Thoughts While
Caught in the Trap�
In the RCA Dome last night:
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Yet another of one of the most wretched
offensive gameplans in the history of Stiller football.� Cowherd again shows his cowardly side, as
well as his stupid side, with the ill-fated onsides kick that looked as if it
were executed by a Australian Junior High rugby team.
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Contrary to most of the Simmons-hating posters
on this site, Kendall was not the worst Stiller OL on the field last
night.� Neither was Gay Essex.� That honor belongs to the Tampon Man
himself, MaxiPad Starks.� The play of
Max Starks rivaled that of heralded right tackle, Pis Conrad, of a few years
back.� Down to the level of another
right tackle named Wiggins.� Even as bad
as Pis Ferris, another right tackle of regurgitation fame.� Starks graded out at a 10%, maybe,
and barely ever made a block the entire game.�
When he wasn�t oafishly whiffing on blocks, he was getting bullied
straight back into the backfield by guys he outweighs by 75 pounds.� It was an abhorrent display of football by
this fraud from Florida.� The Stiller
front office needs to make some decisions in the offseason, and they are
decisions that cannot be solved by the draft alone.� A trade, or a free agent signing, for the offensive line is an
absolute must if this team is serious about winning.
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There is no excuse for Ike Taylor to be
peeking in the backfield on the first play of the game.� NONE!��
He is not responsible to stop the stretch play � the linebacker is.� If there is anything a defender
should know about Manning and the Dolts� offense, it�s that they love to
run play action off the stretch play.�
Was Taylor not coached on this incessantly, or did he brainfart on his
own??
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Parker was the wrong back to start, if all you
were going to do in the first quarter was run between the tackles.� Duce was.�
That said, there is no excuse for running ZERO pitch plays when
you have a guy with the speed of Parker in there.� No misdirection plays, no reverses, and no gadgetry.
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From the high endzone seats Trap had, he was able
to see the entire offense spread across the field, and see the plays
develop.� The view was very similar to
the tape that Jaworski uses in his ESPN film studies.� Clearly, the Dolts were jumping routes, sometimes before Ben was
even throwing.� This is a situation that
just begs for the offensive coaches in the press box to recognize and
exploit.� Pump fakes, stop and goes,
play action�anything to counter that.�
The Stillers did NONE.
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El was open down the sidelines on a few plays
that the Stillers clearly chose to go to the other side of the field.� He was never even looked at on these
plays.� Likewise, Heath Miller was so
open on a play that Ben actually surveyed the entire field, before dumping
a little pass to Parker for a small gain.�
Miller was at the 10-yard line, and the defender was at the 20.
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Heath Miller is phenomenal.� You appreciate this even more when you watch
him in person.� He�s everything Shockey
is, and more.� He will be the
premiere tight end in football in no time.�
The Stillers must use him.�
He should even be lined up in the slot like Indy uses Dallas Clark.
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Bob Sanders had the game of his life.� He played heads above how he�s played all
year.� He was the best player on
the field last night.
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A defense must have quick linebackers to
deal with Reggie Wayne�s delayed crossing patterns.� You cannot rely on the cornerback to guard the deep route, then
be able to defend Wayne running all the way across the field.� A linebacker must help.� The Stiller linebackers did not.
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Don�t know if it was obvious on TV, but Morgan
replaced Coclough as the deep man on kickoffs, and for good reason.� Question is, what took so long?
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The clock management in the 4th
quarter was Classic Cowherd.� No
urgency, no hurry, take our good ol� time.�
You only have so many possessions, and you have to make the most of
them, and get an extra if you can by conserving the clock.� Trap was irked when the Stillers eschewed an
extra play at the end of the 3rd quarter to let the clock run
out.� Pathetic.� Even worse was running plunges on the last
drive of the game to run out the clock.�
Nice message to send to your players, and also to the team you may play if
you make the playoffs.
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Something Trap got out of the game that wasn�t
evident on TV�the Stiller defense was confused, and scared shitless, the entire
1st quarter.� Specifically,
the secondary.� Perhaps it was Ike�s
blunder on the first play, perhaps it was lack of preparation, but the
secondary was a Chinese fire drill, and they were confused and back on their
heels.� They seriously looked scared, as
if Manning was going to burn them at any moment.� However, some time in the 2nd quarter, they got it
together, and the rest of the game, the secondary looked very prepared.� They were not scrambling before every play,
and they were not back on their heels.�
They did not look scared.� Trap
thinks that this bodes well for the rest of the season, since they will not
face any team with the offensive guile that Manning�s has.
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For the Stillers to make the playoffs, and make
any noise, two things have to happen (besides Cowherd extracting his cranium
from his gluteus):� they must solve the
offensive line problems, and they must find some plays in the linebacking
corps.� Good luck.