Stillers 19, Falcs 16..... Dec 4, 2022 ………Game # 12
Stillers-Falcs Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 4-7 Stillers mosied down to Sherman’s old haunt to take on the mediocre 5-7 ATL Falcons.
The Stillers took a 16-6 lead at the half. They boosted the lead to 19-6 late in the 3Q, and for maybe 4 seconds the average fan thought this game was in the bag. Sure as shoit, of course, The Softee Defense reared its ugly head, allowing ATL to march down the field as easy as Sherman’s long march in 1864. Luckily, the Stillers staved off the Falcs, thanx in large part to a holding flag on a backup TE that negated the go-ahead TD.
Grades:
QB: KP got the start.
Overthrew a fairly open Fryboy down the seam, early 2Q, which should have been 6 points. Nice TD strike to Connor Hey on a seam route, 2Q. Had several misfires. But, was also victimized by numerous drops and other gaffes (such as a veteran WR wandering OOB just prior to a catch), plus a bevy of flags by the Oline. Was 16 of 28 for 197, with no INTs or fumbles for the 4th consecutive week. Not spectacular, but solid. B+
RB:
Harris – good stiff-arm of Grant, late 1Q. Tripped over his own 2 feet after cruising thru a GAPING hole, early 2Q. Good 14 yard run, mid 3Q. Ran with good power and authority on most runs. Had 17 rushes for 86, and 1 grab for 6. Had he been running this well back in Sep and Oct, this team would likely have 1 or 2 more wins. B+
Warren – Returned to action after missing last week’s game. Good lead block on Sims’ end around, late 1Q. Good plunge to move the chains, 2Q. Had a couple other solid blocks. Had 2 grab for 14. B+
Snell – Ran a plunge, late 1Q, for 4 yards. Good plunge on 3d & 1, 3Q, and got the 1D. Good grab of low valve pass, 3Q, and with the RAC moved the chains on the 11 yard play. Nice contribution. B+
FB: Watt played here and there. Converted a 3d & 1 plunge, first series. Now 5 for 5 on 3d down plunge conversions. Good grab near the sideline on a valve pass, late 1Q. A.
WR:
Dionte – Clang ! Another dropped pass by Dionte "The Sitter" Johnson, early 2Q. Good thing he sat out of team drill at camp. It's paying off handsomely. Next series, it was a feeble-azzed attempt to catch a deepish pass. Very unimpressive. Flagged for a false start, 1st & 10 at the ATL 14. Dionte, stripped of the ball on his RAC, turnover in the 4Q. Good thing The Sitter sat out of team drills at camp, when plays like this would have been practiced. Omar Khan caved in and lavished this dweeb with a fatty contract, and THIS is the shoit we receive in return. Somehow, the replay booth overturned this and ruled it INC. Had 5 grabs for 60. C-
Boykin – no real work on O.
Pickens – Was basically ignored the entire 1H. Ignored all thru the Q, until he grabbed a short out-curl with 10 seconds left in the quarter for a whopping 2 yards…..his only touch of the game. This game was his welcome-home game as a former Georgia, and to a degree, I can understand his frustration. That said, I didn’t like his moping and sulking.
Sims – made what appeared to be a nice catch on a seamer, 1Q, but the replay over-turned it. (I didn’t agree with that over-turn.) Absentmindedly drifted OOB and then grabbed a short out pass, late 2Q, and was flagged for illegal touching. Very careless and foolish.
Gunner O – good presence of mind to throw a block on Fryboy’s long RAC, 2Q. Ran a couple of end arounds.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – Got abused by a LB and allowed the QB to get his as he threw, 1st series, which spoiled a deep ball attempt by KP. Slightly atoned by grabbing a 10 yard pass, next play, on 3d & 2. Stellar 2nd and 3rd effort, 3d & 4, and gained 56 yards in the process. Had 3 grabs. B
Connor Hey – snared a TD pass, 2Q, on a seam route.
Gentry – Had 1 grab for 8.
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Dotson, Cole, Daniels, Okorafor ) played adequately. The run blocking were fairly impressive, and the pass pro, aside from some leakage here and there, was adequate.
Moore, of course, couldn’t make it thru the 1st series of the game without being flagged for his weekly false start.
Dotson committed a false start, 2Q.
Okorafor got shaken up, mid 3Q. Trent Scott came in, in relief.
Mason Hole was flagged for illegal hands to face, declined. Overall, B
DL:
Heyward – Got a Dong Sack, when the Oline was all befuddled and the QB was unable to find an open man. Got a slop assist on a 4-yard gain by Allgier, early 4Q. Got a rare, legit solo on a stop of the RB on 1st & goal from the 20, 4Q. Was quiet as a mouse and ineffective as one as well, recording all of 2 solos and 2 A’s. Scam continues to show that he’s one of the most over-hyped, overpaid defenders in the ENTIRE league. D-
Ogunjobi – big lick and stuff of Patterson, 2Q…loss of 3. Chipped in here and there.
Adams – didn’t do much.
Alu Alu – didn’t do much.
Wormley – didn’t do much.
LB:
Bush – Had 3 solos and 0 As. Not nearly enough. D+
Jack – Had 2 solos and 4As. Not enough, either. C-
Watt – Nice play by Big TJ Watt, getting tied up by a blocker, and whiffing on the tackle. 21 yard gainer, 2Q.
Stop the presses....! Sitter Watt finally got his first tackle of the game, some 47 minutes in.
Highsmith – 1 solos, 0 A in a very drab, humdrum effort. All the praise and adulation over this fellow has gotten out of hand, and today emphatically shows that. C-
Spillane – returned to the lineup after sitting out last week. Had 1 solo, 0 A in spot duty.
Malik Reed – Didn’t do much in spot duty.
DB
Wallace – Had 2 INTs chances; 1 in 1Q, the other in 2Q, but failed to grab either. Got humiliated by London (and flagged for illegal contact to boot) for a 38 yard gainer, 2Q. B-
Cam Sutton - busted up a crosser, 1Q. Good, crisp tackle a few plays later to force the punt. Busted up a deepish pass at his goal line, 2Q. Beaten badly by London on a 3d & long, 1st series of 2H, but the long pass was errant. B-
Norwood – Not much, if any, PT on D.
Edmunds – Reprehensibly poor effort on the off-tackle run, 1Q, which gained 21 yards. Rare, good play, 1st play of 2H, hauling down Patterson from behind on what could have been a huge gainer. Got completely tooled on the 3d & 1 pass play, mid 4Q. Had 2 solos and 2 As, which ain’t nearly good enough for a SS who played 98% of the snaps in this game. C+
Minkah - slashed in and dropped Patterson for a 4 yard loss, 2Q. Got a Dong INT late, to seal the W. B+
‘Spoon – again sat out with a ham.
Kayzee – despite the months of praise and fawning over this fellow, he continues to do very, very little.
Maulet – nearly committed DPI on the 3d & goal in the 4Q; luckily the pass was quite high and not catchable.
Pierre – subbed in for Wally on a few plays.
Spec teams:
Harvin – actualy punted adequately, for one. Booted a 47 yarder in the 4Q, and then, late in the game, pinned ATL on their own 2 yard line with a brilliant pooch punt. Stunning. A
Boswell – again sat out.
Matt Wright – nailed 4 of 4 FGs. His KO’s were stellar; either deep enough to get a TB, or avoiding Patterson. A
Sims – dropped a fair-catch punt, 1Q, but luckily recovered. Thought he FC a punt too quickly when he had a good 9 yards of open space.
OC: Matt Canada oversaw a half decent offense; perhaps the best it has looked all season. I wasn’t overly fond of the excessive end arounds to Gunner O. Nor did I like the phasing out of Pickens out of the entire offense the entire game. (Two targets, for 2 yards.) That cannot happen, especially with the dearth of top caliber NFL WRs on this roster. B-
DC: Stillers had a 19-6 lead, late 3Q, but sure as shoit, Asslin & Austin promptly allow an 8 play, 75 yard TD march, with the 1st 7 plays ALL on the ground. Shoit defense at its worst. Then, the next ATL drive went 64 yards on 15 plays, and was stopped only because of a holding flag on a backup TE that negated the g-ahead TD. Still, ATL scored a FG to cut the lead to just 3 points. The late pooch punt by Harvin down to the 2 made Austin’s job quite easy; otherwise, he’d have probably allowed an easy march for a 55-yard FG try. C
HC: Mike Asslin will be all full of bravado after this thin win, his first 2-game winning streak of the season. Sure, it’s always nice to win on the road, and ATL isn’t a bottom feeder, but this was hardly like going into KC and knocking off the Chefs. B-
Synopsis: Next up, a home game vs the hated PoeBirds. They’ll need a better full-60 minutes than today’s effort to knock off Balt.
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