Stillers 20, Chargers 10 ...... Sep 22, 2024 ………Game # 3
Stillers-Chargers Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 2-0 Stillers hosted the 2-0 Chargers. LA led 7-0 after the 1Q, and 10-7 at the half. 10-10 tie after 3Q. The Stillers managed to fairly dominate the 4Q against an injury-ravaged SD team, boosting their record to 3-0.
Grades:
QB: Fields got the start. Good 3 yard TD scamper, 2Q . Was 8 of 8 in passing on this drive. Was 14 of 17 for 105, 1H. Threw a Dong INT, 3Q, when the pass clanged off the WR, popped high into the air, and then bounced around some more before Crud DuPree grabbed it for SD.
Hit some big passes in the 2H, including the crosser to PeePee Austin that went to the house. A very efficient, and effective, last 3 quarters. A-
RB:
Harris – 4 rushes, 3 yards in the 1H. He picked up considerable steam after halftime and had a solid outing. Finished wth 18 carries for 70 yards, plus 5 grabs. B
Warren – 1 carry, 3 yards, 1H. Rarely touched the ball & rarely played after halftime, as he suffered an injury to his ham. Inc
FB: played by Con Hey once in a while.
WR:
Pickens – Allowed a pass to CLANG off his hands on a 3d & 4, 2:00 2Q. Yes, the DB was right there. But yes, this was a drop. Had 27 yard grab, late 2Q, off a semi-scrambled by Fields. Had 5 grabs for 57. B-
Van Jeff – thankfully got nicked up and played sparingly.
Austin – grabbed a gimme 9-yard pass, late 2Q. Grabbed a 5 yard out, 3 plays later. Grabbed a 26-yard slant on 3d & 15, 3Q. Grabbed a short in and took it to the house for a 55-yard TD, 4Q. B+
Skowronek – did not dress.
Rom Wilson – The Great Savior at WR, again did not dress.
Patterson – grabbed a flare, late 1Q, and gained about 6. Flagged for illegal formation, 3Q, which negated an 18 yard pass play to Fry. Had some solid carries as a RB in the 2H. B
Miller – slipped outa tackle, 3rd down, and moved the chains with a 20 yard gainer. B
TE:
Pat FryBoy – grabbed a curl, 11 yards, 2Q. Dropped a pass, late 2Q. Grabbed a 15 yard short in, late-ish 3Q, for a key 1D. Had 4 grabs for 33, which is the 3rd game now in which his fatty contract extension has shown to be a poor value. B-
Darnell – Never targeted. Had some solid blocks.
Con Heyward – Had 1 grab for 2 yards.
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Anderson, Frazier, Daniels, Jones (Fautanu on IR)) had a decent 2H after a somewhat grisly 1H.
Whiff ! Dan Moore. And a sack, 2d series. Remember all these fans fawning over Moore as the next Anthony Munoz?
The 1H was pockmarked with a host of shabby blocking, but this crew kicked it up a notch in the 2H, in which they fairly dominated the trenches. B
DL:
Heyward – chipped in on a run stop of a line plunge, 2Q. Helped on a wide run, 2Q. Pushed the pocket a bit and helped rush Herbert on a 3rd down pass into the EZ that was just off. Got a slop sack then the pass protection literally stopped blocking him, 4Q.
Ogunjobi – Played okay. At least wasn’t blown off the ball.
Lowdermilk – Had 2 solos, which may be a career high.
Leal – Played some at ROLB to spell Big Alex in the 1H.
Benton – flagged for a DOG penalty, early 4Q. After a stellar rookie year, has been far, far too quiet thru 3 games. C-
LB:
Queen – good crisp tackle (a rarity!), 1st play o’ game, 2 yard gain. Got abused on 3d & 2, early 4Q, on a pass play in which he had coverage, good for 18 yards. Had 4 solos, and looked a tiny bit better, but has a long, long way to go in my book. C+
Landon Rob – Got a Dong sack, 3Q, when he came in Untouched for the easy sack.
Watt – Got a big 3rd down sack, 10:22 4Q. Provided some other harassment. Saw loads of chip blocking and man-and-a-half blocking. B
Highsmith – 2nd & 3 at LAC 31
(10:00 - 1st) (Shotgun) J.Herbert Aborted. B.Bozeman FUMBLES at LAC 31, recovered by LAC-J.Herbert at LAC 31. J.Herbert to LAC 28 for -3 yards (A.Highsmith). Dong solo !! Big Alex tapped the QB after the QB dove on his own fumble, and for that, Alex got a Slop solo.
3rd series, got collapsed on a run up LT, good for 5 yards. Next play, a GAPING hole up LT, good for 13 yards.
2nd & 5 at PIT 20
(5:29 - 2nd) (Shotgun) D.Davis left end pushed ob at PIT 12 for 8 yards (A.Highsmith).
SD ran wide left, 5:29 2Q, and Big Alex got mauled and shoved off the LoS. Hilariously enough, Alex gave a little baby shove to the RB as he was going OOB, and for this Big Alex got a solo tackle. Gain of 8 yards, which is losing football.
Late 2Q, Bio Alex got shrugged off by the QB on a sack attempt, which thus avoided the sack. Alex had come in basically UNTOUCHED due to botched blocking by SD. Big Alex apparently got injured on the whiff, and had to go to the blue tent. Soft Alex was done for the day. He finished the game with a stat sheet of one solo, that when the QB dropped the snap and had to fall onto the pigskin. D
Herbig – Strip sack, 3Q ! Forced SD to punt from its own EZ. Got another EARNED sack, ~6:00 4Q. Nick Herbig – THE best ROLB on the team. A
Pey Wilson – got trucked on a 2Q run.
DB
Joey Porter Jr. - good run stop, early 4Q, for a loss of 4. Wsan’t terribly challenged, esp after Herbert got hurt.
Donte Jackson – got injured, late 2Q, after getting scorched on a 17 yard grab on 1st down from the SD 8.
DeShon Elliot – Good tackle of Dobbins on a valve dump, late 2Q. Had 4 solos. Dude has been impressing me.
Minkah - Somewhat quiet, although was rarely challenged.
Bishop – chipped in a bit.
Spec teams:
Waitman – booted 3 times. Is already proving to be 9 times better than Pressley Barfvin. A
Boswell – missed a 62/63 yard FG at the end of the 1H, but made 2 others.
Austin had 2 adequate punt returns.
OC: Art Smith had a miserable 1H. Armed with games of tape, the Chargers were more than prepared for the QB draws and QB keepers. The offense found its sea legs in the 2Q, and kept churning a wee bit better in the 2H. There were numerous warts, but facing a defense this capable, this was a solid outing by the offense. B
DC: Austin got gashed for the Chargers TD drive in the 1Q, and a FG drive. From there, the D held LA to minus-5 yards in the 2H. Of course, facing a dirtbag backup QB like Taylor Heinicke helped once Herbert got injured. B
HC: Mike Asslin managed to claw out a win to go 3-0. The recipe that Stoogelin likes has worked pretty much flawless thus far…..tough defense, no offensive turnovers (the INT today was quite a fluke), and grinding out just enough for the W. B
Synopsis: A solid home win. Let’s not rush out to start planning a Sup Bowl parade, of course. It’s a lonngggg season, and all sorts of things can go off the rail the next 15 weeks.
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