Stillers-Texans Postgame Analysis and Grades

Stillers 27, Texans 7 ���. Sep. 18, 2005 ����Game #2

 

Stillers-Texans Postgame Analysis and Grades

 

The Stillers went down to Texass and whipped some Texas ass, handing the Texans a severe 27-7 beating in which the score hardly exemplifies the severity of the beating.� Steel Tank and I attended this beatdown, and we enjoyed every bit of this road thrashing, from the tailgate party to the Stillers� thumping inside the sweltering Unreliant Stadium.�

 

Grades:

 

QB:� Benji picked up right where he left off last week, pinpointing pass after pass with a deft array of bullets, lofts, and throws-on-the-run.� Roth completed the 3rd down & 5 completion to Wilson, in which he scrambled right, only to throw back deep to the left for a big play to Cedric.� The 2nd TD pass to Ward was a beauty, in which Roth put just enough air, but also just enough zip, on a seamer into the EZ for the 15-yard TD pass.� The 1st TD pass to Ward wasn�t shabby, either, as Roth used a quick pump and then flicked the quick pass to Ward for the score.� There was also a superb flag thrown to Wilson in the 1H.� Roth also juked a Texan defender so badly that laughter roared from the bleachers, as Ben juked with his feet and then pump-faked, bringing the hapless, clumsy defender off his feet in a GilDong-like manner.� The only pass Ben threw that I really disliked, was the throw-away near the end of the half, on a 3d & 11 deep in Texan territory.� Ben was flushed to his right, and he threw (against the grain) a weak throwaway toward Wilson that fell incomplete in the end zone.� In this spot, a throwaway needs to land 4 rows into the bleachers, not anywhere where it can be caught by a defender.� In all, another nice outing by The Berger.� A.���

 

RB:� Wilver Parker got the start, and responded with another sterling effort.� He rushed for 111 yards and a big 10-yard TD in the 2H on a nice effort in which he busted a half-hearted tackle attempt by Phil Buchanon en route to paydirt.� What impressed me about Parker, while observing the game in person, was his ability to see the crease and then hit it like a bolt of lightning.� I�d see the hole develop, and then, sure enough, there�s Parker hitting that hole and bolting for nice chunks of yards.� Verron Haynes (not Hayes, like Don Diqui kept saying during his telecast) chipped in some.� Bettis and Staley did not dress.� A.�

 

FB: Kreider mowed the way for Parker, and also had a clutch catch out of the backfield.� B+.�

 

WR:� Hines had a big day, catching 2 TD passes and 6 balls overall.� He did have a drop on a ball thrown behind him, and another pass was jarred out of his grasp.� Wilson had 2 big downfield grabs, and Randle El went deep and made a nice adjustment, good for 54 yards.� #4 receiver Quincy Morgan saw some brief PT in the 4WR set.� A.�

 

TE:� Tuman caught the obligatory short dumpoff for 4 yards, and otherwise the TEs were no more involved in the passing game than the Louisiana governor was involved in intelligent planning and execution of relief for Hurricane Katrina.� Tuman was unfairly called for a hold deep in Texan territory.� This was a horrible call, as Tuman had good blocking position and then actually pulled his hands away from the defender, only to have the defender grab him and then the imbecilic ref threw the flag.� Click here to review the MPEG of this particular play.� B+.�

 

OL: The O-line blocked pretty well, although they faced a surprisingly flaccid front 7 that did little in terms of intensity or scheme.� Hartings had a very strong game, eating Payne alive.� He was flagged for a hold on a 1st & goal late in the 1Q, which wasn�t all too good.� Simmons had a weak whiff on a 1st & 10 plunge late in the 1Q, which led to a 2-yard loss, and was also flagged for a hold that negated a long run by Haynes late in the 4Q.� Starks allowed some leakage on a 3rd & 8 pass early in the 1Q, but overall had a solid game, including a few decleated knockdowns of defenders.� Smith and Faneca kept the backside pressure to a minimum and helped open some nice holes for Parker.� A.�

 

DL:� The D-line had a fairly easy time, facing a vanilla, inept Houston offense.� By the 2H, the Stillers went almost exclusively to a 2-3-6 defense, with just 2 down-linemen.� Smitty and Kimo saw a lot of work in this alignment, as did Brett Keisel.� The Diesel had a nice bust-up of a screen pass in the 4Q.� Hampton had a superb play in a critical 3d & 1 early in the 4Q, blowing pass center S. McKinney and dropping the back for a 4-yard loss.� A-.�

 

LB:� Some good, some bad.� I was vastly disappointed in the play of James Farrior, who literally had a subpar game.� He took numerous poor angles at the point of attack, and then had several weak-assed flails that resulted in nothing but air.� One instance was the short dump to Davis early in the 3Q, in which Farrior came up with a good angle and still whiffed in pitiful fashion.� He was also a bit slow going from sideline to sideline.� Joey Porter was bit quieter than expected.� He generated little heat, and was surprisingly slow cutting Carr off at the pass on a 3d & 2 scramble early in the 3Q, deep in Stiller territory.� It�s plausible that Porter is still only 90% recovered from his August knee scope.� Larry Foote was at least more active and involved that his pedestrian effort last week, although his play is far from what is needed to win a championship.� Leading the LB corps was Clark Haggans, who blew by The Great God of TE Blocking, Mark Bruener and stripped Carr early in the game for a key turnover, and provided some solid run support.� He helped force a Carr intentional grounding.� Haggans was also blatantly held on the 20-yard Carr scamper on 3d & 14 early in the 3Q.� In all, this crew needs to play much, much better.�� C.��

 

DB:� Houston�s inept, 1-WR offense, which had a couple extremely critical drops, made the coverage chores as easy as pie, but the secondary had a solid day.� Ike Taylor continued his fine play, providing both solid coverage and run support.� Townsend provided sound coverage.� Logie and Ricky saw a good amount of PT with the dime defense being used so extensively.� Troy Pola was a man possessed, roaming all over the field like fellow-Trojan Junior Seau (in his prime) and wreaking just as much havoc.� Pola applied the most pass pressure, and also batted a pass on a blitz.� The grade here would be higher if the Texans had possessed an NFL-caliber passing attack.� B+.�

 

Spec teams:� Jamie Harrison led the way, making 3 strong tackles on ST coverage.�� Tyrone Carter was also strong in coverage, and Chidi Iwuoma chipped in a solid stop.� Jeff Reed was 2-2 on FGs, and did a superb job on kickoffs.� Punter Chris Gardocki is probably going to be disgruntled due to lack of work, as he punted just twice in this tilt.� �A.

 

OC:� Whisenhunt had a solid afternoon, although the overly conservative playcalling at the end of the 1H left me enraged. This was probably directed by Billy Cowher, of course.� Armed with golden FP -- 2d & 11 at the Pit 46 -- with plenty of time to get into FG range, the Stillers instead settled for a Haynes line plunge and a short dump to Haynes, thereby allowing the clock to run out.�� Very, very weak.�� On the plus side, the downfield stabs were a sight for sore eyes.�� I�d still like to see Parker used on running downs with short flips in the flat, and of course I�d like to TE Heath Miller used for more than a blocking ornament.� B.

 

DC:� LeBeau had an easy afternoon, facing an offense so inept and bumbling that it�s a carbon copy of Wannstadt�s pitiful offense at Pitt.� The 2-3-6 alignment leaves something to be desired, as the Texans were able to gash it for gobs of running yards and little pass pressure when DBs weren�t blitzing.� In fact, that�s a concern right now -- generating pass pressure and harassment with the front 7 personnel.� B.

 

HC:� Billy Cowher had the troops concentrating on the Texans, and not overlooking these weaklings in lieu of the Patriots next week.� The turtling in the 4Q left me miffed.� I don�t see the difference between running a plunge on 4th down (which is what Bilbo did) and attempting a FG, other than the fact that the FG attempt gives the entire FG team, particularly the snapper, holder, and kicker, some real-world practice.� And if all the 4Q is going to be is a sequence of line plunge after line plunge, why not insert Maddox so that Benji avoids an injury caused by a pulling guard, or a player shoved into his leg, etc.??� B+

 

Side note -- Life in Houston.�� A very impressive, enjoyable visit to H-town.� The stadium parking is incredibly efficient for both pre-game and post-game access.� The sight lines inside Reliant Stadium are superb.� The only down note, is that I think it�s ludicrous to spend exorbitant extra money on a retractable dome roof, only to not close the roof on a sweltering, hotter-than-hell day that made me thankful that I was in the shade.� Texans fans are impressive; not obnoxious like some cities� fans.� In fact, I saw a Stiller fan drop his Terrible Towel after the game, and a Texans fan picked it up and returned it to its rightful owner.�

 

Also, some great tailgating with fellow Stiller fans!�� Tank and I enjoyed tossing back some beer and talking Stiller football with fellow fans.� Hats off to Drummer1971, who celebrated his 34th birthday with the victory.� There were numerous other great Stiller fans whom we tailgated with, and regrettably I can�t recall all of their names�..but thanks for a great time!!�

 

Synopsis:� An impressive asswhipping, tempered only by how lowly and meek this Texans team is.� A better litmus test obviously occurs next week, as the Stillers host the world-champ Patriots before embarking on a bye week.�