Stillers-Skins Postgame Analysis and Grades

Stillers 23, Skins 6���. Nov. 3, 2008 ����Game #8��

 

Stillers-Skins Postgame Analysis and Grades

 

The Stillers ventured to DC to take on the supposedly vaunted Redskins, who were 6-2 and fighting for NFC supremacy.� After literally handing 6 points to the Skins in the first 4 minutes of the game, the Stillers stormed back and manhandled the Foreskins, en route to a 23-6 asswhipping on the eve of the big presidential election.�� (Due to the late hour of this game, this post-game will be shorter than usual.)

 

Grades:

 

QB:� Benji played the 1st half only before succumbing to an apparent shoulder injury.� He had a rather shabby half, going 5 for 17 for 50 yards and a passer rating of 15.1.� His lone INT was off a deflection by a D-lineman, so I won�t fault him for that.� Ben threw a horrendous out pass in the 2Q that should have been picked by Rogers and returned for 6, but Ben lucked out when Rogers dropped the pigskin.�� He also held the ball nearly forever, and then underthrew Ward, on the deep ball that resulted in a PI as well as Ben nicking his thumb on a helmet.� Ben has no one to blame but himself for the asinine stupidity of dawdling and tentatively waiting on this designed deep ball.�� On the 1st play after the blocked punt, Ben held the ball forever, rather than flinging it through the goal posts, and took a foolish 2-yard loss.� Ben did rifle a key pass to Ward on 3d & 12 to near the GL, which set up Ben�s TD sneak.��

 

Lefty played the entire 2H and filled in superbly in his hometown.� Under pressure, he calmly hit Nate deep for a 50-yard bomb.� 3 plays later, under pressure, he calmly hit Moore for 7 yards on 3d & 7 to set up a Parker TD score.� In the 4Q, Lefty was clutch again on 3D, hitting Holmes for 16 on 3d & 15, and twice hitting Moore for clutch 3D conversions.�

 

Ben:�� D+������� Lefty:� A+

 

RB:� Parker returned to the lineup after missing 4 games, and had 21 rushes for 70 yards.� He had some good slashing runs and showed his speed on a couple wide dashes.� Naturally, Parker was not allowed to participate in the passing game.��

 

Moore had a splendid 2H^� as the 3D back, grabbing three clutch 3rd down passes for 45 yards.� Of course, while the offense sputtered and struggled in the 1^st half, Moore was not allowed to touch the ball as a ballcarrier or as a receiver.�

 

Davenport drew my rage on his only carry, a 3rd & a half-yard carry in which he ran more upright than a giraffe.� Luckily, he was able to spin from the initial hit for the 1st down.�

 

Park, Moore:� A����������� Daven:�� C-

 

FB: Davis saw limited action and contributed some.� He led Parker�s longest run of 13 yards, with a strong cut block.� He also had a good lead block on Parker�s TD plunge.�� B+

 

WR:� Ward was silent early on, but had 3 big grabs for 39 yards.�� He had a nice RAC to gain 12 on 3d & 10 in the 2Q.� Ward made a tremendous catch on a low pass on 3d & 8 to keep a drive alive in the 3Q.� The downer was his missed block as a tight slot receiver late in the 3Q on 3d & 2, which allowed Horton to stop Parker for a 2-yard loss.�

 

SanToke-io Holmes, after being deactivated last week, was gimpy and weak-kneed early on, looking lost and befuddled.� He weakly dropped an out pass late in the 1Q.� He literally made a �basket catch� of a deepish pass near the GL in the 2Q, as the ball literally went through his arms without making any contact with his hands for a grand incompletion.� Tokio finally awoke from his doldrums in the 2H, making the clutch grab on 3rd & 15.� He was a blunt force in the 4Q, grabbing a quick 0-step hitch and diving to the pylon for the TD that put the game away.�

 

Nate had what is becoming a rather humdrum, weekly long bomb, this one good for 50 yards to set up a 3Q TD.� He also had a good grab of a low curl in the 1Q, gaining 9 yards and a 1D.�

 

Baker had 1 grab for 7 yards.� Sweed was non-existent in the passing game.��

 

Ward and Nate:� A����� Holmes:� C

 

TE:� Miller was held without a grab; Spaeth had 1 grab for 6 yards.� Miller left the game in the 2Q with a sprained ankle and did not return.� The overall TE blocking was decent.���� B

 

OL: A half decent nite against a solid defensive front 7.� The sacks Ben took were mostly the case of holding the ball incessantly long.� Stapleton allowed the pressure by the lineman that deflected the pass that was INT�d early in the game.� Starks was feeble again, getting abused badly on a speed rush by Marcus Washington on the play after the long PI flag, creating a TA by Ben.� He also was flagged for a hold on a running play.�� Kemo was literally stood up and shoved back on a simple plunge from the Stiller 1-yard line; Parker bounced off Kemo and luckily avoided the safety by a matter of a foot or so.��

 

Hartwig quietly had yet another solid game.� His signing has been nothing short of superb.���

 

Playing in a fairly loud road venue, the line committed no false starts.���� B

 

DL:� The line had the task of bottling Portis, and they did just that in superb fashion.�� Portis had little room on direct slashes, and his cutback lanes were minimal.�� Hampton, Smitty, and Diesel all controlled the POA and had strong games.� In the 2Q, they clamped down on Portis.� Smith stopped Portis for 1.� Keisel pounded Portis on a run up RT for 1.� Fat Casey stopped Portis for 0.�� Keisel had a good hustle play to get on a hand on Campbell on a scramble, which stopped the QB just short of the GL in the 4Q.�

 

Eason had a good hustle play to stop Campbell on a scramble for 0 yards in the 1Q.� Hoke chipped in quite adequately in relief of Hampton.��

 

The major lowlight was watching Fat Casey, dropped back in coverage in a zone blitz, futilely waddle after Portis after a dumpoff, in which Portis got 29 yards.����

 

� A

 

LB:� The LB corps was probably sick and tired of hearing about how great Campbell and Portis were, and had a strong effort.���

 

Taunto Farrior had a solid game with a plethora of tackles (11 solo) along with a heaping of boners and mistakes.�� He had a good tipped pass while rushing in the 1Q, and shared a sack with Woodie in the 2Q.� He put a big hit on Portis in the 4Q, jarring a pass loose.� Covering a backup defensive tackle (Lorenzo Alexander), Farrior had a key bustup of a 4th 7 goal pass in the 4Q.� Quick � perhaps Colbert can extend Potsie another 3 or 4 years�!��

 

����������� There were some shoddy plays, to be sure.� He rabidly over-ran a 2d & 4 run in the 2Q, allowing Portis to cut it up G/T for 7 yards.� On a 4th & 9 in the 4Q, Townsend forced Campbell into a throwaway.� Farrior, the great taunter, couldn�t pass up the chance to hit Campbell with a helmet-to-helmet hit well after the pass had been released, which resulted in a flag and took possession of the ball from the Stiller O.� Instead of essentially ending the game right there, the Stillers had to fight off the Skins for quite a while longer, thanks to the incredibly stupid, selfish play of the team captain and supposed �team leader�, Taunto Farrior.�� 3 plays later, on 3d & 12, Farrior had his jock strap juked off by Cooley, who shed Farrior -- the Winged God of LB Coverage -- amidst his basic out-in pass pattern and caught a pass for a 14-yard gain.��� Taunto also whiffed on an easy sack late in the 4Q.�

 

Woodley and Harrison tormented Campbell all game long, plus they jammed the ground game.� Harrison had a stuff of Portis on the first play for 0 yards.� Woodley totally blew up the 3d & 2 ground play on the opening drive, forcing a FG.� Woodley shoved Jansen aside like a toddler on the final play of the 1H, and then dropped Campbell.� In the 3Q, Woodley legally pile-drived Campbell into the turf with a brutal sack.� Harrison did an awkward, foolish jump into the air on a screen pass to Portis, which allowed Portis to scoot by for 16 yards.�

 

Foote whiffed on Portis� longest run of the day (22 yards), in which he meekly pawed at Portis� shoulders like a complete fool.� Timmons barely played in the 1H, but finally saw some PT in the 2H --presumably only because Dick thought the game was over -- and had some good plays.� He saved a TD on Portis� long screen of 16 yards.� He had multiple pressures late in the game, and showed good speed to drop Campbell on 4th & 10.�

 

A

 

DB:� With Santana Moss hobbled and Campbell under lots of harassment, the DBs had some easier work.� They covered well and limited RAC with lots of crisp tackles.� Pola was all over the field.� He busted up a 3d & 5 pass on the 2nd series.� He flashed into the backfield, from 6 yards off the LOS, and chopped down Portis in the 2Q in spectacular fashion for a 2-yard loss.� He had a bustup near the GL late in the game.� He was beaten by Cooley and then missed the tackle on 3d & 1 in the 3Q.�

 

Townsend helped redeem himself after last week�s abuse with a better effort.� He busted up a slant late in the 2Q.� He snared an easy INT in the 3Q, although he foolishly bobbled and dropped it, and nearly caused the play to be ruled inc.�

 

Ike had a solid outing.� He had softee coverage on Moss, playing waaay off on a curl in the 1Q, but tightened it up.� He had an excellent bustup on a key 3d & 3 in the 1Q.� He did have a sorry, weak whiff on Portis� 29-yard RAC play; this should have been stopped for about a 6-yard gain.�

 

Carter started at FS and played ok.� The Skins fortunately didn�t have a semblance of a downfield passing game to exploit Carter.� He did have a good stop in space on a 3d & 10 flat pass to Portis, stopping the dangerous RB for no gain late in the 4Q.� Later, he had an INT to close the game out.�� Tony Smith� rotated with Carter every couple series, and had 3 solos with no noticeable blown coverages.� Tomlin praised the work of both Carter and Tony Smith in his post-game interview, which was a rarity for Tomlin to utter any words of praise towards Smith.�

 

Gay had a very solid game.� He had good coverage on a 3D curl early in the 3Q.� He flashed up and snuffed a WR screen in the 4Q for a 2-yard loss.�

 

This crew will face a far better WR corps next week, but they played well today.��� A

 

Spec teams:� The Stillers led off the game with an odd onsides KO, which was easily recovered by Wash.� Reed need not apply to the Hollywood Screen Actor�s Guild, because his acting skills on that KO were pitiful, at best.� Reeder booted a 35-yard FG, although he missed a PAT.�� The snap looked a smidgen off, and perhaps it affected the timing.�

 

The new longsnapper, Retkofsky, snapped well.� His 8 punt snaps were dead on.� He took a beating after nearly all of his punt snaps, with the Skins going out of their way to beat on a defenseless snapper.�� Gee, such toughness from the vaunted Foreskins.� If only their defense had this much ferocity and energy, this might have been a close game.�

 

Frazier had a big ST play, blocking a punt in the 2Q. �Ike had a chance to return the block for a TD, but was gay and flubbed it.�� Backup CB Will Gay, oddly enough, had the presence of mind to pick up the ball and gain 4 yards.� This set up the first TD.�

 

Mitch Berger, nursing 2 bad hamstrings, punted like shit.� Total vomit.�� Never landing a punt inside the 20 (which, of course, reduced a punter�s average), he booted 8 punts for a 34 yard average, which is pure dogshit at this level of football.� Nice that he wanted to gut it out and play; stupid that he hurt his team when he was entirely incapable of performing his job.�

 

Pat Bailey had a good stop in KO coverage.� Holmes did the PR chores, while Moore the KOR chores.� Holmes had a solid 17-yard punt return early in the 2Q.� Tony Smith was flagged for a hold on a PR in the 2Q.��������� B

 

OC:� Arians struggled like a bitch in the 1H, with the Skins jumping on every short route and the offense not doing anything to counter the rush.�� Finally, in the 2H, Arians called for a deep ball to Nate that netted 50, along with using Moore in the passing game.� Gee, this guy�s a genius.�

 

Arians continues to show that he had no clue as to what he wants to do on 3d & short.� On 3d & 2 in the 2Q, Arians has the O line up (as usual) in a SG, 1B formation.� Because we don�t run a read option, there�s no threat of a play-fake out of this formation to hold LBs and safeties.� He then has Ben do this homo-laden designed pump fake and then stand there and scan the field.� Pressure forced a hasty pass to Moore in the flats, well short of the sticks, and it was inc.�� Later in the 2Q, Arians faced another 3d & 2, at the Wash 16.� Again, SG 1B, and Arians sends Spaeth into a pattern down to the 4-yard line, which was a TWELVE yard pattern.�� It�s 3rd & 2, and you have a 6-6� TE who merely needs to go 4 yards and turn around like a center posting in the lane, and it�s a simple pass with Spaeth using his huge body as a shield.�� Nope, Arians has him running around like a food vendor, and with the play taking an eternity to develop, Benji was harassed and sacked.��

 

Arians reached deep into his grab bag when the Stillers got the ball from a punt at their own 49 in the 3Q.� Armed with golden FP, this was a chance to chew clock, move the ball, and put at least a FG on the board and put Wash into panic mode.� Instead, after Parker lost 1 on 1st down, Arians calls for an end around on 2D, which was easily snuffed and stopped for a 6-yard loss.�� 2d & 11 at midfield is a shitty time to call for a gadget play like that, with the Skins sitting back.� On the next play, a 3d & 17, Arians calls for a lame-assed draw play, which lost another 4 yards.� Arians once again has no clue for the feel of the game.

 

We�ll never know exactly why Mewelde Moore was abolished from the offense in the 1H, a half in which it sputtered and struggled.� Only the brilliant mind of Bruce Arians could possibly explain this.���� C-

 

DC:� Dick�s defense had a showcase nite on MNF, bottling the ground game and stopping the passing game, as much of the passing yards were gained in garbage time late in the game.� Keeping things in perspective, of course, Dick had the luxury of facing a team with its best WR hobbled; no other threats at WR; the star RB hobbled prior to the game and further hobbled on Troy�s 2Q submarine hit; and a QB over-rated more than any QB I can remember in the past 5 seasons.� Dick�s D did a good job of clogging the line and limiting Portis� cutback lanes.� Their tackling after catches were made were reliable.� A very solid, stout effort on defense against a rather ordinary passing offense.� Dick will receive a far sterner test next week vs. Indy.����� A-

 

HC:� After a tough, agonizing home loss to the Giants, Tomlin didn�t allow the team to wallow in sorrow.� The decision to start the game with an onsides KO was highly questionable, but Tommie obviously had confidence that his defense would easily stop the Skins.� I wasn�t fond of the call, but his confidence in the defense was quite correct.�

 

The decision to allow Berger to punt was foolish and could have severely impacted this game, had the defense not been so stout.� Berger was nursing TWO bad hammies and couldn�t punt worth a rat�s ass.� I blame Colbert for not signing a punter last week and Tomlin for presumably okaying that idea mid-week and letting Berger continue on.��

 

I wasn�t fond of the poor time management at the end of the 1H.� Ward was tackled on his curl near the GL at 1:00 2Q.� The Stillers didn�t call their TO (their 2nd TO) until 0:35.� This left them with 1 TO on a 1st & G at the 1 with 35 ticks remaining.� Had the 1st down plunge been stopped, they likely would have -- because this offense is incapable of calling 2 plays during a TO -- had to burn the last TO.� The idiot will claim that the Stillers wasted all that time so that �the Skins offense wouldn�t march down and get a score before halftime.�� Given the way the Skins� offense was sputtering and the Stiller D was smothering, this was a total non-concern.� The key here was for a struggling offense to score a TD against a stout Skins defense that had played well, with the score 6-3 Skins.� Pissing away that much time could have possibly forced the Stillers to waste a down with a spike and then settle for a FG.�� Ben scored on the 1D sneak to erase any potential fiascos, but this was ass-clumsy time management.��

 

Kudos to Tomlin for getting continued quality contributions from more and more backups, to include Leftwich, Gay, Moore, Hoke, and others.����� A

 

Synopsis:� �Hail to the Foreskins�..er, the Stillers� !!�� Ha ha !!�� So much for the vaunted Deadskins.� The talk about that team, as though they were the reincarnation of the �67 Packers, was reaching utterly absurd levels.� The way the Stillers so handily disposed of the Skins was hilarious.�� After giving the Skins 6 freebie points without the Skin offense gaining even a single 1st down, the Stillers stormed back and scored the final 23 points of the game in dominating fashion.� Kudos to the tens of thousands of Stillers fan who invaded FedEx Field and made this road venue just about as comfy as a home game.� I�ve been to FedEx for a meaningless preseason game, and it is rivaled only by Philly and Oakland in terms of the number of in-your-face, vulgar, boorish, hoodlum-like fans.� Kudos to the Stiller Nation for representing the Stillers so well.�

 

Due to the trends established over the years related to Redskin home games and the presidential election, Barrack Obama will be voted in as the next Pres of the USA.�

 

Next up, a tough test against the Indy Dolts, who gamely fought off the Pats last week to remain in the playoff hunt.�

 

 

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