After a long hiatus of being about as productive as Jason
Gildong, I�m back with a little insight into the B&G�s season opener.
Sitting in the upper deck I watched the 1st quarter with glee as the
Stillers pushed the Raidas all over the field. Then in the 2nd
quarter with a 14-0 lead, the Stillers got the ball at the Raidas 39 and threw
3 incompletions and punted. I said to myself then that wasting an opportunity
like that could come back to haunt the B&G. It took the Raidas awhile, but
Gannon cut the lead in half when Polamalu bit hard on a pump fake. It was one
of those games where one team outplays the other but lets them hang around on
the scoreboard.
The sloppiest part of the game came in the 4th
quarter with the Stillers leading 21-10. The defense had just created another
turnover and Tommy Gun had the ball on the Raidas 40 yard line when he dropped
back to pass. The ball slipped out of his hand and Gannon & Co. were in
business. To the defenses� credit, they held the Raidas to a FG. On the ensuing
Stillers possession it was Billy Ball at it�s finest. Three straight line
plunges and a punt as if there were only 3:00 minutes left in the game. Well
there were about 8 and the Raidas went down and scored on a tired defense. With
the score 21-19 with 4:00 minutes left everyone in the stadium knew a 2-point
conversion was coming. The Stillers looked totally confused and Rich Gannon
easily converted.
Sitting in the stands I was actually glad the Raiders MADE
the 2-point conversion, here is why. Had the score stayed 21-19 Cowher probably
would have gone conservative and punted, putting the game in the hands of the
defense. Janikowski is a very capable kicker and I did not want him determining
the outcome. A tie score forced the Stillers to stop turtling on offense and to
their credit they produced. When the game is on the line, Hines Ward is the
man. He jumped up and snagged a tough catch to put the Stillers 1st
& 10 on the Raidas 24 yard line. It was game over when Jeff Reed booted a
42-yard FG with :07 seconds left. Have to give Reed credit, he has worried me
but at least for a week those fears are squelched.
On defense Casey Hampton, Larry Foote and Clark Haggans
really caught my eye. Haggans showed an aggression and disruptiveness that has
not been seen from the LOLB position in years. Foote continues to improve and
has made tremendous strides since he was a rookie in 2002 subbing for the
oft-injured Kendrell Bell. Hampton was all over the field running down ball
carriers and clogging the middle. One guy who really surprised me this game was
Chad Scott. I could not believe a play he made on a ball thrown to Jerry
Porter. It was a slant to the middle of the field in the endzone, I thought it
was a definite score. However, Scott kept up with Porter stride for stride and
actually leapt in front of him and slapped the ball away. Maybe LeBeau is
actually teaching the DB�s to look for the ball. In any event, watching the
defense hassle Gannon and create turnovers made me thankful Tim Lewis is in NY
watching his defense get toasted by Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb.
One problem I have is deactivating 2nd year man Ike
Taylor. He has all the tools to be a very good corner, the problem is that he
has only played the position for two years. He previously played tailback at a
division 1-AA school (Louisiana Lafayette), before switching to CB his last
year. I can see where Colclough is already a more polished prospect and
deserving to start in the nickel. However, I see no one else on the Stillers�
roster worth putting ahead of him on the dime. This way Taylor is still
involved in the game and can play on special teams. Logan was caught flat-footed
on the 2nd TD pass and no way Willie Williams adds more to this
defense then Taylor. Ike is a good special teams player and should be allowed
to develop in the dime. Obviously, he did not play well starting against the
Panthers (in the last preseason game) and I am not proposing he start at CB.
However, I believe he will show steady improvement with some playing time, rather
than rotting in Cowher�s doghouse.
The B&G are catching the Ravens at the right time. They
should be plenty fired up after their embarrassing loss at Cleveland. However,
right now they have not shown they can pass the ball even when people stack the
line to stop Jamal Lewis. Getting Ogden back should help, but if Boller is as
erratic as he was in Cleveland, the Stillers will win. This game will come down
to the o-line protecting Maddox and at least putting together some semblance of
a ground game. No one runs the ball well on the Ravens, but the Stillers can�t
be completely one-dimensional. Running the ball is the key to avoiding
turnovers. If the Ravens can just tee off on Maddox in the passing game, they
should be able to force some turnovers. The Ravens want to win ugly and the
Stillers completely abandoning the running game will play right into their hands.
The Stillers will stack the line and Jamal Lewis won�t be
able to win the game by himself. It will come down to LeBeau harassing Boller
and Maddox & Co. avoiding costly turnovers. Ravens NT Kelly Gregg is out as
is WR Travis Taylor. In addition, LB Peter Boulware has yet to play this year
and all-world OT Jonathan Ogden will probably be 75% at best, which is still
better than most OT�s. (I know a lot of this because I live in Baltimore and
can�t help but hear pretty much everything that is going on with them) Bottom
line, if the Stillers avoid costly turnovers and the o-line at least holds
their own, they win. Prediction: Stillers 24 Ravens 17.