Smoke from the Diesel

What an awesome time hanging out with Steel Tank in a B&G dominated tailgate outside of Texas Stadium. The Stillers.com banner hung proudly as the B&G faithful readied for the contest. Kudos to the many Stillers.com readers who showed up and enjoyed a few Brewskis with Tank and Diesel. In addition, many props to the thousands of Stiller faithful that were in full force in Texas Stadium making this a quasi home game. Stiller fans were loud when the Cowboys had the ball and kept up the energy throughout the game. I loved the fact that Cowboy fans were talking smack to me when the score was 20-10 only to see their faces when Bettis stumbled across the goal line. Any Stiller fan that showed up Sunday had to revel in seeing Texas Stadium invaded and the Stillers leaving with a satisfying victory.

Note to Dick LeBeau and Cowher, here is a play that is almost guaranteed to beat the Stillers every time. It happened three times last year against the Rams, once on a third & 22 against the Ravens and a 21 yard TD against the �Boys. It�s third & long or in the Rams case third & goal and the nickel defense is on the field. The ball snaps and the Stillers bring outside pressure while the DB�s are busy back pedaling in coverage. The QB drops back and hands off to the RB, the draw is killing the B&G on third down. I know a draw can be a great call when a defense is expecting pass. The problem is that teams are consistently successful when they call this play against the Stillers. Many times Whisenhunt calls reverses or runs on third down out of the shotgun and other teams defend it. Yet, the Stillers seem like they can�t stop the draw. In the Ravens game it was especially back breaking. The score was 20-7 and the Stillers were actually showing a little life. 3^rd & 22 and the Ravens call a draw to Chester Taylor that goes for about 25 yards, 3^rd & 22!!! I still don�t think we would have won that game but after that conversion and subsequent field goal, the rest was mere formality.

If you asked me before training camp the thinnest area of the Stiller�s team, I would have said defensive line. However, Chris Hoke, Travis Kierschke and Brett Keisel came to play and turned the D-line into one of the team�s deepest units. The Stillers have been able to substitute D-lineman this year so they don�t wear down at the end of a game. Obviously, this unit took a major blow when Casey Hampton went down for the year in the 4^th quarter in Big D. Chris Hoke seems like he can be a capable replacement. You can�t replace Hampton, and Hoke will not play as well. However, you don�t have to be huge to play NT in the 3-4. It helps but Baltimore�s Kelly Gregg seems to do just fine. The Stillers need to find an unemployed veteran who is a pure run-stuffer to back-up Hoke and play 10 to 20 snaps a game. Casey Hampton could push the pocket even on pass plays. The Stillers need to find someone who can do this and occupy 2 blockers on run plays and IMO Kendrick Clancy is not the guy.

In Scott�s absence Ricardo Colclough needs to start at CB. Nobody thought Roethlisberger was ready and he only had an opportunity because both Maddox AND Batch went down with season ending injuries. Let Colclough start and at least let Taylor play the dime. If Cowher wants Williams to play the nickel, fine. However, if he is continually torched then we may as well play Taylor and let him continue to develop. A best case scenario would be for Colclough to excel in a starting role and Scott to return as a nickel CB. That is probably a pipe dream as Cowher would most likely give Scott his starting job back no matter how well Colclough plays. Also, there has not been a definitive diagnosis on Scott�s injury so who knows if he will return this year. So long as Cowher starts Colclough and not Willie Williams during Scott�s absence, I can live with any other decisions he makes regarding the secondary.

5-1 and the future looks bright with a rising star at QB! Roethlisberger has been awesome since taking over for Tommy Maddox and should continue to improve each game. NE and Philly will provide a stern test for the rookie, but I believe he will emerge from those two games with more invaluable experience. There may be some rocky moments for him and the Stillers during these two games, however, I know Roeth won�t wilt under the pressure. So long as the B&G can overcome these defensive injuries and the O-line continues to play well; Stiller fans are in for a real treat these last 10 games. Once again, hats off to the thousands of Stiller fans who invaded Texas Stadium and everyone who enjoyed a great time tailgating with Tank & Diesel. Go Stillers!!!