Raidas 20, Stillers 13 ��. Oct. 29, 2006 ����Game #7
Stillers-Raidas Postgame Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers slopped away yet another game, losing to the lowly Raiders in
embarrassing fashion.� This loss was
similar to the others -- sloppy play; horrible turnovers; dumbassed penalties,
and an uninspired effort led by a lethargic, dullardly coaching staff.�
Grades:
QB:�
Benji had a rocky day, completing 25 of 37 for 301 yards, but 4
INTs.�� To be fair, a couple of the INTs
were fairly meaningless.� The long INT
in the 1Q, on 3rd & 8, was basically like a punt.�� The INT on the 4Q 4tH & 1 didn�t hurt the team (Oak turned
the ball back w/o scoring), and even if it had been batted rather than INT�d,
the Raiders would have had the ball on loss of downs.�
���� But there were a host of mistakes that he
personally made that led to defeat.� He
missed an open Miller down the seam in the 1Q, with too much loft &
distance on the ball, and nearly got Miller killed.� The deep out to Wilson that was incorrectly ruled incomplete,
would have been an easy completion had the pass not been so low and
underthrown.�� The INT that was returned
by Asomugha off a deflection by rookie LB Tom Howard, was a rotten decision on
a forced pass that was late over the middle.�
This same problem helped cause the INT at the GL by Carr, which was
taken back 100 yards for the play that essentially iced the game.� On that INT, Benji continued his wretched,
stiff-legged form and threw late and awkwardly off his back foot into triple
coverage, giving Carr eons of time to jump on the pass and snare it for the
INT.�� Then, with time running out in
the last minute of the game, Ben, with a fair amount of time in the pocket,
took the sack by Sapp.� This was an
inexcusable sack, with no TOs remaining.�
Sapp came from the Steeler right -- not from the blind side -- and Ben
simply had to chuck this pass in order to stop the clock.�
���� Overall, Ben is a wreck right now,
hampered by mechanics that are so piss-poor that Mike Prozac�s awful mechanics
look acceptable in comparison.� He�s
constantly throwing off his back foot, and to add to his woes, he�s throwing
straight-legged, with no bend in the knees.��
Thus, his passes are all arm, and he�s getting little zip or
accuracy.��� D.�
RB:�
Parker had some struggles in the 1H, but turned it on with a very solid
2H.� He took a 4Q screen to the house
for a clutch 25-yard TD, and set up the previous drive with a 39-yard jaunt on
3rd & short.�� Daven had a dubious
stat line, rushing 4 times for 1 yards.�
He also committed a thoroughly dumbassed false start right after the
2MW, with the Stillers facing a 3d & goal at the 5.�� Haynes had a great effort on 2Q screen on
3rd & 9, gaining 10 with a good cut and then good bulling for extra
yardage.��� Haynes was engulfd on a SG
draw in the 4Q and got crushed, leaving the game with a knee injury that may
shelve him for the season.� Staley did
not dress.��� Parker and Haynesie -� B.���
Davenport -� C.�
FB:�
Kreider had some solid lead blocks, such as on Parker�s 39-yard romp,
but like his mates, his blocking was spotty at times.�� He caught a couple dumpoffs and gained good yardage both
times.�� B.��
WR:� Ward was held to just 1 grab in the 1H, but caught fire in the 2H and finished with a team-high 8 grabs for 81 yards.� The numbers don�t sound flashy, but Ward made some tough, tough catches and took a ton of punishment after the catch.�
���� Wilson fumbled
an end around late in the 1Q.� He made a
superb catch on a low out late in the 1Q, but the ref literally botched the
call and ruled it incomplete, and the replay booth upheld that ruling.� He finished with 5 grabs for 53 yards.
���� Holmes caught a deep lob for 38 yards and
had 1 other grab for 5.�� I would have
preferred that he came back just a bit for the late pass in the EZ that was
busted up.� This separation would likely
have either allowed him to make the catch or made bust-up more likely to be
flagged for PI.��
���� Nate was held catchless until the Hail
Mary pass at game�s end that he hauled in for a fairly meaningless 49-yard
gain.� Nice effort and catch, but too
little, too late.��� B+.
TE:�
Miller was so-so.�� He made a 2
grabs on short dumps.� His biggest
mistake was failing to haul what would have been a TD pass on the play prior to
the Carr 100-yard INT return.� Yes, it
was a difficult opportunity off a poor pass, but the ball glanced off both hands
and could have reasonably been hauled in.�
His run blocking was spotty and not as consistent as its been.� Tuman caught a dumper and gained 2 yards.�� B-.�
OL:���
The O-line was, for about the 5th time this season, sorry and
shitty.� Leading the way in piss-poor
play was MaxiPad Starks, who got whipped and abused all day by Burgess on the
speed rush.� He got whipped by Burgess
on a speed rush� for a 1Q sack, and on
the next play, Ben threw the INT to Asomugha for the TD.� Starks then got mauled by Burgess on a 3d
& 12, which resulted in a sack and a near fumble late in the 1Q.� When he wasn�t getting abused by Burgess, he
was getting bullied by Sapp for the sack with 20 seconds left in the game.�
���� Hartings bowed out to injury and was
replaced by Okobi.�� Chuck had a good
block on the Parker TD, but struggled in run blocking.� One prime example was the 2nd & 2 plunge
late in the 3Q, in which Chubby was literally pushed 2 yards back into the
Stiller backfield, which caused Parker to be tripped up for no gain.� 2 plays later, Ben was picked off on 4th
& 1, and you have to wonder what might have happened if Chubby hadn�t
gotten mauled off the LOS on the 2nd & 2.�
���� Kemo started and played okay.�� He got turned sideways on 3d & 1 plunge
by Daven that was stuffed for lost yardage, and was also flagged for a false
start.�
���� Smith had a ho-hum game, as did
Faneca.�
���� The epitome of how raggedy this unit
played, was the 4Q 1st & goal at the Raider 1.� Parker was stuffed on 1D, and Daven was
dropped by massive penetration for a 3-yard loss on 2D, setting up the need to
pass.� For a unit that was voted by ESPN
as being the best in the league, they�ve got a long, long way to go to deserve
that praise.��� D-.�
DL:� The line limited the Raiders to 80-some yards of rushing and played solidly, albeit against a weak Raider O-line.� Aaron Smith had a strong, active game, although he was flagged in the 4Q for a horsecollar (the same call that was missed, in OPEN field, in last year�s Sup Bowl, by the way).� Hoke started in place of the injured Hampton and at least held his own.�� The is one unit that needn�t hang its head in shame.�� B+.�
LB:� Some good, some bad.��
���������� Farrrior and
Foote were both active and solid.� Farrior had a good stuff on a 4th
&1 plunge, stopping Crockett cold, as Foote helped bust up the play by
taking out the FB.� Foote led the team
with 7 solos, and overall, this was probably one of his best games ever as a
pro, aside from his dumbassed unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the 3Q.���
���������� Haggans
hustled and chipped in with a lot of hits in backside pursuit.�� In the 1st series, he destroyed Crockett --
who is no twerp in his own right -- and got a half sack on Walter.� He was weak on a Fargas run in the 1H,
allowing Fargas to slip out of his 2-handed grasp and gain a couple extra yards
on a 5-yard gain.�
����������
���������� On paper, it
will appear that Big Joey Porter has a �monster game�, as he recorded 2 sacks
and had an INT.�� Here�s a breakdown of
those 3 plays:
���������� 1.� Walter scooted from pressure (not
created by Big Joey, of course), and Porter shoved Walter right as he was
stepping OOB.� For this monumental,
he-man effort, Big Joey got credited with a 3-yard sack�..and a 15-yard gain
by the Raiders for a dumbassed personal foul/late hit OOB.�
���������� 2.� Big Joey faked for a full 2 seconds that he
was in coverage, and then rushed right up the gut -- totally untouched and
unblocked -- for an easy Dong Sack of the slow-footed Walter.
���������� 3.� Troy Pola blasted Townsend on what would
have been an INT by Town, and the ball popped up in the air.� Big Joey got the gratuitous pop-up for the
cake-easy INT.
���������� Aside from
this -- which obviously was very, very minimal -- the guy did jack-shit NOTHING
all day.� He had ZERO other solos or
assists, and more often than not, was simply standing around with one thumb up
his ass and the other in his mouth.�� To
add salt to the wound, on the play after Foote�s unsportsmanlike penalty,
Porter -- supposedly the �team leader� -- committed his own dumbassed unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty.� Even on the EZ pass to the
offensive TACKLE, Slaughter, who was lined up as a tackle eligible, Porter was clumsy and oafish.� Here�s the vaunted �pro bowl� LB in coverage
on a stumbling, plodding offensive tackle, and the opposing QB was stupid
enough to force the pass in a Roethlisberger-like manner.� Fer chrissakes, Porter could have easily
picked this and taken it 100 yards for a huge play, but not only did he fail to
do that, he actually dicked it up bad enough that Slaughter nearly hauled in
the TD pass !!��
���������� The big 3:�� A.��� Big Joey
Porter:�� D.��
��
�DB:�� Facing a greenhorn QB in Walters, plus with
Jerry Porter in the doghouse, the task at hand wasn�t all that hard today.� Pola had a strong game, with a great slash and grab, 3d & 2,
mid 3Q, on Reed for a 2-yard loss.�� He
also inadvertently knocked the tar out of Town on the pass that Porter ended up
collecting for the INT.��
���������� Ike was a
lil� soft, but tackled well and had a good bustup on a deep out to Jerry Porter.
����������
���������� The defense held Walter to 51 yards
passing, and the secondary deserves credit for this shutdown.��� Of course, Moss dropped 2 easy passes and
Walter was often scattershot.�� B+.��
Spec
teams:�� Another wretched day by the STs.� Arnie Harrison was injured after the 1st
punt, early in the 1Q, and things went just as bad thereafter.� Tonio Holmes was brought down, literally, by
a fingernail tackle after the first Raider punt in the 1Q.� My gawd, this guy gets toppled on kick
returns as easily as a 3-legged chair�.!��
There was a low snap, and then a horrible 24-yard punt by Gardocki late
in the 1Q.� There was entirely shoddy KO
cover after a Stiller 1H, resulting in a 48-yard return.� There was also shoddy KO cover on the
opening boot of the 2H.�
������ Holmes failed to field the punt in the
last minute of the game, inexplicably allowing the ball to bounce and waste a
few more seconds.�� You absolutely HAVE
to FIELD the punt in that do or die situation, in order to gain the
maximum yardage possible and perhaps even break a long runback.�� For the life of me, I have no idea what
Holmes was doing, or what his idiot coaching staff told him prior to that play.����� F.�
OC:�� Cheezenhunt regressed to an all-time low today.� The entire offense stumbled around in a
funk.� Cheezenhunt has lost all control
and offensive identity.� A prime example
was the wasted TO, 5:30 1Q.�� There was
a confusion on subs and an Illegal formation, so the offense had to waste a
TO.�� Worse was the SG formation, and
then a pass, on 4th & 1 in the 4Q.�
WTF ??��� A shitgun formation on
4th & 1 ??��� This play told me well
enough that Cheezenhunt has simply lost it and is now resigned to grab-bag,
grab-assed playcalling.�� You want to
pass in 4th & 1?�� Fine.�� Line up in the power I, and PLAY FAKE
if ya wanna pass.��� Cheezenhunt has
lost the offense�s entire identity, and what�s left is a lumbering, slow,
stale, and predictable offense that has ZERO creativity, element of surprise,
or zest.�� For much of today�s game, I
thought I was watching Bledsoe and the Cowboys, with a QB standing around for 5
seconds and then taking a sack.��
Absolutely pitiful.� I wonder how
many teams are interested in Cheezenhunt this year�.?���� F.�
DC:��
Dick�s defense did its job, although we have to factor in that the
Raider O-line and QB situation is horrific.����
B+.�
HC:� It�s all the
more apparent that Cowhard has lost not only his own personal focus and intensity,
but also the control over this team and its preparation and on-field
antics.� Facing one of the very worst
teams in all of pro football, all Cowhard�s team could do is play slop n�
slather in a disorganized, uninspired goatfuck. The epitome of Cowhard�s total
lack of any control and positive influence came in the 3Q, when, on consecutive
plunges that gained 3 and 2 yards, veterans Foote and then Porter were flagged
for unsportsmanlike conduct.� Say what
??�� 1 UC flag in a game is too much,
and 2, on consecutive plays, shows this team lacks the focus, professionalism,
and discipline of a champion.�� The STs
are an outright fiasco, and Cowhard, the supposed ST genius, stands ossified
each week and continues to do nothing to address this problem area.� Then there�s the wasted TO -- once again,
just like last week -- right after the 2MW in the 4Q.� Ward caught a curl for 7 yards, and Cowher, the idiot that he is,
calls for a TO before the 4th & goal at the 3.�� Coming off a 2MW timeout prior to 3rd down, there was absolutely
no need to piss away a TO at this juncture.��
It all starts at the top, and at the top of this sorry,
stenchfilled pile of shit sits Lord Billy Cowher, who has run this team into
the ground with his haughty, no-brained leadership.�� F.�
Synopsis:�� The Stillers have now sunk to 2-5 with this embarrassing loss to the lowly Raiders.�� The team is totally out of synch and is playing sloppy, uninspired football.� They are currently one of the biggest, if not the biggest, laughingstocks in the entire league.�� How low can this team go?�� We�ll find out in the next couple of weeks.�
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when
it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close�.)