The Stillers sputtered through their 2nd preseason game in a listless, bland manner, en route to a 24-21 loss in Toronto. The win/loss is entirely meaningless, but what wasn�t was the plethora of mistakes, boners, and feeble play from a vast majority of players on the roster.
Offense:
Benji started out nicely, hitting Holmes on a crisp 3rd down out for 13, and then escaping pressure to complete a 19-yarder to Ward. The latter play was even more impressive when you realize a defender was latched onto Ben�s lower jersey as he threw this pass.
Well into Bill territory, the Stillers seemed poised for a score, facing a 3rd & 1. But Justin Hartwig, trying to out-Mahan Sean Gahan, foolishly drew a holding flag on a simple, basic line plunge. On the ensuing 3rd & 11, Ben�s curl pass was deflected by a diving DB, and the resultant deflection was picked off. To add salt to the wound, Colon was flagged for holding on the play.
On the 2nd series, Parker slashed up RT with authority, gaining 6. This looked like the Parker of old. But on 3rd & 5, Heath Miller, like a total dumbass, was whistled for a false start, thereby killing the drive.
Ben played through the 3rd series. He had a quality completion to Ward on a skinny post, and then hit Tonio deep for a 40-yard TD. Good concentration by Tonio as he hauled in the pass amidst a closing defender.
Leftwich played the last 2 series of the half, and as expected, with such little familiarity, was largely ineffective. He started nicely enough, hitting Nate on a slim post for 24 yards, which was the lone highlight. (Good catch by Nate, by the way.) Lefty misfired poorly on 3rd & 2. On the next drive, Lefty foolishly fumbled the ball back in the pocket while trying to stiff-arm a rusher, and the Bills nearly recovered at the PIT 10-yard line.
The 2nd half saw a host of backups enter the game, with Lefty playing a few series before turning it over to Dixon. Menden had a good 9-yard dash and a decent 3D plunge, and showed good vision and footwork on his 6-yard TD run. He still runs a bit too upright for my tastes, however, and I hope the coaching staff can keep working on this.
Sweed dropped an out-hitch, and 2 plays later, Willie Peid dropped an out on 3rd & 6. Sweed dropped another pass, slightly behind, in the 4Q, and Reid did haul in a low pass from Dixon. Dixon showed his speed and athleticism by improvising on a scramble and dashing down the sidelines for a 47-yard TD run. Plays like this will provide the Stillers with an interesting roster decision when the preseason is completed.
From what I could see on the small streaming video feed (thank you NFL, you worthless pieces of shit, for not putting this game on any TV source outside of Pittsburgh), the O-line play was okay. Chris Kemo was flagged for a false start. There were a few pressures, but the running game had some holes and Ben was given time to throw. Mind you, the ground blocking is not where it needs to be, but I�m willing to be patient for a couple more weeks due to the influx of new personnel and the relative complexity of the Stiller ground blocking.
Defense:
On the other hand, I�m not willing to be patient with this group of soft, mamby pamby defenders that allowed a mediocre Bills offense to march up and down the field like a marching band at a parade. This defense was everything you don�t want in a defense -- soft, feeble, uninspired, unemotional, and ineffective.
The Bills offense had a 10-play, 67-yard TD march, and then followed that up with an 11-play, 90-yard TD march that actually went 98 yards. The Stillers had the Bills backed up to their own 2, and on 3rd & 13 from the Buff 7, the Softee Defense parted like the Red Sea and allowed slow-footed Trent Edwards to scramble right up the middle for a sickening 22-yard gain. Mind you, the entire 1st string defense was on the field for both of these marches, with only Troy Pola missing from the lineup, and they made Trent Edwwards look like Joe Montana.
Some observations:
- On the d-line, the gap control and �winning a stalemate� at the point of attack is nearly non-existent. It�s as if these fellows showed up and totally forgot the technique they�ve used the past 6 seasons.
- FatAss Hampton played and did nothing.
- The fill by the 2 ILBs picked up right where it left off in Jax last season, which is certainly not good.
- Carter and Farrior (The Winged God of Pass Defense) were each weak and slow on the 1Q TD completion to Royal.
- Harrison, one of the very few defenders to show up with attitude and intensity, had a nice edge rush and nearly tomahawked the ball from the QB.
- Larry Slow-a-Foote was slow in getting over to Royal on the 2nd TD. He was slow all evening on everything -- running plays, QB scrambles, dump offs, you name it. It�s going to be sickening if Tomlin hands this stiff the starting job. Will Timmons have some early struggles? Yes. But by November and December -- where a team needs to gel and peak -- Timmons will far outplay Footsie.
- Ryan Clark had a weak tackle attempt after a swing pass in the flat, and simply got run through by the RB. Very weak.
- Kirschke had a weak-assed, gimpy flail on a RB who was dead to rights on a screen pass that had been sniffed out. Kirschke showed more ineptitude in the 2H, though he did have a rare FF. Really, though, it frightens me to think we have nothing better to roll out onto the field to give Aaron Smith or Keisel a breather.
- Almost daily, you read some blather about Potsie Farrior�s supposed, vaunted, unparalleled leadership. None of it was evident last nite. The defense played uninspired, soft defense with virtually no technique whatsoever.
Spec teams:
Mostly poor.
Moore looked timid on the opening KO, and had a goofy spin move on a PR that netted zero. Nate had a fairly easy chance to down a punt inside the 1, but failed. Reed badly duck-hooked a 42-yard FG. Reid had a decent 29-yard KOR, but then had a meek, feeble KOR late in the game.
The worst moment came on the 95-yard KO return in the 2nd half. Arnie Harrison played this poorly, and the rest of the coverage team wasn�t too sharp, either. Very poor.
Ernster had a weak KO to the 13. Berger punted much better, booting a 50-yarder with no return and then hitting a 48-yarder. He did launch a pooch punt into the EZ in the 4Q. Ernster gave a shameful effort on the long TD return. At this point, I�d cut Ernster and keep Berger, but it�s worth looking at each of �em during the next 2 exhibition games.
Synopsis:
In preseason, it�s never about wins and losses. Rather, it�s about effort, technique, teamwork, gelling, and progress, none of which was evident in this sleepwalk of an effort.
I realize Tomlin is trying to put less emphasis than last year on the pre-season, but there�s the old �fine line� and this team has well crossed it for the worst. The 4th preseason game is nothing more than injury avoidance, so this team essentially has 1 more exhibition game to show some professionalism, intensity, and technique, especially on defense and spec teams. It�s time Tomlin and the so-called team leaders step forward and denounce the horseshit we�ve seen thus far, and more importantly, to put their noses to the grindstone and snap this team out of its collective slumber.