Stillers 24, Rams 17 ...... Oct 22, 2023 …………Game # 6
Stillers - Rams Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 3-2 Stillers mosied out to LA to take on the 3-3 Rams. It was 17-10 LA at the end of the 3Q, but the Stillers outscored the Rams 14-0 in the 4Q to take the win
Grades:
QB: KP got the start. As per the usual, he had some struggles in the 1H, although he was largely left hanging dry with shoddy pass protection and no-brained schemes.
As per the usual, the KP heated up in the 2H, and finished 17 of 25 for 230. Superb seamer to Pickins, 4:00 4Q, on 3rd down to move the chains. Pickett went 7-7 for 138 yards in the fourth quarter. B-
RB:
Harris – Had some solid running in the 1H; better than I’d seen all season. Did have an early fumble, but PIT recovered it. Good TD plunge, 4Q. Had 14 rushes for 53 yards, and actually had 3 grabs after being completely written out of the passing game the first 5 games. B
Warren – grisly coupla minutes, late 1Q and early 2Q. Got flagged for a hold, and then dropped a screen pass. Stellar TD, on a routine plunge. Had 6 carries for 32 yards. B
FB: rarely used.
WR:
Dionte – huge RAC, first play of 4Q, good for 49 yards. Flagged for taunting, 2:59 4Q, like a complete jackmule. Mind you, on this play, LA was flagged for PI, meaning an auto 1st down, which would have resulted in 90% of the remaining clock being chewed up. Had 5 grabs for 79. C
Pickens – got flagged correctly for an illegal blindside block, 1Q, which negated a nice RAC by Dionte. Got a case of alligator arms on a slant pass, which then was INC. Good snag of a high slant, 12:18 4Q….but then took an asinine taunting penalty directly after the play. Had 5 grabs for 105, but the foolish taunting penalty hinders his grade. C+
Austin – Had 1 rush for a yard, and no catches. Talk about seeing a role diminished with Dionte’s return.
Robinson – pretty much never targeted, but snagged an in-route on 3d & 8, late 4Q.
GunnerO – Thankfully, was cut 3 days ago. Thought I’d at least bask in the glee of this statement.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – The Penn Bate Pansie tweaked his ham on Thurs, and is now on IR for another 4 weeks.
Darnell – Rarely if ever targeted.
Con Heyward – flagged for a hold, 1Q. Had 2 grabs for 23.
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Seumalo, Cole, Daniels, Okorafor ) had a moderately okay game.
Okar got flagged for a hold, mid 3Q. Seumalo got swimmed and abused on a 3rd down, mid 3Q. He partially redeemed himself with a good block on the 2nd level on Warren’s TD, early 4Q. And, a good block on the Harris TD plunge, mid 4Q. The pass pro vastly improved in the 2d half. B-
DL:
Heyward – still waddling around on IR.
Ogunjobi – chipped in here and there.
Adams – Had, by far, his best game in a Stiller uni, getting plenty of middle pressure on passes, and making 3 solos. B+
Lowdermilk- dressed, but did little.
Leal – chipped in on a couple tackles.
LB:
Kwon Alex – A bit quiet, but chipped in a little bit.
Holcomb – good chase down of a toss sweep, 3Q; loss of 2. Had 3 solos and 5 As.
Watt – Big INT, 3Q, and a run back to the 7 yard line. Flagged for offsides on a 3rd down INC pass, 3Q. The Rams were able to sustain the drive, and several plays later, LA scored a TD to go ahead. Had a whopping 1 solo on the day, taking a page directly from Big Alex’s playbook. B
Highsmith – STOP the presses !! Big Alex stopped a RB on a 2 yard run, thereby giving him his first real solo tackle in FOUR games. Got a 2nd solo on a screen pass, in which Alex, in an extreme rarity, hauled the runner down…..after a nice gainer of 5 yards.
Flagged for offsides, 3Q, on a 3d & 12. What a jackmule. On the very next play, Stafford was able to scramble for 8 yards and move the chains.
Late in the 2Q, Big Alex sliced to the inside and LOST contain, allowing Stafford to shuffle outside and then casually toss the TD pass with 17 secs left in the half. Of course, Big Alex probably will get credited with a “pressure”, which, of course, is among the most meaningless stats in all of pro sports.
Oh, and I could give a flying hoot about Moose Johnson and his 4Q fawming over this over-hyped stiff. D+
Herbig – Abused the LT and got a sack, 2Q. Quick – sign this fellow to huge money, just like Big Alex. Stopped a plunge, early 4Q.
Roberts – had some adequate run stuffs.
DB
Wallace – wandered like a toddler and lost his man on the TD just before halftime. Then got abused for the 2-pointer, 3Q. D
Peterson - got completely torched in the 1Q on short crossers where he was completely incapable of keeping up. Flagged for illegal contact, 7:14 4Q. D
Joey Porter Jr. - nice 3rd down bust-up, 2Q. Poor tackling attempt on Nacua, 3Q, which allowed an extra 8 yards or so. Failed to wrap the RB on a basic plunge, 6:55 3Q, which allowed an extra 6 yards or so. Good coverage on 3rd down, early 4Q, to force the punt. B
Kazee – played okay. Wanting to see more.
Keanu Neal – shoddy coverage on the 3rd down grab by Higbee, 3Q. Again, wanting to see more.
Minkah - solid game, with several run stuffs. At times, he’s the only man on the field capable of reading a play and MAKING a stick. B
Spec teams:
Harvin – actually punted decently. B+
Boswell – booted a 53-yard FG. Ya saw how valuable a good PK is today, with the LA kicker missing 2 FGs and a PAT.
Austin – bobbled a punt, 4Q, and luckily did not fumble.
OC: Matt Canada had another moribund 1st half, with pass protection schemes leaving his QB hung out to dry. To his credit, they tightened things up at halftime, and the offense was much more effective in the 2H. B-
DC: Austin had his usual struggles, getting gashed by a 4th string RB and allowing Nacua to roam free for huge yardage all game long. B-
HC: Mike Asslin had his weekly moronic challenge, this week on the 32-yard pass play by Nacua that had ZERO chance of being over-turned. Urinating a 2H TO like this in a tight game – inexcusable. Tomlin admitted to Pam Oliver that they saw pressures they weren't expecting, which is a gross dereliction of duty by the coaching staff. Add in the asinine penalties by immature WRs, and you have a HC who had zero control on discipline. C
Synopsis: A solid road win, the first ever in LA over the Rams for the Stillers. Of course, there’s no time for joyous celebration. Up next, a tough game against the 5-1 Jaguars.
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