DUCE!� DUCE!�
DUCE!
Trap has
decided that the Bus/Duce starting situation has reached such extreme urgency,
that an article needed to be written.�
Here it is:
Duce must
start the playoff game on Saturday.
Many Stiller
fans have become enamored with the brutish running and yeoman�s work Bus has
done during the time Duce has been healing from injury.� Nothing wrong with that.� This writer has been the first to highlight
Bus�s contribution.� The punishment that
he has been inflicting on defenses is a thing to behold.� He literally strips the will from the
opponents� entire defense.� He has
inspired his own team.� When the Bus
starts rumbling, no one wants to tackle him, and the offensive line gets
jazzed.�
The key
words here are �when the Bus starts rumbling�.�
Bettis is a back who thrives on momentum.� North-south momentum, as
well as psychological momentum.�
Momentum is defined as the product of a body�s mass and linear
velocity.� Momentum doesn�t just happen �
it takes time to gain momentum.
Trap
compares Bus to an engine.� Engines
perform better once they are warmed up.�
So does Bus.�
Engines can also have cold days where they just don�t seem right.� Bus can have those days, too.� In fact, he�s had quite a few of them in the
playoffs.� Is this because he�s not a
good running back?� Hell no.� He�s a
Hall of Famer!�
He�s had circumstances in the playoffs that were not always
favorable.� Injuries.� Offensive lines not being at top form.� Defenses stacked against him.� Run blitzes he could do nothing with.
Could this
happen again on Saturday?� Absolutely.� The
Jests� defense is no slouch.� They could
employ a run-blitzing scheme to open the game, and blow-up Bus in the
backfield.� They could stack up the
middle of the line, and dare Big Ben to pass.�
The Bus could EASILY have one of those games where he gets 6 carries in
the beginning, and has 10 yards to show for it.�
Momentum?�
None.
Duce should start.
You�re
asking:� �if the Jests� can shut down the
Bus, they can just as easily shut down the Duce.�� Not necessarily.�
Duce has
the ability to make something else happen on a running play.� Elude a run-blitz.� Scamper out of the grasp of a lineman.� Take a play wide around end.� Change directions.�
Duce can do
things at the beginning of the game that Bus might not be able to do without
established momentum.�
Bill Cowher will make a decision at the end of this week.� He is shrewd to say nothing at this point�the
Jests must prepare for both.� Bill�s
decision should be an easy one.� He
should ask himself, �who do the Jests fear the most at the beginning of the game?�� The Jests fear Duce at the beginning,
and Bus later on.� No doubt about it.
If Bill
tells the Jests �I�m starting Bus�, they will be happy.� They know EXACTLY what to expect.� Bus up the gut, and Bus
off-tackle.
If Bill
tells the Jests �I�m starting Duce�, they will not be happy.� They have to prepare for inside running,
outside running, shovel passes to Duce, reverses, and passes out of the
backfield.� NOT an easy gameplan for the Jests�
defensive coordinator.
Trap has
laid the foundation of why Duce should start.�
This does not mean that Whisenhunt cannot add
a healthy does of the Bus to the offense --- once there is momentum.� Mixing both Bus
and Duce once the game has settled in would be wise.� Shoving the ball down their throats with Bus
even more in the second half would be even more prudent.
Trap doesn�t
want to hear the new crap being spewed about town by Tunch
Ilkin�..�Cowher shouldn�t
have started O�Donnell against the Bills in 1993, he
should have gone with the hot QB�.�
Nice.� Means nothing in this situation.� Hey Tunch � JUST SHUT
UP�.as Mike and Mike would say.
Quarterback
and running back are two different positions.�
Comparing the two situations is stone stupid.
If Duce has
his struggles early in the game, it simply does
not hurt the team the way it does if Bus has his struggles early.� What Trap does not want to see is the Stillers give up
two series early in the game, and give the Jests hope that they can hang with
us.� We need to hit early, and hit
often.� Starting Duce gives the Stillers the better
possibility of doing this.
Coach Cowher � if you�re reading this, and Trap suspects you
might be � do the right thing.� Load up
on Duce.� Start him.� Add Bus, and stir.� Boil til
finished.� Thank Trap in the morning.