Loose Slag from The Still Mill

 

- The INT on the pass to Miller, was a pass to Miller that was, once again, on 1st down.�� Cheesenhunt absolutely loves throwing to Miller on 1st down.� Conversely, on 3rd down, Cheezen would sooner crawl naked down Fifth Ave., thru chards of broken glass, during the annual St. Patrick�s Day parade than toss the ball to his ultra-talented, big, sure-handed TE.��

 

- Cheezenhunt�s other fetish -- throwing deep to Hines Ward.� Early in his career -- from �98 to �00 -- Ward was miscast in this role and was a colossal failure, so much so that this writer was admittedly ready to write him off.� It wasn�t until 2001 that Ward was used properly as a fearless, ultra-reliable midrange WR that could find seams and make good yardage on RAC.� I have no earthly idea why Cheezenhunt has suddenly, just this season, gone overboard trying to get the deep ball to Ward.� Counting Reid, there are 4 -- count �em, 4 -- other WRs on this roster that I�d much prefer going deep for the long ball.�

 

- Anyone see the 2 blocked kicks by N�Orleans on Monday nite?� They blocked a punt after the game�s 1st series, and then later blocked a FG.� When�s the last time a Cowhard-coached team blocked 2 kicks in a season, much less a game?��

 

- To me, one of the big plays of the Cinci loss was the 3rd & 7 from the Cinci 6-yard line, early in the 2Q.� Cinci, just like our previous 2 opponents, threw the quick 0-step hitch, which has eaten this Stiller defense alive this season. In this case, it was a WR screen to TJ Housemanad.� James Farrior rabidly overpursued and Troy Pola whiffed.� 18 yards later, Cinci had a huge 1st down.�� Right there, after the hideous BenRoth INT in the EZ, the Stiller defense had a chance to make a stand and force a punt from the Cinci EZ.� Instead, they opened the barn door, and Cinci marched 97 yards for a TD.� The defense has been solid, but to be championship caliber, they�ve got to make a key stop.�

 

- Has anyone, uh, seen �The Most Feared Man in the NFL�, Big Joey Porter?�

 

- I�m still mulling over which Cinci loss was more annoying�..the most recent one, or the �98 loss where, late in the 4Q Jeff Blake completed a long pass on 3rd & 20-something, and then went deep for the game-winning score while DeWayne Washington flailed about like a runaway windmill�

 

- For any Stiller fans looking to see The Most Feared Man in the NFL in action, they�ll enjoy the San Diego game.� They�ll get an eyeful watching Shawne Merriman, aka �Light�s Out�.�

 

- LeBeau has been pretty good this season, but early in the 4Q he drew my ire.� With a 3rd & 14, he went with the overly vanilla 3-man rush.� With all the time in the world, Carson RosyPalm hit Housemanad for an easy 13-yard completion, and then RosyPalm did a QB sneak for the 1st down.� I utterly despise the 3-man rush.��

 

- It�s rather sad when you see a veteran journeyman like Scott Fujita of N�Orleans severely outplaying The Big Fearmonger, Joey Porter.�

 

- Now that I think about it, it�s even sadder when you see a veteran scrub like Larry Foote severely outplaying The Big Fearmonger�

 

- It shouldn�t surprise any avid Stiller fan that the Steelers are struggling at 1-2.� Billy Cowhard�s early season woes have long been documented here at Stillers.com.� Few coaches get less out of training camp and preseason than does Billy Cowher.��

 

- The biggest, yet easiest, task to conduct during the bye week -- getting Davenport enough reps so that Billy Cowhard feels comfortable enough to allow Dav to run a few basic plunges in San Diego.� It�s incredulous, and asinine, that Parker is being overworked while Staley and Davenport rot.� Parker needs to be fresh down the stretch, and he won�t be fresh, much less healthy, if he totes the pig 30 times per game.� It�s almost as if Cowhard is overworking Parker just to produce an injury, just so that Cowhard can proclaim to Colbert, �Aha, I told ya so�..I told ya I need a 270-pound lardback in order to sustain the rigors of the NFL.� These 218 pounders just don�t cut it.���

 

- Pittsburgh native Bruce Gradkowski will get the starting nod in Tampa with Piss Simms out with the spleen removal.� Let�s hope Gradkowski can continue the fine tradition of Pittsburgh-bred QBs.� Not another city in America has come close to producing the litany of great QBs as Pittsburgh has.�

 

- Cowhard�s cluelessness with the punt return chores has been well commented upon by Still Trap and many others.� With that in mind, allow me to remind everyone of this basic fact: the Stillers won Sup Bowl XL in spite of Billy Cowher, not because of Billy Cowher.�

 

- Despite the obvious fiasco and total non-productivity from the KO and punt return phases of the game, look for the mulestubborn Cowher to dig in his heels even further and rot Willie Reid for at least a few more weeks.�� Nobody pounds the square peg into the round hole as persistently as Billy Cowher.�

 

- Colclough�s technique for catching punts is simply wretched.� Sure, a once in a million athlete like Deion Sanders might be able to field punts over his head�.but for the other 999,999 players outs there, the most sure-handed way to field a punt is to cradle it in front of one�s chest.� It�s preposterous, although not surprising, that Cowhard, a supposed special teams guru, has tolerated this half-assed, no-brained technique, particularly when the player in question has buttery hands rivaled only by Ike Taylor.�

 

- Overlooked in the rotting of Staley, Davenport, and Reid is the rotting of rookie safety Tony Smith, the best all-around, most athletic free safety on the roster.� Sure, Clarkie had the huge hit on Henry.� However, 1 play in 3 games does not make for a productive FS in the NFL.� Clark simply doesn�t have the speed, instincts, or overall ability to be a starting FS on a team aspiring to go deep in the playoffs.�

 

- Speaking of going deep in the playoffs, if the Stillers don�t start getting the ball into Hines Ward�s hands more than 2-3 times per game, they won�t spend much time at all in the playoffs�

 

- Anyone see Plex Burress�s game-winning TD in OT 11 days ago?� He shoved the DB like a naughty stepchild and then hauled in the pass for the easy TD.� It�s yet another example of how offensive interference is consistently interpreted by the NFL, aside from the bumbling, incompetent officiating crew that worked Sup Bowl XL.�

 

(Still Mill and Stillers.com �when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close�)