Stillers 23, Cinci 7���. Dec. 12, 2010 ����Game # 13
Stillers-Bungals Postgame
Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers came out sloppy and punch-drunk against the hapless Bungals, who were
riding a 9-game losing streak.�� Luckily,
Cinci�s mistakes, combined with a few good plays by
the Stillers, cracked open what was a fairly tight game.�� �
Grades:
QB:�
On paper, Ben seemed to have a good day, going 21 of 22 for 258 and no
INTs.��� Again, on
paper.��� On the field, he was
fairly shoddy.�� To be fair, his injured
foot got injured worse when a lineman fell atop the appendage.�� He also dealt with the visor and rain
droplets, and ended up removing the visor at halftime.��
The constant
clutching and holding of the ball reached a feverish level today -- ��
�� - 3d & 4, 1st drive, held forever, sack.
�� - Late 2 Q, held bal
forever, sack
�� - 2d & 7, 4Q, held forever, sack
�� - next play, sack,
albeit on a fast-moving blitzer up the gut.� Still, these 2 plays occurred when the
Stillers had a 2d & 7 on the Cinci 15. nursing a
flimsy 20-7 lead.�� These 2 sacks took
the team out of chippie FG range and force a punt.�� Particularly on the 2d & 7 play, this is where Ben simply MUST throw the ball away and
avoid the hideous lost yardage.�
��� Let me add that there is a difference
between Ben MOVING around the pocket and MAKING
something happen -- which is usually good -- rather than standing still
like a statue and clutching incessantly, and then, 5 seconds after the ball is
snapped, he takes a sack.���
His worst
pass was the utterly hideous stab on 3d & goal late in the 1H, which hit a
Bengal LB right in the chest but was
dropped.� He also threw a high-risk quail
pass off the flea flicker that had too much Yepremian
influence.��
To his
credit, he made some good strikes, and also had a brilliant play late in the 1H
when he deftly deflected a super-high snap, corralled the ball, and then had
the correct presence to keep the ball and scamper ahead for 13.� Of course, he spoiled this by immediately
spiking the ball, which enraged me due to the waste of down with a full 46 tics
and 1 timeout remaining.�� ����
Randle El played
a wildcat QB for 1 play, and adroitly ran the option and pitched to Wally for 12.
������B-�
RB:�
Mendy had another low profile, workmanlike effort, with 18 for 66.� There were a few plays that highlighted
strong 2d & 3d effort.�� I still feel
his instincts and vision are lacking at times.��
He made a superb grab of the low quail pass in the 1Q, and had a good
RAC.���
FB: Redman came into his own last week,
with the clutch RAC for a TD against the Ravens.�� For that, he earned less playing time
and less touches.�� Go
figure.��� He did have a superb plunge on
3d & 1 late in the 3Q, which gained 4 yards.�� ��B+
WR:�
Hines had a huge day, grabbing 8 for 115 yards. ��He made
a tremendous grab on a well-covered deep seamer, good for 29 yards. �
Wally had 5
for 78. �He had a drop in the 2Q, but had
a strong jet-RAC on a bubble screen for 22 yards. �He also sped around end on an option pitch from
El, for 12 yards. �He made a superb snare
of a deep lob in the 4Q, basically snow-coning the grab for a 33-yard
gain.�
Brown had 3
grabs for 27, and had a stellar effort on an early-3Q 3d & 5, gaining 9.�� Sanders limped off late in the 1H.��
Randle El
made a rare, but terrific 1-handed stab n� grab on a seamer late in the 2Q,
good for 22 yards.� ���This
was, by far, one of the best all-around efforts by this crew this season.�� A
TE:�
Miller did not dress, due to the concussion last week.� Spaeth started and reminded all of us to
ponder exactly how, and why, he continues to take up a roster spot on this team
(or any NFL team, for that matter).�� Supposedly
a �pass catching TE, Spaeth had 1 grab for a whopping 4 yards, and dropped a
CAKE-EASY curl right in his gut in the 4Q.��
His blocking was mediocre.����
Both Spaeth
& Johnson were flagged for a hold on different ground plays, which
always enrages me.�� ����D+� ���
OL: The line was hardly dominant, but didn�t
play as poorly as the paper stats might indicate.�� As noted above, Benji and his penchant for
clutching led to several sacks.��� So,
too, did the mindless, plodding, Crayola game plan.�
Scott
committed his weekly holding penalty.��
DL:�
Yancey Keisel had a pretty strong game.�
He stuffed a run on the 1st series; batted a pass in the 3Q; and put a
good, hard lick on Benson in the 4Q.�� He
rabidly over-ran a stretch play on the final play of the 1Q, which allowed an
easy 7-yard gain.�� Fat Casey Hampton
waddled about and did little.�� Hood
disrupted a couple plays, but otherwise did little.�� Hoke chipped in some in relief.����� B
LB:�
James Harrison had an unusually quiet game, so much that he didn�t
record a single solo or assist.� Very bizarre.�� Yes,
the Bungals slid protection over to the left to provide more resistance to
On paper,
Big LaMarr Woodley seemed to have a monstrous
game.�� On paper.��
��� Yes, he had the adroit -- and enormously
surprising -- INT and then returned it 11 yards for a key TD.�� Obviously, the Bengals were stunned that a
clumsy, oafish guy like Woodley could mosey over into coverage as stumble-free
as he did.�� This was really the lone laudatory
highlight for Big LaMarr.�� He had a classic Dong Sack when Carson LipBalmer slipped in the pocket and Big LaMarr came over and tapped him with his fingers.� He got an earlier Slop Sack when he was
SOLOED by a TIGHT END (Reggie Kelly) and easily ambled by and barely nabbed the
boot-footed Palmer.�
��� As for his other solo stops.....Big LaMarr had a weak-assed, limp-dicked
solo on a Benson run early in the game....good for 7 yards. �Early in
the 2Q, as he was untouched and unblocked, he got a cheesy solo stop on a run.�� Again unblocked and untouched, he had a
back-side slop-stop on a ground play at 12:00 4Q.� There you have it -- 5 solos, and not a
single one of them would impress anyone with the slightest knowledge in the
sport of tackle football.��
��� Big LaMarr�s
blunders and boners were almost enough to fill up a lowlight reel.� On the 1st series of the game, the Bungals
threw inc. on 3rd down to create a punt.�
No, wait -- DumbFuk LaMarr
was offsides !���
Given 2nd life, Cicni marched down the field
to the Steeler 1.�� On the 1st & goal
at the 1, Big LaMarr got caught in NO MAN�s LAND, neither guarding the tackle-eligible he was
lined over, nor harassing the passer.��
Palmer flipped the EASY toss to the wide open tackle for the lone
TD.�� On the first play of the next
series, Big LaMarr was easily turned in and walled
off, allowing an easy 5-yard run by Benson up RT.�� This simply shouldn�t happen to an OLB this
big and experienced.�� Unacceptable.���� ����
Taunto
Farrior had a couple good stuffs in the running game.�� I was surprised the Bengals didn�t take advantage
of, and abuse, Farrior in the passing game the way they did in both Cinci
wins last season.�
�
Timmons sniffed
out a screen and blew it up in the 4Q.��
�
Jason Worilds, as usual, was not permitted to play on
defense.�� �����
DB:�
Pola led the way with 2 picks, including a pick-6 that picked up a
moribund team.�� I would be remiss if I
didn�t ridicule him on the return of the 2nd INT.�� Already nursing an injured ankle, he started
to go cross-grain after adequately advancing the ball to his 11 or so.��� Then, he held the ball OUT with 1 hand, and
then, like a complete stupid-fuk, tried a wild-assed
pitch to McFadden that was bobbled and could have resulted in a turnover.� Sure, the game was all but over, but in
addition to getting a blindside hit & injury, the pitch was just a dumbassed play no matter how anyone might justify it.�
Ike had an
ok game, but was flagged for a PI and a hold.��
The PI was pretty ticky-tack.�
Mcfadden continues to
under-impress.�� He�s so soft on
coverage, it�s sickening.��
Gay whiffed on a short dumpoff in the 2Q, but had a couple of good CB blitzes.
��
Pola:��� A-����� Rest:�
B-��
Spec
teams:� The coverage was soft and leaky.�� The coverage on the opening KO was shaky.� Newly signed punter Kapinos
got off a shit-laden 35-yard punt in the 2Q (fielded at the 17), and shoddy
coverage allowed a 14-tyard return.�
Instead of pinning the Bengals perhaps inside their own 10, this
exchange enabled Cinci to take over at its own 35.�� Worse, there simply were too many flags on
spec teams, as Fox and Allen each held on a punt return.���
Brown
foolishly allowed a punt to roll forever in the 4Q, and then, like a dumbfuk, he tried to field it.� Of course, he muffed it, and only a recovery
by
Sylvester had a good, stick n� stop on KO coverage in the 4Q.�
Suisham continues to impress with a perfect 3 of 3 on FGs amidst the rain and soggy footing.��
Dude�s been
lights out.� His
OC:�
Arians came into the game with 2 TDs in the
past 23 drives.�� He kept this embarrassing
streak alive with ZERO TD�s in the 8 drives
today.�� (7 legit drives; the 8th came
late in the game with less the 2:00 remaining.)��� This pile of shit production, after facing
a WRETCHED defense that has been decimated by injury and had been giving
up nearly 27 points per game.�� 7 Cinci
defenders have been lost for the season due to injury, and the Bengals were
without Jonathan Joseph, who did not dress.�
To further compound their problems, safety C. Ndukwe
hurt his leg in the 2Q.��
At this
point, the Bengals were essentially playing a secondary comprised of Hank Poteat�s weak sisters, yet Arians, the complete idiot that
he is, was unable to muster a single TD against this rag-bag defense.��
The slop �n
slather was lowlighted by a typical Arians
decision.� After Ben scrambled to the Cicni 5 late in the 1H, Ben spiked the ball on 1st
down.� With 46 tics and a TO remaining,
this was stupid; just stone stupid.� Arians
promulgates this kind of stupidity, and he deserves as much blame as anyone for
this asininity.��
There is a
large contingent of Arians Apologists (AA), and perhaps more of them will see
the light as this embarrassing non-TD streak continues.�� D
DC:�
Dick, as usual, was totally confused and befuddled to start the game,
with Palmer going 6 for 6 to begin the game and marching the Bungals to a
prompt TD on their 1st series.�� Sure, Wodley prolonged the drive with his offsides, but there
were numerous chances to halt the drive thereafter and they came up nil.��
I liked
Dick�s clever tactic of having Timmons SOLO cover Terrell Owens on a 2d & 9
in the 1Q.�� 22 yards later, Owens snared
an easy deep in.�� Dick is just so
clever.�
Dick did
another foolhardy �Let�s blitz Pola on the INSIDE�, on a 3d & 10 in the 2Q.�� Pola was easily swatted away like a fly, and
Ocho snagged an easy 15-yard in for the cake-walk 1st
down.�
I liked how
Dick went all Anthony Smith on Pola
after Pola�s late pitch and near fumble.�� Ok, it wasn�t as bad as Dick�s tirade on
Smith, but it was the most life you�ll see out of the old fossil all
season.�� It�s funny that Dick would get
all riled up, and it wasn�t because he was concerned with the near-fumble, but
rather the risk of Pola getting injured.��
Pola very clearly is Dick�s meal ticket;
without Pola, Dick is as feeble and incoherent as a drunken wino.�� ��
With the
Steeler offense chewing large chunks of the clock, and the defense facing the
moribund Bengals, I�m not going to fawn all over this D-side effort.�� See me when Dick faces the Patriots again.�� C+
HC:� I was vastly
disappointed in lethargy and lack of intensity and focus in the entire 1H.�� Since Tommy has basically relegated 99% of
ALL of the X�s and O�s to his coordinators, shouldn�t motivation be his
lone priority?��� I also blame the spike
late in the 1H on Tomlin, who is another proponent of this kind of ribald
stupidity.�� Lastly, why was Ben -- as
beaten and gimpy as he was -- still in the game after Pola�s
2nd TD ???��� WHY ??�� We�re up by
16; there�s only 1:52 remaining, and there�s Ben, back in the pocket, just
begging to take another cheap shot or get a knee twisted in a pileup.��� And, of course, Leftwich still has not
taken a snap all season.�� Just brainless management at its worst.��� C+�
Officiating.��� I don�t often rant about officials, but I
am again forced to, due to outrageous incompetence and inconsistencies.��
�� - On the 1st
series, Ben is belted in the head on a helmet-to-helmet hit on a sack.� To make matters worse, Ndukwe
steps on Ben after the play.�� No
flag.��
�� - Ben is belted in
the FACE by a hand on a sack late in the 2Q.�
No flag.
�� - Ben is blasted
well after his release on 3d & goal, late in the 2Q.�� The defender clearly took an EXTRA step and
applied a needless hit.��� No flag.�
�� - Ben is tackled
well after his release on a 21-yard pass to Ward early in the 3Q.�� Again, the defender clearly took an EXTRA
step and applied a needless hit.��� No
flag.�
�� - A LB was beaten
by Mendy on an improvised wheel route in the 3Q, and used an arm bar to hold
back Mendy.�� No flag.�� This crew flagged Ike in the 1Q for
ticky-tack contact on a pass that was basically uncatchable,
yet they deemed this play as legal ??���� Utter horseshit.�
Fuck Roger Goodell.�� Fuck Ray
Anderson.��� F
Synopsis:��
A solid win after a raggedy start.��
Still, hardly inspiring to struggle to beat a team on a 9-gamne losing
streak on your home field. �Next week�s
game against a Jets team peeved about their past 2 losses,
should be a much better litmus test.� ��The Stillers had better be ready to hunt bear.� The biggest concern is -- who is going to
cover Tonio Holmes, since the Stillers have no one capable of doing so?�� �
(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the