Stillers 17, Jags 9 ……. Oct 5, 2014…………Game # 5
Stillers-Jags Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers, reeling from the loss to then-winless Tampa, went down to Florida to face that other hapless, winless team. True to their nature, the Stillers stooped down and scraped and scrapped against a weak-assed, hapless, 0-4 Faguars team, and eked out an uninspiring 17-9 squeaker of a win. I won’t spend too much time analyzing a razor-thin win over a hapless minor league football team.
Grades:
QB: Ben had an ok game, going 26 of 36 for 272 and no INTs. But there was loads of hesitation and indecision, and I’ve realized that Gentle Ben is chickenshit-afraid to run with the ball nowadays. The fumble, on a 3d & 3 at the JAx 13, was simply inexcusable and unacceptable. Just like last week’s assaholic sack-take just before the half, you cannot -- simply CANNOT -- allow the ball to be stripped in this situation. Chuck the ball through the goal posts, or dive to the turf….either way, you at least need to walk away with a chippie FG, not a turnover. C+
RB:
Bell - Stutter Bell had a solid day, albeit with his lowest chore load of the year. He rushed only 15 times, but had a nice 82 yards. He also chipped in quite nicely with 3 grabs for 36. A-
Blunt – Stop the presses…! Blunt finally got more than a token 3-carry workload…! Had 8 rushes for 29, and 3 grabs for 17. Also converted three 3rd downs. A
Archer: Pee Pee Archer - 1 carry for 2 yards. He’s becoming a terror around the league. Inc
FB: Johnson got a rare carry, but got stuffed for no yards. Had a clutch grab for 12 yards. Solid in the blocking dept. B
WR:
Brownie – Had a bad drop, but finished with 5 grabs for 84. Amazingly, he didn’t draw any flags. B+
Pinkie Wheaton - Had 1 grab for 17, and a drop. Simply not enough production from the #2 WR. Not even close. B-
Justin Brown – Haley’s favorite player of all time had 3 grabs for 26. To his credit, he held onto the ball after receiving a crushing hit after a grab. B
Archer - Had 2 grabs for 8 yards. 4 yards per grab….! By the way, he’s just so fast & explosive, and quick, too. Good thing Doltbert rabidly reached for this smurf in the 3rd round…! C-
Lance “Yancey” Moore - had a big grab for 26 yards, and was basically written out of the script thereafter. Of course, after the grab, he spiked the ball, and was rewarded with a 1`5-yard penalty for delay of game. I guess it’s hard to blame the fellow; who wouldn’t be exuberant after rotting behind a stiff like Justin Brown these past 5 weeks…? Inc
Margavis Bryant - did not dress again. Brilliant 4th round pick by the omnipotent Kevin DoltBert.
Heyward-Gay - finally contributed. Had 1 grab for (hold your laughter, please) 0 yards. He still has more penalties, and last names, than he does receptions and yards. D-
TE:
Miller - after a career high 10 grabs last week, Haley quickly wrote him out of the game plan. Had 3 grabs for 46. B+
Spaeth - dressed, and wasted oxygen, plus a scare spot on the 45-man game-day dress roster. Did jack shit all game long. C-
Palmer - Ol’ Palmboy fooled everyone, going out on a 6-inch pattern and grabbing a key TD. B
OL:
Beacham - Got tooled for a sack. Flagged for a hold on a play that negated AB’s 18-yard grab. Has to be the luckiest man in America to still have his starting job. C+
Gilbert - FatAss Marcus actually had an acceptable game. I’m stunned. B+
Foster - finally returned to the lineup after nursing a piddly injury for weeks on end. Played solidly. B
Pouncey – Played ok for the most part, but also allowed a sack. B-
DeCastro - A decent day for the vaunted Stanford boy. B
DL:
Cam Thomas - did next to nothing. Rapidly becoming a huge consumer of oxygen and food, but little ROI. D
Keisel - Did very little. Had a rare batted pass, which for a guy with his long frame length, is astounding yet probably not surprising. Inc
McLendon - Solid job of clogging the middle. B
Heyward – Solid game, although no big plays. B
Tuitt - the vaunted 2nd rounder finally chipped in some. Of course, with Dick as his DC, he’ll quickly be marooned to the bench. Inc
LB:
Timmons – 7 solos and some decent play. Missed a couple stops. B
Shaquier – did not dress.
Worilds - Again, I thought Big LaMarr went to the Raidas. What, praytell, is he still doing with the Stillers ?? Oh wait, that was The Hokie Hooker, Jason Worilds, who once again STOOD AROUND doing nothing the entire game. Actually, Jason applied some rare pressure on a couple occasions. Still, he was sucked in badly on a couple wide plays. 2 solo stops don’t cut it, in this defense, for an OLB hauling in $9+ million. C-
Spence - started at ILB. Showd good instincts and willingness to hit. B
Jones - did not dress.
Moats - started at ROLB. Had 2 solos. Has trouble stuffing the run and tackling, which is not a good sign. C+
Harrison - got little PT and did little, but had a stellar sniff and stuff on a short pass to Robinson in the 4Q, stopped for -2. On the next play, Bortles, perhaps pressing with a 2nd & 12, threw the pick 6. B
DB
Ike - did not dress.
Pola - had 5 solos and 1 A in a fairly quite effort. Flagged for the third time this season for offsides when he tried to vault over the LOS as the QB was snapping the ball. This instance was fairly costly, as it stopped the clock late in the 1H for the Jags, who were operating without any TOs at the time. Simply not worth the fatty salcap $$ right now. C+
Mitchell – Again did very little. 3 solos and lots of aimless wandering. C-
Gay - solid game. Wasn’t totally abused as he often is.
Sharko Thomas – mostly not permitted to play. Pulled a ham on spec teams in the 1H and did not return. Inc
C. Allen - Actually somewhat resembled an NFL starting-caliber CB today. Got a Dong INT on a low, poorly thrown deep ball that was like 12 feet behind where it should have been. B+
McCain - Actually did very little all game long, but then pounced on a horribly thrown ball for a pick 6 and a rare defensive TD. For a guy who usually resembles the athleticism of Senator John McCain, this was a pleasant surprise. B+
Spec teams:
Wing – punted okay. Shitty pooch punt that went into the EZ. B-
Suisham - booted a 24-yard FG, which obviously was hardly impressive. Inc
Archer – Had 2 KO returns, 1 for 23 yards and the other for (please, hold your snickering) 13 yards, which gave the Stillers splendid FP at their own 12. He’s just so fast and explosive, though. An absolute steal in the 3rd round. Colbert once again fools the rest of the NFL. D-
AB – Did very little on punt returns. Inc
KO cover team - In what has to be an NFL first, the KO coverage team was flagged for offsides on successive KOs. Yes, it actually happened. Vinnie Williams and Antwan Blake pulled off this amazing back to backer. Never mind there is a large STRIPE to guide oneself, and never mind that the extra 3 inches gained from being offsides means almost nothing in terms of decent coverage, particularly in this day of a majority of KOs being downed as touchbacks deep in the EZ. F
OC: Another grab-bag day for Haley. On paper, they piled up lots of yards and slop stats. Of course, on the scoreboard, against a pitiful Jag team, they put up 10 points. Ten !! A week after Miller has set a career high with 10 grabs, he was mostly written out of the scheme today. How in the hell does that happen? Blunt, who is hardly a stellar pass catcher, was targeted one more time than Miller was in this game. You’re getting next to nothing out of the #2 WR, so why is Miller not in the mix ?? Here’s why -- Haley’s grab-bag tactics don’t enable him to arrive at the stadium with any particular plan. Whatever he pulls from the brown grab bag, is what he calls. Just shaking my head in disgust. D
DC: As so often happens, Dick had the luxury of facing a greenhorned rookie starting QB, along with a totally inept, hapless offense. I’m not going to -- nor should you --- fawn or gush over Dick for “shutting down” a piece of shit offense like the Faguars. Humorously enough, in the 1H Dick kept alive his infamous 2014 streak of allowing a scoring drive at the start of every half this season. Dick seemed poised to keep the streak going early in the 3Q, but Bortles, the rookie QB, clumsily fumbled a SG snap, which basically aborted the drive. Dick was also aided by a plethora of dropped passes by Jax on fairly routine catches. I’m sure Dick will be all proud of the 2 INTs, but both were Dong INTs off of horrific, Tomczakian throws that a high school defense could have picked off. C+
HC: Mike Dumblin preached about focus, discipline, and eliminating penalties. Then his team goes out against a junior varsity squad, and commits a rash of penalties amid a litany of slop and lethargic play. Gee, I’m so impressed !! Let’s lavish Dumblin with a 3-year extension for holding off the winless Jaguars in a gut-squeaker of an 8-point wn…! Dumblin shows no sense of urgency to get this listless ship righted and onto the correct azimuth. D+
Synopsis: Hardly impressed with a slop ‘n slather effort against a shit team. This is two weeks in a row in which Dumblin and the Stillers have been gifted the chance to play a complete NFL bottom-feeder, and 2 weeks in a row they’ve stooped down and played grab-ass against a weak, inept opponent. Next week, a big game against surging Clev, and let’s not forget that for Cleveland, this is their Super Bowl. Should Dumblin’s team resume its proclivities for slop and grabass, it’ll be a long bus ride home form Cleveland.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
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