Loose Slag from The
Still Mill
- Not sure
which Cinci loss was worse�..this latest debacle, or the come-from-ahead loss
in 1997 when Jeff Blake threw a deep ball up an elevator shaft and Carl Pickens
just toyed with DeWayne Washington to haul in the TD
and then the 2-pointer.��
- There are
any number of players who have shamefully regressed
since last season, but after watching the tape of this game, the guy who is the
most disappointing is none other than Jason Woodley.�� This is the guy who started the season
JOGGING after Chris Johnson of
������ One main problem -- besides the fact
that he�s become a disinterested loafer, is that the guy has bulked up past
the point of being effective and is now a slow, lumbering, hulking slugg who has zero speed, zero quickness, and zero
burst.� Weigh-lifting is fine, but it
needs to be tempered with athleticism, quickness, and agility, and in this case
the Stiller coaching staff clearly allowed this guy to bulk up too much.� Mobility-wise, he�s like a giant PENDOT barrel
out there right now.�� 280
pounds of stiff, wooden muscle mass that serves little purpose.� In reviewing the tape, the most sickening
play -- aside from Farrior�s wretched angle and
tackle attempt on the 4th & 10 -- was Woodley on that 4th & 10.�� You�ll recall that Aaron Smith had flushed
Carson LipBalmer to Palmer�s right, where, totally
unfettered, LipBalmer was able to snap off the pass
to Leonard.�� WHERE was Big Jason
Woodley?��� Well, he rushed from the LDE
spot against the RT and was summarily PANCAKED back onto his ass.�� Yes, pancaked.� So, when Palmer was flushed, instead of Big LaMarr in his face to disrupt, harass, or tackle the QB, LaMarr was getting his jock rocked and had his ass planted firmly
on the turf.��
- On the
fateful 4th & 10, the Stillers took a smart, NBA-like timeout after Cinci
lined up.� Unbelievably, they left James
Farrior ON the field for this play, while removing Larry Timmons.� WHY??��
It was 4th & 10!�
�With less than a minute
remaining, there was not going to be a line plunge called here.�� Why was Taunto Farrior even on the
field??�� The situation screamed for
either Timmons (who is, oh, about 4/10 of a second faster than the clopdhopping Farrior) to be the lone �drop LB�, or NONE at
all; 7 DBs could have very easily and smartly been
employed here.�� This is yet another
problem with The Fossil, Dick LeBeau.��
The guy is so wrapped up in old history, that he has no clue on
ADJUSTING to the present
day.�� Four years ago, Farrior might have
been an asset in this situation.� Today,
in 2009, Farrior is an abject liability in this situation.� If LeBeau is too blind or too stupid to see
this adjustment, then he needs to look in the mirror and hand in his
resignation.�
-
What really disturbs me beyond the loss itself, and even the squandered 4th
quarter lead, is the fact they are losing to mediocre teams. Further, you
beat divisional rivals like the Browns & Bungals and you send them into
a tailspin of second-guessing, finger-pointing, coach-firings and
rebuilding. I have a feeling that if the Steelers had beaten Cinci, Lewis
would be gone by season's end and the housecleaning would begin, setting
them back by another 5 years. The truth is that every team in the league
has real talent -- even
- Give some
credit to Ike Taylor, who snapped out of his funk with a very strong
effort.� Ocho
seems to bring out the very best in Ike.��
Other top WRs also bring out Ike�s �A� game.� It is therefore incumbent on his coordinator
to get Ike involved, enthusiastic, and energetic even when facing 2nd and 3rd
tier receivers, which is when Ike has been prone to loaf and half-step.
- Arians
has to go�right now. There is just no way around it. We run a single-point of failure
offense. If we can�t pass, there is no redundancy in the running game. Sure, we
scratch out an adequate run here or there, but there is no consistency.
Specifically, when a Defense thinks we are going to run, we cannot impose our
will on them. Our group of fat sluggs on the OL is
ridiculously immobile�Kemo is the only one of the guys that can pull. �Which, by the way, when the D sees him pull,
it�s a dead giveaway where the play is going�since he�s the only OL that
does.� Kemo, of course, is cursed with
the problem that he can�t so much as block an elderly janitor in a broom closet
when it comes to simple man-on-man blocking of the guy directly in front of
him.��
- If I�ve noticed one thing
about our Defense, it�s this: they are vulnerable to the 3 step drop option
routes. �We give so much cushion to the opposing
WRs that it makes a 3-step drop play very effective.�
- The 2-TE offense -- which
is essentially the base offense of Airhead Arians -- is built upon the premise
that the 2nd TE will created matchup problems in both
the passing and running games.� And
therein lies the problem.� Spaeth is a wretched, horrific, weak-kneed,
pile o� shit blocker at the POA (point of attack).�� Slow as he is, he has some redeeming value
as a pass catcher, but Arians, in a paradox only he could create, rarely ever
involves Spaeth in the passing game unless Miller is out due to injury.�� Big Matthew has 3 grabs in 3 games this
season; 17 in 16 games last season; and 5 in 14 games in �07.�� In essence, then, he�s good for, at most, 1
catch per game.�� So alas, you have a 2nd
TE who can�t block and is rarely ever used in the passing game.��
- Not that
it�s a mandatory barometer of success, but will the Stillers have a 100-yard
rusher in 2009?�� Seriously, will
they?����
- Parker
caught his first TD pass in THREE years.��
Gee, like it would be difficult to get a starting RB with blazing speed
a TD catch more often than once every 3 years.�� Just another indictment of
the dull, banal, slow-witted mentality of Bruce Arians.��
- Through 3
games, Dick�s vaunted defense has produced two (2) turnovers, both coming in
the
- Even the
hapless Seahawks managed to force not only an INT of Gay Buttler
yesterday, but also a forced fumble for another turnover.�
- I reckon the
game versus the Detroit Lions in 2 weeks no longer looks like a laugher, eh?
- Any truth
to the rumor that Hooker Reed�s agent is reaching out to Colbert, begging him
to re-extend the contract offer that Reed�s camp summarily rejected just before
the season began�.?�
- Any word
on if Colbert has offered Farrior yet another contract extension??�
- I�d type
more, but I need to spend some time hunting around for a Wallace jersey.��
Still Mill and
Stillers.com -- �When it comes to the analysis of the