Dallas 20, Stillers 17...... Oct 6, 2024 …………Game # 5
Stillers-Cowpokes Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 3-1 Stillers hosted the 2-2 Dallas Crackboyz on SNF in a game that was rain-delayed for a good hour or so. At the half, the ‘Pokes led, 6-3. The Stillers seemed to have the game in hand, but then allowed a 15-play, 70 yard TD drive to allow Dallas to win the game with only 20 seconds left.
Grades:
QB: Fields got the start. Had allll day, 2nd series, and the long pass should have been an EASY INT, but the Dall safety dropped the ball. On the very next play, he got hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball, and by good luck he was able to recover the ball. Still, this is becoming a disturbing trend. The offense sputtered and scored just 3 points in the 1H.
Took a punishing hit on a risky, foolish back-track scramble, 1st play of 2d half. It got 15 yards on the flag, but it was a punishing hit that forced a medical timeout and 2 missed snaps. Had an okay game, but missed loads of targets (131 total passing yards) and only put 17 on the board. He may be sent to the pine shortly. C-
Kyle Allen: Came in, early 3Q, after Fields took the big shot. Played 2 plays, and completed 1 pass.
RB:
Harris – Had 8 rushes for 27 yards in the 1H, which obviously is fairly bland. Had 14 carries for 42, and 2 grabs for 35. C+
Aaron Shampklin – flagged for a false start on 3d & 3, late 1Q.
Jon Ward – ran wide, 1st series, for 2 yards.
Warren – again sat out due to injury.
Cord Patterson - sat out due to injury.
FB: Con Heyward saw several snaps here.
WR:
Pickens – Had 1 grab for 8 yards in the 1H. Good RAC on 3d & 1, 4Q, good for 21 yards. Had 3 grabs for 26, which obviously ain’t enough targets and ain’t enough production from the WR1 spot. C+
Van Jeff – had catches on two consecutive plays, early 2Q. Had 3 grabs for 26.
Austin – had 1 grab for 6 yards. D
Br. Johnson – grabbed a short pass, 4Q.
Rom Wilson – again inactive. Perhaps he’ll be ready in Dec.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – grabbed a shovel pass for a 5-yard TD, 4Q. Had 3 grabs for 22 yards, which, again, fails to justify his fatty new contract. C
Darnell – flagged for a false start, late 1Q.
Con Heyward – failed to haul in a deep ball, 1st series. Good grab for 8 yards, 2d series. Snared a TD pass, early 3Q. B+
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Anderson, Frazier, Seumalo, Jones) had a tale of two halves. Fields had adequate time and room on the pocket in the 2H. Seaumalo got bowled onto his ass in the 1H and the defender forced a fumble in the pocket. The line’s blocking was spotty in the 1H, but seemed to gel better in the 2H. Of course, the O put up 3 points in the 1H and 14 in the 2nd, so there’s that correlation. I’m not pleased, of course, with the entirety of this unit’s performance tonite. C
DL:
Heyward – rare but good pressure, late 2Q, to force an inc pass. Had 2 solos and 2 A’s. Was nowhere to be found on the long, GW TD drive. NOWHERE. You’ll hear fables about how Scam “got a sack, which was negated by Beanie’s flag.” This “sack” occurred when Prescoot had a ACRE of running room and stumbled over his own two feet to the ground, and Scam came over and tapped him with 2 fingers. Hardly some dominant, he-man play. This is now 2 consecutive weeks where The Scammer had had 2 piddly solos and ZERO positive impact on, you know, winning a game in the NFL. D+
Ogunjobi – good run stop, late 1Q. Played allright.
Adams – chipped in on a couple plays.
Lowdermilk- didn’t do much.
Leal – Got some more PT when Herbig got hurt, but then left in the 2H due to a stinger in his neck.
Benton – No solos. Hasn’t made the jump I expected in year 2.
LB:
Queen – got a solo tackle after a flare to Turbin, although it gained 4 yards. Had 6 solos, which is rare for hm. Of course, he had very, very meager impact, and the D continually got gashed in the 2H on basic runs up the gut. C
Landon Rob – jarred the ball loose on the last-minute TD plunge attempt by the Dallas RB. Heckuva football play right there.
Watt – solo tackle in short coverage, 1st play of game. Had the initial grab of the QB on the Herbig forced-fumble, 1st Qtr. (each got a half sack.) Had 7 solos. Solid game. B
Highsmith – Sat out again with the pulled groin.
Herbig – forced a grounding flag on 3rd down & 1, 2d series. Around 4:00 1Q, Herbig sniffed the wide run by Turpin and nailed him for a SIX yard loss. A few plays later, Herbig applied the lick to the QB, and not only forced the fumble, but also recovered it. STUD play right there. Met Watt at the QB for a sack, 3Q (Watt got credit for the sack.) Got injured (hamstring) soon thereafter and did not return. B+
Pey Wilson – superb read, jump, and stick on a toss sweep, early 4Q. THAT is a football play by an NFL LB. I highly enjoyed this play. Had a few plays, however, where Dall exploited him on gut runs.
DB
Joey Porter Jr. - after a short reception near the sideline, Porter literally just threw his right arm out at the RAC runner, who easily cruised by. A legit chickenshoit effort by Porter on this play. Grabbed an easy INT on a horribly over-thrown deep ball, 4Q. B
Donte Jackson – he or Minkah got their wires crossed, late 2Q, allowing a Cowpoke to be WIDE open on a deep ball for a 48-yard gain. Dong INT, Donte Jackson ! He fair-caught a lollipop lob that was about 15 feet UNDER thrown to the Cowpoke WR, just before halftime.
Kazee – Had a solo in some piecemeal work.
DeShon Elliot – superb run support and run stop, 4:35 1Q. Batted a pass on a blitz, 3Q. Clumsily slipped in coverage of a RB, early 4Q, and allowed a WIDE open TD.
Minkah - stellar play late in the game to stop a scrambling, running Prescott at the 1/2-yard line. Led the team with 8 solos. B+
Bishop – busted up a 3rd down pass, 1Q. Flagged for a facemask, late 1Q. On the next play, he sniffed out an end around and stopped it for 2 yards. Got scorched by Turpin on 3d & 5, 3Q, for 34 yards. Flagged for a hold on a 3rd down play that was stopped well short of the sticks, 3Q. Failed to run with the WR on the GW score, instead passing him off and covering no one. C
Spec teams:
Waitman – punted okay.
Boswell – Booted a 41-yard FG.
Rotten KO coverage, opening KO, returned from the GL to the Dall 38 (plus an illegal formation that added another 5 yards). This golden FP allowed Dall to gain one 1st down and boot a 55-yard FG.
Loudermilk blocked a FG, 3Q.
OC: Art Smith had the luxury of missing stud defender Micah Parsons, who sat out due to injury. Then DE M. Kneeland injured a knee, early 1Q, and got carted off.
1st drive: 3rd & 8, and they call a SG toss sweep to a FOURTH string RB that gains 5 yards. Settle for a 41-yard FG. What a chickenshoit way to send the promising 1st drive. Smith should have been dismissed at that very moment.
1st half: 89 yards on 30 plays. It was wretched.
The 2H was a bit better, although hardly dazzling. 17 total points isn’t much to rave about. The offense is as bland as cold broth. Wasn’t Smith supposed to be the God of NFL Offense? D-
DC: Austin’s defense got gashed all nite long. Allllll nite long. 16 plays, 90 yards, for the tying TD, early 4Q. Then the longggg march for the GW TD. Piece of shoit. Austin has THE highest paid defense in the NFL. They looked like a JV squad, often confused, rarely playing with malice, and getting bullied when it counted. And please, spare me the “they forced three turnovers”. No, they didn’t. They forced ONE, by Herbig. The two INTs were Dong INTs…..one on a hideous UNDER-throw, and the other on a hideous OVER-throw. F
HC: The Mike Asslin defense ....soft n' cheezy. Asslin allows Dall to march practically the length of the field for the GW score. Defense got gashed alllll nite long, and it came home to roost on this final drive. Michael Stoogelin, ladies and gentlemen. He and his vaunted defense got gashed all nite long. Then you add in his asinine “snap limitation” of Geo Pickens (which Stoogelin alked about after the game), who played only like 22 snaps or so. Asslin compared it to the load management of Scam Heyward. Dumbshoit comparison, of course. Heyward is a decrepit, 35-year old tubby D-lineman, in a spot where the team actually has DEPTH. Pickens is THE ONLY legit NFL-caliber WR on the entire roster. And, is only like 23 years old. Ya give him a breather every now and then…..not ENTIRE SERIES and not giving him less PT than stiffs like van Jefferson. F-
Synopsis: A horrific come from ahead loss, at home. A game that was sitting there on the platter, urinated away by the NFL’s highest paid defense. Make more, do more.
Follow Mill on Twitter, at StillMill1