Stillers
38, Titans 17� ��.
Oct 9, 2011 ����Game #5
Stillers-Titans Postgame Analysis and Grades
The
Stillers roared out to a 21-3 halftime lead, and then rumbled their way to a
thorough 38-17 whupping of a vastly mediocre Titans
team.��
Grades:
QB:� Ben shook of his aching foot and had a career
day, tossing 5 TDs on 24 of 34 passing.��
He didn�t incessantly hold onto the ball like a fool, either.� The long laser to Wally was perhaps his
prettiest pass, but there were also numerous sharp passes to Miller and
Ward.� Ben started off slowly, but as he
warmed up and got comfortable, he became red-hot.��� Well done.��
A+
RB:� Socrates Mendenhall dressed, but did not play
due to injury.�� Redman started in his
place and acquitted himself quite well.��
He had a superb, LOW plunge on an early 3d & 1, gaining 2.�� He had a good 5-yard run on the last play of
the 1Q.�� He then had a strong run for 10
yards on the 1st play of the 2Q.� On a
1st & 5, he had a superb 2nd, 3rd, and 4th effort, twisting and churning
for 3 yards.� Then, on a 3d & 1, he
kept plowing and got 5 yards.�� These
aren�t long Barry Sanders type of runs, but they are quietly efficient and
enormous effective.��
��� In the 2H, Red had a nice
12-yard run, and then a nice 6-yarder and a good spin n� churn for 5 yards on
2d & 4.�� He got nicked up on
a screen pass early in the 4Q.�� In all,
Red had 49 yards on 15 carries, plus 3 grabs for 12.��
��� Dwyer saw his most extensive PT of his
young career, gaining 107 yards on 11 carries.�
He biggest rush, of course, was the 76-yard jaunt on a counter up RG on
his first carry of the season.�� �Dwyer still looks heavy and not as quick as he
could be, and it�s up to the staff to melt the extra, unnecessary 15 pounds off
his frame.����� A+�� �
FB: Lightly used.��� Inc.�
WR:� Wally again led the way, often toying with
the Bitans on underneath stuff they were giving.�� He went to the house on the deep ball in the
4Q for a 40-yard TD grab.� He made a tremendous
grab on a low pass in the 1Q that was originally ruled incomplete but then
over-turned on a challenge.� Wally had a
clever pinkie-shove of a DB on a 3d & 1 reception in the 4Q, in which he
hauled in a 12-yard pass.� Of course, no
flag was thrown, nor should it have been.�
(Nor has it ever been thrown since the absurd OPI on Seattle�s Darrell
Jackson on a pinkie-shove of Chris Dope, who would have played today were it
not for an injured arm.) ���
�� Brown had 2 grabs for 23, including a nice
pluck on a high slant for 17 yards.� �He also had a nice 10-yard run on a jet
sweep.��
�� Ward had his 1st 2 TDs of the season, and
had 7 grabs for 54.�� His 2nd TD was a
gem, as he artfully hopped over a cut-tackle and into the EZ for the
score.� For whatever reason, Sanders was
written out of the script today.�� ������A
TE:� Miller had a nice day, grabbing 3 for 46
yards and a TD.� Saunders was targeted on
the 1st drive, and dropped a tough, but do-able, pass.�� Johnson grabbed a rare pop-pass for 4 yards
on the 1st series and the short TD pass off a reverse boot in the 2Q.�� Johnson also had a very strong, effective
seal block of the ILB on Dwyer�s 76-yard jaunt.��� ��A
OL: After the past 2
weeks of outright stench, the line had a very acceptable day at the
office.��
Leading
the way was none other than Maxwell Starks, who had no training camp and all of
3 days of practice coming into this game.��
Dude hadn�t taken an NFL game-snap in 11 months, but played superbly.� No imitations of traffic cones, windmills,
traffic barrels, or turnstiles.�� Steady,
solid play, keeping Ben�s blind side clean.���
Legurski, who started at LG for the injured Kemo, had
a nice pull and block on the Dwyer 76-yard jaunt.�� He then moved to center in the 3Q when Pouncey�s knee was hurt.�
Essex then came in for Leggo.�� Pouncey returned to
action in the 4Q, and did a nice pivot-pull on a Wally end-around.��
Gilbert
had a decent game, before his shoulder got dinged mid-way thru the 2Q.� He was replaced by The Human Turnstile, Jon
Scott, for the rest of the game.�� Scott
miraculously didn�t commit any grave boners, and perhaps he is better suited
for the RT job.��
Foster
probably had the worst boner of the game, getting totally abused on the first
drive and causing a near strip-sack (only Ben�s firm grip avoided the
disaster).��� ����A-�
DL:� Keisel returned to action, while Smith and Fat
Hampton did not dress.�� Hoke played
superbly in place of Fat Hampton.� He
stuffed Johnson (along with Timmons� help) for a 3-yard loss in the 2nd series.� He then had a good stop 2 plays later.�� He defended the stretch well, and was never
blown off the ball.��� Amazing how a
journeyman can replace the $4M lardassed nose tackle,
and actually outplay the fat boy.���
�� Keisel had a key bat of a pass in the 3Q,
which popped the ball into the air some 25 feet and created the team�s very 1st
INT this season.�� Hood played okay.�� Heyward was finally given meaningful playing
time, and responded with a strip of the QB, and later in the 4Q he forced an
intentional grounding.��� Gee, maybe he
should rot another 8 weeks so that he can better �learn the system�.�� �����A
LB:� Harrison missed the 1st of several game with the broken orbital bone.��� Timmy started at ROLB and Larry Slow-a-Foote
started at ILB.��
Taunto
Farrior was pretty active, leading the team with 9 solos and 4 A�s.�� He had a flail n� whiff on
Williams after a short catch, which resulted in a 15-yard gain late in the 1Q.� He managed an ankle-grab tackle of Johnson on
a toss sweep for no gain in the 2Q.�� On
a 3d & 1 in the 4Q, Ringer was covered by Taunto, but Taunto just stood
there and failed to bust up the pass, enabling Ringer to gain 3 yards and a 1st
down.�� The Winged God of LB Coverage was
also flagged for a blatant illegal contact penalty on 3d & 12 from the PIT
12.��
Timmons
was adequate at ROLB.�� He didn�t harass the
QB all that much, but was steady against the run.� He blew up a stretch play on the 1st play of
the 2nd series, resulting in a 3-yard loss.�
He had good coverage on Cook on the 1st series.�� He had a poor read on the Johnson TD run,
blindly rushing upfield instead of reading
the handoff to Johnson, who easily scooted under Timmons and untouched into the
EZ.�
Foote
didn�t do much.�� Remarkably, he didn�t
even make it onto the score sheet, which is rather sad.�
�
Big
LaMarr Woodley managed to get some paper stats, as little as they were, what
with 1 solo and 2 assists despite rarely, if ever, leaving the field.�� His solo was on a Dong Sack, in which he was
SOLO blocked by a backup RB, Ahmard Hall, and rumbled
by the huge mismatch for the sack.���
That shows the clear -- and correct -- lack of respect the Titans had
with the $61M Man.�� Big LaMarr teamed
with Hood for a coverage sack in the 2Q, when Hasseljack
had plenty of time, and then spun around and simply fell to the ground like a
coward.�� LaMarr picked up his other
assist on a slop assist on the 1st Titans play of the 2H, in which he was
mauled off the LOS a good 5 yards, and then nudged into the ballcarrier
at the end of a nice 5-yard gainer.�
���� Big LaMarr was far too soft on a 1st &
10 counter play up RT in the 1Q, feebly taking on the pulling lineman and
getting shoved wide, allowing a 6-yard gainer.��
On a 3Q pass play, LaMarr immediately dropped into middle-coverage at
the snap, and was far too slow to converge on Nate Washington on a crossing
route.�� Worse, as Nate steamed toward
the sideline and upfield, Big LaMarr basically QUIT on the play and started
JOGGING as Nate sped away for a 21-yard gain.��
A shit play by a shit player.�� �Big
LaMarr had an INT, but again, that�s where defensive stats are so misleading
and meaningless.�� Brett Keisel MADE that
INT occur with a bat, with popped the ball up into the air a
good 25-feet.�� All LaMarr had to
do was out-joust a clumsy O-lineman and haul in a plopped ball that was falling
so softly that it wouldn�t have broken thru a wet paper bag.�� A classic Dong
interception by a dong of a player.��
������ Timmy, Farrior:� B+� ����Foote, WoodenDong:��� D+��
DB:� lke had such a
strong game that the Bitans rarely, if ever, threw
his way.�� He is becoming the kind of CB
that is shutting down half the field.��
Pola
had another stupendous game.�� He nearly
picked a couple of passes and seemed to be all over the field.� He kind of nudge-poked the ball loose out of
Nate�s hand on a near-TD pass in the 1Q, when the game was still very much up
for grabs. He eluded a block on a screen pass and then made the stop.� He busted up a deep in on a 3d & 12 late
in the 1Q.��
Lewis
had a solid game.�� I was impressed by
his ability to react to the ball and close on the receiver.� He also had a nice bust-up of a 4th & 5
pass in the 4Q.�� �On the downside, he foolishly stopped and peeked
back at the QB on the late TD pass, getting no help from Mundy, who was
late.�
Gay
had a good cut-tackle of Ringer after a valve dump in the 3Q.�
Ryan
Clark had his usual shit game, although the paper stats look gaudy enough to
fool those who failed to watch the game.��
He was flagged on the opening drive, when, like the complete jackass
that he is, he blasted Ringer well out of bounds.� This negated the false start flag on Tenn, so rather than facing 3d & 12, Tenn got a freebie 1st down plus the 15 yards.�� What a douchebag.�� He had a flailing whiff on a screen pass in
the 3Q, which gained 8 yards.��
Ike
and Pola:�� A+����� Clark:��
D����� ��All others:��
B
Spec
teams:� Some good, some disastrous.���
�� Brown had a superb 52-yard KO return in the
1Q after he faked a reverse handoff.�� Dwyer
made a couple good stops on kick overage, with help from Sylvester on the 1
stop.� Sepulveda threw a nice pass on a
fake punt, in which Mundy was wide, wide open in the middle of the field.� Mundy had some nice RAC, and the play gained
33 yards.��
�� But the mistakes were utterly grisly.��
�� Shoddy KO coverage in the 2Q allowed the Bitans to return the ball to their 43.� The Bitans pulled
off an onsides kick in the 3Q, with a high popper of a kick that Arnez Battle -- whose 1 and only job on this team is to
excel at spec teams -- failed to corral, as did Sylvester.�� Of course, Battle is a WR; Sylvester is a
LB.�� ��Then in the 4Q, Foote committed a false start
on a Steeler punt., which is just asinine for a
veteran player, playing with the relative quiet at home, on this kind of play.�� Not satisfied with the blunder, Foote
proceeded on the next snap to block the OUTSIDE guy rather than the man coming
right up �left guard�.�� That, combined
with Sepulveda casually taking his time, caused the punt to be blocked.�� It was returned for a TD, but the score was
wiped out by a needless block in the back.�
���C-�
OC:� Arians had a rare, decent day.��� What made it decent was that Mister
Stubborn finally decided to add some WRINKLES and some CHANGES and some
ADJUSTMENTS to an offense as stale as week-old bread.�� These included:
� �- Jet
sweep by Brown for 10 yards.�� This wasn�t
the usual end around play that takes about 9 seconds to develop.� This was a jet sweep that most
colleges run nowadays, with the motion man taking the
handoff a millisecond after the QB gets the snap.�� The Stillers have run with sweep zero times,
EVER.��
� - Reverse boot by Ben for the TD pass to
Johnson.�� The Stillers have run a
reverse boot ZERO times this season.� It
took Arians into the 5th game to get Ben on the move on such a simple, obvious
tactic.�
� - Pop pass to the TE (Johnson), which has
been used maybe twice this season.��
Of
course, it was far from perfect.�� I was
enraged by the wasted timeout after the successful fake punt.� There was a Chinese fire drill, which caused
the timeout.�� This is horse-shit that
happens at the high school level.�� Totally unacceptable at this level of football to waste a timeout.�� ����B�
DC:� Dick had his usual first-drive problems.�� The Bitans marched
69 yards in 15 plays for a FG, but it could have been a TD.�� The tackle-eligible, Otto, missed hauling in
a short TD grab, and then Nate Washington -- true to his nature -- dropped a TD
pass a few plays later.� You have to
realize that the Stillers won the coin toss but deferred, with the intention of
their defense setting the tempo.� Allowing
a long, methodical 69-yard FG march ain�t what the head coach had in mind.�� �
��� Coming into the game, Tenn
was the only team in the NFL who had not converted a 3d & 10 or
longer.� Of course, they easily snapped
that streak today, with a completion to Nate on 3d & 10 late in the 3Q.� Chris Johnson had come into this game with
zero TDs this season.�� Of course, that
streak came to an end the next play, when he easily scooted up LT for a
TD.��
���
Then, on a 3d & 1 at 6:00 4Q, no one covered the deep-middle of the
field, and Nate was WIDE open for an easy, long TD.�� Hasseljack
overthrew the open man to help the Stillers avert this disaster, but it was a
shit play by a shit defense.�� With this
much experience and lack of ANY rookies (on the field) in the back 7, this is
inexcusable.��
��� On the late 3d & 19, the Bitans had
an easy pitch n� catch for a TD pass to Williams.�� Very, very poor.����������������
� ���I won�t fawn over a defense struggling to
limit an offense consisting of Hasseljack, an
out-of-shape Christine Johnson, no Britt, and a WR corps led by Nate
Washington.������ C+�
�
HC:� Tomlin had a rare, intelligent challenge,
getting an over-rule on the low grab by Wally in the 1Q.�� I was enraged when Dumblin,
once again, kept key starters in the game during garbage time, LATE in the
blowout.��� The Stillers were up 38-17,
and with less than 2 minutes remaining, Troy Pola is still dashing and flying around
the field.� WHY ??�� This guy has been injured more than Bob
Sanders and Aaron Smith.�� Why even tempt
fate by having him on the field during such meaningless garbage time ??���� And a guy
like Pola knows no such thing as �playing it safe�.�� He�s either diving and
darting....or he�s not playing at all.��
This is where astute leadership realizes this particular battle has been
won, but a larger war is in progress.���
On the plus side, Tomlin managed to have his
team wash away the awful taste from last week�s stenchfest,
and they came out plenty fired up.����� B
Synopsis:� Another TastyCake
win over a creampuff, this team�s 3rd of the season.�� Tenn had the gaudy
3-1 record, but the wins were against teams with a combined 3-9 record.�� (Balt was obviously
a quality opponent, but Denver and Clev were complete punching bags.)�� �The
Stillers have now managed to overcome the vaunted, daunting likes of Seattle,
the Manning-less Colts, and now the Bitans.��� I�m hardly impressed.�� See me in 3 weeks, when the Stillers face
the Pats.�� Actually, neither of the next
2 games are complete gimme�s.�� Jax seems to always play the Stillers
stoutly, and the Stillers have long found trouble when they fly into Arizona to
face the Cards.��
(Still
Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the