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 had� 2 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
�����������
��
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