Cards 24, Stillers 10 ...... Dec 3, 2023 ………Game # 12
Stillers-Cards Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 7-4 Stillers hosted the 2-10 Cards. The Cards won the toss and deferred. AZ was up at the half, 10-3, thanx to a 99-yard TD march that mercifully ended just before halftime. AZ was up 17-3 at the end of 3. The game turned into a blowout in the 4Q, and the Cards cruised to a laugher of a win, their first road win in a year.
Grades:
QB: KP got the start. Decent first drive, with a superb 38-yard strike on a flag to Pickens.
Got injured on a scramble near the AZ goal line, 5:10 2Q. Hard to grade him on such a short day of work.
Mitch Trib – vastly overthrew Dionte on a deep ball, shortly after the long 3Q delay. Weak, poor seamer to C. Heyward, late 3Q. Facing a passive D late in the 4Q, he led the O to a TD. C+
RB:
Harris – good run of 9 yard, first carry. Ran INTO contact on the 4th & goal plunge, gaining nothing. Had an okay game, but the plunge effort enraged me, as he ran as tall as a GIRAFFE. B-
Warren – 18-yard dash, 2Q. Had a solid game. Had 6.6 YPC compared to Big Najee’s 3.9. B
McFarl – inactive
FB:
WR:
Dionte – Flagged for a false start, 3Q. What a jackmule. Late in the game, a week after completely loafing on a fumbled ball, he scores a GARBAGE-time TD against a backup CB while down by 21, and then dances and preens like he just won the Sup Bowl. What a jackmule. C
Pickens – Good grab for 14, first play of game. Then snared a 38 yarder, 2 plays later. Superb fingertip grab of a deepish flag on 3d & 14, 3Q. Injured an ankle and did not return. B+
Austin – as usual, did nothing. Had 1 grab for 10 yards. This is a prime example of poor roster utilization…..either get this guy involved, or use his roster spot for something else.
Robinson – Had 3 grabs for 19, which is too meager.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – had 1 grab for 8 yards in the 1H. Stellar effort, early 3Q, powering his way for the 1st down on a 3d & 8. Had 3 grabs for 29. After snaring 9 passes last week, he wasn’t involved nearly enough by his OC.
Darnell Wash – never targeted. Had a few ok blocks.
Con Heyward – dropped a VERY catchable short pass, early 3Q.
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Seumalo, Cole, Daniels, Jones) had a moderately okay game. They opened up plenty of holes on the ground game, aside from the grisly 4th & goal plunge.
Jones got whipped the 1st series on a 3d down, deep in AZ territory, in which the DE nipped KP’s arm as he threw.
Poor, low SG snap on 3d & 2, 2nd series, by Mason Hole, which resulted in a bobble and a sack. Then, he had another putrid snap in the 3Q, which was bobbled by Trib and recovered by AZ on the PIT 21. Add in that he got completely BLOWN BACK on the 4th & goal plunge, and this sorry-azz should be cut Monday AM. F
Moore was lined up illegally on a 2nd & 4 toss sweep to the RIGHT that gained 6, negating the 1st down.
Seaumalo got injured, so Nate Herbig started the 2H at guard.
Jones was flagged for an illegal formation, 3Q, which negated a 1st down run of 11 yards by Warren. (Note, this wasn’t Jones’ fault……another player lined up illegally.)
DL:
Heyward – The Big Scammer (he of the $23M cap hit) had (hold your laughter, please) ONE solo tackle all game long. ONE !! Didn’t do jak squat. Just waddled around like a walrus. F
Ogunjobi – Had some pressure with Roberts on a pass play, late 1Q.
Adams – again inactive.
Lowdermilk – had 2 solos.
Benton – batted a pass, first series. Had just one solo, which for him is underwhelming.
Armond Watts – had a good run stop, late 2Q.
LB:
Landon Rob – Nice pressure on a blitz, late 1Q. Called for a pers foul on a hit to the RB after a flare pass went Inc. Really a shoddy flag-throw by the refs. Got nicked up, late 2Q, with ag groin and did not return.
M. Walker – good coverage on Conner right after the fumble, 3Q. Active day, with 7 solos, but he had his share of weak arm grabs and flailing whiffs as well. And, he got humiliated in coverage of the TE. C
Watt – batted a pass, 1st play of 2H. Injured an ankle in the 2d half and was a bit hobbled. B
Highsmith – Got a rare run-stop for a loss, 2nd series, on a delayed handoff. Late 1Q, Dong Sack for Big Alex ! The OT never moved at the snap, and Big Alex went in, basically UNTOUCHED, for his 1st sack in 4 games.
Big Alex Highsmith got BAMBOOZLED on the Murray QB keeper around end for NINE yards. Of course, ya won't see this in the stat sheet Mon AM. Thanx for Alex’s BLIND ineptitude, AZ scored a TD a few plays later.
In the 4Q, Big Alex got WHIPPED to the ground by the TE, who then slipped out and grabbed a short pass and rumbled for nice yardage, while Big Alex lumbered after the TE as though he were carrying sacks of concrete.
Big Alex was also credited for a half Dong sack, when Watt came in and the QB fell to the ground. This should have been a “Whole” sack for Watt.
Had 5 solos, but very, very little impact, along with this bevy of shoddy plays as noted above. C-
Herbig – good stop of Conner for a 1-yard loss. Why is this man not being tried at INSIDE backer??
DB
Peterson - chipped in a little.
Joey Porter Jr. - flagged for PT on a very late flag in the EZ, 3Q.
Kazee – flagged for a hold, early 2Q.
Keanu Neal – didn’t do much.
Minkah - finally returned after weeks of being inactive. Busted a hand, and returned with a soft cast. Didn’t do much, however.
Spec teams:
Harvin – Had a shabby early punt with poor hang time.
Boswell – sliced and missed a very makeable FG, late 3Q. Not good.
Killebrew committed a silly, needless 15-yard penalty on a FC play, in which he hit the returner 2 seconds after he made the FC. A dumbazz play by a complete dumbazz. He actually committed THREE penalties on the day, an NFL record for a special teamer. The hat trick ! F
OC: Had a nice early drive, although I despised how it bogged down deep in AZ territory and they had to settle for a FB.
Late 1Q, 3d & 4 -- WR screen for NO Gain. Da fuq is Matt Canada doing back here in Pgh, calling the plays ???
I hated the design and playcall of the 4th & goal plunge from the AZ 1-yard line. They got Shoitgun, instead of under-center. And they hand the ball to Harris, the stiff, upright, slow-to-get-going RB. Warren runs LOWER, and has shown a clear, BETTER ability to hit TINY CREASES. It was jack-assed stupidity to run Harris there.....and they had the INJURY TIMEOUT to figure this out before that play. D-
DC:
Austin had the luxury of facing a TRASH offense, at HOME.
1Q, 3d & 14, deep ball, with DOUBLE coverage, and still the AZ WR was OPEN and should have caught the deep ball. How in the da fuq ?? Shoddy defense once again. But this 3rd down problem occurred allllll game long. ALL GAME.
After the Cards took over on its own ONE, late 2Q, this vaunted defense got gashed & carved enroute to a NINETY NINE yard TD march. You have the NFL’s highest paid defense, at HOME, and they get gashed on this mile-long march. Kryler Murray looked like Joe Montana, going 5 for 5 on 3rd down passes, and he actually completed TWO TD passes, with the first being absurdly over-turned on a Jesse James kind of mistaken ruling. Kryler Murray went FIVE for FIVE on 3d down passes on that 99 yard TD march......all while DC Terryl Austin stood ossified, with his thumb up each orifice.
But Austin wasn’t done crapping his pants.
3d & 12, 1st play of 4Q, and of course, this defense gets TORCHED for a 19-yard pass play.
Late 4Q -- 12 men on the field and LINED UP for the snap on the PIT defense..... ya can't make shoit like this up. Austin should be FIRED after this game. F-
HC: Mike Asslin once again laid the egg against a weak, downtrodden foe.
This is on coaching in ALL 3 three phases of the ball today.
Players not focused. Players not disciplined. Players not taking AZ seriously. Foolish penalties. Wasted timeouts. 12 men lined up ON the field on defense. The defense playing grab-azz from the 2nd quarter onwards.
With Seamalo getting injured on the same play as Pickett, Stoogelin should have pocketed his bravado and ordered a FG. AZ knew that a stone-cold QB wasn’t going to be asked to pass the ball, and with a new stone-cold OG inserted into the game, that didn’t bode well, either.
It's 24-10, 4:25 left in the game.... Why on earth wouldn't you try an onsides kick ??? WHAT exactly do ya have to lose??? This was a jackmuled decision, by a complete jackmule. F-
Synopsis: A grisly, unacceptable home loss against a bottomfeeder. Utterly atrocious. Not surprising, of course, given Mike Stoogelin’s yearly, multiple egg-lays. Instead of basically clinching a playoff spot today, the team falls to 7-5 and now must claw and hope for some help to make the playoffs. Up next, the Pats on Thur nite
Follow Mill on Twitter, at StillMill1