Stillers 27, Cinci 17 ……. Dec 28, 2014…………Game # 16
Stillers-Bungals Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers hosted the Bungals in the final game of the NFL regular season, with the NFL North title up for grabs. The Stillers ground out a 27-17 win to gain a home game next Sat, but it frankly may be all for naught if Leveon Bell’s knee injury keeps him out of this upcoming playoff game.
Due to the late nite ending of this game, along with an early morning flight on Monday, this report will be fairly succinct and shorter than usual.
Grades:
QB: Ben had an “upset stomach” in pregame warm-ups. Poor out-curl pass to a wide open Wheaton, late 1Q. Clumsily allowed a pump fake to slip out of his hand for an incompletion, late 2Q. Two plays later, poorly underthrew a deep post to a well open Bryant, which was busted up near the GL. Late in the half, Ben had two chances inside the Cinci 10 to throw a TD, but failed on both downs to then force a FG. Poorly overthrew Bryant on a deep ball, 3:44 4Q. Ben had 3 or 4 balls batted back into his face, which is unacceptable. Had a poor INT in the 3Q, although much of that was the fault of Pee Pee Archer, who failed miserably to pick up a backside blitzer, forcing Ben’s hasty, errant throw. Nearly became Ben Piczarsik with a late game botched handoff that was fumbled. Ben finished with a so-so 24 of 38. He’ll need to play better in the playoffs. B-
RB:
Bell - Stutter Bell had a solid 3 quarters. Incredible spin move on a dumpoff that looked thwarted for a 2-yard loss, turning it onto a 26-yard gain at 9:25 2Q. Grabbed a slant over the middle and got legally drilled in the knee, mid 3Q, and was writhing on the ground in pain. He went to the locker room with a hyper extended knee and did not return. Inc
Archer - Pee Pee Archer finally dressed. Right after Bell was injured, Pee Pee ran a plunge and gained MINUS-one yard. Pee Pee grabbed a short out, 2 plays later, which gained, oh, zero yards. 2 plays later, on 3d & long, Pee Pee was tasked, foolishly enough, to pass block. He went to take on a blitzing LB, and then flailed & whiffed in meek, weak-assed fashion, with his man applying rapid pressure that forced a hastily thrown INT. Grabbed a lob along the sideline, next series, and instead of, you know, making a MOVE, he meekly stepped OOB like a little bitch. F
Harris - the young rookie was given some work after Pee Pee’s disastrous first series, and ripped off a 59-yard run on his first carry. This was negated by Fat Ramon Foster, who needlessly committed a hold on Peko. Harris finished with 5 carries for 7 yards. B-
FB: Will Johnson got some sparse PT. Grabbed a valve dump, 2Q, for 11 yards.
WR:
Brownie – clumsily alligator-armed a medium lob down the sideline on the first series, which caused a drop and forced a punt. Clumsily dropped a short out on 3d & 2, mid 1Q, forcing a Stiller punt from their own 13 instead of moving the chains. AB made the offensive play of the game, nudging the DB and grabbing a lob and then taking it to the house for a game-icing 63-yard TD. A-
Pinkie Wheaton - good block on Bryant’s TD in the 2Q. Good pluck, late 2Q. Had 3 grabs for 17, which just isn’t enough for a #2 WR. B-
Lance “Yancey” Moore - played a little, but no grabs.
Bryant - took a short screen 21 yards for a TD to put the Stillers up 17-10 in the 2Q. Failed to high point a deep ball in the eZ, late 2Q. On the late AB TD, Bryant decided, like a complete jackass, to run up ALONGSIDE Brown and actually ran into Brown. By the grace of God, Bryant fell to the turf while AB ran to the EZ. With about 4 acres of open turf, we have no idea what exactly Bryant was thinking or doing. B-
Heyward-Gay - wasn’t involved, thank goodness. He has more penalties, and last names, than he does receptions. Inc
Justin Brown – thankfully did not dress.
TE:
Miller - dropped a cake-easy pop pass, 1st series, which helped to abort the drive. Failed to climb the ladder and corral a high pass in the EZ that would have been a TD, 8:16 2Q. Good block on the Bryant TD, 2Q. 3 grabs for 41. B
Spaeth - sadly returned to the lineup. Dropped a short curl, late 1Q. Did little with his shoddy blocking. C-
OL:
Beacham - Wasn’t tooled too badly.
Gilbert - FatAss Marcus had a solid game in pass pro.
Foster - good block, 2nd play of game, on quickie screen pass to Bell. Negated Harris’ long run of 59 yards with a needless, asinine hold of Pelo. C-
Pouncey – Shitty, low snap that took Ben by surprise, which caused a turnover late in the 1Q at the PIT 34. Corralled a batted pass in the 4Q and gained no yards. C-
DeCastro - Wasn’t tooled or embarrassed. B+
DL:
Cam Thomas - did nothing, as usual.
McLendon - good run stuff, mid 3Q.
Heyward – got sucked inside on a 3MR, 1Q, allowing Smalton to easily run wide for 5 yards. Abused the rookie center for a sack, early 2Q. Had a stout, solid game. B+
Tuitt - the vaunted 2nd rounder got another start. Good effort to drill Hewitt on a TE screen, mid 3Q. Got devoured on the Hill 11-yard run, early 4Q.
McCullers - got some sparse PT.
LB:
Timmons – led the D with 7 solos and 4 As. B+
Shaquier – beaten on coverage on a 2nd & 20 by Hewitt, a backup TE, which gained 19 yards. Played only sparingly. Inc
Worilds - Again, I thought Big LaMarr went to the Raidas. What, praytell, is he still doing with the Stillers ?? Oh wait, that was The Hokie Hooker, Jason Worilds, who once again STOOD AROUND doing nothing the entire evening. Was easily SOLO blocked by a TE, allowing Hill to easily get to the corner on an 11-yard run, 2nd series. Two plays later, Big Jason got sucked in, allowing Hill a TEN yard gain. The next play, he was shoved to the ground, with Hill gaining 20 yards. Stop the presses ! Big Jason actually shed a blocker, and then made a stop ! This occurred on the 2nd play of the 2H, and a 3-yard run up RT by Hill. Of course, Jason quickly returned to his old, feeble self, getting shrugged off by Hill in the backfield on a 3d & 1 that should have been a 3-yard loss but instead gained a critical 2 feet. The Bungals were thus able to convert a 4th & 1-foot on the next play. On the 3rd & short plunge, 4:20 4Q, Big Jason stood around and did dick, allowing the cake-easy 1st down. Big Jason got a Dong Sack late in the game, when the OT literally fell, untouched, backwards onto his ass. Even Big Jason GilDong would be uberly proud of that Dong Sack !! C-
Moats - got some PT at LOLB, mid 3Q.
Harrison - had to face Whitworth all evening, who is among the top LTs in all of pro football. Had 2 solos. B-
Jones - got some PT at ROLB, mid 3Q.
Vinnie W. - chipped in on a stop of a 3rd down run, 1Q. Got tooled in coverage on the next play (a 4th down), allowing an easy catch, plus whiffing on the tackle. Far too little for the PT he is getting. C
Spence - Got a Dong sack when, on a 5-man rush, he nabbed a scooting Dalton who was pressured from the outside. Had 2 solos. C+
DB
Ike - did not dress, due to injury.
Pola - did not dress, due to a knee.
Mitchell – Gave a shoddy, sh!t-eating effort on the Bernard TD, 1Q, in which he could have stopped Bernard well short of the pylon, but instead just feebly waved and pawed at the RB. On the short TD pass to Gresham, early 4Q, Bitchell was, as usual, slow and feeble as a 93-year old grandmother. D+
Gay - good coverage on a deep ball to Green, early 3Q. Got juked out of his jock by Green, 1st play 4Q. B
Blake - drilled Bernard with a legal shot near the sideline, late 2Q. Stripped the ball from Green and then had the presence to recover it, late 4Q. Played nasty all evening long. B+
McCain - got the start in place of Ike. Good coverage, first play of game, on deep ball to Green that fell inc. Got a Dong INT, 1Q, when Green stopped his route and McCain simply ran, uncontested, under the lob for a cake-easy INT. Got another Dong INT in the 2QA, when Smalton threw a high crosser to AJ Green that clanged off Green’s hands and softly into the waiting arms of McCain. A-
Sharko Thomas – not permitted to play on D. I guess he might get some PT in 2016. Inc
Will Allen - Good ankle-nip stop, first series, on 3d down to force the punt. Took on a pulling guard and blew up a 3d down run, 5:10 1Q. Body slammed Bernard after a short dumoff, late 1Q. On the next play, he whiffed on Green after a short pass. B+
C. Allen - did not play on D.
Spec teams:
Wing – Had a good first punt, but then, mid 1Q, punted only 35 yards on a dogsh!t effort from the PIT 13, giving Cinci golden FP at the PIT 42. Shoddy punt in the 3Q that looks respectable on the stat sheet (42 yards), but that was due to a 7-yard roll. Threw a hideous, Tamczakian lollipop on a fake punt that was INTd at 5:50 4Q. C-
Suisham - Made a 25-yard chippie late in the 2Q, but only after the ball clanged off the left upright and then through the posts.
AB – Took a 1Q punt return 71 yards to the house for the early 7-0 lead. A+
Garvin - good block on the AB punt return for a TD. Then, on the ensuing KO, he made the stop of JacMan Jones.
Sharko Thomas had a good solo stop of JacMan on the opening KO of the 2H.
In typical Stiller spec teams fashion, the Stillers had only 9 men on the field for the Nugent 50-hyard FG in the 3Q. Had Cinci tried a fake, the odds were obviously well in their favor.
OC:
I despised the two consecutive screens to Bell, first series of the game. One is okay. The 2nd gained only 2 yards (surprise!). Doesn’t Gayly have enough sense to realize the screen works best when the opponent isn’t looking for it….?
I also despised the cutesy draw play on 3d & 8 at the Cinci 14, mid 2Q, which gained all of 3 yards. You’ve got Ben having a career year, with the Cinci pass rush getting very, very little pressure….and you’re going to try a focking draw play on 3d & a half-mile?? Utterly asinine.
With only 1:09 left in a 10-point game, and the ball on the PIT 20, Haley, the complete fuking idiot, calls a running play instead of simply KNEELING on the ball. What happens? There’s a botched handoff between Ben and the rookie RB, and luckily Harris was able to recover the loose ball. Why in sam hell was a kneel not ordered here???? You have to be kidding me. B-
DC: Dick once again had his weekly luxury. This week, he got to face, at home, a team who had to play MNF 6 days prior to the game. This, of course, occurred when the Saints came to town, and of course they ravaged Dick’s Softee Defense the way a shark ravages a carcass. But wait, there’s more…! Not only did Dick get the luxury of hosting a team that has only 4 days of preparation, but the starting QB (Dalton) had been ill all week, and the star WR (Green) got injured in the MNF tilt and barely played. In the 1Q, starting TE Jermaine Gresham got nicked up and barely played therafer, adding to Dick’s comfy luxury. As if all that weren’t enough, AJ Green got a head injury with 4 minutes left in the game.
Dick was handed a 7-0 lead, but sure as a monkey craps in the jungle, Dick quickly allows Cinci to score on a 42-yard TD march. Dick was tooled on a 4th & 3 that kept the drive alive, and then allowed a 17-yard TD pass to Bernard on 3d & 6. If there is a 3rd down to be pissed away, you can put your money on Dick to oblige.
Dick dodged a bullet on the first drive of the 2H, allowing a long, laborious Cinci drive of 11 plays, but Nugent missed a 50-yard FG that would have cut the deficit to 7.
Ben threw a pick late in the 3Q, but Cinci took over on its own 11. No problem….playing at home, with the boisterous crowd. Force a punt, and the O takes over around midfield. Nope, not The Retard, Dick LeBeau. Dick allows a march just about as long as the Bataan Death March, of 15 plays, 89 yards to cut the deficit to 3. Nice, Dick, you worthless fuktard.
Let’s not crow about the turnovers Dick “created”. The McCain INT in the 1Q was clearly a Dong INT, when the WR stopped his route and the QB tossed a deep lob to no one. The 2nd McCain INT was also a Dong INT, when the ball clanged off Green’s hands and softly into McCain’s waiting arms. The FF was by a WR who, 6 days prior, left a game with an injured bicep, and surely was far from 100% in his strength and dexterity for holding onto the pigskin. C-
HC: Mike Dumblin was probably relieved that his softee team held on for the W.
The decision to have Wing winging the ball on a fake punt in the 4Q was utterly asinine. On the other side of the coin, Dumblin probably had ZERO confidence in Dick and Dick’s Softee Defense, as the prior drive the Bungals marched at will on the 89-yard TD march.
Like a chickenshit idiot, Dumblin accosted Cinci safety Reggie Nelson, the fellow who delivered a perfectly LEGIT, LEGAL tackle that injured Bell. Who knows what Dumblin was spouting off to Nelson, but it was bush league and boorish at its worst. (Dumblin said in the post game presser that Nelson accosted him.) Dumblin has only himself, and his idiot GM, for assembling a roster that has ONE, and only ONE, NFL caliber RB. So if Dumblin is all depressed that his playoff chances are going down the crapper with the loss of Bell, he should look in the mirror, rather than pointing fingers at an opposing player who made a legal, acceptable tackle. At any rate, thanks to the imbecilic planning and personnel management, the Stillers, without a single other NFL caliber RB on their roster, are fairly doomed if Bell cannot go next Sat. B-
Synopsis:
A hollow win due to the loss of Bell, over a Cinci team that is pathetic in evening games. Since 1998, the Bungals were 1-13 in primetime coming into this game. So, beating the hapless Bungals, at nite, at home, is nothing to crow about. Of course, with Bell injured, the Stillers season could well end earlier than Cinci’s. Bell is literally a do-everything back who adds pass protection as a major task he does so well. At any rate, bring on the hated PoeBirds, Sat nite in Pittsburgh !!
Bear with me next weekend, as I’ll be supporting the US Army National Combine, along with the US Army All American Bowl down in San Ant. I should, however, be able to watch the Sat. evening game.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
Follow Mill on Twitter, at StillMill1