Stillers 27, Clev 11 ……. Nov. 24, 2013 …………Game # 11
Stillers-Brownies Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers struggled a bit early on with the Browns, with the score knotted at 3 at the end of the 1st Qtr. After that, the Stillers efficiently dominated the Brownies, en route to a 27-11 beatdown.
Grades:
QB:
Ben had a very solid game, going 22 of 34 for 217 and 2 TDs, and best of all, no INTs or foolish fumbles. Underthrew Brown, with the wind at his back, late 2Q, and luckily Brown hauled it in for the TD. Deft TD pass to Sanders, mid 3Q. Excellent left-footed pooch punt, mid 4Q, which was downed at the 1. Ben is now 16-1 against the Brownies. A.
RB:
Jones - good plow on 2d & 1, mid 2Q, gaining 2. Had 2 rushesfor 9 yards and 1 grab for 4. B.
Bell - strong power run, 13 yards, 3d play of game. Strong slash and plow, late 2Q, fighting thru tackles for 12 yards. Dropped a short out, late 2Q, deep in Clev territory. Good RAC off quick screen, early 3Q, for 11 yards. Good read and run, 3d & 4 early 4Q, which gained 4 and moved the sticks. Finished with 23 carries for 80 yards. Not shabby. B+
Dwyer - grabbed a short pass, 2Q, and hit immediately for a 1 yard gain. Dropped short pass, mid 4Q. Had 6 carries for 7. He enraged me on the failed 4th & 1 plunge, in which he failed to transfer the ball from his rear hand to his front hand. B-
FB: Will Johnson had a good catch & run for 9 yards, 1Q. This was his only touch. Had a couple solid blocks at the POA in the ground game. B
WR:
Brownie - appeared to drop a hot pass, 1Q, but it was poorly thrown and behind. Superb pluck of slant, in tight coverage, 7:33 2Q. Bobbled an out pass, 5:30 2Q. Schooled Haden and hauled in the poor pass for a TD, late 2Q. Finished with a stellar 6 grabs for 92 yards. A-
Sandy - good juke, game-opening 0-step hitch, gained 14. Slick north-south RAC on bubble screen, late 2Q, good for 11 yards. Nice job of downing the pooch punt at the 1, mid 4Q. Had 6 grabs for 52. B+
Cotch - In a puzzling tactic, was rarely ever targeted and finished with 0 catches. Inc
Wheat - Played some, but no grabs. Haley prefers a 2-dimensional passing game only. Inc
TE:
Miler - good grab and plow for 13 yards, late 2Q. Had 5 grabs for 41. Weak YPC, but he did chip in nicely in the 2H. The blocking was okay. B-
OL: Failed to get ANY push or creases on the 3d & 1, and 4th & 1/2, plunges, 3Q, both of which were stopped. On the positive side, the line allowed no sacks, although some of that is attributable to a very quick passing offense today. Remarkably, there were no penalties by this crew all game long.
Adams - Puffer Adams started the game as an extra TE. Saw a ton of PT at that spot. Chipped in with some adequate ground blocking. B
Gilbert - FatAss Marcus didn’t got totally abused, as he is wont to do. B-
Foster - had a decent game. B
Velasco - totally abused on the pass rush on 3d down, late 3Q, which caused a quail-like incomplete pass. Very poor. Otherwise, had a solid game. B-
DeCastro - Led the way with a good effort. Wasn’t pleased with the lack of push on the 3d & 4th down short-yardage plays. B-
Beacham - started at LT. Surprisingly wasn’t abused. B-
DL:
Keisel - Did not dress, like a pansie. Should be moving on to his life’s work come Feb.
McLendon - got injured, late 1Q, and did not return (ankle).
Hood - started in place of Keisel. Chipped in some, but finished with 0 solos and 2 As, which simply isn’t enough impact. C+
Heyward - powered his way to the pocket and sacked the QB on 3d down, late 1Q. Recovered the fumble forced by Pola, mid 4Q. Had only 1 solo and 1 assist, although he had some good pass pressure. Is seeming to assert himself more and more each week. B
Woods - got a sack late in the game. Saw a fair amount of PT. Not sure he’s a long-term answer as a DL backup. B-
LB:
Timmons - slow to recognize the dumpoff, 3d & 3 late 1Q, which gained 11. Didn’t get many jams on receivers roaming across the middle. Finished with 5 solos and 2 A’s in a so-so effort. B-
V. Williams - drifted too wide on a gut run, early 2Q, that gained 11. Had 4 solos and 1 A. C
Sylvester- did not dress.
Worilds - started at LOLB in place of Big LaMarr. Had a strong bullrush, late 1Q, on the play where Heyward got the sack. Harassed the QB with a clever spin move, 9:53 2Q. Harassed the QB and injured Campbell, late 2Q. Good string and support on a power pitchout, 7:38 3Q. Very solid play. Applied pressure on the QB in the EZ, 2:40 4Q. Had numerous other pressures, and seems totally revitalized as a LEFT OLB rather than a ROLB. Seems like an entirely new man, who burns like a red coal carpet...a mad bull who’s found his way. A
Jones - started at ROLB. Good read and strong stick on a WR screen, late 1Q. Excellent play. Had 2 solos. Needs to do more from this spot. B-
Big LaMarr - The $61M He-Man once again did not dress, due to (hold your snickers, please) a calf F
DB:
Ike - good coverage on deep ball to Gordon, late 2Q. On the next play (right after the 2MW), however, Ike gave Gordon a softee, 12-yard cushion, and Gordon gained 10 on a short hitch. Tooled on a deep ball from the CLEV 1-yard line, for 47 yards. On the late 4Q scoring drive, Yike got schooled and tooled repeatedly by Gordon, including the TD lob. In fact Gordon had a career day, setting a Clev franchise record with 237 yards. D+
Pola - slashed in and hauled down a running play, 4:00 1Q. Nearly had a diving INT, 10:00 2Q. Raked the ball out of Ogbonnaya’s hands on a plunge. late 2Q, for a key FF, and then had the presence of mind to recover the ball as well. Forced a fumble by the ass-clumsy Weeden, mid 4Q. A-
Clark - Pretty much did little or nothing. C-
Gay - got tooled on a short crosser, 3d & 5 on opening drive, which gained 24 yards. Blitzed and blasted the QB, mid 3Q, forcing a fumble. Snagged a poorl;y thrown pass and returned it 22 yards for a pick 6. Had a solid overall game. A
Thomas - did not dress, due to injury.
C. Allen - played some and had 4 solos. Seems soft and tentative at times. B
Will Allen - good angle and tackle on 3d & 5 to stop the WR short of the sticks, early 3Q. Flimsy, but effective, tackle on a WR screen, mid 3Q. Soon after, scooped up the fumble and had a gig fumble return ton the Clev 5. Very solid game, probably his best ever as a Stiller. . A
Spec teams:
McBriar - shitty 33-yard pooch punt, FC at the Clev 13, late 2Q. Ya want this inside the 10. Inside the 20 means jack shit. He did get nice placement in the 4Q, at the Clev 3. B
Suisham - into the wind, he barely made a 47-yard FG on the opening drive. In this weather, this was a clutch kick. A
Shitty KO coverage after the opening FG, allowing a 31-yard return. Dwy grabbed the late onside KO attempt by Clev. Curt Brown was flagged for a hold on a punt return that was not even returned. Later in the game, Curt was injured and did not return.
OC:
Opening drive, Gayley faced a 3d & 7 at the CLE 28. What does this dumbass call? A plunge up LT on what is 1 of the very worst running games in the entire NFL, and Bell is easily stopped well short of the sticks.
I felt the playcalling on the 3d & 1 and 4th & 1 in the 3Q was entirely too predictable and Neanderthal. At that place on the field, it’s 2-down territory. This OL isn’t anywhere near good enough to just bury a DL on a predictable gut plunge.
I wasn’t pleased by the refusal to get Wheat, and especially Cotch, involved in the passing game. Teams are going to start over-playing and shadowing coverages onto Brown, and we need some other production.
I was, however, pleased with what was very obviously a very conscientious effort to use a quick-release passing game. Very rarely was Ben incessantly holding and clutching and pumping back in the pocket. It was almost always a 2-3 second read and pop. Given the bitter cold weather and gusty winds, this was the correct scheme. Ben was never sacked, and the offense churned out some long drives with nice efficiency. Much more works remains, of course. B
DC:
Dick had the luxury of facing Jason Campbell, the 3rd starting QB the Browns have used this season.
We get the early 3-0 lead, and what the fuk does Dick do ? He pisses it away at the speed of light, allowing a 34-yard drive and a tying FG. Typical.
The TE, Jordan Cameron, dropped a cake-easy curl pass on 3d down, late 2Q. This was an easy 1D conversion.
In an extreme rarity, Dick managed to get a blitzer (Gay) scot-free to assault the QB on the big sack n’ FF, mid 3Q. This is the first time in about 3 years Dick has managed this feat. Not to rip on the D when they make a play, but Campbell was incredibly naïve & unaware to allow that play to happen. Weeden came in for Campbell at that point (next drive, which began at 7:43 3Q).
After PIT went up 20-3 in the 3Q, Clev reeled off a 13-play drive, and lined up for a 46-yard FG. But the gusting winds took the kick way to the left, and The Dullard, Dick LeBeau, luckily wriggled off the hook.
As is his nature, Dick went soft n’ flaccid, and allowed a 6-play, 78 yard TD drive, in only 1:14, late in the 4Q.
Gay got a pick 6 off a horrendously horrific pass by Weeden to NO ONE for the 1st Steeler D-side TD in 16 games. Yup, that’s how lowly and shitty Dick’s vaunted defense has been these past 16 games.
No one in the sheep-like Pgh media will ask, but the question needs to be asked of St. Dick -- if Worilds is, oh, about 18 times better as a LOLB than a ROLB, why in the hell did it take 4 years to get this guy some PT at LOLB ?? Yes, I know he saw some spot PT at LOLB when LaMarr was lamely injured a couple years ago, but it shouldn’t take a coaching staff 4 years to see something this obvious.
All in all, I’m not going to fawn and get all giddy over “stopping” Jason Campbell, Brendon Weeden, and Chris Ogbonnaya. See me when Dick finally stops a competent NFL offense that is led by a competent NFL QB. B-
HC:
Momlin had his crew focused and ready to play a hungry Browns team. This game up in Clev is always the Sup Bowl for the Browns and their fans, and at times in the recent past, the Stillers have failed to realize and match that intensity. A-
Synopsis: A solid win over a weak opponent they should beat. If only the same could have been said after the MINN and OAK games. The Stillers are now 5-6 and very much in the hunt. They play the Ravens this Thur nite, and this is another must-win game against a division rival that is fighting for the division or wild card spot. An egg lay on Thur evening would pretty much put a damper on any further playoff talk.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
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