Stillers 34, Ravens 15 ���. Sep. 7th, 2003 ����Game #1
Stillers-WoodPeckers
Postgame Analysis and Grades
In front of
a packed Heinz Field crowd, the Stillers feasted on the hapless Ravens and
coasted to an easy 34-15 stomping of the once-proud Poe Birds.�
Grades:
QB:�
Maddox was pretty sharp early and often, and then really kicked it in
during the 3Q.� He threaded some nice
3rd down passes when he had to, and also tossed 3 impressive, accurate TD
passes to Ward (2) and Riemersma.� What
impressed me most was Maddox's pocket presence.� He seemed totally aware of the pressure (or lack thereof at
times), and scooted a few feet from pressure when he had to.� Perhaps the only boner he committed all day
was a botched fake hand-off on a fake reverse early in the 3Q, which he fumbled,
but recovered and wisely threw away.� A.�
RB:�
Amoz got the start and was bottled up, due to the swarming penetration
of the Raven defense.� He did rip off a
nice 12-yard run in the 1Q, and also had a nice 8-yard TD run in the 4Q.� Doughboy Bettis came in during the 2Q.� He had an 11-yard gain through a massive
hole, but otherwise didn't do squat.�
Haynes got quite a bit of work, rushing 11 times for 18 yards and
grabbing 1 pass.� Haynes had a
meaningless late-game fumble, which epitomized the day these backs had, as he
was hit just as the ball was being delivered to his belly.� This kind of overall paltry production won't
get it done in the long haul, but to their credit, these backs were getting
swarmed and smothered milliseconds after being given the ball on far too many
occasions.� Inc.� ��
FB: Kreider didn't get a whole lot of
work, since then Stillers used many 1-back sets, as well as used Haynes,
etc.� He ran once plunge from an El
handoff for 9 yards.� Inc.�
WR:�
Plex and Hines picked right back up where they left off last season --
abusing opposing secondaries.� Plex
scorched the Ratbird secondary with 6 grabs for a buck-16.� He made a nice play to haul in a 47-yard
bomb.� On the down side, he bobbled a
perfectly thrown out-pass, but managed to haul it in.� Still, it's those kinds of needless bobbles that have caused Plex
over the years to drop passes that should be easy grabs.� Plex was also flagged for an unsportsmanlike
conduct flag after a little tussle on a tackle.� Again, Plex should have learned his lesson last year, if not
earlier.� Ward hauled in two TDs -- both
on nifty catches -- and made several other clutch catches.� Hinesy was also tenacious as a pit bull with
his blocking chores.� �El caught 1 ball for 13 yards.� Doering cleverly drew a post-whistle personal
foul penalty by McAllister.� A-.
TE:�
Steeler fans who have been bamboozled and had the wool pulled over their
eyes for 7 (seven) years by a starting TE whose feet resembled the blocks used
to build the ancient Egyptian pyramids, can now arise from their slumber and
see what can occur when an offense has a real target at the TE spot.� Jay Riem not only snared a critical 20-yard
TD pass in the 3Q, but his presence on a pass pattern later in the quarter drew
coverage away so that Hines Ward could be all alone on a post in the EZ on a
28-yard TD pass.� Tuman grabbed 1 ball
for 3 yards.� On the down side, Tuman
was flagged for holding on a running play in the 4Q.� Very piss poor.� In a move
of sheer surprise and unbelievable intelligence, Stonefoot Bruener -- the NFL's
biggest cap hog the past 5 years -- was rightfully deactivated.�� A.�
�
OL: The O-line had some ups and
downs.� At times, they gave Maddox ample
room and protection.� At other times,
they got plundered by the Raven front 7.�
Some of the porous play was not all their fault; they faced a defense
that shot loads of gaps and their scheme wasn't up to the task.� Fordham committed a hideous
"Lookout!" block deep in Raven territory, getting abused to the
inside by rookie Terrell Suggs so badly and rapidly that it brought back
horrible memories of RT Christine Conrad.�
This 1Q play nearly got Maddox decapitated, and at this rate it seems
this ugly possibility will be a matter of "when", not �"if".� Ford also committed a false start.� Simmons committed the same, on a QB sneak of all things.� I'll have to re-look the film to see if
Marvel Smith boloed on his whiffed block that caused the late Haynes fumble, or
if it was merely a blown assignment by Faneca or a miscommo on the play.� Overall, the run blocking is going to have
to improve for this team to play hardball in cold weather.� C+.�
DL:�
Aaron Smith led the way with a very strong effort.� Smitty was active all day long, slashing
through the line, stopping ballcarriers, and harassing the passer.� Hampton was ok on the nose.� Kimo clawed hard.� Bailey saw some work later in the game.� Clancy actually was dropped into coverage on an out pass to
Taylor late in the game. �The lone sour
note is that the line was gashed a bit too much by Lewis, who averaged 4.6 YPR
on his 15 carries.� �B.�
LB:�
James Farrior led the way with a very strong, sideline-to-sideline
effort.� Farrior was active, tough, and
stout, to include his taking on a blocker on a 1Q 3rd & 4 and then stuffing Lewis for a 1-yard loss.� Clark Haggans once again showed that he is
more than man enough to start for this defense.� Facing the very best LT in all of pro football, Haggans nonetheless
hustled like a demon and showed toughness, grit, and skill.� He applied strong pressure and harassment on
several occasions.� Clark stopped Boller
well short of the sticks on a 3rd down scramble, and he was right on Taylor in
coverage on a 4Q 3rd down pass.� He also
whipped RT Orlando Brown late in the game, and stripped Boller of the
ball.� Haggans is the poster boy for the
simple, immutable fact that a player in any sport cannot produce while
entrenched on the bench.� Kendrell Bell nabbed
the critical 1Q INT; forced a fumble; and also applied some pressure with
blitzes.� The 4th-best Stiller LB today was
none other than Jason GilDong.� His only
visibility the entire day came when he was allowed to come in totally untouched
and unblocked.� �Otherwise, he was as quiet and meek as the
Iraqi army.� He did nothing but loop
around the entire horn of Africa the entire day, or, in the case of a toss
sweep on the 1st play of the 2Q, he literally stumbled over himself and prostrated
himself ass-first on the football field in a hilarious display of gutless
football.� �Oh, yeah -- Big Jason recovered a fumble, when he mosied over to
the pile to clap his hands and the ball came loose.� Zo Jackson got some work in late-game mop-up.� The Big 3 LBs:� A.� Big Jason
GilDong:� D.� ��
DB:�
Facing a rookie greenhorn QB playing in his first-ever NFL game, this
motley crew got a reprieve.� Boller was
spotty, erratic, and scattershot.� The
secondary made some ok plays, but still leaves quite a bit to be desired.� DeWayne had some nice stops early in the 2Q,
but then lapsed back to his old habits.�
He missed a tackle late in the 2Q, and then took abuse in the passing
game in the 3Q.� On one 3Q drive, Scott
was flagged for holding, and then DW was flagged for 40 and 18 yards on PI
flags, which allowed the feeble Raven offense to march for a TD.� �Scott
was also flagged for PI in the 2Q.� Chad
also had an easy INT on one of 8 underthrown deep balls by Boller, but as is
his nature, Chad fought off the ball as though it were a hot pot of liquid
lava, and thus dropped the easy pick.� Logie
was very active and effective.� Pola saw
some PT.� Ike and Townsend got some
work, too.� This test was a joke; this
group will have a far sterner test next week.�
B. �
Spec teams:�
A mixed bag.� Reed was 2-2 on
FGs, and Josh punted pretty adequately. �But Reed knocked one KO OOB to open the 2nd half -- an
unforgiveable sin -- and booted his first KO all the way to the 16. �The coverage on both KOs and PRs was mostly
soft and spongy.� �On an up note, Kreiwalt had a solid stop on
both a KO and PR.� Chidi nailed a
returner immediately after he fielded the ball on a punt return.� On a down note, the FG team had to waste a
TO on its first FG try, since apparently there were only 10 men on the
field.� At most high schools, before a
3rd down play at the opponent's 11-yard line even begins, the special teams
coach is rounding up the FG team and also keeping an eye on any "on
field" players who will need to remain on the field should the FG attempt
be required on the next play.� Alas, not
the Pittsburgh Stillers.� B-.� �
OC:�
Mularkey did a solid job of mixing up looks, formations, running,
passing, and so on.� He didn't fall into
a rut, and consequently didn't allow his offense to do so.� He's got to shore up the leakage up front;
teams will scour today's film and use similar gap-shooting to disrupt the
ground game.� A-.�
DC:�
Tiny Tim Lewis had as enviable a task as the fellow who hires dancers at
the Pure Platinum Club in Fort Lauderdale.�
He was facing an already-weak offense that was being "led"
today by a greenhorned rookie playing in his first ever NFL game.� Boller's scattershot manners made the
defense's job as easy as shooting ducks on the pond.� Lewis won't have any clue about this, but next week's test in KC
will be much, much sterner.� Inc.�
HC:� Billy Cowher
breathed a huge sigh of relief with this cakewalk win.� Well known for his opening-day follies,
Little Billy got to eat a whole lot of cake in a very easy, casual, stress-free
win.� Of course, this game was hardly
devoid of the slop and slather that one expects from Billy on opening day.� 9 penalties.� A wasted 1Q TO because there weren't enough men on the field for
a Stiller FG try.� Another wasted TO
late in the 1st half, when Balt. called a TO, and after that full TO, the
Stillers had to call a TO of their own because of confusion and/or 12 men on
the field.� A flag on a late Raven
2-pointer for 12-men on the field (�and, despite the extra man, the Ravens
still scored).� �It's easy to dismiss this kind of slop during
a blowout, but these are the stupid little things -- little things that a head
coach is supposed to ensure don't happen -- that bite a team in the ass
come playoff time.� Inc.�
Synopsis:�
Due to the tremendous ease because of the rookie QB in a season opener,
it's hard to gauge this win.� There
certainly were some bright spots: the offensive crispness of Maddox, Plex, and
Ward; the use of Riemersma combined with the deactivation of Clubfoot Bruener; the
play of Farrior, Bell, and Haggans, and some solid kicking by Reed and
Miller.� But this laugher was almost too
similar to the opening day laugher over Cleveland in 1999.� The problem with these kind of opening day
laughers is that no litmus test was performed, and as such, we've no idea if
this team -- especially on defense -- is up to the rigors of NFL caliber
competition.� The difference from bumbling
Boller's stumbling offense, and Trent Green's high octane offense in KC, is as
massive as the difference between Mount Washington in Pittsburgh and Pike's
Peak in Colorado.� My concern is that
there will be a whole lot of chest thumping and woofing -- both by the Steeler fan
base and the team itself -- after demolishing an opponent that was doomed to
failure by starting their greenhorned QB.�
Write this game off as a nice tune-up (and an easy W in the standings),
similar to Pitt's annihilation of Kent St. last night.� The real season and the real test start next
Sunday in Arrowhead Stadium against one of the very best offenses in pro
football.�