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Stillers-Chiefs Postgame Analysis and Grades

November 28, 2011 by Still Mill

Stillers 13, Chiefs 9��� Nov 27, 2011
Stillers 13, Chiefs 9 ��. Nov. 27, 2011 ����Game #11

 

Stillers-Chiefs Postgame Analysis and Grades

 

In a classic display of playing down to an opponent, the Stillers spent the entire evening playing slop n� slather, pissing away numerous opportunities and allowing the Chefs to hang within a single score of winning.11 penalties, numerous dropped passes, and rampant grab-assing were the hallmark of tonite�s game.�� Only the gross ineptitude of the Chefs enabled the Stillers to escape Arrowhead with a flimsy 4-point win.��

 

Due to the late-nite nature of this game, this summary will be much shorter and more terse than usual.

 

Grades:

 

QB:Ben had an okay game.�� He had some nice completions, along with some shoddy misfires.�� Nice elude of rush, and deft lob to Saunders for TD in the 2Q.Nice cutblock in backfield on gadget play to Brown, 2Q.��� Good toughness and head�s up kind of play.�� Shit pass off his back foot into double coverage for an INT, early 3Q.�� His involvement with the wasted timeout on 4th & 4 in the 3Q simply enraged me.��� B-

 

RB:

 

Mendy: nice speed run, turned the quarter late 1Q.�� (negated by hold on Miller)�� Good slashing run for 16 yards.�� Nearly every time Mendy carries the ball, my heart skips a beat as I brace for a fumble.Appalled that he failed to score after a dumpoff pass near the KC 5-yard line in the 2Q.�� A shit play by a marginally mediocre RB.��

 

Redman - nice RAC, got the 1D on 4th & 2 dumpoff, late 1Q.Good pickup of Hali on 3d & 2 completion early in the 3Q.Nice run on draw play, 15 yards.

 

Moore:fumbled on his 1st carry at the KC 5, and the ball rolled into the EZ for a touchback and costly turnover.�� Good RAC, and then good plunge run, in the 2Q.Hesitated for a split second, and failed to get OOB on short grab late in the 1H.

 

Not a good evening for this crew.��� C

 

FB: Not used much.�� Johnson is starting to show a lot of Wittman-itis, getting far too high on his blocks out of the FB spot.�� Inc.

 

WR:

 

Wally, who started a near-brawl before the game, had a miserable evening.He dropped an easy TD pass on simple crosser on the back of the EZ, 1st drive.��� Next play, Moore fumbled into the EZ for a costly turnover.�� Another drop, on a deep bomb in the 2Q.�� Very poor.�� He finished with 2 grabs for 17 yards.�� Perhaps Wally should forego the pre-game brawling and taunting and instead concentrate on catching the fuking football.

 

Brown - nice grab on deep sideline lob, 1st series !�� 34 yards.�� Brilliant leaping catch and kept 2 feet IB on 3d & 5 in the 4Q.�� But 2 plays later, he dropped an easy stop route that would have moved the chains.

 

Cotch - no catches.���

 

Ward - involved early, with 2 short grabs on 1st drive.Clutch grab, 3d & 2, early 3Q.��

 

Sanders - nice RAC on quick, 0-step hitch just before 2MW in the 2Q.�� Nice grab off a deflected pass in the 2H.��

 

Brown:A-����� Wally: D+��� All others:B-

 

TE:��

 

Miller is another veteran who had a miserable evening.�� He had a stupidfuck, needless hold on long Mendy run.�� Rather than 1st & goal at the KC 3, the offense had a 1st & 20 at the KC 34, which quickly ballooned to a 3d & 29 due to a sack.�� Instead of an easy 3 or 7 points, we punted.�� Failed to haul in a tough, but very catchable, pass late in the 1H.��

 

Johnson and Miller combined to seal off a huge hole for Mendy�s 16-yard run in the 3Q.

 

Wes Saunders - superb catch and toe-tap for key TD in the 2Q to give the Stillers a 10-3 lead.��

 

Miller: and Johnson:C+����� Saunders:A

 

OL:The line had a sorry outing, never coming close to dominating the LOS and often allowing leakage into the backfield.��

 

Starks - Had problems with a speed rusher (Tamba Hali, in this case), as he usually does.�� Totally abused by Hali on 3D sack in the 2Q, but a hold on KC gave the Stillers a 1D.Failed to block Johnson on plunge in 4Q.�� Very slow and clumsy.He committed a hold in the 1Q that negated a KC PI flag that would have given us 1 & G at the 1.�� He had a false start in the 2Q on the 1st play after Mundy�s INT.

 

Gilbert -Flagged for holding in the 4Q.�� Struggled at times.

 

Foster - totally abused for sack, late 1Q.�� Lazy play.��� Flagged for a hold on a 3d & 3 dumpoff that gained 2.�� Just when ya thought this guy might be coming along, he regresses into a Kemo-like pile o� shit.

 

Leggo - started at LG for Kemo, but then moved to C when Pouncey got ill.�� Flagged for a hold on an inc deep ball to Wally in the 3Q.

 

Pouncey - left game due to illness in the 2Q, with Leggo moving to C and Kemo coming in at LG.

 

Kemo - had a couple of decent pull blocks.��� Wasn�t totally abused as he often is.�� Perhaps the short benching did him some good and provided some focus.�������� C-

 

DL:The line played okay, but got gashed on numerous occasions.��

 

Keisel - Palko dropped a routine under-center snap, and Keisel recovered in the 1Q.�� Forced 3D throw-away in the 3Q.Great hustle play, late in game, ran down RB after dumpoff.�� He also penetrated just enough to cause the disruption on the 3d & 2 draw play in the 4Q.

 

Hampton - good stuff on plunge, early 3Q.Sat out most of 2H and gave way to McClednon.��

 

Hood - fairly quiet all game long.Too quiet, in fact.��

 

Heyward - made a stop in the 4Q.

 

Keisel:A��� All others: C+��

 

LB:

 

Farrior - Quiet and mediocre all nite long.�� Slow as molasses, and then whiffed on easy play along s-line by Bowe, who then tip-toed along the chalk for an extra 10 yards in the 4Q.�� .��

 

Harrison -Caused some havoc and made a couple good sticks.���

 

Foote - Saw a fair amount of PT, did little.��

 

Worilds -- started again in place of the injured Woodley.�� Good pressure on 3d & 6, 1st drive, forced hasty incompletion.�� Good hustle after rushing QB to come back and nab the WR on a 3rd down WR screen to stop the runner short of the sticks and force a punt.On 3d & 10 late in the 3Q, he got a coverage sack.Quick -- extend this man with a $34M contract!����� Worilds made a superb stop on a draw play at 8:40 4Q.A very strong overall effort...by far his best game in the NFL.��

 

Timmons - Big stick on Jones on plunge, 2 yards, 2Q.Big stuff on 3d & 2 wildcat run, late 3Q !��� Had a couple of lapses in pass coverage that left me less than pleased.

 

Worilds:A���� Harrison and Timmons:B+����� Farrior, Foote:C+��

 

DB:

 

Pola - very active early on, slashing into backfield a couple of times.�� Shaken up after a 1st-drive chop-tackle on dumpoff to 290-pound tackle-eligible Steve Maneri, and never returned.�� Really, a dumb play by Pola, given that it was 2nd & 7 and the pass was a harmless pass 2-feet beyond the LOS to a backup TACKLE.�� Troy would have been better off driving into the man�s midsection and trying to jar the ball loose, than doing the chop-tackle that resulted in a concussion and sitting out the final 56 minutes of the game.��

 

Mundy - replaced Pola, and got a Dong INT on a totally shitty Palko pass early in the 2Q.

 

Ike - fair-caught a shitty lob that was 10 yards underthrown on the last play of the 1Q for a Dong interception.�� Had an easy INT clang off his hands at 4:00 3Q.Ike totally lost his man (Baldwin) on a 3d & 6 deep stop in the 4Q, good for 20 yards.

 

Lewis - got the very tip of his fingertip on a deepish out late in the 4Q, forcing a bobble and inc pass.He then got a Dong INT on a horrific pass by Palko and an alligator-armed play by WR Dwayne Bowe.��

 

Gay - blitzed and forced hasty inc on 3d & 6 in the 2Q.Totally mis-judged his leap at a deep ball, with Bowe dropping an easy TD pass in the 3Q.�� Big stop on 3d & 6 bubble screen, -1.��

 

Clark -As usual, did very, very little.����

 

Facing such a shit QB, this was hardly an inspiring effort.���� B-

 

Spec teams:�� A few good things, along with loads of manure.��

 

Sanders tiptoed on early KO, and squashed like a bug on the 18 after a piss-ant 9-yard return.���� Good stick by Mundy on KO coverage in the 2Q.Good hustle and chase-down by Curtis Brown in punt coverage, late 4Q.

 

4th & 1 on KC 29 late in the 3Q, the Stillers punt return team allowed a fake-punt run by the up-man for an easy 5 yards.

 

Once again, coverage teams watched and LOOKED at a punted ball rolling BACKWARDS, and did nothing until 3 yards were lost.�� Gay was flagged for a hold on a Stiller KO return in the 4Q.�� (Why exactly is a weakling like Gay -- who has marginal hands as well -- even on the KO return team....?)

 

Kapinos - shit pooch punt in the 3Q; landed at the 1 and rolled into the EZ for a TB.�� Shit punt into the EZ, early 4Q.On re-punt (due to 5-yard running into kicker flag on KC), the punt was FC at the 8.Decent 52-yard punt late in the 4Q, although it had mediocre hang-time and was returned 7 yards.

 

Suisham - clutch 49-yard FG as the 1H expired.��

 

Suisham:A+����� All others:C+��

 

OC:�� An ass-ugly evening by an offense facing a rather ordinary, and even sub-par, defense.�� It started early enough, when on the 2nd offensive play, the Stillers were flagged for 12 men in the huddle.���

 

After Brown�s long reception set up a 1st & goal at the 8, 1st series, the offense had to (once again) waste a timeout.��� Another timeout was wasted as the offense lined up on 1st down after a KC punt midway thru the 2Q.Yet another TO was wasted after Ben tried to draw KC offsides on a 4th & 4 at the KC 39.�� Knowing you�re gonna punt, why not simply take the 5 yard delay-of-game penalty ??�� (As it was, Krapinos booted the ball into the EZ for a touchback.)��� Timeouts are HUGE; a 5-yard penalty in that situation is obviously meaningless..��

 

Shit sequence after Ike INT set up a 1 & G at the KC 7.�� Plunge, plunge, and a lob to Sanders that was hopefully incomplete.�� Typical grab-bagism at its worst.

 

3d & 7 on the KC 30, late 1H, and KC calls a timeout.�� Arians can�t design a play to gain a simple 4 or 5 yards to help ease the FG try or perhaps get the 1D via RAC, and instead the offense resorts to its typical playground mentality, with Ben scooting around and finally dumping off to Moore for a 1-yard loss.�� Luckily, Suisham booted the 49-yad FG, but the stupidity cannot be overlooked or ignored.

 

2d play 2H, finally, a simple 8-yard out to Wally !���� Stop the presses!���

 

No set-ups, no game-plan, no adjustments, no sense whatsoever.�� Only Arians could amass nothing more than a flimsy 7-point lead after having taken possession at the Kansas City 38, the Kansas City 7 and the Kansas City 24.

Zero points scored in the 2nd half amidst constant sputtering and bumbling.�� A total pile of shit.����� D-���

 

DC:�� Dick once again had the luxury of facing a shit offense led by a shit QB.Chiefs -- only 1 TD in their last 3 (now 4) games.�� When this game ended, KC had scored 1 TD in their last 45 offensive drives.QB Tyler Palko was making his 2nd -- and most likely final -- NFL start.��

 

Once again, Dick was totally ill-prepared and flat-footed at the start of a game.�� Badly fooled by quick snap, 2nd play of game, as the Chefs rushed to the LOS and snapped the ball immediately.�� Soon later, there was a 3d & 5, and Palko was given an eternity of time, and then completed an easy, deep crosser for 25 yards.�� 11 plays, 57 yard FG drive to open the game.����

 

3d & 4, mid 2Q -- flag on Dick�s defense for 12 men on field, and Palko still easily and calmly completed a deep in to Breaston for 18 yards.�� This keyed a 9-play, 38 yard FG drive that cut the Stiller lead to 10-6.Facing a shit QB and a shit offense, only Dick LeBeau could manage to keep the lowly Chefs in this 7-point game at the end of the 1st half.

 

After a punt pinned KC on its own 8 in the 4Q, Dick promptly allowed a 13-play, 70-yard march for a chippie FG.On this drive, a 3d & 6 -- all day, easy pitch and catch on deep stop to Baldwin for 20 yards.3 plays later, on 3d & 2, the only way the Chiefs were stopped was that the RB on a draw play -- with acres of open room -- ran into his own man.�� Gee, what a defensive mastermind!�� What a deity of defensive football!�� Actually, what a complete bag of shit!���

 

And let there be no poppycock about �the defense forced 4 turnovers�.��� That would be sheer bullshit.�� The reality was: the defense was GIFTED 4 turnovers.�� Here�s a recap of the turnovers:

 

1.Palko simply drops an under-center snap.

 

2.�� Ike fair-caught a horrible deep lob that was 10 yards underthrown on the last play of the 1Q.

 

3.�� Mundy got a near fair-catch INT on a totally barf-laden Palko pass to no one early in the 2Q.

 

4.Lewis got a cake-easy INT on a horrific pass by Palko and an alligator-armed play by WR Dwayne Bowe.��

 

It�s rather sad that the biggest 3rd down stop of the 4th qtr was on the 3d & 2 draw play, in which the Chiefs RB had a GAPING hole, but ran into his own man and stumbled well short of the sticks.�� Only the vast ineptitude of the Chiefs offense enabled Dick to JUST BARELY hold off Tyler Palko in his 2nd ever -- and probably his FINAL -- NFL start.����� D+

 

HC:Tomlin failed to have his team even remotely prepared coming off the bye week.�� We have no idea what the team did to prepare, but it evidently wasn�t anything more than players standing around playing grab ass and lollygagging.The continual pissing away of timeouts is maddening, and its apparent that Tomlin has learned nothing from the past debacles and still doesn�t understand how valuable a timeout really is.This was a shamefully sorry effort and a vomit-laden job of preparation by the coaching staff.�� Nothing more, nothing less.���� D��

 

Synopsis:A shit game against a shit team.�� The Stillers were awfully lucky to survive after such a barf-laden effort.�� Let us hope for better focus, preparation, and effort in next week�s home game versus Cinci.

 

 

 

(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close�.)

 

 

 

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