Droughns -- just 3 yards away -- from
near the LOS onward, but never made a move to actually hit or tackle the RB on
this 29-yard play.� Troy flashed in on a
4Q blitz, and while tumbling, still was able to upend Droughns for a loss.� Carter had a good bustup of a pass in the EZ
late in the 4Q.� Hope was semi-trucked
on the 9-yard Droughns run on 4th & 3 in the 4Q, but to his credit, at least
Hope had brains enough to take Droughns low, rather than getting camel-jockeyed
as he did in the prior Clev meeting. �Townsend had a nice corner blitz and dropped Frye for a loss.� The one criterion that must be factored in
all of this, of course, is Frye's herky-jerky delivery, which gives D-backs a
good step-and-a-half jump on most passes.�
A.�
Spec
teams:� A decent day for the STs.� Harrison had a partial-block on a Clev Punt
in the 2Q, the first time this has happened for the Stillers in eons.� El had a big punt return, but then fumbled
at the end of it, which gave Clev the ball back on their own 12.� Brett Keisel had a crushing block on this
punt return.� Harrison and Kreiwaldt
made a nice stop in punt coverage in the 2Q.�
Ric Colclough foolishly tried to pick up Cribb's fumbled 1Q KO, and
instead he bobbled it, which allowed Clev to recover.� McFadd was flagged for an illegal block on a 1Q PR, although El
should share some blame for dancing all too much on this return.� The punting and placekicking were
solid.� B.�
OC:�
I really liked the way Whisenhunt came into the game in full attack
mode.� I was afeared that this game
would quickly degenerate into a plungefest, but to his credit, Whisenhunt had a
well-planned assault.� The fist drive --
an 11-play, 84-yard masterpiece -- was a model of perfection, which was aided by
pass plays of 20, 18, and 21 yards.� The
2nd drive wasn't all too shabby, with pass plays of 19 and 32 setting up the
Bettis TD plunge to cap off a 63-yard drive.�
Even in the 2nd half, when the Stillers heretofore have sat on the ball
and run plunge after plunge, Benji was not only throwing, but throwing
downfield.� And verticality -- wow!�� Haven't seen this kind of verticality in
the Stiller passing game since the Swann/Stall years.� You can win well enough in the regular season with a horizontal
passing game, but come playoff time the team that wins it all is most assuredly
a team that can and will go deep once or twice in a game for a big play.� The air will most assuredly be deflated from
the football come playoff time, but at least for this game, it was a sight for
sore eyes.� The one nagging annoyance is
the insistence of using the Shitgun formation on 3rd &2.� Why a team that prides itself with a "power
running game" would forego the opportunity to run play-action and literally
let a defense off the hook by going into the Shitgun formation on 3rd &
short, is absolutely bizarre.� On Sat.,
facing a 3d & 2 on the Clev 6, not only did Cheezenhunt call for the shitgun
formation, but he then called a pitchout to Randle El, was was easily engulfed
for a 2-yard loss.� This easily
qualified for the Gay Play o' the Day award.�
All in all, a good day for the OC.�
To be sure, it's a lot easier marching up and down the field against the
Brownies than any other AFC playoff team, aside from the Bungals, but
nonetheless this was probably Whisenhunt's best game of the season.� A.
DC:�
Dick oversaw a shutout, which is fairly rare in today's NFL.� There were some nice twists that we've rarely
seen -- the DB's not giving 12-yard cushions; Keisel getting meaningful PT; and
Porter used in a more direct-assault mode. There were, to be sure, some minor
annoyances.� Foote was being tasked to
blitz on the outside, which is, given Foote's total lack of speed, quickness,
size, and brawn, a lost cause unless he comes in totally untouched.� The FS, Chris Hope, is still nowhere near the
end destination of any thrown football.�
The defense is surging, but an odd quirk in the final quarter of the Stillers'
schedule makes it a poor proving ground for the Stiller defense.� Dick and Co. were able to feast on Kyle
Orton, then on Bad Johnson, and then on rookie Charlie Frye.� Next week, they conclude the regular season
by feasting on Bloey Harrington, he of the 9 TD/12 INT ratio and 68 passer
rating this season.� The toughest
challenge for any DC is the ability of the opposing QB, and unfortunately none
of these blowhards in the final 4 regular-season games gives this defense even
a remote glimpse of the caliber of QBing they're likely to face come playoff
time.� We know the Stillers have a good
run defense, but the pass defense is the Achilles heel.� Dick's primary challenge right now is to
have his defense prepared and ready for the likes of Brady, Palmer, and
Manning.�� A.
HC:� Billy Cowher
had his troops fired up and ready to hunt bear, right from the opening kickoff.� They put on a textbook clinic on how to shut
down and whip a team while on the road -- go full throttle, grab the lead, pile
onto the lead, and never relent.� This certainly
isn't the kind of football that Cowher plays come playoff time, but at least
for now, it was worth relishing and enjoying.�
The team committed a paltry amount of penalties, which shows a good
attention to detail and focus.� The hitting
and intensity were readily evident from first play to last.� Kudos to Billy for having his team revved up
and ready for this game, and for stomping the living shit out of the hated
Brownies.� A.�
Synopsis:�
With the loss by SD to KC, the Stillers now sit in the catbird's seat
for the final playoff spot.� All they have
to do is dispose of lowly Detroit, at Heinz Field, next week, and they're in
the playoffs.� (As I'll be traveling this
week on business, I can cut to the chase right now and state that this will be
a casual win over Detroit, with most starters getting pulled once the Stillers
get a comfy 2H lead.)� Going into this
game, I was concerned about a letdown, playing the lowly Browns after beating of
the Bears and Vikes. �If any team let
down, it was obviously the Brownies, who were feeble from the get-go and then
withered like an orchid in the hot desert sun.�
As I noted in the DC grades above, my only lament in the joy of this
soon-to-be 4-game regular season-ending winning streak, is that none of the
opponent have (or will) offered the kind of playmaking, skill, and volatility
that the Stillers will face come playoff time.�
Feasting on the NFC North and the Clev Browns -- Kyle Orton, Bad
Johnson, Bloey Harrington, and Charlie Frye -- isn't the best tune-up for AFC playoff
football, but unfortunately that's the way the cards were dealt for the
Stillers.� The true test of a team or an
organization isn't how well it performs during times of prosperity, but rather how
well it performs during times of adversity.�
The Stillers haven't faced even the slightest glimmer of adversity since
Dec 4th, and they won't have faced it until the wild-card round of the playoffs
on Jan 7 & 8.� It will be
interesting to see how they stand up to the inevitable adversity on Jan 7/8, or
Jan 14/15.�
�