Stillers 37, Panthers 19 ……. Sep 21, 2014…………Game #3
Stillers-Panthers Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers went to Carolina for a Sunday nite tussle, still smarting from the whipping they received from the PoeBirds. Thanks in large part to the Panthers self-imploding, the Stillers cracked open a close game in the 2H and cruised to a comfy 18-point win. Due to the late-nite nature of this game, this report will be much shorter than usual.
Grades:
QB: Ben had a solid evening. Threw a completely dogshit pass on 3D to Miller in the EZ after the rare defensive turnover. Easy pass, with no one in his face, and Ben lofts it like 10 feet over Miller’s head. Thanks to the foolish CAR flag on the ensuing FG attempt, Ben got a reprieve and hit AB on a Holmes-esque pass n’ catch to the right corner of the EZ for the Stillers’ first TD in 8 quarters. Perhaps Ben needs more pressure in his face to be more accurate. He went 22 of 30 with no INTs. B.
RB:
Bell - Stutter Bell had a strong evening, rushing 24 times for 147. He also had an 81-yard jaunt in the 3Q. A.
Blunt – nice read and blast thru a hole from his own 3, gaining 15 yards. Busted a 51-yard run in the 4Q. He then went into Full Beast Mode by plowing over a DB en route to a 8-yard TD run in the 4Q. 10 rushes, 118 yards. A.
Archer: Pee Pee Archer again did not dress. He’s just so fast, elusive, and dominant. Inc
FB: Will Johnson was finally permitted to play !! Call the newspapers !! Dropped a low, poorly thrown bubble screen pass, 1Q. Catchable, but poor pass. Good lead block on the Blunt TD run. B
WR:
Brownie – brainless holding flag on Bell RAC, 1Q. Superb over-the-shoulder grab of a deep lob on 3d & 6, good for 29 yards. Grabbed 2 TD passes and had a stellar game. A.
Pinkie Wheaton - appeared to grab a rare TD pass in the 2Q, but it was ruled inc by a ref who stated that he stepped OOB prior to the grab. I felt he reestablished himself prior to the catch and that it should have been ruled a TD. Then again, if he’s the first Off. player to touch the ball, then that in and of itself would rule the grab incomplete. NBC, of course, had shit for TV angles and failed to capture the footwork on this play. Had 4 grabs for 35, keeping his lowly YPC intact. B-
Justin Brown – grabbed a short pass at the CAR 3 in the 2Q, and surprisingly didn’t fumble. Flagged for illegal motion in the 2Q. Inc.
Archer: Did not dress. By the way, he’s just so fast & explosive, and quick, too. Good thing Doltbert rabidly reached for this smurf in the 3rd round…!
Lance “Yancey” Moore - finally dressed, and did nothing. Inc.
Margavis Bryant - did not dress again. Brilliant 4th round pick by the omnipotent Kevin DoltBert.
Heyward-Gay - finally contributed. Drew a long gain via a DPI flag in the 1Q. Of course, he dropped the very catchable ball anyway. He has more penalties, and last names, than he does receptions.
TE:
Miller - solid, persistent block to spring Blunt on the 51-yard run in the 4Q. 4 grabs for 51. B+
Spaeth - dressed, and wasted oxygen, plus a scare spot on the 45-man game-day dress roster. Did jack shit all evening long. He did manage to commit an obvious, brain-dead PI penalty on a 1st down pass that went way over near the sideline, but Mister StupidAss felt it necessary to blast an INSIDE LB on the play. C-
Palmer - Mister Palmjob dropped an easy TD, and then, to add salt to the wound, was flagged for an OPI on the play because he needless ly extended his arms during his cut. Is it really possible to have the two worst TEs in all of pro football on the same roster…? D-
OL:
Beachbum - got totally abused by an outside speed rush, which caused a sack in the last 1Q. Then was flagged for a false start in the 2Q. Got totally humiliated on a 2d & goal running play in the 2Q, which caused a 3-yard loss. D
Gilbert - FatAss Marcus finally did something, working with DeAsstro on a double-team block that sprung Stutter Bell for an 81-yard jaunt. Surprisingly didn’t allow instant pressure like he did against Dumerville. Actually looked like an NFL starting OT. B.
Cody Wallace - Started in place of the hobbled Foster. Promptly got wheeled back toward the QB on a 3d & 7, 1st series, which enables the DT to bat the pass. Failed to block his man, 2nd series, causing a 2-yard loss by Bell. Played better as the game wore on. C+
Pouncey – Supposedly the God of NFL Centers, he lazily committed a hold on am screen pass, 1Q. Played ok. B-
DeCastro - Had a good block to spring Bell on a 9 yard run, 1Q. Late in the 2Q, DeAsstro committed a totally bonehead dead-ball personal foul, which nearly ruined the chance to tack on a late FG prior to halftime. What a selfish, stupid asshump. B
DL:
Cam Thomas - started and did very little. What exactly did Doltbert see in this fatty to give him the fatty contract?? D
Keisel - helped stop a screen play, 2Q. Bullrush in the 3Q caused an inc pass. B-
McLendon - abused the CAR center and nabbed Newton for a sack, 2Q. Solid effort all evening. B+
Heyward – good pressure on 3d & 7, late 2Q, and then legally pounded Newton into the turf a millisecond after the pass was released. Ran roughshod over the guard, Turner, and applied heat and a hit on Newton in the 4Q. B+
Tuitt - the vaunted 2nd rounder played little and did even less. Another brilliant high round pick by Doltbert…!
LB:
Timmons – Along with injuring 2 teammates and 2 Panthers, he chipped in with 4 solos and 2As. A much better performance than we’ve seen from him this season. A-
Shaquier – got injured early in the 3Q while aimlessly standing around near a pile-up, and a flying body hit his leg and injured a knee. Missed the 2H. Inc
Worilds - Big Jason put a lick on QB Cam Newton….on a 1st series screen play in which he was solo blocked by a TE. Later in the 2Q, actually read the play on 3d & 1 and not only jammed the undercutting receiver, but then applied pressure on the QB. A rare football play by a soft, slow-thinking football player. The Hokie Hooker lazily failed to get a jam on Olsen on the 4Q TD play. Finished with 1 solo and 1A, which simply isn’t enough for a man in a glory position who plays every snap. C-
Jones - Poor jam on opening play on D; allowed 18 yard completion. Then took a pitifully poor angle a few plays later on a screen to Stewart, allowing a 15 yard gainer. Good inside move drew a masking flag, 2Q. Veered inside again on a 3D pass rush in the 3Q, and his shoulder nipped Newton’s arm, jarring the ball loose for an incredibly rare Stiller turnover. In the 3Q, he injured a wrist and had to be evaluated. Inc
Spence - came in for the injured Shaquier. Ankle-nabbed a scrambling Newton in the 3Q. Made 3 tackles and showed some promise with good instincts, good reading, and a good nose for the ball. B
Moats - Came in for the injured Jarvis. Attacked the edge against the LT and nabbed Newton for a legit sack on the final play of the 3Q. B
DB
Ike - After trying a brainless, head-high, paw-paw tackle attempt on a receiver after a reception -- in which he was struggling like a banshee to bring down the receiver -- Ike was accidentally blasted by Timmons, who was earnestly trying to make a stop. This occurred mid-3Q and Ike did not return to action, instead, he returned with a cast on his forearm. He was gone after this season, so he might very well have played his last snap in a Stiller uniform. Inc
Pola - a fairly quiet evening. Had no impact, and zero solos. Had 4 meager assists. B-
Mitchell – returned to Carolina and did little. He did have 5 solos, but many were Dong tackles. C+
Gay - Crisp tackle on underneath route on 3d & 11, 2d series. Started when Ike went out.
Sharko Thomas – mostly not permitted to play on defense. I guess he might get some PT in 2016. Inc
C. Allen - Flagged for holding in the 2Q, which negated Heyward’s SACK. Committed a stupid illegal contact penalty on an 8-yard pass, on 1st & 20 early in the 3Q, thereby giving CAR a freebie 1st down. Not satisfied, Allen committed another illegal contact flag on a 3d & 7 in the 3Q. On a 4th & 3 in the 4Q, he was soft and got tooled for an easy 1D catch. On the very next play, he was badly tooled and schooled by Olsen for a 37-yard TD. A completely wretched, vomit-inducing evening. Quick -- let’s give this fellow a $28M extension….! D-
Blake - tooled on a 3d & 4 slant in the 3Q. Clumsily busted up a deep lob in the EZ on the next play. Was lucky WR K. Benjamin mis-timed his jump. Allowed a long lob for a TD in garbage time in the 4Q. Never got his head around to find the ball and make a play on the ball. C-
Spec teams:
Wing – punted solidly. His 59 yard boomer set up the fumble and TD in the 4Q. A
Suisham - 3 for 3 on FGs. Good KOs. A.
Archer – Did not dress. He’s just so fast and explosive, though. An absolute steal in the 3rd round. Colbert once again fools the rest of the NFL.
AB – held in check on Punt returns.
Garvin - committed a needless, boneheaded illegal block on a punt return early in the 2Q, setting the offense up at their own 7. D
Sharko Thomas - forced the fumble on the punt return that created the TD. Remember, though, that there is no place on the defense for this ballhawk. A+
OC: Typical Todd Gayly early on. Before the O’s 2nd play, they were flagged for illegal substitution; 12 men in the huddle. A few plays later, on a simple 3d & 2, confusion reigned supreme and they had to piss away a TO. Early in the 2Q, confusion and time-wasting caused the wastage of their 2nd TO.
Gayly has to be relieved that his struggling offense finally found the EZ. He was awfully lucky to get the reprieve from the CAR offsides on a FG attempt, which really changed the complexion of this game. B-
DC:
Typical Dick. He gets a McLendon 1st down sack in the 2Q to set up a 2nd and 17. As usual, Dick goes SOFT, and with a 3-man rush, allows a 14-yard catch on 2nd down. 3d and 3 netted an easy pitch n’ catch for CAR to maintain the drive.
Dick finally got a turnover, the first in 10 quarters of play. Of course, that’s merely 1 turnover in 3 games. Not impressive.
Dick did try his best to urinate away the comfy 4Q lead. AB’s 2nd TD catch gave PIT a nice 23-6 lead, but Dick promptly allowed an easy 80-yard TD march to cut the lead to 10. Luckily, CAR botched a punt near their GL and the ensuring scrum netted a PIT TD. B-
HC: Mike Dumblin will be all proud to get this win. Never mind, of course, that CAR self-imploded. Let us not forget the 14 penalties on the Stillers, which is about 10 more than is acceptable and shows a clear lack of discipline and focus. Why did Dumblin -- as dumb as a box of rocks -- refuse to challenge the apparent Wheaton TD ? Dumblin is often lightning quick to challenge the catch of a 2-yard pass on 2nd down and 12, yet he refuses to challenge a SCORING play on a team desperate to score points? Simply asinine. Let’s not pat Dumblin too hard on the back……with Dumblin’s track record of rabid inconsistency, he and his team could just as well lay an egg next week against Tampa. B
Synopsis: A relatively easy win against a team that fortunately self-imploded. Hard to get too enthralled. As I said after the win over Clev, let’s see it consistently. I am just as expectant to see this squad play grab ass against lowly Tampon Bay next week.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
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