Stillers vs. Bungals Pregame Analysis (Game #6, @ Cinci)
The Stillers, reeling from a despicable home loss to the
Jags last week, lumber westward into Ohio to face the division-leading Bungals,
who are flying high with a 5-1 record.��
* When the Bungals have the ball, they'll be
led by QB Carson Palmer, who has come into his own.� The former Trojan is rapidly becoming the best young QB in the
game, as evidenced by his long streak of 100+ passer ratings.�� Palmer has enough NFL experience that he's
grasping the offense; he's seeing the field; and his making astute decisions,
as evidenced by his entire-opposite quarterbacking when compared to the likes
of Tommy "The Interceptee" Maddox.�
At RB, the Bungals have a terrific 1-2 punch, the best the
Stillers have faced this season.� Rudi
Johnson is a load -- big, strong, and brawny.�
Chris Perry is a fine complimentary back to Johnson.� Though not as big and strong as Johnson,
he's no wallflower, but he gives a bit more dash to Rudi's bash.� Both are rushing the ball at gaudy clips
well over 4 yards per carry.� Perry is
also a very, very capable receiver out of the backfield.� Jeremi Johnson is a bull of a FB and gives
the ground game a punishing blocker.�
Reggie Kelly and Matt Schobel give Cinci 2 solid TEs.� They're both used when Cinci goes 2TE, and
while neither will make anyone forget about, say, Shannon Sharpe, both are
steady and capable.� When not driving on
the NASCAR circuit, Tony Stewart serves as the 3rd TE.�
At WR, the Bungals sport another superb 1-2 punch in Chad
Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh.� Chad is
brash and mouthy, but the guy is as dangerous -- if not more so -- as any
receiver the Stillers have faced thus far.�
TJ 'Housmanad' is underrated, but extremely competent and capable of
making the big play, as Stiller fans have seen over the past few seasons.� He's hobbled with an injured hand, however,
and missed last week's game.� With any
luck, he'll sit this one out as well, though he's likely to play.� Cinci can go to veteran Kevin Walter and
Kelley Washington in Housmanad's absence, as well as call upon rookie Chris
Henry, who already has 14 grabs this season.�
The Cinci O-line isn't shabby.� OTs Levi Jones and Willie Anderson lead the way here. Neither is
particularly great, but both are steady tackles.� Former Eagle Bobbie Williams and Eric Steinbach work the guard
spots, with Rich Braham at center.�
Braham had missed a couple game due to injury, and returned to the
lineup just last week.�
�
The Stiller defense has suddenly been stricken with a rash
of injuries, particularly in the secondary.�
Starting CB DeShea Townsend stepped out of last week's game early with a
hammy injury, and is questionable going into this tilt.� Backup CB Ric Colclough has been hampered
lately, and starting CB Ike Taylor is also questionable going into this
massively important game.� Townsend's
injury could force Wee Willie Williams into the starting lineup, which, facing
a QB as good as Palmer and a WR corps as good as Cinci's, ain't a pretty
sight.�
The key matchup will be 3-fold:�
�� - The Stiller
secondary against the Cinci passing game.�
As noted, the nagging injuries make a tough task even more
difficult.�
�� - The Stiller
front 7 against the Cinci ground game.�
Rudi has had some success versus Pittsburgh -- he's the last RB to
eclipse 100 yards against the Stillers -- and he's having a superb season thus
far.� The added concern is the 1-2 punch
with Perry, a problem that the Stillers have been fortunate to avoid thus far
in '05.� The ability of the Bungals to
bring in a fresh back and chance the pace from bash to dash is worrisome,
particularly because the Stillers were not overly dominant against a FB pressed
into starting RB duty last week in the loss to Jax.�
�� - Applying
pressure on Palmer without having to constantly blitz Troy Pola.� Palmer has been the recipient of good,
reliable pass protection this season.�
The Stillers front 7 hasn't generated sufficient, reliable pressure on
the QB.��
* When the Stillers have the ball, Benji
Roethlisberger will, thank goodness, be back at the helm at QB after the Maddox
disaster of last week.� The ground game
has sputtered the past 3 weeks, in large part because of some terribly shoddy
blocking by the O-line.� Hines Ward was
sorely missed last week, but he will for sure be playing this Sunday.� Hopefully his hammy is healed enough that he
is back to near 100%.� However, WR
Cedric Wilson injured his wrist last week and, if he's unable to make a go of
it, will be a big loss to the offense.�
The Bungals run a base 4-3, although HC Marv Lewis makes a
host of adjustments that allows this base defense to morph into all kinds of
looks.� Up front, former Titan John
Thornton and former Fin Bryan Robinson man the middle.� Justin Smith and Robert Geathers work the DE
spots.� Smith has never developed into
the superstud that Cinci envisioned when they made him a 1st round pick, but
he's more than capable enough to eat Max Starks' lunch if Max doesn't extract
head from ass.�
At LB, vets Landon Johnson and Brian Simmons flank rookie
MLB Odell Thurman, who is off to a terrific rookie foray.� The former Bulldog has given Cinci strong
all-around LB play and leads his team in tackles.� It's safe to say that he's enormously relieved to be playing in
Cinci as opposed to being on some teams where he'd be sitting and rotting,
perhaps not even dressing.�
The secondary is experienced and decent.� SS Kevin Kaesveharn leads this crew.� Keas doesn't possess the sheer athleticism
of a Troy Pola, but this guy plays with every ounce of gusto and hustle that
you can ask for of a SS in the NFL.� FS
Madieu Williams has quickly grown into a good starter, though he banged up his
shoulder and is questionable for this game.�
Former Broncos Deltha O'Neil and Tory James start on the corners.� Remarkably enough, O'Neil -- who's never
been confused with Lester Hayes -- already has 4 INTs.� Keiwan Ratliff gives Cinci a good, young 5th
DBer.��
The key matchup will be the Stiller ground game
against the Cinci front 7.�� The Cinci
offense is flying high, and the best way to slow them down is to chew some
clock with the ground game.� Plus, Cinci
will be the recipient of some rare home field advantage with a fired-up Cinci
fan base, which could cause some crowd-noise problems for the Stiller passing
game.� Simmons and Starks, the 2
enormous weak links, must at least get some "ties" or
"draws" in their battles, as opposed to the overabundance of
whippings that each has received the past few weeks.� Titan RB Chris Brown ran for a respectable 84 yards on 18 carries
-- behind an O-line not nearly as accomplished as that of the Stillers -- in
last week's tilt versus Cinci, so there is some room to run on the Bengals.� The Cinci front 4 isn't immensely brawny nor
is it deep.� If the Stillers can rattle
the Cinci defense with some ground success, and wear down the likes of Thornton
and Simmons, they should be able to cash in on some play-action passes to
Miller and Ward.��
* Special Teams: �Kyle Larson does the punting chores, with Shayne Graham doing the
kicking tasks.� Graham is off to a fine
season, with just 2 misses, 1 in the 40-range and the other being from 52 yards
out.� Tab Perry handles the KO return
chores, while Keiwan Ratliff does the PR chores.� Perry is averaging about 26 yards per return, which ain't
bad.�
Key Individual Matchups:
* CBs Ike Taylor/DeShea Townsend vs. WR Chad Johnson.� Little needs to be explained here.� Chad is Cinci's go-to guy in the passing
game and he cannot be allowed to run amuck.�
* C Jeff Hartings vs. MLB Odell Thurman.� When he's not tasked to double-team a DT,
Hartings must quickly fire out and nab the rookie LB, or cut him down if
Thurman run blitzes.��
* NT Casey Hampton vs. C Rich Braham.� The aging Cinci center is coming off a knee
injury, and at his age he's ripe for a beatdown from Hampton.� "Tying up the center" -- long held
as some kind of Napoleonic victory for the NT -- ain't good enough in this
matchup.� Fat Casey needs to do more
than "tie up"; he needs to eat Braham's lunch and shove his ass back
into the backfield on regular occasion this Sunday.�
* Synopsis: It's a huge game that could
determine the course for the rest of the season for these 2 rivals.�
��- If Cinci wins, they gain the confidence of
knocking off the top dog and gain a huge lead in the standings.� If they lose, they could come crashing down
to earth, perhaps losing confidence and wondering when, and if, they'll ever be
able to knock the Stillers from the division perch.�
� - If the Stillers
win, it gets them back in the saddle after the hideous giveaway loss to Jax
last week, and puts them right on the tails of the Bungals, who've played 1
more game so far.� If the Stillers lose,
they slip way back in the standings, and combined with last week's horrific
loss, could be sent into a tailspin akin to the 1998 tubing after the T-giving
Day loss to the Lions.
In an odd way, this is the ideal game for the Stillers to go
on the road.� After last week's shameful
giveaway loss, the Stillers, if playing again at home, would be in for a
boo-fest if they struggled early on.�
Going on the road, they'll escape the wrath of an angry Stiller fan base
that is still seething from last week's loss.�
Furthermore, there's never been a better home away from home than
Paul Brown field and before that, Riverfront Stadium.� Due to the Bungals' resurgence, tickets will be tougher to come
by than in past seasons, but you can still expect 10,000 Stiller fans to be in
the stands come Sunday.�
This is a colossal matchup that should be a slugfest from
beginning to end, with 2 bitter rivals that won't budge an inch from the
opponent.� Being in the friendly
confines of Paul Brown -- with just enough fans to cheer them on without an
angry home base of fans to boo them -- I like the Stillers to bounce back with
an unleashing of frustration from last week's giveaway loss.�� The Stillers will emerge with a big win,
23-20.�