Stillers
13, Ravens 9� ���.
Dec. 14, 2008 ����Game #14��
Stillers-Ravens Postgame Analysis and Grades
The Stillers, essentially behind nearly the entire game
in what was a genuine slopfest, scored a rare TD with less than a minute remaining
to take the led, 13-9, and then held on for a big win over the hated Ratbirds.� With
the win, the Stillers have wrapped up the AFC North crown!���
Grades:
QB:� Spike Roethlisberger had an okay game,
although he was victimized by 4 or 5 drops. ��He finished 22 of 40 for 246 and no
INTs.� The late game, 92-march was Ben at
his best, going 7 of 11 and hitting Holmes for the winning TD.�
The
1st half was spotty.� He had a good
completion to Miller for 17 yards on 3d & 5.� But on the next play, he threw what is
becoming a regular, gimpy-assed sidearm
screen to Parker, which was incomplete.�
It�s to the point where I don�t think there is another starting QB in
the league who throw a worse screen pass.�
He also had a low, weak-assed out pass to Nate late in the 2Q.�
The
2H wasn�t all too impressive until late.�
Ben refused to throw the ball away on Reed�s sack in the 3Q.� On the first play of the 4Q, on a critical 3d
& 1, Benji rolled right, then once again refused to throw the ball
away.� Actually, since they were well
within FG range, he could have simply eaten the ball for a 3-yard loss.�� Instead, Ben tried this assaholic
pass while wrapped up and his arm grabbed, so putrid that it conjured memories
of Garo Yepremian�s fateful
flub of a pass after a botched FG in the Super Bowl vs.
Right
next to that boner was Ben�s utterly incomprehensible insistence on spiking the
ball after Ward�s catch set up a 1st & G at the Raven 4-yard line with 1:04
remaining in the game.� In that amount of
time, with the ball at the 4-yard line and the Stillers owning 1 timeout, there
was absolutely no reason whatsoever to spike the ball in this situation.� The Stillers had enough time, in such an
incredibly short distance, to run 6 or 7 plays (ie,
overcoming a holding flag, etc.) and still would have had time left over.�� Really, for a QB like Spike Roth in his 5th
season in the NFL, this was as dumb as it gets.�
I�m trying to think which spike was more lamebrained
-- Plexico Burress� late in
the Jaguar game back in 2000 (when he grabbed a deep crosser, fell to the
ground untouched, and got up and spiked the ball in snide jubilation), or Ben�s
foolhardy down-killer of a spike today.�����
B-
RB:� Parker and Moore each got some work, with
Parker toting it 14 times for 47 yards and
Russell
appeared to be stonewalled short of the sticks on a 3d & 1 plunge in the
2Q, but the line judge ruled it a 1st down.�
� B
FB: Little use in this
particular game.�� Inc.
WR:� Ward snapped out of the mini-funk with a
superb game, snaring 8 balls for 107 yards.��
It seems like nothing brings out the best in Ward as does the Poebirds.� Most of
his yardage was off RAC, as Ward churned, spun, and plowed for extra
yardage.� Ward got the final drive going
with 2 consecutive 13-yard grabs, and his spinning, 3rd-effort RAC set up the
late goal-to-go at the 4.� For all the
talk about how the Ravens were getting �up� to face Ward and so on, Ward never
wavered or backed down an inch, as he continually made fearless catches over
the middle.��
Nate
dropped a 2nd down out pass on the first series, and had another drop later
on.� But he came back overall with a
solid effort.� He had a good spin RAC
after a short out and gained 18, although he nearly fumbled.� Nate then made 3 clutch catches on the final drive, good for 16, 9, and 24
yards.�
Holmes
had a long, and poor, day, up until his big catch in which he astutely got both
feet down in the EZ for the correctly-ruled TD.�
He dropped an easy 3d & 6 pass that was right in his gut on the 2nd
series.� Then, on 1st down from our own 1
in the 3Q, he caught a short plant and promptly was stripped faster than a
Sweed did nothing.���� Ward:�
A+���� Nate:� B+����
Holmes:� C�
TE:� Miller had 3 grabs for 26 yards, which was
pretty good when you consider his dim-bulbed OC
forced him to spend most of the game pass blocking back in the pocket.� Miller did have a total whiff on Suggs on the
3d & 1 play early in the 4Q, which led to Ben�s fumble.�
But
that blunder aside, Miller had nothing compared to Matt Spaeth, who gave one of
the very worst, most feeble-assed performances that I can recall from a Stiller
in the past 5 years.�� The guy was a
wretched, steaming pile of shit the entire game.� Honest to goodness, Spaeth was either getting
paid to throw this game today, or he had no regard to the work ethic and
toughness required to excel at the NFL level.�
He was thoroughly manhandled by Pryce on the 2nd series, which caused a
1-yard loss.� He then totally whiffed on
Suggs, which forced a hasty incompletion on a PAP that appeared to be a
designed deep-ball.� On the 1st play of
the 3Q, Speath was again abused by Pryce, which
forced a throw-away.� Mind you, none of
these plays required super-athletic, Dermonti Dawson
kind of blocking.� Had Spaeth simply held
his ground, with his head up, he could have at least gotten in the way of a
defender instead of imitating a goddamned matador.� As if he hadn�t embarrassed himself and his
team enough during the first 59 minutes of the game, Spaeth, on 2d & goal
from the 4, dropped what would have likely been a TD on the play just before
Holmes� heroic TD.�
McHugh
had 1 grab for 7 yards before carelessly stepping OOB and losing 1-2 yards in
the process.�
Miller:�� B���� Speath:�� F
OL: An okay performance
against a stout from 7 that was able to gun their blitzes because nearly every
snap occurred with 1 second remaining on the playclock.� The running game, which was used only
sporadically, never really got untracked, but the Raven run-blitz scheme
enabled an untouched blitzer to bottle most ground
plays.� The line struggled more in
communication and reading than in actual physical grappling.� Stapleton passed off a rusher on 3d & 5
in the 1Q, and then failed to re-direct himself on RayRay,
who flashed in untouched for a bruising sack.�
Hartwig failed to peel off a double-team and
pick up Reed, who flashed in untouched for a sack in the 3Q.� Willie The Colon was
flagged for a false start and then a hold that negated Parker�s 1--yard
run.�� Staple was flagged for a hold on a
run when he blatantly grabbed RayRay.� Starks may have saved a TD by nabbing the
dangerous Reed after the fumble recovery deep in Stiller
territory.� The overall blocking was
pretty solid on the 12-play, 92-yard march.����
B
DL:� The line had some struggles with the
quick-hitting plunges that Balt. likes
to use.� McClain gashed them several
times for good chunks of yardage.� Smith
was mauled inside on MClain�s 8-yard run in the
2Q.� Kirschke was rumbled over by McClain
on a 7-yard gain in the 3Q.� Fat Casey
was mauled on McClain�s 10-yard plunge midway thru the 4Q.�
Smitty did have a good effort on a sack of Jacco in the 3Q, and he was involved in a plethora of stops
in the ground game.� Kirschke clumsily
booted the pigskin while trying to pick up the loose ball after a Jacco fumble in the 4Q; the imbecile should have simply
fallen on the ball, rather than trying to pick it up.��� Overall, not shabby, but
hardly stupendous.�� B-
LB:� After being ravaged by Jamie Harrison in the
prior meeting, the Ravens went nearly overboard to limit
Taunto Farrior led all Stillers with 8 solos and 4
A�s.� Don�t let the paper stats fool you,
of course, as Farrior struggled like a sub-prime mortgage firm.� He continually mis-read
and mis-judged plunges, going directly to where the
runner was not, in a manner as alarming and assaholic
as Spaeth�s futilities on the other side of the
ball.�� On the 2nd series of the game, he
ambled way to his left on a McClain run up LG that gained an easy 7
yards up a huge hole.� He whiffed on McGahee, turning a 2 yard gain into 5 in the 2Q.� He weakly paw-pawed -- reminiscent of Jason GilDong -- on a McClain plunge that netted 6 in the
2Q.� He had a lucky bust-up on a 3d &
7 pass to McGahee in the 3Q, in which he was tooled
badly by Willis on the pass route, and only a poor pass behind the receiver
enabled Farrior�s last-second arm-stab to break the
play up.� Taunto
was walled off on McClain�s 10-yard run in the 4Q.� Then, a short while later,
The Winged God of LB Coverage moved like pond water on a simple curl route by
Mason, which moved the chains on 3d & 7.�
Foote
started and did extremely little.� He did
an absurd flop on a 2Q screen pass to Neal that netted 11 yards.� He was shoved way back on a McClain run early
in the 3Q that gained 7.�
Woodley
was quiet, with just 1 solo and 1 A.� He
did drop back into coverage more than expected -- and more than we�d like --
and was tooled in coverage of Heap in the 2Q that gained 24 yards.� He did force a TA late in the 2Q.�
Timmons
had a silly whiff on a sack on a 3d & 7 late in the 2Q, which was then
completed for a 17-yard gain.� Timmy did
have a nice reaction and soft hands on the Jacco TA
that bounced off the crossbar late in the 2Q, which, if the rules allowed,
would have been a terrific INT.� Timmer then laid a huge hit on a 3d & 4 pass in the 4Q,
which caused the ball to dislodge and was nearly picked off by Townsend.� Timmons also had a huge sack n� strip in the
4Q, coming off the left edge, which knocked Balt. out of FG range and set up the fateful 92-yard TD march.� In a nutshell, Timmons had more
game-impacting type of plays (3) in 32 minutes than Foote has had in his entire
feeble career.� Gee, it�s a good thing
that Timmons continues to rot the bench behind a superstar of Foote�s
caliber.�
Farrior:� C���
DB:� lke had a decent
game, although he was boxed out by Mason on a deep ball in the EZ in the 2Q,
but Mason mistimed his jump and failed to reach his apex as the ball
arrived.�� Ike forced the Clark INT with
superb coverage and the deflected ball was corralled for an INT.�
Pola
had a fairly quiet evening.�� He was slow
off the LOS to cover Heap on a flag in the 1Q, and only a poor misfire by Jacco allowed this 20-yarder to fall inc.� Pola was beaten on a deep flag to Mason in
the EZ in the 3Q, but again a Jacco overthrow saved
the day.� Pola also whiffed on a dumpoff
to McClain late in the game, allowing an extra 5 yards on the 14-yard
play.�
Ryan
�Roadkill� Clark had nearly as gawd-awful
a game as Spaeth did, getting run over by McClain with the same regularity as
groundhogs attempting to cross a 4-lane highway.� For the amount of time Clark spent on his
back during this game, he ought to ask the equipment manager to re-sew his
uniform numbers and lettering, as the stitching has probably been tattered from
all the wear n� tear.��
Clark
did have a Dong interception when Ike�s coverage caused a high deflection that
floated into the hands of
McFadd returned to the lineup after his arm injury,
and played solidly.� He was far too soft
in coverage on Mason, late in the 2Q and deep in Stiller
territory.� At his age, Mason is no deep
burner (he never really was, even in his prime), and that far in Stiller
territory, there is no chance of being beaten �deep�.� To his credit, he was active in run and
short-pass support, and finished with 4 solos.��
Townsend
chipped in some.� Gay had the big INT on
the Raven�s last play, snaring a deep ball in the EZ to seal the deal.�
Spec
teams:� The spec teams had been quietly
adequate�.until today.� They picked a
fine time to squat down and lay an egg.�
The
coverage teams were of Cowher-like quality early
on.� The KO coverage was weak on the
opening KO, allowing a 39-yard return, with Fox�s whiff helping to ease the
way.� Mid 1Q, poor punt coverage allowed
an 18-yard return.� Then, on the final
play of the 1Q, Berger finally got off a decent 46-yard punt that bounced and
rolled some to the 11, and the entire coverage team, led by Bailey and Roadkill Clark, simply stopped in their tracks and gazed at
the ball and the return man (Leonard) .�
Bailey whiffed, while Clark, who was just a couple yards from Leonard
when the punt was fielded, simply stood flatfooted and was never a factor.� Berger saved the TD with the stop, but the
return gained 46 yards.� �
Berger
began the game with a shitty 28-yard punt, and had some other shankers to go along with a 51-yarder.�
Holmes,
as if his evening wasn�t shoddy enough, coughed up a punt while trying to field
it on the run in the 3Q.� Luckily, Fox
was able to grab the loose ball, and then advance it 18 yards for one of the
longer punt returns all seasons from this crew.�
Fox
had a good stop in KO cover in the 2Q.�
Frazier and Madison each made a good stop in punt coverage in the
3Q.� Timmons showed terrific speed and
athleticism by swooping in on Leonard in punt coverage and cutting him
down.� (Side note:� when Chas Noll roamed the sidelines, great
plays on special teams earned you more playing time.� In the current-day Steeler
system, great plays on spec teams earn you nothing.)�� Bailey laid a nice hit on the slipping
Figures in KO coverage in the 4Q.�
D+�
OC:� Arians continued his late-season swoon, with
his plodding, pondering offense that has no rhythm, no sense of urgency, and
seemingly no purpose.�
Not
satisfied with last week�s game-opening DGO penalty, Arians tried a new
approach today -- earning a DOG penalty on the second play of the game,
on a simple 2nd and 10 inches play.� This
insanity continued the entire game, with the playcall taking eons of time to
get to the huddle, then the offense dawdling around getting set up, and then Hartwig snapping the ball at 0:01 or even 0:00.� This foolishness forced Ben to burn a TO at
11:04 of the 4Q.� Worse, it allowed Raven
defenders to simply read the playclock all game long
and gun their blitzes with little fear of being called offsides, knowing that
either the ball had to be snapped at 0:01 or a DOG penalty would occur.��
Arians�
short-yardage 3rd down offense, which ranked dead last going into
the game at a 43.5% conversion rate, continued it struggles.� Russell fully appeared to be stopped on a 3d
& 1 plunge in the 2Q, but a poor spot by the ref kept alive a drive that
culminated in a FG.� Ben�s rollout and
fumble in the 4Q was on another 3d & 1.�
Perhaps
the worst tactic seen all night was the sheer idiocy of wasting Heath Miller as
an extra blocker in the backfield on numerous 3rd down passing plays.� Sure, you want an extra blocker to protect
Ben.�� But you�re big, talented,
soft-handed TE who is the 3rd best all-around receiver on the entire team ??��� Balt.
faced a similar dilemma in slowing down James Harrison, and Cam Cameron, who is
10 times the OC that Arians is, used a backup tackle, Terry, to assist in the
blocking.� You didn�t see Cameron take
Todd Heap and make him the designated pass blocker, which is exactly what Arians
did for most of the first 3 quarters.�
Miller was kept in to block in the backfield on:
����������� - 3d & 11, 1Q� (no conversion)
����������� - 3d & 6, 1st series of the 3Q� (no conversion)
����������� - 3d & 7, 5:00 3Q (Holmes
actually converted this one)
����������� - 3d & 6 (3 plays later, no
conversion)�
Finally,
at 13:18 4Q, Miller was permitted to run a pass pattern,
and his clear-out enabled Ward to snag a short slant and rumble 30 yards, which
happened to be the longest play all day.��
Miller was also allowed to run patterns on the late-game march.��
It�s
amazing, although not surprising, to see how well the offense does in the
up-tempo, no-huddle offense.� Without
Arians� interfering with his slow-assed decision making and foolhardy playcalls, the Stiller NH offense has performed 8 times
better this season than the regular, pondering, slowpoke offense.� It would make sense to go NH far more often,
but Arians fully appears to want no part in using something that actually adds
tempo and production to his offense.�
The
biggest hurdle for the Stillers to get to the Super Bowl is not any of their
AFC foes, but rather the diabolical sabotage of Bruce Arians.��� D�
DC:� Dick�s defense did a fine job of limiting Balt. to 3 meager FGs after golden
FP was provided via a long punt return and via Tonio�s
fumble at the PIT 16.� The D held the
Peckers to 3 FGs.�� Two of the long 3D
conversions (17 and 24 yards) were schematically sound, but whiffed hits on the
QB allowed these gainers to occur.� The
long, laborious, 15-play, 69-yard FG march was nothing to be proud of, but
overall the D kept the team in the game and played stoutly.� Keeping things in perspective, of course,
it�s difficult -- for me, at least -- to gloat too much about stopping a
weakling offense led by rookie Joe Jacco and a
mediocre supporting cast.� Lastly,
McClain�s old-fashioned, quick-hitting plunges gave the defense some problems,
and this could be a chink in the armor that opposing offenses may look to
exploit come playoff time.�� B+
�
HC:� Tomlin�s self confidence and worry-free
demeanor seems to be having a positive effect on this club, as they once again
showed considerable poise and moxie in yet another comeback victory.� The spec teams leaks
need to be addressed, and obviously the offense has got to get something going
long before the final 5 minutes of the game.�
B+
Synopsis:� The Stillers are once again the champs of the
AFC North, sweeping the season series from the Ratbirds!!�� Nevermore, quoteth
the Raven!�� And the Stillers did so in
yet another stirring, late-game comeback.�
On one hand, winning close game instills moxie and fortitude.� On the other, it provides a razor-thin fine
line where 1 stubbed toe could easily result in a loss come playoff time
against a top-shelf opponent.� The
conference title is on the line this upcoming week, with a huge road game
against the 12-2 Titans, who are coming off a close loss to the Texans.� If nothing else, this game
in Tennessee, much like today�s game, will serve as a superb tune-up for
dealing with playoff intensity, crowd noise, and pressure.�
(Still
Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the