Stillers Quarterly Unit Report

Well fellow Stiller fanatics, the season is � over and as we all know, the Stillers are sitting in first place (tied with Baltimore) in the soft AFC North, with a 2-2 record. So I thought I�d take this opportunity to have a look at each of the major team units and grade them on their performance thus far.

Offense:

O-line: Starting with this unit because, in football, it all starts with the line play. And ours just has not been up to par so far this season. Against Baltimore, our line looked adequate, if not spectacular. But then, the Ravens� front 4 are a shadow of their former selves. Against KC, the O-line was weak, but not quite atrocious. Then came the relief of the creampuffs from Cinci. Stiller fans world-wide breathed a collective sigh of relief as the O-line actually dominated someone for a change. Then, against the Titans (clearly one of the top defensive front 7�s in the league) they looked about as shitty as one could imagine. Clearly, this unit is one of the Stillers� weakest links. This unit obviously has a LOT of work to do before it can even be called average. And while it is possible that one or two of the guys currently riding the pine are better than the starters, I wouldn�t bet on it. Expect this unit to be a season-long disappointment.

Quarterbacks: Since we have only seen Tommy Maddox at QB so far this season, this grade amounts to the only single player grade in the entirety of this report. Much like last season, Maddox has been hit or miss thus far. He�s had stretches where he looks like the second coming of Joe Montana, and then times where he makes you long for the days of Neil O�Donnell. Despite his lack of mobility, he is clearly a step up from Kordell Stewart. Is he better than Batch? Who can say, since Charlie has had a grand total of about 6 plays since signing here. Maddox� biggest problem is over-confidence, I think. Much like a John Elway, Tommy always thinks he can make a play, even when there is no play to be made. As a result, he sometimes forces the ball into coverage, or refuses to take a sack when that would be the best decision he could make (i.e. the second INT vs Tenn.). On the other hand, however, this confidence in himself (and his receivers) is what allows him to occasionally play at superstar level. It�s a double-edged sword with Tommy, so we must always keep in mind that in order to excel, risks will need to be taken. Finally, he needs help from the O-line. As long as the line plays poorly, Tommy will not be able to play up to his potential. Throwing on the run is NOT his strength, and that, as much as anything, caused the INT TD yesterday.

Running backs: With starter Amos Zereoue and backup Jerome Bettis on the roster, one would think that the Stillers� running game would be one of the best in the league. The two are almost exact opposites in terms of style and ability. Bettis is your classic straight-ahead power-back, a bruiser who delivers as much punishment to opposing defenders as he takes. And while his speed and agility are better than one would expect from a back his size, no one will ever confuse him with Barry Sanders or Gail Sayers. Zereoue, on the other hand, is much more of a scat-back. He�s fast, shifty and nimble. But he doesn�t have the power to push the pile like Bettis does. Verron Haynes seems to be a �tweener, with better speed than Bettis and more power than Amos. But he seems to have a case of fumblitis. So far this year, our running game has been mediocre at best. On occasion, we�ve seen flashes of the ability that both AZ and JB possess. But neither has set the NFL on fire, or even warmed up a stat-sheet. This is due mostly to the wretched work of the O-line. If the line could solidify to slightly above average, I believe we would see our running game return to it�s traditional top-ten form. Until then, expect more of the same from this unit.

Wide Receivers: Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress are easily the best WR tandem in the NFL. Ward plays hard every down, regardless of whether the ball is coming his way. Blocks with a ferocity that the O-line could take a few pointers from. Plaxico has improved slowly but steadily since arriving here, but still has a tendency to get lazy, both in terms of technique (cradling the ball vs catching with his hands) and footwork (whether it�s getting his feet down in bounds or not coming back to the ball on catches across the middle). Randle El is an electrifying performer who flashes occasional brilliance and poor rookie-like decision-making with almost equal frequency. Needs only more consistency to be considered one of the best 3^rd WRs in the league. The rest of the receiving corps is very average, but Taylor and Doering have shown at least the potential to be quality players. But as long as Ward, Plax and El are on the team, they will get little opportunity at playing time, thus are unlikely to improve much.

Tight Ends/Fullbacks: Jay Riemersma, Jerame Tuman, Mark Bruener and Dan Kreider are names that are barely known outside the confines of the AFC North, with good reason. Kreider is one of the top 5 FBs in the league. He hits hard and can pancake just about any defender under 250 lbs. As a threat to run or catch the ball, though, he is merely average. And that is just what we�ve seen from him this season. Excellent blocking and not much else. The tight-ends, as usual on a Cowher-led team, are an after-thought. Riem has good receiving skills, but doesn�t get enough tosses his way to make a big impact on this team. He is average at best as a blocker. Tuman is just average, period. Bruener, often hailed is the best blocking TE in the NFL, could be just that, but so far this season, has been a pine-rider. One must wonder, given the O-line woes on this team, why we haven�t seen more of Bruener in the running game. I suspect it�s because he really isn�t as great a blocker as he is made out to be. Still, even if he is merely average in that respect, his presence on the field would likely improve the run blocking.

Defense:

D-line: Anchored by NT Casey Hampton, this is one of the better units on the team. Fat Casey is capable of mauling and manhandling just about any center in the league, and as such draws frequent double teams. Aaron Smith is solid, but unspectacular. Kimo Von Oelhoffen is still mostly solid, but is on the downside of his career, and as such is not the factor he was 2 or 3 years ago. Both he and Smith play hard every down, but neither will ever be superstars in this league. The backups at all three positions are mostly forgettable. Depth is a serious problem here.

Linebackers: Despite the presence of perennial under-achiever and total slacker Jason Gildon, this unit is still the best on the team. Joey Porter and Kendrell Bell are both capable of supreme excellence at their respective positions. They hit hard, never give-up and bring an aggression sorely lacking on this D. Farrior is an above average coverage LB and a decent run-stuffer. Not a star, by any means, but no slouch either. And then we have Gildon. Gildon is, well, Gildon. Suffice it to say that I agree whole-heatedly with Mill�s assessment of this pansy as portrayed weekly in the Gildong report. Long time backup Haggans, in the little PT he has been allowed so far this year, has shown twice the desire and ability as Gildon, and yet since Porter�s return has been relegated back to the bench to rot. This unit�s overall grade is dragged down by Gildon�s presence, as has their play on the field thus far. Opposing offenses are able to neutralize to some degree the skills of Bell, Porter and Farrior by ignoring Gildon and concentrating on the LBs who actually play to win. The fact that these three still manage to make plays on what is essentially a 10 man defense is a testament to their skill and desire.

Secondary: Another of the weakest links on this team. Dewayne Washington has been absolutely horrid this year. He is approaching Gildon�s status as the biggest pansy on the team. A pass in DW�s direction is almost a sure thing anymore. Why he is still a starter is beyond me. Chad Scott has not been a whole lot better, but to his credit, he does occasionally make a play on the ball. However, his penchant for drawing interference calls pretty much cancels out the good plays he sometimes makes. The safeties have been, for the most part, invisible this season. Other than the occasional Logan assist in run defense, I can hardly remember ANY tackles made by either of the starting safeties. The backups are complete unkowns, getting so little playing time as to even warrant a comment.

Kickers: Jeff Reed has been decent on FGs and very inconsistent on kickoffs. He will alternate deep, touchback kicks with short punt-like kicks that barely carry past the 20. If he develops more consistency on kickoffs he can be considered in the top-ten in the league. Until then, he will remain average. Josh Miller is even more inconsistent and erratic as a punter. He is capable of deep, booming punts on occasion, but lacks the touch to regularly pin opposing teams deep on shorter punts. He is usually good for at least one shank per game.

Kickoff/Punt Coverage: This unit weekly vies for the bottom spot as worst unit on the team. Has been allowing TONS of return yardage, as well at the occasional return for TD. Add in the almost mandatory 2 penalties per game, and you have a special teams nightmare that just won�t go away. Over the last 5 years, this is easily the worst unit on the team overall. You would think that this unit could not get any worse, but don�t bet on it. Expect this unit to lose us at least one more game this season, maybe 2 or 3.

FG Unit: Much like the O-line, of which many of these players are the same, this is a unit in disarray. Frequent leakage such as we saw against Tennessee will continue to plague the kicking game. Schneck is a good long-snapper, but not much else. Why he consumes a valuable roster spot is unfathomable to me.

Offense: Mike Mularkey is a good OC. He generally creates a good, balanced mix of run and pass. He also seems to recognize, for the most part, who his best players are, and tries to get them the ball with regularity. However, he is too enamored of his gimmick plays and runs them more than necessary. His red-zone play calling is suspect. Perhaps he forgets that plays that work at mid-field don�t always work as well in the RZ, due to the limited confines close to the goal-line. He needs to work on this aspect of his game if he ever wants to be a Head Coach in this league. Russ Grimm, I believe, is an excellent O-line coach, but you surely can�t see it from his unit�s performance so far this year. I suspect that his biggest problem is lack of quality personnel. If he can manage to get this unit up to merely average status, my assessment of him will be proven accurate. If not, then I may have over-valued his ability. The coaching for the RBs, WRs, and TEs has been adequate to good, based upon the performance of these units.

Defense: Week in and week out, Tim Lewis shows that he is just NOT a good defensive coordinator. With a solid D-line and great linebacking, we still have trouble slowing down the better offenses in the league. We also don�t get near enough pressure on the QB, which is due, I believe, to the schemes Lewis puts them in. The near continual lack of TE coverage in red-zone situations suggests that Lewis is unable to recognize even the simplest of flaws in his game-planning. The lack of improvement in the secondary also reflects badly on him, as well as D-backs coach Willy Robinson. It�s probably too soon to say what effect Darren Perry has had as assistant D-backs coach, but so far, I�d say it isn�t much. Linebacker coach Keith Butler seems irrelevant to this team. The simple fact of Gildon�s continued presence on the same field as Porter and Bell suggests that Butler adds little to the team other than relaying the orders of Lewis and/or Cowher to the players. John Mitchel, as D-line coach, needs to do something to improve the depth of his unit.

Special Teams: Kevin Spencer is as much of a embezzling thief as Jason Gildon is for continuing to collect a paycheck while doing NOTHING to aid his team. He is no improvement over Jay Hayes, and might even be worse. I think his only function is to serve as a goat for Cowher should another ST disaster end our season as it has the last couple.

Head Coach: What can I say about Bill Cowher that has not already been said hundreds of times by nearly every writer on this site, as well as most of the message board members (with the obvious exception of Steel33). Cowher has shown this season the same flaws in his ability to manage a professional team as he has since day one. You would think that a coach in his TWELFTH year running the same team would be able to quickly identify and correct, or at least attempt to correct, habitual problem areas on his team. But as we have seen with the lack of improvement over the last couple of seasons on special teams and in the secondary, Cowher is unable to do this. That alone earns him his grade, but his game-day thought processes and adjustments (or lack thereof) truly cement him as the most over-rated HC in the league. I cannot wait until the day he exits this team, for as long as he is HC here, we will not see another Lombardi Trophy.