Stillers 24, Cowboys 20 ���. Oct. 17, 2004 ����Game
#6
Stillers-Cowpokes Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers came from behind to beat the Dallas Cowgirls, 24-20, in a nail biting,
exciting, barnburner of a game.� Shame
on you for 6 weeks if you missed this one.�
Due to other commitments, this postgame will be a bit abbreviated.�
Grades:
QB:�
What more can ya say about Ben Roth?��
The man is blessed with eyes behind his head, which allows how to see
and feel pressure before it ever gets to him.�
The 5-yard TD pass to Plex was incredible, as Roth had the presence to
peek back to his right for any blindside pressure before he began scooting to
his right, and then hit Plex for the TD.�
The TD pass to Tuman was a beauty, as Roth was able to re-load and then
quickly flick the ball to Tuman before the defender knew what was
happening.� Roth also managed to get off
a shovel pass under heavy pressure on what was designed to be a flea flicker,
which Riemersma turned into a 14-yard gain.�
This kind of work simply cannot be taught -- it is pure talent and
instinct, and Roth has loads of it. �The
man completed his final 11 passes in bringing the Stillers back from a 10-point
deficit.�� A+.�
RB:�
The Duce had a very strong game, rushing for 93 yards on only 18
carries.� He finally was used in the
passing game, and made 2 nice grabs and showed good RAC.� Bettis got 5 carries, and on 4 of them, he
was slow, lethargic, and feeble.� On his
5th carry, he bounced it wide and ran untouched into the EZ for the
game-winning TD, causing me to leap and then hit my left hand on the ceiling in
celebration.� There was a player playing
in this game who will get a long look at the Hall of Fame, and he actually had
a very solid game today.� That player
was Vinny T., not Bettis.� A.
FB: Dan Kreider was finally allowed to
carry the ball, gaining 5 yards.� More
importantly, he threw some crushing blocks, and took out 2 defenders on the
Bettis TD.� A.�
WR:�
Although Ward led the Stillers with 9 grabs, it was actually Plex
Burress who had the better game.�
Burress had an incredible 1-handed grab on the 1st drive, good for 32
yards.� On the final drive, he put his
head down and got the 1st down yardage.�
Ward did have a nice day, showing good guts and courage.� But he dropped an easy-as-pie pass on 3rd
& 16 in the 1Q that would have moved the sticks.� He was also flagged for holding, which negated a long Staley run
in the 4Q, although this was just another shitty, blind, horseshit call by 1 of
the worst ref crews I've seen in YEARS.��
El had 1 grab for 11 yards on a 3rd & 14 valve dump.� A-.� ��
TE:�
The TE spot has been nonexistent all season -- and for about 8 seasons
-- but they snapped out of the funk with a huge (relatively speaking) day.� Tuman had 4 grabs -- perhaps the highest TE game
total in 6 years for the Stillers -- and the superb TD reception, while Jay Riem
had 2 grabs, including the heady valve shovel reception that netted 14
yards.� These were plays that Mister
Stonefoot, Mark Breuner, wouldn't have made in 100 years.� The blocking was solid.� A+.�
OL: The line was awfully shabby in the
1H, but came on much stronger in the 2H.�
The 1H was perhaps the worst half this line has played all season.� Faneca was piss poor on the first Roth sack
early in the 2Q.� Then Vincent got
totally wheeled back by Glover on 3rd & 7, resulting in a sack.� Then later in the quarter, Ross got wheeled
back into the QB's face, which created a flush and sack. �To their credit, they extracted their heads
from their asses in the 2H.� B.�
DL:�
The D-line got gashed early and often.�
The picked up their play in the 2H.�
Smith abused the RG and forced an int. grounding in the 3Q.� Kimo scooped up the fumble and rumbled to
set up the winning TD.� Hopefully
Hampton's injury is minor.� B.�
LB:�
This crew also started off slowly, but picked it up.� Farrior, at least on paper, got credited
with 2 sacks and 3 FF's, which should secure the Def. Player of the Week
award.� The 3rd fumble was actually a
dumb fumble by Vinnie -- hitting Anderson with the ball -- and the 1 sack was
probably a half-sack.� Nonetheless,
Farrior played hard and tough.� He
forced 2 fumbles, including 1 that caused the ball to roll backwards, OOB, and
the lost yardage turned the 1st down yardage into a punt.� Ditto for Clark Haggans, who had a strong
game despite small stats.� He fended off
a blocker and stopped Anderson for 2 yards on a 2Q play, a play in which the
prior OLB would have simply backpedaled and waved at�.and then jumped atop the
pile 8 yards downfield.� Foote was ok,
including a clutch sack in which he grabbed a hold of Vinnie's jersey.� Porter was fooled on a couple end arounds,
but was active and solid.� B.�
DB:�
At times, this was a shoddy game for the DBs.� Sad Scott allowed an INT to go right thru his arms and into
Keyshawn's for a 16-yard gainer on 3rd & 9.� He was also incredibly soft in the 2Q, and the Cowpokes abused
him time and time again.� Mercifully
enough, he was injured later in the 2Q and missed the rest of the game.� Ike got tooled by Bryant, getting spun around
like a top on a 22-yard completion late in the 2Q.� Townsend had a rough game.�
He had a foolish, boneheaded cheat-up, which allowed Gllen to be WIDE
open for a 48-yard bomb.� 2 plays later,
he got abused on a simple seamer for a 22-yard TD completion to KJ.� Stuvaints dropped an easy, sure INT in the
3Q, which likely would have been returned 80 yards for a TD.� The next play, Dallas booted a FG.� Chris Hope was pretty active, but twice in
the 4Q, his helmet came off on simple tackles.�
Note to Hope -- buckle the frigging chinstrap.� You ain't getting a Hard Hat Award based on your helmet flying
off every other play.� The best DB'er
was none other than Troy Pola, who had a strong game.� The guy found his arms today, and WRAPPED on 2 critical stops,
including a splendid flash up and stop of Witten on 3rd & 16 for a 1-yard
loss in the 4Q.� He also batted away a
TD pass to Witten at the last second in the 2Q.� B. ��
Spec
teams:� The coverage teams were solid, led by James
Harrison.� And Reed booted a 51-yard FG,
and had decent length on his KOs.�
That's where the positives end.�
The KO return blocking was miserable the entire day.� Gardocki had a chance to pin the Pokes deep
in the 4Q, but instead booted a weak 29-yarder that was FC at the 19.� Piss poor.�
Ike coughed up the opening KO of the 2H, but luckily El recovered.� C.�
OC:�
I thought our offense played a little fiddle-faddle in the 1st 3
quarters.� The 3rd & 2 cutesy
end-around to El on the 1st series of the 3Q enraged me.� This was as gay as it gets.� Then WiseHunt called a toss sweep to FatBoy
Bettis in the 4Q, in which Bettis was easily toppled for a whopping 2-yard
gain.� There's simply no excuse for the
stupidity of running a fat, slow RB on a toss sweep.�� B-.� �
DC:�
Dick's defense started out the game as soft as moldy cheese.� On the 1st drive along, Dallas converted 3
first-downs -- 3d & 5 for 7; 3d & 9 for 16; and 3d & 5 for a
21-yard TD run.� Numerous 3rd-and-mega-longs
were converted as easy as pie, because Dick was dicking around with the Softee
Defense.� Fortunately, he pulled his head
out of his ass late in the game, and the big blitz helped cause the Vinnie
fumble.� Still, Dick allowed Vinnie to
be far too comfy and cozy back in the pocket.�
Unacceptable.� C-.�
HC:� Bilbo Cowher
failed to have this team ready for the start of this game, and then allowed his
team to slather its way through the 3Q. �Cowher should KNOW Vinnie like his own cousin, and knowing Vinnie
that well, Cowhard should have harassed and punished Vinnie at every
opportunity.� Instead, Bilbo allowed Vinnie
to sit back and pick apart the defense by playing the Softee Defense.� Very poor.�
You saw Bill Parcell's get far more out of his limited resourced today
than did Billy Cowher.� C-.�
Synopsis:�
Just as I'd alluded to a few times in my pregame analysis, Vinnie
Testicle is always good for a choking turnover that helps turn victory into his
team's defeat.� He helped immensely with
the pathetic fumble, when he allowed the ball to nick off Anderson's shoulder.� Regular readers will note that I'm not one
to comment very often on reffing, but today's ref crew was atrocious.� Roth was hit after sliding, and twice
Ward was drilled while being WELL out of bounds, yet never was a flag
thrown.� Then they have the gaul to flag
Ward for a perfectly legit block on a running play.� This bye week comes at a good time, as Staley, Hampton, Scott,
Colclough, and even Roth were nicked up today.�� Special kudos to the Stillers fans in attendance, whose vocal
presence was readily noticeable, and, in fact, showed just how great Stiller
fans are and just how weak Cowpoke fans are.��
Stillers.com hosted a free beer tailgate party outside the stadium prior
to the game, and the energy gained from that beer certainly helped fuel the
large contingent of Steeler fans!� 5-1
baby!!�� Looking good as we head to a
well-deserved by week!!� ��