Jax 29, Stillers 22 ���. Dec. 16, 2007 ����Game #
14��
Stillers-Jaguars Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The 9-4
Stillers hosted the 9-4 Jags in what amounted to a �statement game�,
particularly after the assbeating suffered at the hands of the Pats last
week.� This was a chance to show the
league, and more importantly themselves, exactly what this team was capable of
doing in a playoff-like atmosphere, with future home field advantage on the
line.� It was a statement game all right,
with the Stillers making a loud proclamation that stated, �We�re not ready, nor
are we remotely interested, in competing at the highest echelons of the National
Football League.�� Don�t let the final
score fool you, as Jax physically dominated, manhandled, and abused the
Stillers on both sides of the ball en route to a 29-22 victory.��
Grades:
QB:�
Benji struggled all day with his shoulder injury that limited his practice
last week, going a paltry 16 of 33 for 146 yards.� He was scattershot on numerous passes to wide open receivers.� The worst may have been a 3rd & 2 deep
crosser to a wide open Holmes on the game�s 2nd series, in which Benji --
always the hideously slow starter -- simply fired a gawdawful pass that would have
made Cliff Stoudt proud.� In the 2Q, he indecisively
held the ball for an eternity -- as he�s done in EVERY singly game since the
Clev. game on Nov. 11th -- and was striped of the ball (luckily he recovered).� He threw no INTs, but 2 passes very easily
should have been picked off --
���������� - Smith jumped a crosser late in the
3Q and had his mits on the ball
���������� - On the first play after the late
Jax TD, Knight jumped the route and had a fairly easy pick, but dropped
it.� �
��� Ben was also totally indecisive, with
plenty of time and room in the pocket, on the 1st & 10 at the Jax 18 early in
the 2Q, which resulted in a TA.
�� �Perhaps
saddest of all, the Stillers began their final drive on their own 41, which is
terrific field position, with 1:51 remaining and 2 TOs, which, again, is a very
decent position to be in.�� On this final
drive, when the opposing defense was protecting a 7-point lead and playing a
softee, prevent defense with more cushion than a furniture store clearance
sale, all Ben could muster was (hold your laughter) 2 of 6 passing for a
whopping 9 yards.��
�� �To
his credit, he did fire 3 TDs, although the TD strike to Miller was incredibly fortuitous,
as it deflected off a LB�s hand and still found its way to Miller�s gut for the
grab.� To be fair, Ben was also
victimized by 3 hideous drops, as well as a poor receiver adjustment on a deep
ball to Tonio Holmes.� �And, of course, with LT Marvel Smith allowing
his rusher to invade the backfield on just about every play, Ben spent a good
portion of the game running for his life.�
��� Benji has to stop farting around for the
entire first half of games (40 yards passing in the 1H in this contest, a trend
that has occurred nearly all season), and he�s got to stop being indecisive and
tentative while in the pocket.�� The 4Q TD
strike to Ward was the perfect example of being decisive and gunning the ball
into a tight window, but there needs to be more of this instead of aimless
standing around in the pocket, clutching the ball like a pacifier.��� ��C.� �
RB:�
Parker gashed the Jags vaunted defense with solid regularity, ripping
off runs of 13, 13, 16, and 27 en route to a 14-carry, 100-yard effort.� Like nearly all football stats, these stats
are a bit deceiving, as the 27 yard scamper was an emergency, impromptu lateral
from Ben to a pass-blocking Parker as Ben was in the grasp of a rusher.�� Because of having to play catch-up
football, combined with asinine drops, sacks, and a holding flag, the running game
was never able to establish any consistency.��
Davenport had 1 carry for minus-4 yards, and grabbed 2 dumpoffs for 6
yards.� Parker had 2 grabs for a
whopping 9 yards.�� B+
FB: Davis opened a couple holes in the
ground game.�� A �do it all FB� that is
supposed to be a clever pass catcher, he was once again ignored in the passing
game.��� Inc.
WR:�
A woeful, sorry game for this entire crew; their worst of the
season.�� Ward led the way in the
lethargy department, carelessly dropping 2 passes that were right in his bread
basket.� The 2Q drop of a deep curl, on
a play from the Stiller 17, was extremely hurtful.� Instead of a 20-yard gainer, the Stillers punted 2 plays later,
and Jax then had an easy march for a TD late in the 1st half.� This drop was particularly hideous because
it clanged off the breastplate of his shoulder pads, something that Plaxico
Burress used to do with weekly regularity.�
Ward also had a dumbassed drop on 3rd & 10 late in the 3Q, forcing
yet another punt.� Ward made a god catch
in traffic for the late TD, but that doesn�t override the pathetic drops.�
��� Holmes -- supposedly the �big play WR� -- continues
to do next to nothing, finishing with 4 grabs for 34 yards.� At this rate, he�ll soon zoom ahead of
Courtney Hawkins on the Steeler all-time receiving list.�� He made a poor adjustment on the deep ball
in the 1Q, and was entirely careless after grabbing the deep crosser late in
the 2Q, and was then stripped of the football.�
He mad a good grab of the 2 pointer, but at this stage of the season,
this is far, far too paltry for the team�s #1 big play threat.� �
��� Nate wrenched his knee when his foot
clearly slid when the piece of shit sod gave way on his superb TD catch.�� Be sure to thank Rooney for yer knee injury,
Nate!� �Nathan had a chance to make a sterling grab on an off-target, high
curl pass in the 3Q, but was unable to haul in what would have been a stupendous
grab.��
��� �Wilson
had 1 paltry grab for 12 yards, although he made a tremendous play to shuffle from
the rush and fire a strike to Holmes for the late 2-pointer.� ��
���� Weeks ago, when the offense was getting
absolutely nothing from its # 3 and # 4 WRs, I�d warned in this column of the gravity
of this problem, and today, just like last week, we saw it vividly in front of
our very eyes.� (Nate and Wilson -- just
1 grab apiece.)
�
Ward & Holmes:
�D.���
���Nate:� B.���
Wilson:� B
TE:�
Heath Miller had strong concentration on the deflected TD pass in the 2Q.� He had a cake-easy TD catch in the 4Q, but
clumsily dropped the ball like a Mark Breuner.�
Lucily, Hines snared the next pass for the TD.� Speath played some, but was long ago phased out of the passing
game, because earlier in the season he was scoring with too much regularity to
please Bruce Arians.�� The blocking was
okay.��� B.�
OL: The O-line mostly played okay, although
there were the usual occasional comedy routines, blunders, and clown acts that have
come to define this ghastly underachieving crew.��
Leading the
way in the stench department was Marvel Smith, who had an utterly atrocious
game that was all too similar to the pitiful efforts by the Chris Conrads of yesteryear.� Smith was a wretched pile of shit,
continually retreating faster than a French general without so much as delivering
a love-tap to the rusher. �(Colon recently
had this same problem.)�� By the time
Smith actually engaged the rusher, the defender was within 9 inches of Ben�s jersey-collar.�� Among the dogshit plays by Smith:�
���������� - 3rd & 5, 1Q, beaten badly by
Spicer for a sack on the offense�s 2nd series
���������� - Allowed easy inside pressure on the
deep ball to Holmes, which forced Ben to hurry the pass
���������� - Gave up loop rush, and strip of Ben
by Spicer, at 10:32 2Q.
���������� - Late 3Q, totally abused and whipped
to the inside for the sack
���������� - On Ben�s 27-yard lateral to Parker
in the 4Q, it was Shithead Smith that allowed the free �n easy pressure into
the backfield
���������� - 2 plays later, the rusher did the
Wide Loop Rush, and stumbled to the ground.��
Instead of jumping on the bastard, or at least pounding on him, Smith literally
GAVE UP on
the play, and Hawkins got up and sacked Benji for the 8-yard loss.
���������� - Even on the nice 13-yard gain by Parker
on the draw play in the 4Q, Smith led the way in front of Parker�.and then proceeded
to hit exactly NOBODY.�� ���
Smith
finally sat the bench in favor of Max Starks on the game�s final drive, with
what was called a �bad back�.� Yeah, I
suppose a player can develop a bad back after getting shoved onto his ass time
and time again.��
��� Mahan was wheeled back to the QB by Meier on
the sack in the 1st series of the game.�
Like the complete pile of manure that he is, he was also whistled for a holding
flag on a 2Q running play.��
��� Colon flopped to the turf, as clumsy as an
oaf, on the Hawkins sack in the 2d series.�
He was wheeled back on 2d & 10 early in the 2Q, and gave up
considerable inside pressure on the play.�
��� Crybaby Alan didn�t do much, but at least
he didn�t commit his weekly hold, false start, or hideous gaffe that allows instantaneous
pressure.� �He did, however, stop & quit on his block of Henderson on the
Meier sack in the 1st series of the game.�
Simmons wasn�t as clumsy or error prone as usual.��
�
���� Facing a front 7 missing Stroud,
Petersen, and Heyward, this was far too mediocre.�� ��Smith:� F-������
All others:� C-
DL:�
The D-line continually got manhandled, mauled, and pummeled by a very
ordinary Jax O-line.� This began on the
game�s opening drive -- which resulted in a FG -- and on the game�s closing drive,
in which Jax casually and easily marched 73 yards in 8 plays for the winning
TD, which was a 12-yard run by an untouched Fred Taylor. ��
Casey
Hampton piled up a fair amount of slop stats, and had a couple nice stops.�� However, he was a big, fat-assed pile of
shit during the course of the entire game.�
I re-watched, and charted, EVERY running play by Jax, as follows:� ���
���������� 1st Half Ground plays:
���������� Hampton solo blocked - 17 times
����������
���������� Hampton double-teamed - once (1st
& 10, Jax 9, 1:38 1Q)�
���������� 2nd Half Ground plays:
���������� Hampton solo blocked - 16 times
���������� Hampton double-teamed - twice
���������� Hampton chip blocked by a 2nd blocker
for a tenth of a second - once
That�s
it.�� So much for all the baldfaced,
bullshit fables about --
���������� �Hampton eats up 2 or 3 blockers on
every play.���� (No, he doesn�t.� He does eat up an awful lot of food and
fatty carbohydrates, however.)
���������� �Hampton clogs the middle.�� �(Uh,
no, he doesn�t.�� The only thing he
clogs is the toilet bowl during his pre-game bowel movement.�� Jax put up 224 rushing yards -- all up the
gut -- and Hampton didn�t clog jack shit.)
���������� �Hampton takes on 2 blockers on practically
every play�.��� �(Uh, no, he very clearly does not.� He was SOLO blocked by Brad Meester, or a
guard, on 34 of the 37 running plays that occurred when he was on the
field.� That amounts to a whopping
percentage of 3 % of all rushing plays in which the Big Tub O� Lard was double
teamed).��
As for the
vaunted �pocket push� that Hampton supposedly provides, he never once pushed
the pocket any deeper than, oh, about 19 inches into the backfield.�� Not once, not ever.��
���������� Some specific plays that The
Fat Ass was involved in:�
���������� - Taylor cutback run, 10
yards, 1st series 1 Q.� Hampton, like a
complete fool, rabidly over pursues this play like a complete jackass.��
���������� - Good solo stop of Taylor, 2d series
of 1Q.� Solid solo in 2Q.�
���������� - Screen to Jones-Drew, 8:30 2Q��Hampton
literally stops and quits on this play, which gained 4 yards.�� �
����������
���������� - assist, 5:28 2Q, on plunge by Jones-Drew�..5
(FIVE) yards downfield on a simple up-the-gut plunge.��
���������� - 1st play, 3Q, beat Pashos and had
solid stop.���
���������� - 4th & 1, 9:56 3Q, Hampton
double-teamed, and absolutely buried on this play.� Easy 3 yards for Garrard.��
���������� - 2d & 8 from the Pit 9, at 7:40
of the 3Q, LeBeau actually dropped The Walrus back into middle coverage, and Jones
Drew was WIDE open for the TD pass that he dropped.�
Keisel whiffed
weakly on screen to Jones-Drew in the 1Q.�
He had a good stuff of a plunge early in the 4Q. �Kirschke was exceptionally average at LDE.�� He was weak and soft on the 3d & 10
draw play that netted 17 yards in the 3Q.�
Eason did little.�� Hoke, lined
up at NT, had a good solo stop early in the 3Q on a plunge.�
Let�s all
pout and cry in unison now, �We were (sob) missing (honk) Aaron Smith (waaaah)�..it�s
not fair������ ���F
LB:�
"They really took it to us," linebacker James Farrior said
after the game. �"It was bad.��� Actually, what was really bad
was, once again, the play of James Farrior, who did nothing the entire
ballgame.� The guy continues to display
his ever-eroding abilities in front of our very eyes, but of course most
simpletons will hearken back to, say, 2004 and think that this is the same
James Farrior.�� Very clearly, it is not.�� The guy was a total nobody and did nothing.� Jax rushed the ball 42 times, and Farrior --
an ILB that never left the field -- made a whopping 2 solo stops.� Quick -- be sure to write this guy onto your
ballot for the Pro Bowl !!��
���� Probably the worst play of the day by Farrior
-- and there were well over a dozen to choose from -- came on the 2d & 3 Taylor
plunge off LG in the 2Q.� Farrior, totally
unblocked, actually vacated the hole to join a rugby-like scrum, and Taylor
dashed thru the gaping fissure for a 38-yard jaunt.� This is as piss-poor a play as an inside LB can make in the
NFL.�
��� Not to be outdone, Clark Haggans continues
to do one of the best Jason GilDong imitations seen in recent NFL activity.� The guy was totally invisible today, hitting
nobody, covering nobody, and doing absolutely nothing the entire game. �Jax rushed the ball 42 times, and Faggans --
an OLB that rarely ever left the field -- made a whopping 2 solo stops and 1
slop assist.� Worse, he was continually
picked on and abused by the Jax offense for one big play after another,
as follows:
���������� - On the PAP boot TD pass late in the
2Q, Haggans bit on the play fake like a rabid wolf, which allowed Garrard an
acre of space and eons of time to complete the easy TD pass.��
���������� - after titty-jousting for an
eternity with a SOLO blocker, Faggans had Garrard dead to right for an easy
Dong Sack on the 2nd play of the 3Q, but whiffed in pathetic fashion.� The Jags went on to run 18 more plays, en
route to the 20-play TD march.��
���������� - 2 plays later, on a 3rd & 9, Haggans
was slow, clumsy and inept in coverage on Lewis, resulting in a cake-easy
18-yard reception and a 1st down.��
���������� - After having not come close to an
enemy QB since October, Haggans simply couldn�t resist giving a lame, stupid-assed
shot to the knees of Garrard well after Garrard had released a pass in the 2Q.� The 15-yard penalty was the longest Jax gain
on the drive, which resulted in a TD late in the 2Q. �
���������� - On the PAP boot bomb to Northcutt
for the TD, Haggans totally bites on this play like a rabid ass-mongrel, which
allows Garrard an acre of room, and time, to casually loft the deep ball for
the TD.�
���������� - On Smith�s INT in the 4Q, Haggans, for
the FIRST time the entire game, didn�t BITE on the playfake like a 7th grader
at his first school dance.��
���� Larry Foote was in on some scrums, but
was highly ineffective.�� After the
game, The Footster actually stated, like the lame competitor that he is, "They
showed us who's tough today."�� Yes
indeed, and it sure as hell wasn�t Larry Foote.� He continued, �They whupped our butts all day." ��More specifically, they whipped Foote�s ass like
a red-headed stepchild, all day long.�� Late
in the 2Q, on the TD drive that gave Jax the 10-7 lead, Foote met Taylor -- a
man he outweighs by 25 pounds -- head-on and was then trucked an extra 3
yards in the process.�� This is the very
epitome of �they whupped our butts all day.���
���� Harrison was active as usual, leading all
LBs with 5 solos.� He was blatantly held
on a pass rush in the 1Q, with the LT almost lassoing him around the neck, but somehow
no flag was thrown.�� Barnes, the Jax
LT, did a good job of riding Harrison out and not allowing any cuts to the inside.� It�s a long season, and I think Harison is
getting near the point of slowing down some.�
After all, there�s not another outside passrusher in the league that has
to fight both the frame length and pure brawn problems that Harrison has to on
each and every play.� It�s high time to
start getting Timmons or Woodley some relief work in short 1-2 play bursts.
����
LaMar Woodley was finally allowed onto the field for a few defensive plays.� Lined up at LOLB, he had a strong inside
rush that forced the scramble of Garrard on the final play of the 1Q.�
���� Overall, Taylor and Jones-Drew ran wild
for 224 yards, and there never once was any meaningful, timely harassment on
Garrard, who was never sacked and was only very infrequently pressured.� I�m trying to recall a game during the past
3 years in which the LB corps had a worse overall game.�� ��F�
����������
DB:�
Pola returned to the lineup and provided a spark, making several solid
plays, as follows:�
���������� - bust up of 3D pass, 2d series 2Q
���������� - flash up and slash of Garrard on
run, 3d & 10, last play 1Q.� Forced
a punt.
���������� - Good hustle on 2Q screen after
blitzing, stopped J-Drew for 5 yds.
���������� - trip up of Taylor, 3d� & 3, late 2Q, got 1 yd.
���������� Of course, Pola wasn�t without a
litany of weak flails and horrendous boners.��
���������� - pitiful whiff on Taylor, 1st series
of game
���������� - whiff in backfield on backside
blitz, 2d series
���������� - �weak whiff on J-Drew�s 17-yard draw, 3Q.
���������� - On the PAP boot bomb to Northcutt
for the TD, Pola totally bites on this play like a rabid ass-mongrel, which
allows Garrard an acre of room, and time, to casually loft the deep ball for
the TD.�
���������� - Poor angle on J-Drew�s 20-yard draw,
4Q
Amazingly enough,
this man participated in over 14 tackle attempts in this game, and not once did
he ever attempt to WRAP the ballcarrier�s legs or waist.� Not once.��
Ike injured
his knee in the 4Q and gave way to McFadden.��
Ike played ok, but then got lost on the deep TD to N-cutt.� Ike also committed a hold on Wilford�s TD in
the 3Q.�
Townsend
was beaten badly by Wilford on a deep ball early in the 3Q, and blatantly grabbed
the jersey.� Luckily, no flag was thrown.� Carter had a meek whiff of Taylor on a run early
in the 4Q.�
Anthony
Smith, of course, was again beaten DEEP, getting hopelessly lost and turned
around on the deep ball to N-cutt.�� This
really was a simple, basic play in which N-cutt was pinned against the
sidelines and Ike was providing some help, yet Smith starts to drift
toward the middle of the field like a complete dumbass.�� You see a basic, routine play like this --
in which the FS should make the easy bust-up or level the WR -- and you really
have to wonder about the instincts and ball skills of Smith.�� Smith had an INT and a long return, but don�t
fawn too much.� This was a horrible pass
that Smith simply �Larry Browned� while standing around.�� He may have gotten more on the return, but
like a complete imbecile he cut back to the inside trying to beat TWO players,
rather than keeping to the s-line.��
Facing a lukewarm
passing attack, this crew did far, far too little.���� D
Spec
teams:� Not the usual abomination, but still some blunders.�� Sepulveda launched a punt all of 33 yards
after the 1st series.� Chris Kemo
committed a false start on a PAT.� 5
guys whiffed on N-cutt after Sepul�s 55-yard boot.� Rossum was twice blistered with simply brutal hits by Jax, and
then late in the 2Q, played footsie with the ball and danced all the way to the
11-yard line on a KO return.�� Tomlin
finally saw enough and trotted out Najeh for KOs and Wilson for punts.�� Timmons was flagged for inel. man DF on a
3Q punt.� Keisel was blatantly guilty of
using leverage on the 3Q Jax PAT, but luckily the hold for the placekick was
botched and, since no boot was attempted, the flag was picked up.� Reed was 2 of 2 in PATs.� Daven had a good KO return late in the game.� �B-�
OC:�
It apparently wasn�t quite enough for Arians to face a defense missing
super-stud lineman Marcus Stroud (a guy who is, oh, about 5 times more
disruptive than Aaron Smith could ever dream of being), starting MLB Mike Petersen
(one of the best coverage backers in the entire league), DE Reggie Heyward, and
a hamstring injury to starting safety Reggie Nelson at practice on Thurs
(although he did start).� �With the injuries to Stroud, Heyward, Petersen,
and Nelson, had the Jax defense suffered any other injuries during their week
of practice, they would have literally been forced to hold open tryouts in the
parking lot prior to gametime, yet Airhead Arians was thoroughly unable to take
advantage of this injury-riddled defense.���
The first 2 scoring drives were all of 31 and 12 yards.� The offense passed for 40 (forty) yards
the entire 1st half.�� And remember --
this Jax pass defense was ranked 27th in the NFL against the pass.��
�
Today we saw
the epic return of the Ray Sperman/Kevin Gayrpride �Curl-aholic Offense�,
in which nearly every single pass play is a curl, stop route, or
buttonhook.��
Just look
at the gross ineptitude of this offense against the injury-riddled Jax defense:
|
1st
Quarter |
|||||
|
Start |
Time |
Drive |
# of |
Net |
Result |
|
15:00 |
1:45 |
PIT 35 |
3 |
-8 |
Punt |
|
09:36 |
3:55 |
PIT 30 |
7 |
24 |
Punt |
|
02:52 |
1:14 |
JAX 50 |
3 |
8 |
Punt |
|
2nd
Quarter |
|||||
|
Start |
Time |
Drive |
# of |
Net |
Result |
|
14:55 |
0:42 |
JAX 31 |
4 |
31 |
Touchdown |
|
12:33 |
3:25 |
PIT 8 |
5 |
3 |
Punt |
|
07:33 |
1:26 |
PIT 19 |
3 |
-2 |
Punt |
|
01:01 |
1:01 |
PIT 11 |
4 |
25 |
End of
Half |
|
3rd
Quarter |
|||||
|
Start |
Time |
Drive |
# of |
Net |
Result |
|
05:20 |
1:23 |
PIT 20 |
3 |
-4 |
Punt |
|
03:47 |
1:39 |
PIT 20 |
5 |
10 |
Punt |
|
4th
Quarter |
|||||
|
Start |
Time |
Drive |
# of |
Net |
Result |
|
14:03 |
0:52 |
JAX 12 |
3 |
12 |
Touchdown |
|
09:29 |
3:43 |
PIT 16 |
8 |
84 |
Touchdown |
|
01:57 |
1:16 |
PIT 41 |
7 |
20 |
Downs |
This
offense is successful at exactly one thing -- spinning its wheels at 5,000 RPM
to move forward about 20 feet.�� In this
stagnant, predictable offense, absolutely nothing comes easy and every teeny
tiny yard comes at a great outlay of time and toil.��
Most teams
have some pre-designed SET PLAYS for 2-pointers and goal-line plays, with the
hope of taking advantage of defensive weaknesses, tendencies, and over-eager
biting.�� Not Bruce Arians.� His idea of a clever 2-pointer is to pitch
the ball to a WR -- fooling exactly nobody -- and then having the WR do an
incredible imitation of Brett Favre, first eluding the rush, then shuffling
behind a block from his QB, and then reading through a forest of
bodies and firing a rifled, 92-MPH pass to a diving WR in the back of
the EZ with another WR (Ward) standing 3 feet away from Holmes.�� Ladies and gentlemen, courtesy of Bruce
Arians, you just witnessed the most laborious 2-point attempt in NFL
history.��
A classic
example of Arians� incompetence occurred in the 2d series of the game.� Parker ripped off a 16-yard run, and then
gashed Jax for a nice 5-yard run on 1st down.�
On 2d & 10, with Jax reeling from some smashmouth football, THIS is
when you run the PAP.� No, not Bruce
Arians.� He goes empty backfield, with
an incomplete pass, and on 3d & 5 -- when the entire stadium knows a pass
is coming -- Ben gets sacked.
Note for
Bruce Arians -- pulling KenDoll Simmons aaaaallllll the way to the left to �fool�
the defense into thinking it�s a whaleshit counter play instead of a pass --
ain�t working at all.�� Didn�t work
today, and it hasn�t worked in, oh, about 11 weeks.��
Of course, there are any number of simpletons -- although their numbers are rapidly decreasing with each weekly offensive fiasco -- that are staunchly defending Airhead Arians and his vomit-laden game plans and in-game adjustments.� All those simpletons -- please step forward and accept your just ridicule.� ����F �
DC:�
There is nothing more irrelevant, useless, and meaningless than
defensive football stats.��
NOTHING.�� And once again, this
was proven unequivocally in today�s loss to Jax.�� #1 ranked defense, my ass !!��
How �bout more like the #19 defense ??�
For weeks
upon weeks now, I�ve been pointing out flagrant flaws and enormous chinks in
the armor of this supposedly vaunted defense, only to hear cries of, �but�.how
dare you complain when we have the #1 ranked defense�..?����� This crap about �the # 1 defense� was
nothing but a paper tiger that was a total farce.� Sadly enough, too many dim-bulbed fans actually bought into the
mirage, when the proof was staring them right in the face, had they spent just
the slightest amount of time, sober no less, actually watching the
games.
Not once,
but twice Jones-Drew gashed this defense on 3rd & long, gaining
17 yards and then 20 yards on delayed handoffs.� At what point does LeBeau correct glaring deficiencies??��� March?��
April?�� July??�
Up 10-7, Jax opened the 3Q with a 20-play (yes, TWENTY) drive to open
the 3Q.�� Had the drive used any more
plays from scrimmage, the refs may very well have penalized the Jags for some
obscure delay of game penalty.�� And
this is no aberration; there are a litany of opponents that have done long,
leisurely, methodical marches against Dick �I�m Asleep at the Wheel�
LeBeau.�� And the late 4Q scoring
march was no aberration, either, as 3 other losses this season came amidst long
scoring marches near the end of regulation.�
���� F
HC:� Nov & Dec are the times to be
honing your schemes and execution to a razor-sharp edge, and to be building
momentum for the playoffs��not going stale, flaccid, meek, lethargic, and
slovenly.��
���������� To a certain degree, I can live with
Tomlin having schematic issues.�� He�s
not an offensive coach and he has to rely solely on Arians for the offense, and
he gave LeBeau free reign of the defense back in the spring, a decision I�m
sure Tomlin now regrets.�� But what I
cannot tolerate and cannot stomach, is to see this team come out, time and time
again since the Balt. win, with a weak-assed, gutless, meek, cowardly style of
football.�� No hard hits are being
issued.�� Far too many players are
either taking entire plays off, or simply quitting after 2 or 3 seconds of
inertia on a given play.� When�s the
last time a defender issued a tooth-rattling tackle or hit ??�� When�s the last time a blocker de-cleated a
defender??�� We allowed a team to come
into our house, in our bitter-cold weather, on our mud bog, and physically
dominate the LOS on both sides of the ball, which is grossly unacceptable and a
total embarrassment.��
���������� ���������� 58
minutes into the game -- in which he�d resembled a human turnstile -- Marvel
Smith was finally replaced !!��� Great
move, Bruce & Tomlin, you stupid bastards !!�� What took you so long?� ��18 missed blocks weren�t enough to convince
you, Lilly Tomlin??
���������� Here it is, game # 14, and
the outrageous lack of any urgency, hitting, grit, and gusto is as obvious as it
is perplexing.� What is Tomlin waiting
for?�� February?�� April?��
���������� After last
week�s asswhipping, I wrote that Tomlin had reached the bottom of an abyss.� Somehow, he has sunken even lower after this
embarrassing home debacle.�� This team
is like a runaway freight train, careening out of control with no conductor, no
leadership, no brakes, no map, and no direction.�
���������� Denial is the first step.� Too many fans, blinded by black n� gold
shaded eyewear, have been in denial all season about the incompetence of Bruce
Arians and the outrageous adulation over Dick LeBeau and his meek, passive,
predictable defense. �Those problems
came home to roost today, and the result was a brutally severe assbeating that
women and children should not have been present to witness.� ��What
had been a promising season has been flushed down the shitter by a timid, clueless
coaching staff that has stood ossified and made zero adjustments since September
and, worse, has allowed this entire squad to play uninspired, lackadaisical, gutless
football.� �F �
Synopsis:�
Make no mistake -- this is not a 1-game aberration.� Ever since the high-water mark of the MNF
beatdown of Balt. on Nov. 5th, this team has done NOTHING except play sloppy, weak-assed,
half-hearted football in every game since.�
�(And remember, the hapless Baltimore
team actually lost to winless Miami today.)�
Six consecutive games of lethargic, gutless, uninspired football.�
My dilemma -- and really, a dilemma for all fans from the
city of Pittsburgh -- is deciding which game to watch on Thur. evening.�� The choice is watching either:�� a.) a sloppy, disinterested, half-hearted
team that is in the midst of a complete freefall, or� b.) an undefeated, hard-working, highly inspired, # 9 ranked Pitt
hoops team facing # 7 Duke at MSG in New York City.� Granted, the Pitt game starts 75 minutes prior to the Stiller
game��but if you�re basing your decision on a team�s commitment to excellence,
quality of coaching, and player hustle, this decision is a no-brainer.�
(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers,
no one else comes close�.)