Stillers 13, Doncos 6...... Sep 15, 2024 ………Game # 2
Stillers-Doncos Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 1-0 Stillers mosied out to Colo to face the 0-1 Doncos. The Stillers led 7-0 after the 1st Qtr, and 10-0 at the half. The Stillers offense was ghastly in the 2H, but they held on for the thin win.
Grades:
QB: Fields got the start. Superb TD pass to Darnell, late 1Q. That was set up by an earlier nice pass to Fryboy that set up 1st & Goal. Had a solid 1H, but the 2H was a bit spotty. Sure, various penalties bogged down the O, but it was a grisly 2d half of offense. C+
RB:
Harris – looked better and quicker than pretty much all of his prior Sep games. Had 10 carries for 44, and 1 grab for 5. B
Warren – Good block on the Darnell TD, 1Q. 6 rushes for 28, 2 grabs for 19. Heady play to grab the loose ball on the botched SG snap deep into the 4Q. B
Patterson – carried twice for 3 yards. WHY is this stuff wasting carries & downs for this team?
FB: NA
WR:
Pickens – limited to 2 grabs for 29, although flags wiped out a couple other grabs, including a TD. B-
Van Jeff – negated a TD by Pickins, late 2Q, on a blatant OPI penalty. The moron did nothing to disguise the pick, and actually imitated Mike Webster in bowling into the defender. Then, with 11 secs left in the half, this imbecile decide to hopelessly weave & dance, and nearly ran the clock to 0:00 before getting tackled. Thankfully, he was tackled at 0:02 and Bos was able to tack on a FG.
Had a 2-yard grab, 3Q. He’s rather good at those. Finished with 2 grabs for 14. Not impressive, at’all. C
Austin – grabbed a 6-yard out on 3d & 5, late 2Q. This was his lone grab, as another grab in the 4Q was negated by a flag.
Skowronek – no offensive PT.
Rom Wilson – did not dress.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – Had 3 grabs for 34. Not good enough considering the fatty contract he just signed. C+
Darnell – snared his first career TD, on a 5-yard pass on 3d & goal late in the 1Q. Decent run blocking. B
Con Heyward – flagged for a hold, negating a 2d & 1 run that had easily gained the 1st down. C-
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Anderson, Frazier, Daniels, Fautanu) had a moderately okay game.
Frazier had a stellar block on Harris’s 8 yard run, 2Q, which moved the chains after being pinned inside the 1 by a DEN punt.
Jones was flagged for a false start, 2Q. Two plays later, was flagged for a hold. Then was flagged AGAIN, 2 plays later, for a hold, which negated a 50-some yard completion to Pickins. This was a ticky tack flag, but a flag nonetheless. Hat trick ! 3 penalties in one drive !
Moore was flagged for a hold, 4Q, which negated a 3rd down conversion grab by Austin. Overall, the line had a decent game, but too many flags and 2nd half leakage hamper the grade here. C+
DL:
Heyward – got blown off the ball on the hefty 16 yard run by Badie, 6:00 2Q. He’s just so vaunted, of course. Chipped in on a stop of Williams, 9:00 3Q. Had ONE solo the entire game, and did little else. C-
Ogunjobi – Did a little bit.
Adams – Not much.
Lowdermilk – batted a pass, 3d & 6 deep in PIT territory, 10:45 4Q.
Leal – Very quiet.
Benton – Far, far too quiet for a man getting this much PT.
Adams – not much, either.
LB:
Queen – got credit with a pass defensed, 2Q, when, on 4th & 7, the QB threw a 4-yard pass right into his chest. Had 3 solos. Am not seeing enough ballhawking out of this fellow. C+
Landon Rob – Good solo stop on the 1st & goal, mid 3Q.
Watt – Looped wide, late 2Q, and at MOST, got the very tip of his pinkie to nip the leg of QB Blow Nix, who went down as though he’d been shot by a shotgun. Dong Sack for TJ. Harassed the QB on 3d & 7, forcing a punt, mid 4Q. Decent game. B+
Highsmith – Got an assist, 2nd play of game, when the RB ran wide rite, with no room, and Big Alex mosied UNTOUCHED down the LoS for a cake-easy assist with Queen. In the stat sheet, Big Alex is credited with 4 solos, but clearly, this play was an ASSIST, not a solo. See the play by play entry –
“(14:28 - 1st) J.McLaughlin right end to DEN 30 for -3 yards (A.Highsmith, P.Queen).”
Got a cake-easy solo, 2nd series, when Denver dumped it off to Williams while Alex was dropped in coverage on a 6-yard gain. 2 plays later, got credit for a sack when the rookie QB literally cowered to the ground as Alex was swooping around to his rear. Dong Sack ! The QB never got touched, or if he did, it was with the very tip of Alex's pinkie.
Alex got a solo, mid 2Q, when he tackled the TE on a curl while in dropped coverage. Cake easy play.
Flagged for neutral zone, mid 2Q, a couple plays later.
Aimlessly looped wide, 2d play of the 4Q, and the RB cruised thru a GAPING hole for an 8 yard gainer.
Applied some pressure, 8:35 4Q, but they Nix, the QB, easily skirted around the clumsy Losmith and then fired a throw-away pass.
Flagged for another natural zone infraction, 8:24 4Q.
So, in total, Big Alex had THREE solos, not four. And, had 2 foolish, needless offsides penalties. C-
Herbig – abused the LT, early 4Q, and drew a holding flag. Played far, far too sparingly.
Pey Wilson – held off the scoresheet.
DB
Joey Porter Jr. - good coverage on 3d & 6, early 2Q, to force a punt. Flagged for a hold on Sutton, in which Sutton easily made the grab anyway for 26 yards. Was flagged for a hold, and then a hands to the face, 4Q, but both times, a DEN penalty negated these flags. He was fortunate, as the Doncos were still very much in the thick of this game. B
Donte Jackson – Good run support, 3Q, dropping the RB for a 1 yard loss.
Kazee – got a Dong INT on the game’s final p[lay, when Nix threw a 26-yard lollipop to no one in particular, for the cake-easy INT. (The play began on the DEN 34, just to show how absurd this lollipop was.)
DeShon Elliot – nailed the RB on a 3d & 1 plunge, 3Q, which resulted in a 3-4 yard loss and a punt. Led the unit with 9 total tackles. Is fitting in quite well thus far. A
Trice – got a Dong INT, mid 3Q, when Blow Nix fired an errant, foolish pass into the EZ.
Minkah - abandoned his deep responsibilities on the flea-flicker deep ball that gained 49 yards. Adequate game otherwise. B
Bishop – decent tackle of a scrambling Nix on 3rd down, late 3Q. Got abused on the RAC by Humphrey, late 4Q.
Spec teams:
Waitman – decent day of punting. But in the 4Q, he boomed a 56-yard run into the EZ, which never had a chance for a touchback. Good 54-yard punt with like 17 secs left in the game. B
Boswell – nailed a 53-yard FG, 3Q. Also had a short FG, late 2Q.
Warren bobbled a KO, 13:00 4Q, which was nearly a disaster.
OC: Art Smith had a nice 1H, mixing a variety of players into getting touches and moving the chains. This put 13 points on the board. Then, in the 2H, the offense went dormant. Flags, shoddy plays, and some questionable playcalls all led to putting up a measly 3 points in the 2H, and nearly urinating this game away. C
DC: Austin had the luxury of facing an inept, rookie QB in Nix. They held Denv’s woeful offense to 62 yards, 1H.
The stats will look all gaudy and dominant, but it’s rather easy to play defense in the NFL against such a feeble offense led (sic) by bumbling rookie QB. B-
HC: Mike Asslin oversaw a nice 1H, followed by a subpar 2nd half replete with a rash of penalties and mistakes. Not good, and not impressive. B
Synopsis: It’s nice to escape with a win in this house of horrors in Denver, but it wasn’t a win to hang yer hat on. Denver showed that it might win 6 games all season, so beating the Doncos is hardly a litmus test. Up nest, a home tilt vs the Chargers.
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