Stillers 38, Clowns 7.... Oct 18, 2020 …………Game # 5
Stillers-Browns Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers hosted the vaunted 4-0 Browns in what was hyped to be a big-time matchup. It became a rout, with the Stillers issuing an old fashioned can o’ whipass on the hapless Brownies.
Grades:
QB: Ben had an inauspicious start to the game….hideous slant pass, 2d play of game, which shoulda been INTd but clanged off DB. But next play, perfectly throw s-line lob to Wash, good for 27. Finished 14 of 22 with 1 TD, and always important, Zero INTs. Nice, efficient day at the office, highlighted by the deep ball completion to Carpool and the TD to a wide open Wash. A
RB:
Conner – had by far his best game of the season, rushing for 101 yards on 20 carries. What pleased me the most was his north-south running, rather than the east-west pussyfooting we’ve seen all too often this season. A
Samuels – decent block on the Carpool TD run, late 3Q.
Snell – good read and nifty footwork to score on a 1-yard TD run.
McFarland – missed the draw play HO, 3Q, which forced Ben to keep for 4 yards. Got some carries in garbage time.
FB: Watt returned to the lineup. Rarely played at FB.
WR:
JuJu – got blatantly infered with on a short out pass, 2Q. Had just 2 grabs for 6 yards. If he’s planning on some massive payday as a FA come March, he’s sorely mistaken. C+
Wash - Good grab on early sideline lob, 27 yards. Next play, though, he failed to corral a flag pass that glanced off his f-tips. Grabbed a TD on a wide open out and up, 2Q. Stupidly ran OOB late in the 2Q on 3d & 18, stopping the clock for Cleve. What a fuking dumbass. I have no patience for jackassed stupidity when a guy is in his 3d season in the NFL. B-
Dionte - sat out with an injured back.
Claypool – Outstanding grab on the deep ball to set up a PIT TD. Superb RAC, nearly scored another TD, 4Q. Had a nice 1-yard TD run. While he had 4 grabs and 2 runs, it’s readily apparent this guy needs his hands on the ball at least 9 times a game, if not more. He’s that electric. A
RayRay – dropped quick hitch pass, 3d & a foot, and the bobbled ball was nearly INT’d. Poor. C-
Cain – was activated for the game.
TE:
McDonald – not thrown any passes. Had some good blocks in the run game.
Ebron – clutch grab on a 3d & 13, despite tight coverage by the DB. But, was flagged for OPI. Had 2 grabs for 9. B-
OL: Overall, the line blocked well in both the rush and passing games. Pukes Okorafor got beaten to the inside by The Liar, Myles Garret, for a sack late in the 2Q. Pouncey was flagged for a blatant hold on a screen pass, 3Q. DeAsstro sat out; replaced by Dotson, who played adequately enough. A-
DL:
Heyward – The $65M Man actually chipped in decently, with 6 solos. Let’s not forget, of course, that Fat Chris Hubbard was starting at OG, and we all recall how shoddy of a blocker he was in PIT. 1st series, Scam got a solo on a slop stop of a stumbling running QB after a 5 yard gain. Early 2Q, 3rd down, Scam Heyward had an easy sack, but then was unable to bring down lil' Faker Mayfield. Apparently that's what ya get for $65M. B
Tuitt – another vaunted DE who actually had a pretty solid game today. Forced the sack by bullrushing the RG. 3d series. Stuffed Duke J on run, no yards, late 2Q. FF near the Cleve GL, early 2H, but Cleve recovered. Had 4 solos in a disruptive effort. A-
Alu – batted a pass, 2d series. Stuffed the middle quite well. B
LB:
Vinnie – slashed in and blew up running play, late 1Q. Issued a huge lick on Hooper, 4Q, on a screen play. Is probably going to be called upon to do more with the loss of Bush to an ACL. B
Bush – awkwardly missed a tackle on a dropped valve dump, and immediately clutched his left knee as he went to the ground. Not good. Did not return. It is evidently an ACL tear, which makes this win terribly expensive. inc
Spillane - came in for the injured Bush. Got a solo on screen to Hunt; tried valiantly to stop Hunt short of the sticks. Delivered a crisp, hard tackle on a screen, good for a 6-yard loss. Had 5 solos. Nicely done. A
Watt – Had only 2 solos on the stat sheet, but don’t let that fool you. Watt was a beast all game, creating havoc and harassing the QB continually, plus bottling the run. On a key 4th & 1 plunge, Watt just busted the OG backwards, in half, to completely blow up the play and force the stop well short of the sticks. That, my friends, is Hard Hat football. A
Crud Dupree – 2d series, please note - that was a DONG Sack by Crud Dupree….. a coverage sack, in which Crud looped around the Horn of Africa, and then, after 5 seconds, he managed to nab a bottled-up QB. A classic DONG sack. To start the 3d drive, there was Crud DuPree....getting COMPLETELY BAMBOOZLED on the bootleg, good for 16 yards. 16 fuking yards because a FIFTH year LB cannot read a bootleg. Got a solo on a no-hand knockdown of a clumsy TE on a screen play, some 8 yards down the field. Got a Dong sack, early 3Q, on a botched screen play in which he was completely untouched and unblocked. Got a Dong tackle, 3Q, when Hilton blew up the play and tripped up the RB, and then Crud, who was completely unblocked, meandered over and got a Slop Solo. IT’ll look all tough and gaudy on the stat sheet, but fact is, this was a ho-hum, average game by Crud. B
Odeniyi – saw only spot duty.
Lowsmith – Saw only spot duty.
DB
Haden – shitty play by Haden on valve dump to Hunt, late 1Q. He was SOFT, and then, despite having a favorable angle, allowed Hunt to squeeze by, along the sideline, and gain an extra 4 yards and the 1D. Also dove and whiffed on the 10-yard run by Hunt in the 1H. Busted up a pass, 3d & 2, 4Q. Got an INT, but was flagged for illegal contact. B
Nelson – Wasn’t tooled as badly as the first 4 weeks. Played decently. B
Hilton – Blew up a couple plays with adroit blitzing. In a rarity for him, was held off the scoresheet. B
Edmunds – Was credited with a pass defensed, but this was the case of a valve dump where: a.) the receiver dropped the pigskin, and b.) had the receiver caught the pass, it would have been a LOSS of 3 yards. Ergo, this was a meaningless PD. At least he wasn’t incessantly picked on. B
Minkah - INT, pick 6, early 1 Q. Nicely done. Dude hadn’t done squat since 2019. B+
Sutton – big INT, 2Q. Seemed to get a bit more PT today. B
Spec teams:
Colquitt – punted okay. Had the chance to pin Clev deep, 3Q, but boomed the punt to the 3, and it quickly hopped into the EZ for a TB. B-
Boswell – 1 for 1 on FGs. B+
Ray Ray - solid punt return, early 2H.
Pierre had a couple good stops in kick coverage. Highsmith had a good stick n’ stop on a KO, late 3Q.
OC: Randy Sphincter again oversaw an offense that failed to score a TD on the opening drive, which makes something like 25 straight games. Opening drive, 2d & 6 – EB (empty backfield), inc pass. And 3rd down, inc pass, forcing a 35-yard FG. We had been running the ball quite well…..why in the fuk go EB on 2 down and 6 ??? Why not go play action if ya truly want to pass there?? It’s this kind of mindless grab-gagging that highly annoys me. Overall, the O moved the ball well, although we knew going into this game that Clev’s D was porous. B
DC:
Keith Assler had the luxury of facing an offense forced to start Mother Hubbard, who sucked ass with the Steelerss years ago and is now even worse. The D did get after it today, though. The one blemish was the sorry TD allowed, in which the Cleve WR, from a play that began at the PIT 13 yard line, was so open that the closest defender was a good 28 feet away. They dropped SEVEN on this play, in a tight box that was only 23 yards deep, with ZERO rookies on the field. How in the fuk can a WR be THAT wide open in that tight of space?? B
HC: Mike Asslin will certainly pound his chest of this win. Sure, it’s a nice win, but let’s not make it out as though they just thrashed the ’94 49ers. It was some good, crisp football, and the D was significantly more stout than the softee bullshit we’d seen the first 4 weeks. B+
Synopsis: A nice ass-beating of the Clowns, who came into the came crowing and chirping about how vaunted and mighty they were. Evidently, they’re still a 3rd rate team that has miles to go. However, as noted above, this was a massively expensive win with the loss of Dev Bush. It took this club a couple years to replace Shaz, and now that replacement is lost for the season, which will allow all futures foes this season to target and pick on the ILBs in coverage. Not good. And next up, a trip to Nashville to face the very capable Bitans, who won in OT today and are obviously a force to be reckoned with.
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