The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The beauty of pre-season football is when your team losses, you can say, �it was only a pre-season game and doesn�t matter.�� The truth is pre-season games do matter.� The win/loss column is irrelevant and I think most NFL coaches will tell you that their aim in the pre-season games is to work on synchronization and evaluate talent.

If there ever is a meaningless game it has to be pre-season game # 1.� Historically these are ugly games, riddled with penalties, blown assignments and chaos.� That leaves little room for analysis so this report will focus on the good, the bad and the ugly and some observations.

Starting for the Stillers on O were the known starters with Staley getting the nod before Bettis.� The line consisted of (from R-L) Ross, Simmons, Hartings, Faneca and Smith.

On the D, starting LBs were Farrior and K-Bell inside and Porter and Zo Jackson outside.� The secondary starters were at corners Williams and Taylor while Logan and Troy P. started at FS and SS.

The Good:

• QBs.� An interception free game is always good, especially in the pre-season.� Maddox started going 4/5 for 52 yds and zero TDs going the entire 1^st QTR.� Big Ben relieved Tommy and went 8/13 for 84 yds and 1 TD followed by Frenchy who throw a TD.� Maddox threw relatively safe passes but was on.� He did throw a horrible pass to Doehring on the opening drive.� Big Ben looked comfortable and poised in his first NFL game.� He can scramble, he is smart and he can be accurate.� His TD pass to Randle-El was a great play by Roth and ARE.� His stats would likely be higher but had several completions nullified by penalties.� The first string O-Line was in with Ben as well.� I think Ben may be further along than some of us realize.� With Batch out, he needs to learn quick and I think he is on the right track.� The O-line did a decent job protecting the QBs giving up two sacks. The QBs were 11 for 11 on 3^rd down conversions throught the air.
• Duce.� Staley had minimal work played well rushing 11 times for 45 yards.� He has the ability to hit holes or make them up.� I thought the o-line�s run blocking was suspect but Duce was able to get some positive yardage averaging over four yds/carry.� He had a fumble during a decent Stiller opening drive that resulted in a touchback.� The ball was easily popped out since it was not protected by Duce.� Duce did not get any looks as a receiver, one of his strong suits.� Krieder had two receptions.� I�ve watched Staley before and he is particularly dangerous out of the backfield on third downs.�
• Zamir Cobb.� Temple�s Undrafted Rookie Free agent Z. Cobb led the receiving corps with 37 yds including a 29 yd reception.� He played well and should be a legitimate challenger for the # 4 WR spot.
• Spec Teams.� Hard to say this, but they played a solid game (minus the FG unit).� Troy P. took a fake punt 61 yds to set up the Stillers 1^st score.� Colclough had significant playing time returning punts and kickoffs with a long return of 59 yds.� Colclough is going to be an impact rookie this season.� Gardocki started to justify will large salary and nailed a 50-yard punt into the coffin corner to force the Lions to begin at their own 3 yd line.� Angle kicking is something we�ve forgot about after watching Miller.� Arena kicker Rob Bironas also showed us something we haven�t been accustomed to, a 72 yd kick off for a touchback.

The Bad:

�         Right Tackle.� We�ve been discussing this position since last season and little has been done to address it.� As a wrestling fan, Ross executed a beautiful double leg takedown in the 2^nd QTR that on a mat would have resulted in 2 points.� Unfortunately, in the NFL, a move like that costs you 10 yards and brings back a 10-yard reception.� Starks got some playing time and just looked uncomfortable. �His footwork was slow and doesn�t look to be a pass rush power and was beaten a few times.� I have little dobt that he will do well run blocking, but he must improve his skills at pass blocking.�� I think the line, as a whole was adequate.� Even after Ross�s takedown he did not play horribly.� Perhaps you�ll see the O-Line move up to the good in a week or two.

�         Zo Jackson.� I�ve always like Zo, the few minutes I�ve got to see of him play NFL ball, but something isn�t right.� Much debate has occurred to call him a bust or not.� I�m not ready to call him a bust yet, but he didn�t play well.� He attacks and hustles but lacks ball situational awareness.� He�ll take on blockers, but like a dog in heat, he won�t let go.� I thought he was poor in coverage and needs a lot more work before he gets the starting job.

�         Secondary.� Jury is still out, but like I�ve said before, this unit may be the bright spot of the 2004 season.� Troy is the plus.� Aggressive as hell and he�ll hit.� I still think they were offering too much cushion off the line of scrimmage.� The secondary seems to play the run well, but are still too porous against the pass.� Williams was flat out smoked on the Harrington to Fitzsimmons TD.� Fair recorded an INT.� Townsend, Scott and Hope did not play.

�         TE.� The one pass for 15 yds and that was all the action Riemersma or Cushings really saw.� I�m dumbfounded as to the reason that a Stiller TE is used so sparingly.� Especially when we signed Riemersma for his catching ability.

�         Blitzes.� To be positive, the D did use some blitz and stunt packages.� The reason I have them in the Bad is because they didn�t accomplish anything.� Little harassment, no sacks or little disruption.� The starting LBs were relatively quiet.� Kriewalt led the D with 5 tackles and 1 assist.� Adibi did not play.

The Ugly:

• Jerome Bettis.� As one of the lone Bus supporters, he is done.� He isn�t hitting the holes with any type of authority; he is being tackled from the hips and from behind.� He averaged 1 yd per carry.� Most troublesome was the Bus getting stuffed on 2^nd and inches and then again on 3^rd and inches.� Pre-season or not, a veteran back weighing 260+ pounds must be able to pick up 2-3 inches in two tries.� The Bus is now like the Queen of England, likeable but useless.
• Penalties/Fumbles.� As stated earlier, the first pre-season game is usually a slop fest.� The Stillers were penalized 12 times for 80 yards.� Bill Cowher seized the opportunity to get in the official�s face, but in Bill�s defense, the Unnecessary Roughness call on Battles was a weak 15 yd penalty.� Far to many miscues that brought back a lot of positive plays.� The biggest blunder was Jones jumping off sides on 4^th and inches during Roth�s hard count.� Fortunately it set up Troy 61 yd fake punt.� Which led to a recovered fumble.� The Stillers fumbled four times and lost two of them.� Detroit fumbled zero times and gave up a more respectable 45 yds in penalties.� The fumbles I watched appeared to be a direct result of poor ball handling rather than a bone crushing hit.� The penalties were often a result of poor synchronization, which is to be expected, but must be quickly remedied.
• Barrett Brooks.� If you think we have problems at RT, watch 9 year vet Brooks play left tackle.� Enough time wasted on him in this article.

The Stillers lost 27-21 but the win/loss isn�t important.� The Stillers surely evaluated their talent or in some cases lack thereof.� The question will be what to focus on in camp this week?� I for one would like to see an aggressive D, like we�ve been reading about.� I�d like to see Starks get in and play against a starting D, just to see what he can do.� I�d also like to see Adibi play.� The Texans come into Heinz Field next Saturday for game # 2.� Games 2 & 3 have far more significance and you�ll see the first team O & D get a lot more looks and PT.

Stillers.Com will give a more in depth analysis for the next two games.