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Stillers-Texans Postgame Analysis and Grades

October 03, 2011 by Still Mill

Texans 17, Stillers 10 ��� Oct 2, 2011
Texans 17, Stillers 10��. Oct 2, 2011 ����Game #4

 

Stillers-Texans Postgame Analysis and Grades

 

The Stillers booted the opening KO to HOU, and then sat around and watched HOU drive 95 yards in 15 plays to score a TD and set the tone for the rest of the day.The Stillers were down 10-0 at the half, but stormed back to the tie the game on the first play of the 4Q.But as usual, the defense allowed the opponent to march the entire length of the field and score a 4th quarter TD, and the Stillers lost in stumbling fashion, 17-10.

 

Grades:

 

QB:Ben had another rocky outing, with more carelessness and lots of misfires.�� To be fair, he was plundered, harassed, and hit hard n� often by rushers all game long, thanks to an O-line that would struggle to block a high school team.�� Still, Ben was needlessly careless.He �accepted� a sack on 3d & 10 and was falling to his knees in the 1Q on a 3d & 10, when he allowed the D-lineman to rip the ball loose for a turnover.�� But a HOU flag prevented the turnover.�� A really shitty effort by Ben, however.He twice missed Brown on wide open flag routes....once late in the 1Q, and then again in the 4Q, which forced a FG rather than what should have been an easy TD.��� He also held the ball far too long on a scramble to his left in the 3Q, allowing Williams to loop around the Horn of Africa and get a sack.�� Problems exist all over this team, and Ben certainly is one of them.��� C ��

 

RB: Mendy had a weak 1st half and initial 3Q, before leaving the game with a hamstring.�� He gained a paltry 25 yards on 9 carries.He enraged me on a silly-assed, but typical, bounce-out wide on 1st down at his own 6, resulting in a 1-yard loss rather than a 2-yard gain.�� 2 plays later, the Stillers got within 1 yard of the 1st down, and punted.�� That�s precisely what happens when you have a dumbassed RB continually losing yardage.�� Socrates further enraged me on a barf-laden blitz pickup on the 1st series of the 2H, which caused enormous pressure on Ben and forced a TA.�� This was as putrid a blitz pickup as you will see at this level of football.��

 

��� Redman and Moore replaced Socrates and, playing behind the same shit O-line, performed with aplomb.�� Moore had a nice 14-yard run in the 1Q.Redman, who rotted the bench the entire 1H, sparked the offense in the 3Q.He ripped off an 18-yard run; then a 6-yarder and a superb power run on 3d & 2 that gained 5.Late in the 4Q, Red had a superb RAC on a short dumpoff, busting 4 tackles and gaining 12 yards out of nothing.�� Sure enough, he�ll be firmly stapled to the bench next week.

 

��� Mendy:C����� Moore and Red:A

 

FB: Johnson actually had a couple good lead blocks from the FB spot.He had a strong lead block on the Redman 18-yard run.�� On the very next play, which was essentially the same play, he had a good lead on the 6-yard gainer.He then had a god lead on Moore�s 15-yard run.�� He did have a horseshit lead block on the 2d & 6 from the HOU 11 on the 1st series of the 3Q, in which he tip-toed and failed to blast ahead.���� B+

 

WR:Wally, of course, led the way with 4 grabs for 77, including a deep ball for 40 yards and a good RAC to gain 22 yards in the 1Q.After that play, though, he was flagged for a dumbassed, completely assaholic taunting penalty, which is patently unacceptable.���

 

����� Brown had a strong game, giving the HOU secondary fits all game long.�� He had 2 good plucks on 2nd & 3d downs on the 1st series of the 3Q.He then grabbed a back-shoulder out for 23 yards.�� He had another nice grab on a back-shoulder out in the 4Q right near the chalk.He would have had a TD in the 4Q, but Ben badly over-threw him.��

 

���� Ward did very, very little.He had 1 grab for 19 yards.�� That�s it.�� He was thrown a deep in from the PIT 18 on 3d & 9 in the 4Q, but dropped the ball before being drilled by a DB.The drop was a drop, and it happened well before the hit.�� Very poor.��

 

���� Sanders had 1 grab for 10.�� Yancey Cotchery once again did not dress.�� ���Wally and Brown:�� A���� Ward and Sanders:�� C��

 

TE:Miller was rarely involved, and was held to 15 yards on 3 grabs.�� Miller did make an amazing, ESPN catch on a pass that deflected off his 1-handed stab, then off Cushing, and then Miller was able to grab it near the ground.��

 

���� Johnson was actually thrown 2 passes, which is at least 1 too many.�� He failed to look back for the first, and grabbed the 2nd for a 6 yard gain.�� He had a decent block on Mendy�s TD run.Assigned to solo block Williams on a pass play late in the 4Q, Johnson was savagely mauled by Williams, which created pressure on the QB.�������� B

 

OL: Another shit afternoon for this putrid crew of fat-asses and lard-fucks.��� For reasons that make no sense, Essex played LT and Gilbert RT, even though each man has 1000% more experience playing the very opposite tackle.�� Each man then went out and struggled.Essex in particular sucked elephant gonad in this game.�� Essex was far too slow on a simple 2-man stunt in the 1Q, which created the fumble that was luckily over-turned by a HOU flag.Essex and Piss Kemo then blocked the SAME man, allowing the outside rusher, Manning, to come in untouched for a huge hit on Ben in the 1st series. On the next play, Essex barely got 1 hand on the rusher, who sped right by and sacked Ben on 3d down.Essex also had a false fart in the 4Q.

 

���� As for Kemo, he lumbered along, slow as whaleshit, on a counter -pull on 1st & 10 at the HOU 47 in the 1st series, which held up Mendy and bogged down the play, resulting in no gain.Late in the 4Q, Kemo allowed leakage, and a batted pass, due to his lame-assed blocking.��

 

��� Gilbert had loads of struggles.�� He had a foolish false start.�� In the 4Q, he was totally whipped off the edge on a speed rush by Williams, resulting in a sack.

 

���� Even Pouncey joined in on the slop act.�� He took a stupid-assed, dead ball penalty after Moore�s long run late in the 1Q.He was tooled badly by Smith for a sack at 4:09 4Q, with a meek, weak, half-hearted effort.He was cleanly whipped on the play from the PIT 1 late in the 4Q, which resulted in the rushed throw, which was INTd, and the late hit on Ben that negated the INT.�� A very simple, routing block that Pouncey oafishly struggled with.Pounce was also flagged for a hold in the 4Q, which was declined by HOU.��� What exactly did this slapdick do during the offseason?

 

���� The only lineman to not draw my rage was Ramon Foster, who would be rotting the bench were it not for injury.���� �����D+��

 

DL:Just as in the Balt game, the line got mauled and gashed.On one 1Q play, Chris Hoke was blown completely off the ball on a basic plunge.Ziggy Hood started for the injured Keisel and did nothing the entire game.Nothing.���� Hampton chipped in on a couple plays, but is hardly �clogging the middle�.���� Heyward saw some action and had2 solos.By 2013, he will finally be deemed ready to start.��

 

���� Aaron Smith, who has been a complete pile of shit the 1st 3 games, actually had a half-decent game.�� He had a rare stop on 3d & 3 in the 2nd series of the game.He also had a rare trip-up in the backfield early in the 4Q, and then had another stop on the next play.�� ������Smith:�� B-����� All others:C-

 

LB:A wretched, vomit-laden performance by this crew.�� The game-opening drive, which consumed 19 plays and took about 43 minutes of real time, was a clinic on exactly how not to play LB in the NFL -- ����

��

����������� - Timmons got the drive started well enough, with a good lick on a 2-yard plunge.�� It then went downhill from there.

����������� - Farrior got far too engaged and locked up with a blocker,. And Foster easily ambled up RG for 9 yards.

���������� - Next play, Farrior steps into the backfield on 3d & 1 and is in PERFECT position for the stop, but feebly allows the RB to slip his tackle and gain 2 yards rather than -1.��

����������� - Timmons gets a bat-away on a passed ball.�� Nice play.

 

����������� - Big LaMarr takes a shit angle and gets mauled, allowing Tate to run up a huge hole up RT for 20 yards.��

����������� - Big LaMarr then takes another shitty angle and gets engaged with a blocker on a screen, and gets a finger-nip on Tate�s ankle for a sloop assist after a 14 yard gain.

 

����������� - Harrison makes a good stop on a run for 1 yard.

����������� - Foote whiffs miserably on a screen pass, which gains 8 yards rather than 0.��

 

The performance didn�t get much better as the day wore on.

 

Farrior stumbled about all day, a day late and a dollar short.�� He was totally abused by Daniels on a flag route in the 4Q, good for 30 yards.

 

Timmons made a couple plays on the opening drive, but was quiet thereafter.�� He finished with a platry 2 solos, a pitiful number for a 3-down LB who covers that much ground.���

 

Harrison missed a huge chunk of the game with an injured eye, that on yet another poor block-shed on a screen pass, which gained 8 yards.�� Worilds replaced him and did little, although he didn�t commit the hideous boners that the supreme veterans did.��

 

The $61M Man, Big LaMarr Woodley, had yet another pile o� shit game in which he did nothing and impacted nothing.��� Big LaMarr got totally bamboozled on a reverse bootleg, which gained 13 yards to Johnson, and would have gained more were Johnson not to fall due to his leg injury.�� He whiffed on Foster on a Flare in the 3Q, which should have been -1 but gained a yard.

 

���� Then there was the Foster TD run, which WON the game for HOU in the 4Q.On this play, which was designed to go up LG, Big LaMarr was left totally unblocked and untouched.�� As the $61M he-man watched the play unfold, he literally QUIT on the play and stopped.��� Foster, finding no hole, cuts it back to his right, and at that poin, should have been plastered by Big LaMarr, had the big he-man actually hustled on this play.�� Instead, Foster had acres of room, and easily ambled by the clumsy, hulking Woodley.�� Worse, Woodley flopped n� flailed -- ala Jason Gildong -- and took Pola out of the play with his ass-clumsy flail.�� 42 yards later, TOUDHDOWN.�� Big LaMarr was able to PAD his stats later in the game with half-assed slop stops and slop assists.�� Make no mistake, however -- this guy chewed rhinoceros testicle the entire game.�� Worse, he generated ZERO pressure on Shaub, aside from some light pressure when he was left totally unblocked and untouched.��

 

�� Woodley, Farrior:�� F-������ Timmons:�� D���� Harrison:�� B-���� ��Foote:�� C���� Worilds: Inc

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DB:The secondary wasn�t pitiful, but they gave up key passes and never once picked off a pass, their 4th game in a row that they�ve failed in that regard.

 

Ike had an oddly quiet game, as HOU rarely, if ever, threw his way.��� Of course, had he been beaten, he�d have eventually been picked upon, so this is very acceptable.��

 

Clark was injured at the end of a 20-yard run, in which he gave a weak, limp-wristed tackle to the effort. ��Mundy replaced him, although Clark came back.��

 

Keenan Lewis finally got some PT, and did a nice job to high-point a deep lob and break it up on a 3d & 6 at 3:55 4Q.McFadden did not dress, but the minute he does, Lewis will never again see the light of day.��

 

Pola continued his rabidly aggressive play, most of which was good.�� He whiffed on a blitzing tackle of Foster, and Foster was able to gain 18 on 2d & 11 in the 2Q.He slashed in and tripped up Foster for -2 in the 4Q.He then bronco-busted Foster after a short valve dump on 3d & 9, violently jumping high on Foster and hauling him to the ground.�� In all the years of watching Troy, I don�t ever recall this kind of tackle, but it worked quite well.�� He also had a good stick on a 2-yard run just before the 2MW.��

 

Ike and Pola:�� A���� Lewis:B���� All others:�� C

 

Spec teams:Scoreboard-wise, not major blow-ups, but it could have been much worse.�� Suisahm lined up with 7 seconds left in the 1H to boot a routine 30-yard FG, but a huge, gaping hole between the �LT� and wingman enable an easy blocked FG.�� HOU scored a TD on the return, but a correct flag for blocking Sepulveda -- perhaps the slowest man on the field -- in the back negated the score and the half was over.��

 

Curtis Brown, who is never permitted to play on defense because he is a rookie, had a FF on the opening KO, but HOU recovered.��

 

Sepul had a rare good punt, booting is 46 yards and having it downed at the HOU 6 in the 2Q.Shitty punt coverage in the 4Q allowed a 13-yard return.Allen had a good stop in KO coverage in the 4Q.Sylvester had a good stick in punt coverage in the 4Q.

 

Brown had a superb punt return in the 4Q, showing good patience and reading, and gaining 33 yards for his efforts.����������

 

The blocked FG really drags down this grade.��� C+

 

OC:Another shit game plan by Bruce Arians.�� Facing a defense that had been shredded and riddled last week by N.O., Arians spent most of the day pounding a square peg into a round hole.�� The 2nd series ended with a brilliant piss-ant lil� pass to Miller on 3d & 2, which gained 1 yard.��

 

Disorganization and chaos ruled the day.�� Several pass plays fell harmlessly inc, due to mis-commo between QB and WR 4 games into the regular season.Twice in the 3Q, the offense burned TOs because of lethargic slowness in getting the playcall and getting to the LOS.�� The 2nd of these occurred after Moore�s false start.�� Exactly what in the sam-hell would take so long to get the next playcall in, on-time ???�� Thanks to the wasted TOs, the Stillers had to go for it on 4th & 7 at 2:38 4Q, rather than possibly attempting a pooch punt to pin HOU near their goal line.��

 

After Brown�s superb punt return, the Stillers had the ball on the HOU 48, with 3:33 left and down by 7.�� Arians immediately hits the PANIC button, and goes EB (empty backfield). Why ??��� Redman and Moore had run superbly in the 2H.�� Each is quite capable of not only blocking blitzers, but also catching screens and flares.��� The team needed only 48 yards to score, with over 3-1/2 minutes of time, which is an ETERNITY for that short amount of yards.��� The result?��� THREE yards in 4 plays.��� What a complete bag of horse-shit.���

 

Everyone knows the O-line can�t pass-block a group of toddlers on a school playground, yet Arians insists on non-stop deep drops and plays that take eons of time to unfold.�� Quick passes?�� Very few.�� Boots, waggles, and rolls?�� NONE.��� Hurry-up offense?�� NONE, aside from late in each half.��

This offense is in disarray, with no identity, no purpose, and no direction.��� F��

 

DC:Dick picked up right where he left off in the Indy game last week, getting unmercifully picked apart.�� Of course, one could argue that Dick picked up where he left off to open the Balt game, with the opponent taking the opening KO and then jamming the ball down Dick�s throat like a toilet plunger.��� �Tobacco Dick�, they call him.�� He gets chewed on, spit out, and trampled.��

 

The opening march by HOU was nearly as long and methodical as Sherman's march on Atlanta.��� The offense warmed up for the game, and then SAT, and SAT, and SAT, for about 55 minutes of "real time", before finally getting onto the field.�� 19 (NINETEEN) plays, 95 yards, TD. ��HOU actually went 105 yards due to penalties, and Dick was totally hapless and helpless in stopping them.��� The 1st drive of a game comes down to PREPARATION, and quite obviously LeBeau was totally unprepared.

 

Then there was the 2nd drive of the game, which doesn't show up on the stat sheet or scoreboard, and the casual fan who knows little will gloss over it due to ignorance.����

 

������� HOU began at their own 6, then went back to their 5 due to a flag.�� Here's a PERFECT chance to force a PUNT and get the ball back at MIDFIELD.��� Not LeBeau.HOU converts 2 1st downs and punted from their own 43, downing the ball at the PIT 6.�� This is called FLIPPING THE FIELD, which happens when a defense is weak and OVER-RATED.�� The ignorant will then harp that the Steeler offense failed to go 94 (NINETY FOUR) yards and score on that particular drive.���

 

HOU arrived to the game with a hobbled star RB, Arian Foster, who was supposed to get limited work.�� Then his backup, Tate, got injured, probably due to exhaustion after having enormous success nearly every time he ran the ball.��� So Foster kept running and running, ripping off huge chunks of yards nearly every time he carried, to the tune of 155 on 30 rushes.�� Some limited work.��

 

But HOU was further victimized.Start WE Andre Johnson -- THE best WR in the NFL -- actually got injured while running with the ball in open field, and fell to the ground in agony midway thru the 2Q.HOU kept on chugging, of course, getting a FG on that drive.They actually should have scored a TD, but 2 consecutive dropped passes, deep in PIT territory, including a dropped TD pass in the EZ by Foster, forced the FG.

 

Dick once again managed to piss away a 4Q lead or tie.�� With the game tied, the Stillers punted to HOU and HOU had to start on their own FIFTEEN.�� The Stillers had just stormed back and the Texans were left for the dead, and their crown sat is stunned silence.�� HERE was the window to take over this game, force a punt, and enable the offense to get a short field for the winning score.�� Nope, not Dicks� defense.�� On a key 3d & 6, Daniels catches a 9-yard pass.The next play, Dick has Taunto Farrior -- the slowfooted oaf that he is -- covering Daniels downfield, and Daniels is WIDE open after tooling Farrior for a 30 yard gainer.�� The next play then saw the 42-yard TD run that scored the winning points for HOU.��� That is shit defense by a shit coordinator.

 

Turnovers?�� NONE.��� Big hits on the QB ?��� NONE.��� Harassment and pressure on the QB?��� NONE.�� Giving the offense golden FP ?��� NONE.��� Winning the TOP battle?�� NONE.���� Piles of shit and vomit?��� Too much.���

 

No, the defense itself didn�t �lose� this game.�� But they did absolutely NOTHING to win it, either.��� No heat.No pass pressure.�� Once again, no turnovers.�� No nothing,�� F

 

HC:Tomlin continues to make this season look like a Xerox copy of the 2009 disaster.��� Huge blow-up on spec teams.4th quarter meltdowns on D.�� Careless turnovers.�� Overt slop all over the field and all over the veteran portion of the roster.��� And still, ZERO changes and zero adjustments.���

 

Tomlin showed just how out of touch he is, late in the 3Q.�� Facing a 4th and 1 at the HOU 8, Tomlin rushed his FG unit onto the field to boot a FG, totally oblivious to the world around him.��� The key here was the 3Q was coming to an END, and the Steelers did not need to snap the ball prior to the end of the quarter.�� This is a FREE TIMEOUT for a staff to at least mull over the idea of going for it on 4th down.�� Had the snapper and the FG unit been just a bit quicker, they�d have snapped of this FG without even taking the freebie time to mull over their options.�� As it was, Tomlin went chickenshit and kicked the FG, but it was a daft, total lack of awareness of the playclock and the game clock that is inexcusable for an NFL head coach in his 5th year on the job.��

 

The team is falling apart all around him, and Tomlin seems oblivious to it all.�� Greybeard veterans are given a free ride and a free pass.�� Mistakes are made over and over again.�� Mismatches -- such as James Farrior or Larry Foote on the field in obvious passing downs -- occur time and time again, and the entire staff is too dim-bulbed to make an ADJUSTMENT.�� Complete chaos by a coach that is rapidly falling into the abyss.��� F

 

Synopsis:A game that was supposed to help define this Stillers team after the last 2 weeks of weak, Jayvee competition.�� It defines it all right, as a complacent, soft, ill-prepared team that is woefully behind the power curve in all phases of the game.�� There is time to get on track, but only if underperforming players and a complacent, dim-bulbed coaching staff quickly start to make changes, make adjustments, and commit to a far better brand of football.��

 

 

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

 

 

 

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