Browns 13, Stillers 10 ...... Nov 19, 2023 …………Game # 10
Stillers - Browns Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 6-3 Stillers mosied up the interstate to take on the 6-3 Browns. Clev was up 7-0 at the end of the 1Q. A longgggg 17-play march enabled Cleve to nudge the lead to 10-0 just before halftime. The Stillers tied it at 10 in the 4Q, but a late, last-minute drive by Clev against this vaunted defense enabled a chipshot, GW FG.
Grades:
QB: KP got the start. Had a rocky, miserable 1H, going 5 of 8 for 34 yards, although he got very, very little help in terms of pass pro and any sensible offensive scheme. I despised Pickett, who had ALL DAY in the pocket, eating the ball and taking the sack, 8:00 4Q. ALL he had to do was fling a pass thru the goalpost to avoid the sack. All game long, KP failed to spot intended, or any, receivers, and was timid and scattershot all game long….14 of 27 for 93 yards. In short, his worst outing in the NFL. Very disappointing. D-
RB:
Harris – had a few good runs, mixed in with some slowpoke stuff. Ran 12 times and average 2.9 yards per carry. WHY again is this fellow getting the preponderance of carries ?? C-
Warren – 74-yard TD jaunt, early 3Q !! Clutch RAC on screen play, early 4Q, on 3d & 13, gaining 14. Ran like a man possessed, rushing for 129 yards on only 9 rushes, and grabbing 3 passes for 16. A+
FB: rarely used.
WR:
Dionte – flagged for OPI on a short dumpoff/screen, 6:40 3Q. Clutch grab on 3d & 4, 4Q. Had 2 grabs for 10, which ain’t nowhere near enough for a WR1. C+
Pickens – superb 12 yard grab, 5:30 4Q, on a shoddy pass. Had 3 grabs for 32. B-
Austin – did nothing in the passing game or on offense.
Robinson – nice grab of 6 yards to get the team away from the paint of the goal line, 1st series. Clutch grab on 3d & 12 that appeared to move the chains, 3Q. The spot was moved backwards, short of the sticks, but it was a very solid catch and play by Robbie. B+
Boykin – did a shield block downfield on the Warren TD jaunt.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – This putz finally returned from his ham injury. Had 1 grab for 6 yards, on a play where he had an ACRE of open room and instead ran into the ONE defender who happened to be in the zip code. C-
Darnell – so-so blocking. Not impressed by his game today. C
Con Heyward – not involved at all, aside from some blocking.
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Seumalo, Cole, Daniels, Jones) had a shoddy game in pass pro. From the very first play of the game, onwards, these waddlers struggled like little girls in pass pro. The run blocking was a bit better.
Moore got abused and humiliated on the O’s first play, a sack that was a millimeter away from a safety. This occurred all game long, as Moore continually got humiliated and abused. Moore: D- Rest of line: C
DL:
Heyward – good tackle on a screen play, 2Q, which gained 6 but could have gained much more. A rare, good play by The Scammer. Had a couple half decent run stuffs. He didn’t come close to earning his fatty $20+M annual salary, but he played ok. B
Ogunjobi – stellar effort to make a run stop just short of a GL on 3d & goal, 2d series. (The replay official somehow rule this a TD on a replay challenge.)
Adams – sat out due to injury.
Lowdermilk- played here and there.
Leal – played here and there.
Benton – Was again active and capable. Dude’s a baller. HE SHOULD START EVERY GAME the rest of the season. B+
LB:
Landon Rob – dude was ALL over the field and making crisp tackle after crisp tackle. Stellar effort. A
Watt – Got a Dong Sack when the RT backed up 14 feet at the snap, and the QB got flushed. Had some ok run stuffs. B
Highsmith – made a rare solo tackle on a wide run, 2nd series of game. Good chasedown on a ground play, late 1Q, for a solo on a 1 yard gain. 2Q, Big Alex Highsmith got totally BAMBOOZLED on an 8-yard reverse .....and worse, he fuking LOAFED and barely jogged after the runner. A sorry-azzed play by a sorry-azzed football player. Got a Dong assist on a short pass to Njoku, late 1H. Had 2 solos, 2 As in the 1H.
A silly, needless roughing the passer flag by Big Alex Highsmith, on a key 3rd down, late 3Q. Alex hasn't sniffed the QB ALLLL day long, and then takes a jackazzed penalty. He did JAK all 2nd half, getting zero solos and doing nothing. D-
Herbig – had a tackle, although rarely was allowed to play.
DB
Peterson – flagged for a silly, needless masking penalty, 2d series. Good 3rd down bust-up, mid 3Q.
Joey Porter Jr. - flagged for offsides on an early 3rd down, which was refused as the Browns made the 1D. This has happened twice in the past month…..unacceptable.
Kazee – did little.
Keanu Neal – on IR for 4 games.
Minkah - sat out again due to the hamstring.
Trent Thompson – should have had an INT, 3Q. Played adequately.
Sullivan – big INT, late 3Q, off a deflected pass.
Spec teams:
Harvin – mediocre 43-yard punt from his own EZ, first series. Good 47 yard punt that was FC, late 1Q. Solid 48 yard punt, mid 3Q. 4:30 3Q, dogshoit 42-yard punt by Barfkin, with ZERO hang time, and the result was a 22-yard punt return. 20-yard punt by Pressley Barfkin, late 3Q. Dogshoit pooch punt by Harvin, getting FC at the Clev 14 late in the 4Q. That ain't nearly good enuf in the 4Q of a tie game. D+
Boswell – booted one FG.
Austin – decent punt return, mid 2Q. Solid 20-yard punt return, late 4Q. Overall, I liked his north-south approach in this game. B
OC: Matt Canada oversaw yet another drab, butt-ugly, inept offensive performance today. Just awful. It was a timid, scared-crapless offensive scheme that took a downfield shot ONCE the entire game. ONCE ! And, after Warren ripped off the 74-yard TD jaunt, he ROTTED the next 2 series, and had, what, 2 more carries the rest of the game. How ???
The entire offense was puke n’ barf today, replete with a bevy of screen plays that were nearly always read and engulfed. It was a putrid display that set NFL football back 35 years. F
DC: Teryl Austin had the outrageous luxury of facing a rookie QB making his 2nd NFL start, and an offense missing BOTH starting OTs.
2nd play on offense, Austin the dumbass, had 12 men on the field and had to waste a TO.
Late in the 2Q, Clev began on its own 17, 5:29 left in the half. The NFL highest paid defense allowed Clev to march EASY as PIE the length of the field, running SEVENTEEN plays & chewing ALL of the rest of the clock and tacking on a chipshot 25-yard FG. Shoit defense at its worst.
The GW drive was really no different. Clev marched, EASY AS PIE, 48 yards as the QB went 4 for 4 in passing.
Late 2Q: 17 plays, 77 yards, ultra-chipshot FG
Late 4Q: 8 plays, 48 yards, chipshot GW FG
ALL against a greenhorn rookie QB making his 2d NFL start while missing both starting OTs. Had the TE, Njoku, not dropped 5 or 6 passes, the score would have been worse. F
HC: Mike Asslin was a major culprit in this loss. Sure as shoit, facing an injury-ravaged team, Asslin fails to grab the foe by the throat, instead playing a vanilla, bland, drab scheme on BOTH sides of the ball from the opening KO. The team played scared and chickenshoit from the very first play of the game, and it never stopped.
2 burned TOs, one each for D and O, before the end of the 1Q. THIS belongs to the HC to get fixed.
Jaylen Warren averaged 14.3 YPC today. And on the final 2 drives of the game when the Steelers needed only a few first downs to win, he had 0 touches. None! This is how you lose games. F
Synopsis: A grisly, unacceptable loss to an injury ravaged foe. The slightest bit of competence on offense, mixed with just a tiny amount of some bear-hungry defense, could have EASILY won this ballgame. Easily. Instead, this team urinated away a chance to take a road divisional game.
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