Loose Slag from The Still Mill (Sep. 29th, 2003)

�some loose slag from the hideous loss to the Titans�.

- Having scrubbed the tape (unlike 99.9% of the Pittsburgh media), I can vouch that the O-line play was absolutely horrendous.� Pure vomit.� AZ's 1-yard loss on the 1st play of the game?� Fordham whipped badly.� Haynes' 2-yard loss, 3 plays later?� Fordham again whipped badly.� AZ's 3-yard loss early in the 3Q?� Simmons pulled & whiffed, and his man totally disrupted the play.� Then there's the safety, plus numerous other QB pressures.� With Ross in the starting lineup, the Stillers have 3 sub-par starters on the O-line; a marginal starter at center, and a standout at LG.� Not good.���

- Seeing Fordham flapping in the wind brings back horrible memories of Anthony "Skates" Brown and Chris "The Mannequin" Conrad.� These kind of vile images are actually keeping me up at night.�

- Never have I seen a lineman regress the way Simmons has.� After a very solid rookie campaign, he stunk opening day and hasn't been worth a tinker's damn since.� If he's still recovering his strength and stamina from diabetes, then this coaching staff absolutely must give serious consideration to sitting him out and allowing Vincent to play.� Staunchly insisting on starting a guard who is continually getting overmatched and overwhelmed is just stone stupid.�

- Titan WR Drew Bennett could have been flagged for illegal motion on his TD catch.� He'd shifted laterally just a couple of yards, and after he set himself, he then wrongly anticipated the snap count, and his back foot moved backwards.�

- I'm still puzzled over the whole sequence of events late in the 2Q, deep in Titan territory.� Ward gained 4 yards on 3rd & 5, and Billy Cowher challenged the spot.� The spot was upheld, and then on 4th & 1, Cowhead opted for the FG.� Up 10-9 with 2:45 left in the half, it's not inconceivable to go for the 1st down in this scenario.� Because of the obviousness of the spot, the challenge itself was boneheaded, but if it had any utility, it's that it gave Mularkey, Maddox, and Cowher a good 3 minutes to chew on a playcall for the inevitable 4th & 1.� Instead, Cowshit wasted those 3 minutes of free time and did nothing more than chat with Reed about the extra-point-length FG.��

- Amoz had 6 catches, but not a single one of them was the kind of FLARE pass that my esteemed colleague Still Desi called for in his recent article.� Amoz's receptions were either screens, valve dumps, curls, or out-patterns that had him catching the ball as he was running into the sideline.� Since Mularkey has NO CLUE as to what a flare pass is, allow me to describe it.�� It's little more than a long handoff, in which the RB "bananas" out and catches the ball as he's facing the line of scrimmage, with a decent head of steam.� The RB is not stationary, nor is his back to the LOS.�� The flare pass has been around since at least the 60's.�� It'd be nice to see it thrown, just once, this season.�

- I found this quote by Joey Porter to be very disturbing:� "Not to disrespect them (Bennett and McCareins) at all, but that's not how we had the focus of our defense. We don't go into a game like, 'Oh, you have to stop Bennett and McCareins."�� Oh, really?� What guidance was Tiny Tim Lewis issuing his defensive troops?� Just last week, in the Titans' win over N.O., Bennett led all Titan receivers with 8 catches for 105 yards, plus he completed a pass for 14 yards.� McCariens was second with 5 grabs.� And, lest I forget, both of these receivers caught a TD pass against the Saints.�� Seven days later, the Stiller defense is basically tutored to not worry about Bennett and McCariens.� Both score a TD.� Go figure.�

- Before everyone jumps on the "Troy Pola is a wasted draft pick" bandwagon, remember this: Plex Burress spent his entire rookie season looking like a lost puppy.� Hines Ward rotted on the bench his entire rookie season, as did Joey Porter.� It's too early to tell with Pola.� Burress looked like a wasted pick as a rookie, because we did NOTHING to INTEGRATE him into the offense.� Same with Pola.�� Some guys need coaching and tutelage.�� Some young guys need a somewhat simplified set of tasks to do, not advanced trigonometry.� As a rookie, Jevon Kearse wasn't tasked with anything more elaborate than pinning his ears back and going after the QB.� This coaching staff isn't capable of doing any of this with young players.� The youngster either arrives and is a SELF-LEARNER, or he's left to struggle on his own devices, with the coaching staff treating him like a leper.� This is yet another reason why Billy Cowher needs to go.

- For all those blind imbeciles that love to trumpet how great a blocker Mark Bruner is, go back and re-watch the 3rd & goal toward the very end of the 4Q.� Bruener gets shoved back so badly that he gets in the way of Dan Kreider's lead block, thus clogging up the entire play.� One would expect just a little bit more from the guy who's widely heralded as the greatest blocking TE who ever roamed the Earth.�

- Every time I see Jevon "The Freak" Kearse, I cringe at my memories of the 1999 draft.� This guy would be an absolute terror in the 3-4 defense.� Porter and Kearse -- now there is a dynamic, dangerous, ferocious pair of OLBs.�

- As this writer noted a couple weeks ago, the Stillers continue to pull Plaxico Burress OUT of the game deep in the red zone.� As usual from a Billy Cowher-coached team, this is utter stupidity.� You'll hear babble about double coverage on Plex.�� Hey, if they're doubling Plex, that means someone else HAS to be wide open.� Furthermore, I'd sooner take a stab with the 6'5" Plexico, regardless of double coverage, rather than trying to jam the ball through 6 pairs of arms at little El or Ward in tight coverage, or running Bettis on a line plunge for 2 yards. ��

- Alonzo Jackson was a no-dress for the 2nd week in a row.� The guy makes a blunder on spec teams coverage -- as if no one else on a Cowher-coached team ever does -- and now he's in Cowshit's doghouse, banished to wearing street clothes for the rest of the season.� Rocky Boiman is a 2nd-year LB who put 9 points on the board for the Titans.� Next season, Jackson will be a 2nd-year player who "still is trying to get a feel for the game".�� When it comes to player development, no one does less than Lil' Billy Cowher.�

(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- the only nationally read coverage on the Pittsburgh Stillers that has accurately predicted the how's and the why's of the past 3 Stiller playoff losses�.)