Raidas 26, Stillers 17..... Sep 19, 2021 …………Game # 2
Stillers - Raidas Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers got off to an eerily similar bland start as last week vs. Buff, getting down 6-0 in the 1Q and then 9-7 at the half. In the 2H, both sides of the ball were miserably exposed, as Oak, er, Vegas ran up n’ down the field at will, while the Stiller offense sputtered and wheezed. A very shoddy loss.
Grades:
QB: Ben had a ho-hum game, going 27 of 40 for 295, but with 1 measley TD along with an INT and gobs of passes that fell harmlessly inc. He finished with a mediocre rating of 87. Sure, he took a decent beating, but overall, not a stellar game. The team punted on 4th and a foot, down 9 late in the 4Q, in large part because The Drama Queen won’t run QB sneaks. The offense smells quite badly right now, and Ben is 1 of the culprits. C+
RB:
Harris – again had little room to run. Had 10 rushed for 38. Had 5 grabs for 43, including a fine RAC effort to score his first NFL TD. Blatantly WHIFFED on the chip block, which caused the pressure that forced Ben’s lone INT. Not a good effort there at’all. B
Snell – had 2 carries for 1 yard.
FB: Watt was, as always, never used on offense. A colossal waste of salcap dollars.
WR:
JuJu – solid game, with 6 grabs for 41, plus a nifty 3-yard TD run. Broke several tackles during the game. Only downer was a stupid holding penalty on a bubble screen. B+
Wash - Targeted once, with 0 grabs. No wonder he was wanting a trade back in camp. Inc.
Dionte - solid stats, with 9 grabs for 105. But I wasn’t overly fond of how weekly this fellow was running OOB on a couple diff plays. Of course, on the final play of the game, which was entirely meaningless, he was tackled awkwardly as he ran OOB and appeared to injure a knee. Was also flagged for a false start, which enraged me. B+
Claypool – Had 3 grabs for 70, including a good grab on a 52 yard bomb. Lost 3 yards on his lone carry, when he foolishly tried to vault the tackler instead of juking. B
GayRay McCloud – Thankfully never played on O.
TE:
Ebron – Targeted twice, with no grabs. He’ll be grousing in the locker room very, very soon.
Pat FryBoy – Had 4 grabs for 36. Is quickly over-taking Ebron. B
OL: Overall, the line struggled to make room for Harris, although the Steelers, as is their wont, were hardly committed to ANYTHING resembling a ground game. Ben was under a fair amount of pressure on a few too many plays today. Turner got into a spat late in the game and literally spat on a Raider, prompting an ejection that could also lead to a 1 or 2 game suspension. What an imbecile !! Turner: D Rest: C-
DL:
Heyward – The $65M Man had 4 solos and a batted pass. Hardly dominant, but adequate. B
Tuitt – another vaunted DE who is again injured, again.
Alu – injured his ankle in a grisly accidencent when a teammated flew into his leg. Is prob done for the season.
Wormley – played half decently.
LB:
Bush – sat out the game with a groin.
Schobert – Had 2 solos and chipped in decently, but was schooled for 2 long receptions that hurt quite badly. B-
Watt – Sitter Watt had a nice strip sack in the 1Q. Midway thru the 2Q, he injured a groin and never returned. This is precisely what happens when you play games and SIT OUT all full-contact drills during camp. Thanks, PJ ! I usually don’t give a grade for an injured player, but this case is different, in that the player himself is responsible for the silly, needless injury. D
Highsmith – string out and stuffed a key 3rd down run for a 3-yard loss. Had 3 solos. B
Spillane – Was all over the field stopping runs and short passes. Very gritty effort. Was flagged for a personal foul, apparently for tackling too hard. The QB did NOT slide, and was a runner, and Spillane rightfully punished Carr. I didn’t understand the flag and didn’t like it. B+
Mel Ingram – Was fairly active, and had a couple pressures. But he had just 1 solo, which ain’t nearly enough for someone who saw that many snaps. Also was badly tooled out in the flat after a Raider dumpoff from their own 3 that gained 11 yards as easy as pie. B-
DB
Haden – sat out the game with a groin.
Cam Button - played so-so. B
Norwood – wasn’t as active as last week.
Edmunds – Was again never in position to actually bust up a pass. Chipped in a few times on ground plays, but when ya have a SS who is never, ever able to help in pass defense, it’s a boat anchor. B-
Minkah - Had 4 solos. Felt he was too timid &/or over-confident on the deep ball to Ruggs that essentially won the game. Minkak hesitated on his read and was a step late. C+
Pierre – Was picked on quite a bit. Not ready for starting chores. C
Ahkello Witherspoon – got abused by Ruggs on the game-winning bomb. Have no idea exactly why he was in the game and covering the fastest guy on the field. C-
Spec teams:
Harvin– punted well, including a booming 59 yarder. Also had a nice punt to pin LV on the 3. A
Boswell – 1 for 1 on FGs, which was a Heinz Field record 56 yarder. Nicely done. A
RayRay – in the 4Q, with the team desparate for point, GayRay took a punt and had an acre of room on the other side of the field. There was ONE defender, a lumbering TE, over there. It appeared GayGay could have gotten the corner before the Raider, but GayRay stupidly cut it INSIDE, where all the wash is, and settled for a 15 yard return instead of what might have been 30 or even 70 yards. He was also flagged in the 1H for a silly, needless dead-ball personal foul flag. D+
OC: Matt Canada oversaw yet another stench-laden first half, with offensive ineptitude that set the NFL back 40 years or more. All these weapons, with a HoF QB, and this rag-shit offense produced SEVEN points in the 1H and then a whopping ten in the 2H. Remember all the fables during the offseason about how Canada was going to use motion, different sets, and lots of different plays and mis-directions? Yeah, me too. And we haven’t seen jack shit of it. Sure, there was Schuster’d TD today off a jet sweep. That was like THE ONLY play that wasn’t the same mundane pablum we’ve seen the past 30 games or so. Najee Harris has yet to get a handoff on tow consecutive snaps, which is ludicrous.
This offense sux, and sux badly. Time for Canada to pull his head from buttocks. D-
DC:
Keith Assler had the luxury of facing an offense missing its starting RB, plus a starting OT (Leatherback) who left very early and never returned. Yet Assler was rarely ever able to stop the Raider attack. In the 2H, Assler got pillaged and ravaged by Carr and the Raiders, in a hideous display of pussfyfied defense. Here’s what Assler’s vaunted defense did after halftime:
- Rare forced punt
- TD (82 yard march)
- Punt (although LV did march for 47 yards)
- TD
- Punt (although this was after Stoogelin’s moronic punt on 4th & 1, and the Raiders were able to get 1 first-down and chew 2:32 of clock)
- FG
In total, Carr was 16 of 21 for 263 yards and 2 TDs…..in the 2H alone. That’s shit defense at its finest. 3rd & 10, and Assler allows the game-winning 61-yard TD bomb. Brilliant !! Sure, Assler was missing some starters. So was LV. The Stillers were playing at home, and got thrashed and embarrassed. Who was running this defense…..Pitt’s idiot head coach Pat Narchewzi, or Keith Assler? Neither knows jack dick about defense, and Heinz Field had to host two shitty-assed bumbling defenses this weekend, one with Pitt getting thrashed by W. Pissagain, and then a day later LV was marching up and down the field at will against Keith Assler. Just putrid. D
HC: Mike Asslin was outrageously gifted by the NFL for this game, being that LV was forced to play Monday nite, then travel across the country 5 days later to play in PA. On top of that, LV was missing its starting RB and had numerous other injuries to deal with as well. It mattered not, as Asslin’s merry crew, all hyped up after the “big win” in Buff last week, came out flat and pooped the bed with a bland, uninspired performance & effort. The defense stunk ass, and the offense was pure vomit. When both sides of the ball are this sorry and putrid, the chances of losing hover around 99%.
I despised Asslin’s decision to punt on 4th and a foot at the PIT 34, midway thru the 4Q of a 9 point game. The defense was getting riddled and CARVED by Carr, so punting the ball was waving the white flag. And all these weapons on O, and this sorry assed offense couldn’t have gained a FOOT ?? Stoogelin said after the game that he was hoping to force a LV punt and get field position. Yeah, they forced a punt…..after allowing a killer 1st down and after allowing LV to chew 2:32 of scarce clock. And, oh, the Stillers got the ball back 2 yards worse than when the Stillers punted.
Anyone recall how Stoogelin SAT the starting Oline for 99% of preseason? Well, that idiocy has come how to roost, with an O-line who couldn’t block a local high school squad. And shoddy preparation and intensity across the team, fall squarely on the HC. D
Synopsis: A meek, shoddy loss in what was a very, very winnable ballgame. A few more games like this, and this team will be looking, not at a playoff spot, but a draft spot.
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