Stillers 28, Dolts 7 ……. Nov 24, 2016…………Game # 11
Stillers-Colts Postgame Analysis and Grades
The middling 5-5 Stillers went to Indy on T-giving nite to face the equally middling 5-5 Dolts, sans QB Andrew Luck. Despite playing an injury ravaged team, the Stillers -- true to their nature on the road – scratched and clawed, barely keeping ahead of the hapless Dolts until salting the game away in the 4Q. Make no mistake, however. This was a nail biter well into the 4Q.
Grades:
QB: Stellar lob under pressure on a 3d & 13 to Green, 2Q, good for 32 yards. Then 2 plays later, hit AB on a deep strike for a 33 yard TD. Underthrew Coates on a deep ball, 2Q, which the Colt DB was able to get his hands on and bust up. Weakly threw a deep quail to Coates, early 3Q, that was woefully underthrown and incomplete. Nice flag pass to Green, 4Q, good for 35 yards. I was pleased with the 1H, but hardly impressed with the ass-grabbing that occurred in the 2H. B
Laundry Jones – got some mop-up work in garbage time, late 4Q.
RB:
Bell – Stellar 5 yard TD run, 1Q. Superb all around effort, with 23 rushed for 120 yards, and 4 grabs for 22. A
DeAngelo – sat out again with the knee.
Toussaint – Got 2 token carries, 1H. Got a couple more carries in garbage time, late 4Q. Ripped off a 16 yard carry, and then, as he is fond of doing, simply ran untouched OOB instead of barreling into someone with a vengeance. C-
FB:
Nix – good lead block, 1st series, on a Bell 10 yard run. Flubbed weakly in pass pro, late 1Q, which nearly caused a sack. Very weak, and very piss poor. C+
WR:
Brownie – lazily just waited for a deep post to plop into his lap, late 1Q, which was nearly INT’d. A completely lazy, lethargic play. A couple plays later, he made a nifty play on a backshoulder grab for a TD. Then was flagged with Bell for unsp conduct for a silly-assed dance routine. On the ensuing KO, Indy returned it 43 yards to the Pit 47. Flagged for OPI, 2Q, on a poor pass that was nearly INTd. Hauled in a deep sideline lob for a 22-yard TD, 5:30 4Q. Hauled in a TD in the back of the EZ, 4Q, to seal the game. One might assume that the 3 TDs would translate into a grade of A, but the boners unquestionably reduce the grade. B
Coates – thrown a couple of lame deep lobs, plus a low out pass. Once again, a complete non factor. C+
Rogers – big gainer, 1st series, on a key 3d & 8, for 30 yards. Had 2 grabs in the 1Q, and then was completely written out of the offense the rest of the game.
Hamilton – grabbed a clutch curl, 3d & 1, early 3Q.
Heyward-Gay – did not dress.
TE:
Jesse James – completely ignored in the pass game the entire contest. Ok, he was targeted by Jones just after the 2MW, and clumsily failed to haul in the poorly thrown lob.
Lazarius Green – Finally did something, hauling in a deep lob on 3d & 13, good for 32 yards. Flagged for illegal use of hands on a 3d & 10, 2Q, which negated a splendid crosser to AB that went for 17 yards. Very poor. Snagged a deepish flag for 35 yards, 4Q. Had the penalty not occurred, he may have gotten a grade of A. B+
Grimble – did not dress, due to injury.
OL: Overall, the line opened up gaping holes, plus gave Ben ample time. The penalties enraged me, but the play was above average.
Villeneueva - solid job on the blind side.
Gilbert - FatAss Marcus surprisingly committed no penalties.
Foster – decent
Pouncey – decent
DeCastro – flagged for holding on a running play, late 2Q. Then, on 3d & 2, 4Q, Big David was flagged for a silly-assed, needless hold, negating what was a 1st down run by Bell. Remember, he’s just so great and so dominant. Got a pancake block for Toussaint, late 4Q. Gee, it’s a good thing GM Kevin Doltbert rushed out to extend this stiff. Even better, I suppose, that Dolbert overpaid him. C-
DL:
Hargrave – totally engulfed an early screen play for a 5 yard loss. Good stop of Gore on a plunge, 3Q. Made a stellar, diving play to trip up a scrambling QB, 3Q. Very nice play. Had 4 solos in what was by far his best outing of the season. A
McCullers – as usual, did nothing. C-
Tuitt – Helped blow up a 3d & 1 pass play, 1Q. Had a good QB pressure, late 4Q. Finished with 0 solos and 2 As. I won’t fawn over Stephonie for just-adequate play the way the Pgh media does. B-
Matthews – Did ok, but not much.
LB:
Timmons – Tooled badly by Duane Allen on a 3d & 6, 1Q, for about 12 yards. Flagged for roughing the passer, 2Q. Really a ticky-tack flag. Had some solid stops and led the team with 8 solos. B
Shaquier – flagged for holding, on the same play that Timmy was flagged for roughing the asser. Quiet game, with just 3 solos. B-
Moats – stupidly and clumsily got sucked inside on a 3rd & goal bootleg, late 2Q. Sean Davis saved his bacon with a TD-saving stop. Still, a sorry play by a sorry player. C-
Harrison – feebly failed to seal the edge on a 3d & 3, late 3Q, which was a toss sweep that gained 18 yards. Had a couple of pressures, but nothing more. B-
Jones – Saw some PT early on, and then faded to the bench. Zero tackles of any kind. C
Chickillo – stopped Gore for feeble yardage, mid 2Q. Had 3 solos, but I’m not pleased that he’s floated into quietness. C
Vinnie W. – No PT on D.
Dupree – Good hustle to blast a WR after a short grab, last pay of 1Q. Had 2 solos. Nice to see him on the field for a fairly good bit of time.
DB
Golden – Did not start.
Mitchell – As usual, was slow, and late, to provide help on a deep seamer to Hilton, 2Q. Sure, he delivered a big hit, but Hilton held onto the 3rd down pass to set up 1st & goal at the PIT 2. Just once, wouldn’t it be nice for PissAss Mitch to, you know, break up a pass…? The only good thing on this play, was that Big Mike was injured. Big Mike returned a few plays later, and semi-jarred a bobbling ball on 4th down in the EZ. Flashed up and drilled the QB around the 2 yard line on a 3d & goal scramble, early 4Q. On a putrid, quail-like, underthrown deep ball, 4Q, Big Mike got the rarest of all birds, a Bitchell INT….! Stunning ! Bitchell hasn’t had an INT since the 9th grade. B-
Gay - stripped the QB, first play o’ game. Got completely abused by Hilton on 3d & 8, 1Q, for 19 yards. Very shoddy, and poor. Snagged an INT, late 4Q. B-
Cockrell –initially flagged for PI, 2Q, but the ref correctly picked up the flag, as it was a nice, flawless bust-up on a deep flag. Got completely tooled by Hilton on a deep lob, 2Q, but Hilton foolishly dropped the ball. This could have easily been a 63-yard TD pass. On 3d & 15, 3Q, CockJell allowed a 19 yard cushion, and allowed an easy pitch and catch for 16 yards. A completely shit play by a completely shit player. C-
Burns – Good read to stay home on a boot throwback, and good stop, late 3Q. Had 4 solos. Solid game. B+
Davis – Stellar play to stop the QB on a bootleg run just short of the EZ, late 2Q. Had 5 solos. The next time Golden should start should be….oh, never. A-
Justin Gilbert – Somehow got onto the field in garbage time and had 1 solo.
Sharko Thomas – did not dress, due to injury.
Spec teams:
Jordan Berry – punted just ok. Booted a shabby, weak-assed 36-yard punt, 2Q. Decent pooch punt to the Indy 10, early 3Q. Boomed a pooch into the EZ, late 4Q. Is establishing the fact that he has zero consistency. C-
Boswell – A rare game in which he was barely given any work, and the work was merely FGs. B
AB – did nothing on punt returns.
Dangerfield – Got tooled, along with the punt return team, on a fake punt by Indy early in the 2Q.
The punt coverage was complete vomit, 2Q, allowing a 25 yard return. Luckily, an illegal formation flag on Indy negated the return.
OC:
Haley oversaw a nice 1H, in which the Stillers scored 3 TDs. Then, the offense, as it is wont to do, completely petered out in the 2H, which allowed Indy to have a legit shot at crawling back into the game.
I despised the deep ball on 3d & 2, early 3Q. Worse, this was an obvious PASSING formation from Haley, instead of at least a run-heavy look with a PAP. Bell was having his way with the Colts, who hadn’t stopped him all evening. Instead of sustaining a drive and adding to a 21-7 lead, the Stillers punted. Sure as shit, Indy took over at its 10 and marched 89 yards for a near TD.
Rogers had 2 grabs early on…..and then was written out of the offense the entire rest of the game. Ditto for James, who was targeted once all nite….by the backup QB in garbage time. Meanwhile, Coates is getting showered with pass attempts. Just unbelievably stupid.
Everyone seems to rave about “all those weapons at Haley’s disposal”. Here’s the problem – Haley hasn’t a fuking clue as to what to do with all those weapons at his disposal. B-
DC:
Keith Assler had the extreme luxury of Andrew Luck being ruled out with a concussion and soup cn Scott Tolzien inserted at QB. Sure enough, of course, Assler wasted no time in making Tolzien look like a cross between Dan Fouts and Johnny Unitas.
Assler got extremely lucky late in the 2Q, when Indy failed to convert a 4th & goal, or at least attempt a FG.
In the 3rd quarter, the Stillers punted and pinned Indy on their own 10-yard line. Here was THE chance to force Indy to punt from their EZ, get the ball back, and tack onto the 21-7 lead. No, not Keith Assler. He stands around and allows the Colts to march….and march….and march….19 plays, all the way to the PIT 1. Only a dropped TD pass on 4th & goal prevented a score, but the Colts had completely flipped the field. Had the pass been caught, it’s a 7-point ballgame, with a dome crowd certainly getting more into it. Just watching this backup scrub QB, in OBVIOUS passing downs, just carving apart Assler’s defense like a turkey on thanksgiving…..just sickening. D-
HC: Mike Dumblin nearly oversaw an epic collapse and another road egg-lay. Only the ineptitude of the Dolts saved Stoogelin’s bacon.
Things were going along swimmingly well, with the Stillers scoring a TD to go up, 13-0. But wait…! Asshole AB and Toker Bell draw a 15-yard penalty for a silly-assed celebration after the TD. Instead of a casual KO that lands 9 yards deep in the EZ, the ensuring KO is fielded well shoet of the EZ. Then, Stoogelin’s perennially inept spec teams allow a 43 yard KO return. And then, with the drive seemingly halted at the PIT 43, Stoogelin’s inept spec teams allow a 35-yard completion by a punter on a 4th down fake punt.
The overly softee defense in the 3Q was simply enraging. Remember, DumbAss Mike is supposed to be a defensive expert. Supposed to be. Turns out he knows jack squat. C-
Synopsis: A narrow win over an inept, injury-riddled opponent. Not much to fawn over, even for the most rabid of optimists. The team now has 9 days off before it hosts the G-men in a rare game against a competent foe. We have no idea who will cover OBJ and Cruz, but perhaps the Giants will be injury deleted by the 4th of Dec.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
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