SeaHags 39, Stillers 30 ……. Nov 29, 2015…………Game # 11
Stillers-SeaHags Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers ventured out to Seattle for what turned out to be a thriller, with 7 lead changes. In the end, the turnovers and shoddy defense were too much for the Stillers to overcome.
Grades:
QB: Ben had an overall quality game, passing for 456 yards. The downer was the miserable INT in the 3Q on a play in which he appeared to be trying to pump the ball, but it slipped out. This occurred when it appeared the Stillers had taken control of the game, but this sparked SEA and they scored on a quick, 2-play drive. I wasn’t enraged at Ben with the 4Q INT; rather, this was blatant illegal contact by Sherman that somehow was not called. A-
Jones – threw 4 passes late in the game after Ben left for concussion protocol.
RB:
DeAngelo – took big hit from Earl Thomas, but hung on and gained more yardage, 1Q. Superb TD run, late 2Q. Knocked Bennett onto his ass on a chip block, 4Q, and then grabbed a dumpoff and had a stellar RAC, good for 11 yards. A short while later, on a 3d & 12, he grabbed a short dumpoff and was dead to rights, but somehow slithered away for a clutch 14 yard gain. Had 7 grabs for 88, but sadly had only 8 carries. A
Todman – Only saw PT on the end of half kneel-down.
FB:
Nix – had 1 catch. Rarely used in run blocking.
Wilbur Johnson – grabbed a short curl and got a 1st down, 4Q. Had 2 grabs.
WR:
Brownie – mostly shadowed by Sherman, and sadly lost the battle of physicality. Had 6 grabs for 51. Not nearly enough. C
Pinkie Wheaton – contributed, for once, with a big 21 yard grab, 1Q. Stunningly enough, he grabbed a 19 yarder to set up the Stiller TD. Then, even more stunningly, he had 3 grabs on the TD drive late in the 2Q, including a 41 yarder. 9 grabs, 201 yards. He must’ve been bucking for Pro Bowl votes or something. Go figure. A+
Bryant – dropped a deep ball, 3rd play of game. Had a superb run on a reverse to score a TD in the 2Q. Dropped a cake-easy pass right near the sidelness, late in the 2Q. A rotten, shitty-assed drop. Sterling grab of a deep ball, 3Q. Had a chance to make a deep catch near the SEA goal line, late 3Q, but he allowed the ball to slither out of his hands. Had 5 grabs for 69, but could have had much, much more. C-
Heyward-Gay – did nothing.
TE:
Miller – Had a monster 1Q, but then left the game in the 2Q with a rib. Briefly returned, but then was shelved for the game. B
Spaeth – dressed after missing the past 2 games, which enraged me. Surprisingly didn’t drop a short curl, late 4Q.
Jesse James – snagged a 2-point conversion pass, 2Q. Had 1 grab for 8 yards. Hopefully he has fully supplanted Speath as the #2 TE.
OL:
Villenueva – got tooled by a speed rush, early 3Q, for a sack.
Foster – half decent game.
Cody Wallace – had some problems in pass pro.
DeCastro – solid game.
Gilbert – flagged for a hands to the face, late 3Q.
DL:
Cam Thomas – thankfully was rarely involved.
McLendon - good wrap and stick, 2d series. Deflected a pass, early 2Q.
Heyward – good pressure, first series, to force a sack. Solid overall game.
Tuitt – mauled Wilson after a short run, mid 3Q.
LB:
Timmons – took a silly, needless, mindless personal foul penalty, 4Q, on a play where Wilson had already given up on the play and was, at most, 1 centimeter in bounds, but the brunt of the shove came with Wilson OOB. A brainless, boneheaded play that greatly aided the SEA 4Q TD march. B- .
Shaquier – left the game, 2Q, for concussion protocol, as he looked a bit wobbly. He’s Yancey Thigpen, reincarnated.
Spence – got some PT in relief of Shaz. Stuffed a run for no gain, 4Q.
Moats – stuffed a run, early 3Q. Delivered a good lick, mid 3Q, on Rawls. B+
Harrison – very meager impact. Fought off the LT and forced a 3 yard loss by Rawls, 2Q. Took a poor angle and failed to corral Wilson on a read-option keeper, 4Q, which gained 10 yards. Sadly enough, failed to make it onto the stat sheet. C-
Jones – JarStiff did a little here and there. Attacked the QB and forced an Int. grounding, late 2Q. That was about it. C
Dupree – got the start. Had some pressures, but only 1 solo and no impact. C+
Vinnie W. – came in for Shaz and immediately blew up a ground play. Helped stop a plunge near the GL to stop a 2-point attempt. B+
DB
Will Allen – got trucked by Rawls, 2d series. Very shoddy. Got totally abused on a 30-yard TD, midway 4Q. A shit play by a shit player. D+
Mitchell – saved a TD, early 2Q, nabbing Lockett after a crossing route. But, a few plays later, on 3d & goal on the 16, Mitchell stood still, with his thumb up his ass, while Baldwin grabbed a simple seam route for the TD. He again stood around, in no man’s land, on SEA’s 2nd TD pass. AGAIN stood around and was slow and late to react on the 3rd SEA TD in the middle of the EZ. Lamely missed the tackle of Baldwin on the game-sealing TD. D-
Gay - played ok. Had some struggles, but wasn’t totally abused like Blake. Faint praise indeed. C+
Blake – Along with Bitchell, did a weak-assed flail at Baldwin, meekly failing, allowing an 80-yard TD play to seal the game. What was worse on this play was that Blake, lined up in the slot, played outside technique rather than inside technique, allowing Baldwin to the inside instead of forcing him to the outside or at least forcing Baldy to have to fight to the inside. F
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
Cockrell – failed to bust up the deep lob to Graham, 3Q, which gave SEA 1st and goal at the 1 in the 3Q.
Boykin – despite being the best cover CB on the roster, this guy unbelievably ROTTED the bench the entire game.
Spec teams:
Jordan Berry – Jordan The Cherry punted ok. B
Boswell – perfect on 3 FGs.
Jacoby Jones – had a couple decent KO returns, but did nothing with punt returns.
Laundry Jones – off a bizarre, pre-snap shift out of FG formation, Jones threw a lollipop throwback pass that was easily picked off. This should have been a pick 6, but the defender tripped on one of the yard lines and fell to the turf. Still, this set up SEA inside the PIT 25 and they scored a few plays later.
JarStiff Jones – blew up a KO return with good coverage and good lick.
Blake- flagged for a hold on a punt return, late 1H. Then, in the 3Q, flagged again for an illegal block on a punt return.
Heyward – got a fingertip on a PAT, 3Q, to deflect it short of the crossbar.
Sharko Thomas – flagged, again, for punt catch interference. Really? Has he now set the NFL record for punt interferences in a season??
OC:
The offense racked up over 450 passing yards and produced 3 TDs. However, time and time again, they pissed away golden opportunities to cash in for TDs, settling for FGs instead. While I was pleased they took advantage of Wheaton’s mismatch, I felt they needlessly completely abandoned the running game. And the bombs-away, Lamonica offense, while thrilling to watch, netted a ton of lame incompletions. With the RAC skills of Deangelo, Wheat, AB, and Bryant, I would have liked to have seen a few more high percentage passes than the Al Davis deep ball that was thrown at least 12 times today. B-
DC:
Two weeks after allowing Johnny Boy to look like Johnny Unitas, Keith Assler pretty much was assraped on national TV today.
3d & goal on the 16, and Wilson lobs a cake-easy pass to a WIDE open receiver in the EZ, with no defender within 20 feet.
The SEA 85-yard TD drive late in the 2Q was as shameful as it gets. 3d & 10….18 yards. Another 3d & 10….another 18 yards. 3d & 16, and again Assler was unable to get a stop. A complete disgrace.
About 2:14 was left in a 5 point game, on, what else, a 3d and long (10 yards). What else…? Assler’s softee defense allows an easy 11–yard crosser that was then taken to the house for a game-sealing 80-yard TD. The TD was more or less inconsequential; they needed a STOP to force a punt, and they failed miserably. D-
HC: Mike Dumblin has basically placed the entire season on the back of one Antwon Blake, a complete stiff of a CB who, while a marginally adequate nickel back, has no business starting in the NFL. Because of this bullheaded stupidity, Dumblin is now looking at the sad prospect of missing the playoffs, all while Boykin rots the bench.
I wasn’t enthralled, at all, with the bizarre fake FG to start the 2Q. As is typical with Dumblin, the devil was in the details, and Dumblin treats details like a dead skunk. The Stillers had actually sent this specialty FG package onto the field near the end of the 1Q, only for the clock to elapse. At this point, you’ve lost ALL element of surprise. Once the quarter ended and the Hawks had time to assess the situation (“Hey, what’s Jones doing in there as the holder, when Cherry usually is…?”), the fake should have been ordered to stand down. Undaunted, Dumblin ordered the fool stunt to start the 2Q anyway. It may have still caught the Hawks off guard, but then the pre-snap formation realignment took about 28 seconds, allowing Seattle eons of time to move defenders out to cover the alignment.
I also liked Dumblin’s typical bravado about “We don’t live in our fears…”, yet the cowardly prick then orders a FG with 3 minutes left in a 5 point game, with a defense that hadn’t offered jack squat for resistance. Even worse, and something that has been forgotten in most post game coverage, was the chickenshit decision to kick a FG, on 4th & 1, from the SEA 2 in the 3Q. You need all the points you can muster due to a sorry-assed defense, and Dumblin himself has stated that he loves the probability of his 2 point offense rather than kicking a PAT. So, with the ball at the 2 yard line (which is where it’s placed for a 2 pointer), and needing only ONE yard, Dumblin gets yellow and scared – Living in his fears, no less – and orders the FG.
Bottom line: Dumblin sucks, and this loss rests largely on his small shoulders. D-
Synopsis: A sorry, come-from-ahead loss to a team that has been routinely outplayed in the 2H this season and against a team who hadn’t beaten a team with a winning record all season. The loss puts a huge damper on a wild card hope; and they’ll likely need to win 4 of the last 5 to secure a berth.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
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