Stillers 23, Poebirds 16 …….Nov 4, 2018………Game # 8
Stillers-Ravens Postgame Analysis and Grades
Grades:
QB:
Ben had a solid overall game, tossing 2 TDs and no INTs. He out quite a scare into everyone when he lumbered as slow as Neil O’Donnell on a scramble and was tackled from behind. Luckily, he returned after 1 play. Aside from the asinine tomfoolery late in the 2Q, he had a quality game. B+
Dobbs – entered the game, stone cold, in the 3Q, with the ball on his own 5, 2nd down and 20. Balt had a ton of momentum at this point. All of the sudden, Dobbs fires a 22 yard crosser to JuJu to move the chains, and Ben re-enters the game. A stellar cameo by Josh. A+
RB:
Conner – (yawn….) Just another 107 yards on the ground, and 7 grabs for 56. Le’veon who….? A+
Ridley – sparse PT.
Samuels – got a token carry, out of nowhere, for 2 yards.
Bell – sat and pouted, unsigned. What a tool.
FB:
Nix – played little at FB.
WR:
Brownie – 5 grabs for a meager 42 yards. He did have a stellar TD in which he juked 2 Ravens near the sideline chalk for a key TD. Flagged for a moroic, needless puhsoff (OPI), 4Q, like a jackass. B
Switzer – chipped in nicely with 3 grabs.
JuJu – had a miserable drop, while wide open, in the 2Q, but that aside, made numerous clutch grabs. 7 grabs for 78, many of which moved the chains. A
Hunter – Thankfully was inactive, esp. after last week’s sorry effort.
Washington – had 2 grabs for 17, and a drop.
TE:
Jesse James – nearly dropped the deep lob, 4Q, in which he was wide open. He managed to bobble the ball and hold on for 51-yard gain, although it woulda been 60-plus without the bobble.
Grimble – played sparingly as a 3d TE.
McDonald – solid game with 3 grabs.
OL: Overall, the line gave Ben decent time, and they opened up some cracks against a fairly stout Balt defense. Feiler got the start again for the injured Fat Marcus, and at some point, we need to wonder why Marcus is being lavished with such big money. B+
DL:
Hargrave – actually contributed, and did a few things. B
McCullers – did little, as usual.
Heyward – fairly quiet on the stat sheet with just 1 solo, but he did provide some heat now and then.
Tuitt – Like Heyward, had only 1 solo (and just 1 A), but he had some heat on the QB, and got a key sack late in the game. Nice to see this vaunted fatass finally do something.
Alu – did little.
LB:
Vinnie – adequate game.
Bostic - pretty active, with 5 solos and 4 As.
Chickillo – had 4 solos in a solid effort.
Watt – Had 5 solos and 4 As, which is decent. However, he had far too many plays in which he’s imitating Crud DuPree……..getting sucked in; getting sealed in; getting bamboozeled; failing to make tackles. B-
Crud Dupree – had ZERO solos and a whopping 1 A all game long. Committed a jackassed, stipid-fuk offsides right after the Tuitt sack late in the game, which, of course, STOPS the clock. What a stupid-ass. D+
DB
Haden – decent game.
Burns – Smartie Burned sat the pine.
Davis – a pretty solid game, with 9 solos. He didn’t get abused deep the way he was early in the season. B+
Hilton – All this dude does is make fuking plays. A stud. A+
Sutton – got abused on a 40-yard deep lob, 1Q.
Edmunds – is a disaster in downfield man coverage.
Senselessbaugh – suffered some abuse here and there.
Burnett – an awful game, in which he continually lost his man off the LOS. C-
Spec teams:
Jordan Berry – had 3 mediocre punts. I fuking despise this pilo shoit. C-
Boswell – missed yet another PAT, his 4th of the season. Booted a chipshot 29 yard FG. C-
Switz – solid work on punt returns. B+
Heyward Bey was flagged for an ilegal block on a return, 2H.
Matakevich was flagged for a hold on a punt return, late 2Q, forcing the O to start at its own 10.
Ben had a mediocre punt, 1 Q, which fooled no one on Balt.
OC:
Randy Sphincter led another grab-bag effort, with loads of mindless slop. The worst was late in the 2Q, after a Balt pinned the Stillers on their own 15, with just 49 secs left. I well understand, esp. with a shit punter like Jordan Cherry, that ya can’t just run 3 dive plays here. That said, the team survived a near TD on a 2 INCH pass to McDonald. After a Conner carry moved the chains, there were 19 secs left on their own 25. The team was UP by 8, not DOWN, and the Stillers were receiving the 2H KO. Undaunted, there’s Sphincter, calling for more grab-assified pass plays, with a near INT on the past to McDonald. A complete fuking circus, that need not have occurred. C-
DC:
Keith Assler had the luxury of facing a decimated OL missing 2 starters, plus a drab Balt running game. Undaunted, Assler did what he could do to piss this one away, including an 11-play, hot knife thru butter, TD drive by Balt that closed the 3Q lead to just 7 points. C
HC: Mike Dumblin usually gets tooled and used by Harbaugh, who for years has used Stoogelin as his own personal bitch. Granted, Stoogelin has more tools at his disposal, which helps.
Synopsis: Solid win over the hated Poebirds. After the severe whipping Balt issued back in Sep, this was a nice payback. This is a rugged stretch coming up, esp on the road at Jax and Denver, neither of whom the Stillers have had grande success against lately. Thur nite will be here all too quickly, as the Stillers host the 6-2 Panthers.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
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