RiceWatch: Game 8, Oilers

Here's the breakdown of Rice's action from the Oilers game. Note: the yardage is where Rice catches the ball in relation to the line of scrimmage:

  1. 9 yard comback. Man by Darryll Lewis, who slips. Tackled.

  2. [lines up offsides]

  3. Incomplete 2 yard out. Man. The one where Rice goes in motion. Should have been picked off.

  4. 8 yard comeback. Man. Tackled. Millen actually says Rice "made a mistake" by not running the pattern long enough for a first down!

  5. 1 yard out. Play action, Rice goes in motion, delays at the snap, then turns out. Man coverage, but for some reason Lewis gave a 7 yard cushion. Goes out of bounds.

  6. [penalized for illegal motion] Stockton: "rare for #80", although 2nd time this game alone that Rice is penalized.

  7. 6 yard out. Man. Tackled.

  8. [2 yard drag], the classic pick play where Rice comes in motion and runs defender into the pick. Man coverage, tackled. Catch nullified by defensive holding penalty.

  9. Incomplete 35 yard post. Miscalled "double coverage", this was a 2-deep zone on 3rd and 14. Rice once again asks for a flag before the ball even hits the ground, although it is, of course, Rice that tried to push off the DB. Dishman is flagged for illegal contact although the replay clearly shows no penalty-- a camera is on Dishman all the way. The announcers, confused, gloss it over and move on despite that the terrible call gives the 49ers a first down on a 3rd and 14.

  10. 2 yard drag, the pick play again. The first completion of the year to Rice against actual double-coverage. Rice is smothered and kept from making the first down.

  11. Incomplete 8 hard hook on fourth down. Man coverage by Dishman.

  12. [4 yard reverse]. Tackled.

This was the third time this year that a defense used primarily man coverage against Rice. The Packers and Panthers both did before and won. Houston held the 49ers to 10 points and lost.

The Oilers refused to drop into a zone and let Rice catch the 2 yard pass underneath the linebackers. The result: 5 catches for 36 yards-- not exactly "the best ever." Still, 4 of the 9 attempts to Rice were 5 yards or less downfield, and while Rice made the catches, he was ineffective. Rice was tackled a season-high 6 times-- the Oilers didn't let him go out of bounds or dive to the ground to avoid contact-- perhaps that was the reason for his poor performance.