Stillers 28, Clev 12 ... Jan 3, 2016………Game # 16
Stillers-Browns Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers visited the lowly 3-12 Browns in the season finale. Needing to win to advance to the playoffs, the Stillers picked up right where they left off in Balt. More last week, with 3 quarters worth of grab-assed slop n’ slather. Finally, in the 4Q, the Stillers turned it on, and Clev, as is their wont, completely fell apart. The Stillers sauntered to a 28-12 win to gain the final AFC playoff spot.
QB: Dogshit INT, late 1Q. Nearly threw a pick 6 off a sloppy lollipop deep in his own territory, 2Q. Started out the 3Q with a blatantly telegraphed crosser that was INTd by the ILB and returned to the Stiller 9. Underthrew DHB on a sideline fly route, early 4Q. Looked ass-clumsy on a 3d & goal zone read attempt, with a hideous mis-fire to an open AB in the EZ. He threw for 349 yards and 3 TDs, but the 2 INTs will hideous and precisely what this team cannot afford in the playoffs. B-
RB:
DeAngelo – got injured (ankle), 2Q, after a nice 7-yard run. Might miss next week’s game. Very grim. Inc
Touissaint – Came on in relief of DW, 2Q. Grabbed a 2-point pass, 4Q. Had 12 rushes for 12. Almost as bad as going with the Tate/Archer combo in last year’s wild card game.
FB:
Nix – out on IR, due to a broken foot last week.
Will Johnson – Saw some PT and did little.
WR:
Brownie – dropped short pass, 2nd play of game. 2 plays later, he coughed up the ball after a grab, which Clev recovered. He snapped out of his funk and had a solid 1st half, including a clutch TD grab just before halftime. Finished with 13 grabs for 187. Not shabby. A-
Pinkie Wheaton – grabbed a deep seamer late in the 2Q, good for 40 yards. Grabbed a low TD pass, 4Q. 3 grabs for 57. B+
Bryant – Big Martavis continued his late season swoon with 1 grab for, get this, 0 yards. Did jack squat all game. Not sure if he’s sulking or what, but he needs to remove the bra & skirt and start playing like a man. C-
Heyward-Bey – grabbed an 8-yard out, 1st play of game. Grabbed a deep ball, 3Q, good for 66 yards. Failed, however, to haul in a 1-handed grab in the EZ a few plays later. B+
TE:
Miller – out-fought the DB for clutch TD, 1Q. Superb grab in tight coverage, early 4Q. B
Jesse James – saw some snaps, but no grabs.
OL:
Villenueva – Didn’t get tooled and abused the way he has the past 2-3 weeks.
Foster – adequate play.
Wallace – flagged for a false start, 1Q. Oh, he’s the center, by the way. Had a host of shoddy blocks. Seems to be getting worse as the season wears on. C-
DeCastro – false start, 1st play of 2Q. Played adequately.
Gilbert – Fat Marcus surprisingly didn’t have any major gaffes.
DE:
Heyward – One solo in a very quiet game. He’s been far, far too quiet this past month. C
Tuitt – got a fingernail-grab of the QBs jersey for a Dong Sack, late 4Q. Got another Dong Sack a short while later. Didn’t do a whole lot else. B-
McLendon – committed a silly, needless hands-to-face penalty, 2Q. Helped blow up a draw play. Did little else. C+
Fat Cam – fortunately, rarely played.
LB:
Timmons – spun by the OG and sacked the QB, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Moats at the Clev 8, 4Q. Drilled the QB in the 1st half on a crisp, legal hit. Was active and finished with 7 solos and 3 As. A-
Shaquier – Struggled in pass coverage, having no feel whatsoever on space, time, and coverage. Had only 3 solos. C
Harrison – Solo stop, 1st half. Made a goal-line INT on a hideous pass to keep Clev off the board, early 3Q. B-
Jones – JarStiff helped with Will Allen to stop the initial Clev drive, stopping the receiver just short of the sticks on 4th down. That was about it . Held off the scoresheet once again. C
Dupree – Had 2 solos, but minimal impact. B-
Vinnie W. – saw some PT. Failed to make a simple, cake-easy tackle of Duke Johnson on a 3d & 2, 3Q, in which The Duke Boy shrugged off Big Vinnie like a toddler. C-
Spence – saw a few snaps.
Moats - bottled up a run, 1Q. Saved a TD with an ankle-nip stop, early 3Q. Recovered a fumble, 10:49 4Q. B
DB
Will Allen – good wrap on early 4th down, short of the sticks. Steamrolled the QB for a sack, 1Q. Good string out of wide run, 2Q, for a 1 yard loss. Got nicked up, 3Q. Finished with 7 solos in a solid effort. B+
Mitchell – an early 3rd down pass hit him in the worst place – his NUMBERS – and he immediately dropped the pass. Had 3 solos, but did little. C+
Gay – Got an INT on a late-game 4th down pass that had no chance of moving the sticks.
Blake – Got picked on incessantly right from the 1Q. Flagged for illegal contact, 1Q. Got tooled on a 3d and long reception, late 2Q. Got a slop sack to finally thwart the drive. Got easily out-high pointed on a deep lob, late 2Q, by Terelle Pryor, good for 42 yards. Very poor. Finally busted up a pass, next play. Bottom line: he sux. D
Sharko Thomas – Not permitted to play on D, because, as you know, Allen is such a studly safety and this secondary is just so dominant. I guess he might get some PT in 2017. Inc
Boykin – Fought off the block on a WR screen and then made the tackle, late 1Q. Had 4 solos in a solid performance. Good thing this fellow rotted the first 14 weeks of the season. B
Cockrell – saw some PT.
Spec teams:
Berry – punted 3 times, with a long of 57. Solid game. B+
Boswell – Missed a 48-yard FG, wide right, in the 2Q. Made 2 other FGs. B
AB – little on punt returns.
Wheaton – almost as shoddy as Pee Pee Archer on KO returns.
Shoddy punt coverage, 2Q. Ventrone adroitly tracked down a rolling punt just before the goal line, pinning Clev on its own 2 early in the 4Q. Chickillo forced a fumble in KO coverage, and Boykin – the fellow who rotted the bench the first 14 weeks of the season – recovered the pig.
OC: Haley is an odd fellow. He starts the game all pass-happy, albeit every pass is within 6 yards of the LOS. Remember, this is the awful Clev pass defense here. Then, after DeAngelo gets hurt, he goes run happy with 2-Saint. The offense pissed and farted for 3 quarters before finally getting it in gear in the 4Q. The bizarre read-zone playcall near the Clev goal line needs to be shelved…..forever. C
DC:
In a LeBeau-like manner, Assler once again had the luxury of facing a no-name, no talent backup QB. This game, he had the luxury of facing 8th string QB Austin Davis, who can’t throw a football further than, oh, about 23 yards downfield.
WR Travis Benjamin dropped a very catchable pass in the EZ with just seconds left in the 1st half, on a play that would have given Cleveland the chance to slice the lead to just 1. In the 3Q, Assler allowed a 17-play (yes, SEVENTEEN), 62 yard FG drive that chewed up 9:46 of clock. Assler wasn’t facing Joe Montana with Jerry Rice and company…..this was Austin Davis…! And there’s Assler, helplessly grabbing at his ass, unable to stop the putrid Clev offense. D
HC: Mike Dumblin oversaw the same slop n’ slather that haunted the team last week. The 1st half was a comedy zone of blunders and boners – a dropped pass, a fumble, 2 false starts, illegal contact, hands to face, and tackling technique befitting schoolchildren at a local elementary school. The focus and discipline sucked well-water, and had Clev had an ounce of talent and skill, the Brownies would have walked away with an easy win. D+
Synopsis: An uninspiring win over a hapless, woeful Clev team. Thanks to the NYJ’s ineptitude, the Stillers basically backed into the final wild card spot, and will face the Dalton-less Bungals in Cinci next weekend. They’ll need to play 12 times better than they have the past 2 weeks if they have any chance of winning their first playoff game since Jan 2010. Let’s hope Michael Stoogelin can break his 5-year playoff winless streak.
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